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My apologies if posting the screenshot is an issue, please do delete if it is!

Hi Deanna. I'm with you. The reason that I collect only Zenga is that it reflects the intensity and expression that only Zen masters can bring to bear on an art form that is part of their meditation practice. I did a post of a Yamaoka Tesshu Daruma calligraphy/painting in which I mention that their are groups who practice Shodo from Yamaoka's lineage. They use an "instruction" book he created for his wife, based on a poem, which doesn't require an understanding of cursive script. I find that I have developed a keep sense of pattern recognition for works by these masters through visual inspection of the form and style alone.

Sandpaper, and still pitting beyond the sanding. I have a sword like that, which is being restored. Based on the photos, this one doesn't look so tired that it can't be recovered, but like Chandler says, it would require a photo of the entire sword to have more idea of whether it is genuine, and how much life is left if genuine.

Thanks so much, Charlie. Actually, my wife's interpretation was exactly that of yours, but I could not find adequate source material to substantiate. This has added another depth of understanding and appreciation for me. I will update the writeup on my personal website. I wonder how handy you are at translating hiragana. I did a recent post of a Yamaoka Tesshu painting/calligraphy for which I don't have the translation. Thanks again.

Guys, you literally have the English Token Bijutsu issues in the download section...for free.

10/12-plate suji kabuto? Many of the features are hard to see, as it's all black lacquer. Does it have shiten-no-byo and hibiki-ana in the four directions?

I can echo, Luc! Maedate seems to be a replica, though…

That's interesting! Thanks, I have never seen one written like that before.

I’ll try to as soon as I get home, my friend mentioned he thought he could see one but idk we will see

He realized his mistake only when it was too late.....

Damn you'd have to be a crazy huge Himura Kenshin fan to dump 1.25M yen on this. I wonder how the smith compensates for the curve that appears during the yaki ire process? https://www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/25142.html

on hold

Here is a Hidekage blade i have in bad polish but it's possible to see the hamon still, see if you can get something along the same lines

I always love hearing that someone want's to save a piece of history! So, there's a few routes you could take, but the first step I would recommend is looking at this website's "restoration" list. At the top of the page click the pulldown menu named "Nihonto Info" then "links" then "restoration". I'd recommend doing a good bit of research into each individual before contacting any of them, as they are often very busy. Others will hopefully add their own input on restoration, Best of luck, -Sam

The translation that Reinhard mentions:

I would definitely be interested to see how far into the hamon the edge removal has gone. It can be really tricky to photo especially out of polish, if you can catch the hamon in a photo would be good. the right angle and either good sunlight or a light from the back edge of the sword can pick it up. might not be possible to see but i've managed to pull the hamon out of some really poor conditioned swords I cant imagine it's too far to make it a problem though based on your photos, boshi may be different

I would be willing to invest it but I don’t know where I would go. As i understand it takes years to get it done but that’s fine with me.

I'm reading it slightly different. Less critical rather curious. Certainly there is no question regarding the quality of the forging meeting Shintogo Kunimitsu standards. This is the google translation for the opinion piece. The blade is a shallow furisode, slightly polished, with a small ridge, a small rounded manho, and a bell-like hi-katsu-de. The blade has a fine and thick ji-fure. The blade has a thin and straight blade, a strong ko-fure, and a gold-suji-like edge in the middle of the blade, which is connected to the ji-kei. The blade is deeply turned into a small rounded hat tip. The front has a koshi-hi. For some reason, the date has been written in a way that makes it seem like a bottom inscription, but the two characters for Kagen are also written in cursive script. Is Sei a substitute inscription? The inscription written by Gyokou, which has been looked at, is notable for the fact that the characters are not in the so-called Kita-kanmuri style. However, there is no fake smell at all, and it is rather more dried and relaxed than usual, which is pleasing. As mentioned above, there is a two-character inscription and a date, and the workmanship of the blade can be easily attributed to Shintogo, but Kunimitsu's two characters are closer to cursive writing, and according to his memories, there seems to have been a demand for these characters and men. (We appreciate a glimpse of the beloved works of the late collector Tsushima Sohei.)

I've actually started to fly and collect my purchases instead of shipping and the process has been a lot lot easier. (flying to the USA and back at least) I'm using a proxy these days for Japan to the UK

You've got an interesting item, no doubt. As Brian and others have mentioned, it will be expensive to restore properly. Lets break it down: Sword purchase = $1000 + Polish = $150 x ~27 inches = $4050 + Shirasaya = lets just say ~$750 Total approximate investment = ~$5,800 and a considerable amount of time. BUT for a very beautiful, complete, and desirable WW2 katana. It will boil down to what you're willing to invest. Best of luck, -Sam Edit: There's a chance that a flaw is hiding beneath its condition that could devalue the item. Unlikely in your case, in my opinion; But my point is that a restoration is not entirely without risk.

I understand both terms can be used interchangeably. I would never try to sharpen something like this myself.

No it says indeed half, the nagago is broken right at the mekugi ana, so it is a half. Was a flea market find that I got for a small pocket money

Tsuba may also be 48 now i look again, will check when i actually get it

Yesterday I was round at Igor’s place and he showed me this wonderful heavy book by Ito on Katana-gaké 刀掛, Sword Racks. https://iidakoendo.com/12729/ One thing that caught my eye was that many old sword stands had a special hook for an inro set, called an 印籠掛inro-gaké. Wealthy early to mid-Edo Bushi would remove their sword(s) and their sagemono set (Inro - netsuke - ojime) to be hung on the same rack! This indicates to me how close and valuable they both were to individuals of the warrior class.

Apologies if you already know but when we talk about polish, we mean professionally done by an expert in polishing Japanese swords. Just in case there's any confusion.