Buzen Nakatsu Ju Fuji......

[SAS]

A little while back, new member Jason posted on this sword asking for opinions....initially I thought it might be fake primarily due to some patina issues. I made an offer to evaluate in hand and Jason sent the sword to me. With careful study, some TLC, and in consultation with Bob Benson, I made the call for Momoyama Keicho Shinto period by a smith from the Fujiwara Takada group, probably from a smith named Tomoie, of whom oshigata have not been found yet.. I feel that this sword is worthy of preservation as an example of a little known smith in an under-documented area of Kyushu, Buzen being overshadowed by Bungo, Chikuzen, and Hizen. Examples of Tomoie's work are dated to Enpo, but little is known of his/their life and I feel based on sugata, hamon, and jihada, that it could date to anywhere from 1596 when Nakatsu was established, up to the dates listed in the Nihonto Meikan in Enpo. The hamon is a suguha based togariba, with running masame on the shinogi ji and a compact hada in the ji that almost seems muji; this is typical of the early Fujiwara Takada group. This sword after appropriate conservation is an excellent shinsa candidate; I have no doubt it will receive Hozon. My sincere thanks to Benson Sensei for his assistance.

Bonus was the tsuba being inscribed Kofu ju Akao Yoshitsugu... it just needed some TLC and help from the translation pros here on NMB.....thanks guys.

[ggil]

Very kind of you to help Jamie out like that Steve. Must be nice living near Mr. Benson, and the islands generally speaking. Mr. Benson would have to make room for a cot for me, if I lived there:) Anyway, good form pal!

[SAS]

Unfortunately I have not lived near or even on the same island as Benson Sensei since 2007, though i did have a nice visit with him last year. He has graciously accepted and returned my phone calls/emails, however, and I would gladly sleep on the togidai were i not 2500 miles south! Thanks Grant. PS it was Jason's sword (mywifesgunnakillme).

[ggil]

Oh yeah that's right you are in Samoa now. Had an 8 month stay there when I was 17 (Western Samoa). Very beautiful! Lots of Mormons (edit: the place I was at - like a reject boarding school for screwed up kids - was run by LDS, so I assumed everyone on the island was LDS. My mistake, it's actually a small percent: ~12). Sorry bout that.) Samoa has the most glorious sunsets, sunrise, and starlight of anywhere. It's marvelous.

[SAS]

I will get over there one of these days, if I can find a dog and chicken sitter for a couple of days....I hear Salani is a good surf spot and I hope to surf it one day. Yes, there are lots of Mormon folks over here, my landlords are Mormon in fact. We have been here just over 3 years now after moving from Kauai.....we do miss it.

[ggil]

It Kauai, anyone would.

[SAS]

It is unfortunate that the suriage removed so much of the mei,and somewhere in its journey had the patina removed from the nakago.....still, i am appreciative of the trust Jason placed in me and having the opportunity to study this sword in hand. The research necessary to kantei this sword was extensive but worthwhile, and I got to see a lot of work online that I may not have seen otherwise. Rescued from obscurity for $20 at a swap meet table....amazing. Equally amazing is how many swords still languish in an attic or closet somewhere, neglected and rusty, or (even worse) hacked away at with sandpaper or grinders etc by uninformed DIY guys. NMB is a great resource as are the members who are  dedicated to Nihonto preservation. Salute!

[Ken-Hawaii]

Good work on the blade, Steve - nice thing to offer. I hope Jason is appreciative.

 

Sure, Hawaii is a great place to live, unless you plan to retire some year. Average house costs $735,000, & you wouldn't want to live in it.    Average one-bedroom condo costs $405,000. Lots of homeless because of the "price of paradise," but at least they don't freeze during the winter. If my wife & I didn't own our company, we couldn't afford to live here, & we're not sure we will retire here, either.

 

Ken

 

[SAS]

Sword goes back to Jason today....even if it is not financially rewarding, I hope he will eventually have it polished and papered to document this under  documented subject matter.

[Stephen]

Steve did you do a window? May we see the progress? 

[SAS]

PM Sent.

[mywifesgunakillme]

I hadn't seen this post or I would have commented earlier.  I am very thankful that Steve offered his evaluation of the sword at no cost.  He had it in hand for several weeks and put a lot of time and effort in both researching the blade and performing a window polish in order to get a better understanding of it's pedigree.  I was very happy with the results.  As was mentioned, it is a worthy sword to preserve and at some point I would like to have a full polish completed and send it to shinsa.  It's my first nihonto and I couldn't be happier with this $20 swap meet find.