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Hoki No Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka In Gunto Mounts


Okiiimo

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I am a new member and as promised on my new member introduction, I’ve provided a write up of a blade I recently acquired. Please forgive me if my usage of nihonto terms are incorrect. I do invite criticism and correction as I believe it is important to be open to them in order to gain knowledge and experience. I do not intend this blade for resale; I am interested in learning more about it and studying it further.

Acquisition

I purchased this sword at a local antique shop for $475. The shop specializes in estate jewelry, Alaskana (Alaska native artifacts, regional artwork and historical artifacts), firearms and general antiques. I went in with the honorable intent of finding a birthday gift for my wife (she likes antique jewelry) when I spied an officer’s gunto and decided to take a look at the blade. Although my distant relations in Japan have managed to keep a few blades hidden away, I’ve always regretted that they will never be handed down my side of the family line. Therefore, I’ve always wanted a gunto since my grandfather was an IJA officer, to serve as a surrogate for a family heirloom. On observation, the blade did appear to have a hamon and in the right reflected light, there appeared to nioi although it was difficult to tell because the lighting was poor and the blade surface was covered in old oil and finger prints. The blade did have patches of pitting but the lines looked nice and there didn’t appear to be any severe abuse to the blade. The mountings looked authentic to my inexperienced eye and the wear patterns between the parts seemed appropriate with each for lack of a better description (note I’m drawing on prior experience used to determine if USGI 1911 pistols are later assembled from parts or represents the reasonable wear patterns of an issued and used firearm). On the hilt were the remnants of a mon which I would guess is oxidized silver since it was blackened, that had been carefully filed down. I guessed that the sword was surrendered which the original owner did to prevent dishonor to his family clan. Although the mekugi was partially out, but I did not ask to remove it to take a look at the nakago. I figure the price was OK for what it appeared to be, I liked the historical aspect of it as a surrender sword and I was secretly hoping the blade to be traditionally made. The proprietor mentioned in passing that the blade was made in the 1930’s.

Closer Inspection

At home, after I received begrudging approval from my wife for an unauthorized purchase, I was allowed to inspect the blade closer. The mekugi easily slid out indicating that the blade had been inspected. The nakago was nicely patinated and it had a signature. It appears to have been chalked so I wouldn’t be surprised if another had studied this blade and may have further background on it. I was thrilled! I quickly snapped a photo and texted my mother for translation assistance and she could make out “Fujiwara” and didn’t recognize the other writing. I called another family friend and after a few minutes of research on their end consulting a Japanese dictionary passed on that the first few characters said, “Hoki no Kami Fujiwara…” but couldn’t make out the last characters correctly. I then set task to the wisdom of the internet using the same search words and came across what appeared to be a nearly identical signature which was translated as “Hoki no Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka”.

Questions

I’ve attached some photographs of the blade and fittings and I hoping for more information regarding this sword. My questions are:

  1. Are my impressions and observations correct?
  2. Preservation – the scabbard is pretty worn and probably doesn’t help with the long-term preservation of the blade. Any suggestions?
  3. I’m especially concerned with the pitting at the kissaki. Does it appear too deep for the blade to be considered for restoration?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Regards,

Allan N.

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Your translation is correct.  Can't comment on the legitimacy of the mei.  Looks ok, but I have none to compare it to.

Shinsa coming up in February.  Good place to have the mei authenticated.

 

Pitting in kissaki is a concern, but you would need to have a professional polisher take a look at it.

 

Regarding the saya.  I would oil the blade and leave it alone unless you decide to polish it.  With polish you will have to have a new shirasaya built for it.  But I wouldn't do it until then.

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Agreed, good advice from Ed. In regards to the pitting, it looks pretty deep, however a good polisher imho will be able to get rid of most of it or possibly elect to reshape the kissaki slightly and move the yokote down which would eliminate all the pitting (this is an extreme option as you're losing steel so a bit unlikely in this particular case). Overall the pitting is not a big problem and if any remains it will be very minor and only left there to preserve as much of the blade as possible.

 

For $475 you've done very well even if gimei as it looks like a well made sword and the hamon does remind of Hirotaka although not really my area. The sugata/nakago/nakago-jiri/yasurime are also correct for this smith.

 

Here's a mei comparison:

 

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Here is a description from Andy Quirt of a Hirotaka papered Wakizashi I purchased from him some years ago (mumei):

 

"Echizen Hoki no Kami Hirotaka was active around Meireki (1655 - 1658). He was of the Echizen Shimosaka school, and his style is close to that of Harima Daijo Shigetaka. He is rated Chujosaku in Nihon Toko Jiten - Shinto Hen by Fujishiro, valued at 3,500,000 yen in Shibata's Toko Taikan, and listed with a double triangle in Nihonto Meikan."

 

(I didn't see any dates mentioned above)

 

Colin

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  • 1 month later...

Firstly, I need to say a very belated thank you to those that have responded. The collective wisdom and openness to sharing your knowledge on nihonto is very much appreciated. I even received a welcoming PM and invited advice which I consider invaluable (Thank you Arnold!) . Based on the advice of the board, I was able to secure the Shinsa services of Mr. Bowen (Thank you Chris! Considering the logistics and possible complications, your offer to act as an intermediary for shinsa is an amazing service!) and I was fortunate to have the sword appraised by the NBHK-NPO team.  

 

I was happily surprised that the sword passed and was very surprised at the score of 76. From what I read, I was under the impression that a sword in this condition (see photos of the original post) wouldn't make it above 70. It makes me curious if the score is representative of the sword and condition in hand or if it might be representative of the "potential" of the sword once restored. It also makes me wonder how the blade could score if it were restored (by a reputable togi-shi. How much can a pre- to post polish affect the score?

 

I'm attaching a scan of the worksheet. There are some written comments in the Nakago, Kitae, Hamon, Boshi and Kantei sections of the worksheet that I'm hoping that someone would be kind enough to translate for me. I do have inquiry placed with a family friend to translate but I fear that they may have difficulty with the translation with nihonto-specific terminology.

 

Lastly, I find myself entering into financial discussion with my boss (wife) about the possibility of submitting the blade to a togi-shi for restoration. I expect the discussion will center on "how much will it cost?" and "how much will it be worth after polishing?" I'll try my best to explain the intangible value of learning, experience and satisfaction in restoration of a blade. My battle is to try to figure out how this is worth considering even though it is I who would benefit in that regard. Time will tell how this plays out. Someday I hope to follow up with this post with before and after photos!

 

Regards,

 

Allan

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When a sword costs $475, and gets 76 points, then it really starts to become worth it to polish. I would.

Maybe consult with the service mentioned here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12772-sword-polishing-service-in-Japan/

Your initial outlay was minimal, so it is worth spending some money on it imho. Congrats, that is a surprise and welcome result.

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Stephen - I have the same affliction of making decisions with the heart over head. Sentimental value is what I'm trying to convey to my wife. Suggestions from experience in this type of spousal negotiation is invited!

 

Kronos - Chris said the togi-shi did take a look at it and said it was difficult to tell without taking it to the stone. Before shinsa is sent a photo of it to Mr Benson who thought it could polish out however I can appreciate the judgment is not based on in-hand observation. So far I take the togi-shi opinions it to mean restoration might be possible which is far better than an outright no.

 

Brian - Great advice and justification. I'll have to borrow it. Better yet, may I have your number so I can have my wife call you? Perhaps start a nihonto spousal negotiation service? (Joking :)

 

Regards,

 

-allan

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Personally if it were my sword I'd send it to Bob Benson to inspect in hand and if he thought the kissaki would polish out I'd get him to polish it and put in a shirasaya. There are always risk with a polish as it can reveal fatal flaws etc but from a purely financial perspective if it polishes ok it should easily be worth more than the $2-3k restoration would cost. It must be noted though that waiting lists are long so a 1-2 year turn around is expected.

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I think bob works on a piece to piece basis. I had a kissaki repaired by bob for $225 and about a 2 month turn around. It's the full polish and shirasaya that takes time. 1-1 1/2 years. Kunitaros service is also efficient and takes a fraction of the time.

 

Regards,

Josh

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