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Nice Ebay Sword With Nagatoshi Mounts


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This sword just sold on ebay for $5400 or so.  Sorry I underbid because the tsuba and fuchi-kashira were made by a student of Goto Ichijo.  It looked like a little TLC would turn it into a sweet setup.  Did a NMB member end up with it?  Congratulations if so!

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Congratulations Ian.  The tsuba and fuchi kashira are absolutely good, and the work looks very nice.  I was planning to bid $6600 but softened it up, feeling a little strapped lately with weddings happening and such.  Here is a page from the kinko meikan.  Sorry I didn't rotate the photos from the listing.  Anyway, I think that it will clean up really well.  I was wondering if a little acetone might take the grease out of the ito but would test to be sure it doesn't take color out as well.  Cheers, Bob

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Ian, I will be curious as to whether it is a katana or wakizashi.  The guy clearly didn't know how to measure, and if his figure of 24 5/8 is off by a couple of inches......you may receive a wakizashi.   I tried to explain to him that it was important and how to measure it properly but he got defensive and even threatened to block me from bidding so I backed off.  Actually, if he had measured it right and it was clearly a katana, I would have certainly bid more, so it affected his bottom line without his even knowing it.  I am off to Belgium in a few hours, so if I don't reply to any answers it may mean that I don't have good wifi access.  Once you get it and clean it up, please post some nicer photos of it.  Cheers, Bob

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This is a very promising piece. Even an idiot like me can tell this. Fantastic mounts and a promising old Koto blade. I had requested more images from the seller but what he showed of the blade was too fuzzy as to make a good guess. Unfortunately the seller was not very eager to provide more details. On the other hand if he had, the price might even have risen more. At over 5k it was definately out of my league but it is one of the swords where I am dying to see what it turns out to be. I am very sure taht Ian will not be disappointed at all. Case you decide to send the blade to Shinsa please let us know the result. Good luck!

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Robert - as Ian pointed out this is by Katsura Eiju who founded the Katsura School but who was not a student of Goto Ichijo as he pre-dated him.  You can find a good write up in Sesko's, 'The Japanese Toso Kinko Schools' on page 240.  He was apparently a student of Yokoya Terukiyo and possibly the second Soyo (there is some debate on this but it is totally possible).

 

BTW - the, 'Kinko Meikan' you used has been updated by the, 'Shinsen Kinko Meikan' in the latter 1990's as the former had errors which were corrected in the later edition.  Having the three book Wakayama set is also advisable (Toso Kodogu Meiji Taikei) as it along with the, 'Shinsen Kinko Meikan' are used by the shinsa teams and their page numbers are found in,  'Haynes Index'.

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Thanks Pete.  I have to admit that I jumped to conclusions after seeing the lineage mention in Haynes for one of the three Nagatoshi listed.  I have gone through the text in the kinko meikan and did not find any reference to Ichijo, so I agree with what you say.  I do have the three volume Wakayama books but find them not to be indexed in a way that can be easily used (by me), so they are my last resort.  Thanks for the notes about Nagatoshi (Eiji).   He is clearly very talented, though I did find the nanako to lack the kind of perfection that one sees with the very highest level makers and he is listed at the lowest level in the kinko meikan.  Cheers, Bob

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" I do have the three volume Wakayama books but find them not to be indexed in a way that can be easily used (by me), so they are my last resort".

 

 

Sorry, but I'm confused by this statement as the Haynes Index has the reference pages to the Wakayama book(s) if the artist has mei listed there.  Perhaps I'm just missing something...

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