Thoughts on the Hon’ami’s Koson Attribution Being Discarded?

[Lukrez]

Hey everyone,

 

I’m still scratching my head over why the Hon’ami attribution was dismissed on this blade. It clearly shows pronounced kinsuji and a well-defined nioiguchi, which—at least in my understanding—would argue against a Bizen school origin.

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/katanamumei-kobizennbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-tokenconsignment-sale/

 

 

Even more interesting: there are patches on the surface with no visible forging structure, which some have said is typical for Rai hada. That seems to further complicate the picture.

Did anyone else notice this? Any thoughts on why the attribution didn’t hold? Would love to hear your detailed takes on this.

Also, side note—anyone have a clue what material the scale pattern ist made of?

By the was, why Honami Koson got a bad reputation?

 

Sadly, I didn’t win it. It turned into a bidding war around 3 a.m. European time.

 

Looking forward to hearing your insights!

 

[CSM101]

I am not at home, so I cannot post some photos. But in the end the answer is simple: hada. This is no Rai-hada, means a fine itame hada covered with ji nie. Maybe in  the evening.

[Franco]

I could agree with a Ko-Bizen call here based upon these images.

Nioi-guchi is what I would expect for a Ko-Bizen blade, but not for a Rai sword. 

Shape is a bit off for Rai as well.

This sword looks tired to these eyes. Which might explain blank patches of hada.  

 

52 minutes ago, Lukrez said:

By the was, why Honami Koson got a bad reputation?

 

Bad reputation? Hmm.

Opinions are opinions.

They can be correct.

They can be close.

They can be incorrect.

The sword confirms the mei and not the other way around.

The sword confirms the origami/opinion and not the other way around.

Going by these principles will generally keep you from getting into trouble.

Buy the sword, not the paper/opinion.

Desire is the cause of suffering.

 

https://markussesko.com/2018/05/02/honami-koson/

 

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/8660-honami-koson/

 

 

[Bosco]

Well I found 2 swords with honami Mitsumi certificate. One of them is Kiyomaro, less that 600,000 Yen lol.

[CSM101]

Rai Kunitoshi

[CSM101]

Rai Kunitoshi  Katana. Mumei. Juyo Token

[Jussi Ekholm]

With the risk of sounding rude, I think it was very good that you missed the sword Lukrez.

 

This is just my personal opinion but I think that sword is very undesirable in my own collecting view, and I feel Ko-Bizen attribution was the only reason it got so high. I wouldn't have even gone for even near the 1,500,000 yen on it but because it was judged as Ko-Bizen by NBTHK the price got high, that is just how the world goes. As the condition is so compromised I think attributing items gets very tricky. I personally do not have knowledge to judge such items.

[Lukrez]

Thank you all, really appreciate your candidness.  It's always interesting to hear different views from experienced collectors like yourself.

You make a valid point about the Ko-Bizen attribution—I can certainly see how the compromised state of the sword would make attribution more challenging.

I’ll take your advice to heart as I continue learning and refining my own understanding of the field. Thank you again for sharing your insights, and I look forward to any future discussions.

Best regards

[Rivkin]

This is very tired and as a result the hada is exceptionally coarse. There is no chance this is Rai Kunitoshi - either the suguha or the choji style. Its amazing how post WWII scholarship towered above things considered normal in 1900-1940 and everything that came out of it.

I am going to say something very controversial - ko Bizen is basically two schools, Yamato and Yamashiro influencing the local tradition.

Yamashiro - choji based hamon, tends towards nioi. Yamato lineage - nie heavy hamon in midare notare. Jigane varies, but a lot of blades tend towards fine itame. You have an intersection where hamon is choji based and mostly nioi but you also have nie based kinsuji and inazuma. This blade is one of those. The problem is you see this in exactly one place - it was a fantastic blade, but now it is but a shadow.