Jump to content

Considering a First Purchase-Opinions


kolhoznik

Recommended Posts

I have been interested in the Japanese Art Sword for some years and I have recently become serious about making a first purchase and would like it to be one I am happy with and don't start to hate later.  I come from a coin collecting background so I appreciate the need for research before a purchase.  The more I read the more I realize I need to learn so I was very happy to come across this site.   I came across a katana that I thought might be promising and worth consideration as a purchase and would welcome some feedback before buying.  

 

The tang is signed Nobukuni Mitsumasa and the year 1779.  I believe that would be Hawley MIT127.  Regretfully I did not get a pic of the tang, but this is the information given by the seller. 

 

The sword is in shirasaya and is in good polish.   I could not see any major flaws. Would this be a good starter blade? If so what would be a fair price?

 

-Mike

post-2126-0-04180000-1583339216_thumb.jpg

post-2126-0-74846300-1583339365_thumb.jpg

post-2126-0-26470600-1583339610_thumb.jpg

post-2126-0-52205800-1583339630_thumb.jpg

post-2126-0-83240500-1583361551_thumb.jpg

post-2126-0-91052500-1583361673_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see any physical problems with the sword. As to the validity of the signature, the nakago is not shown, so? A fair price depends on many factors and everyone has different preferences. Generally a blade of 70 cm is more valuable, a flashier hamon can often command more, decent mountings can also add to the value. This Mitsumasa is given a rating of 50 in Hawley and 3.5 mil Yen in the Toko Taikan. The signature should be authenticated, otherwise it should be considered a mumei blade and priced accordingly.

Do not be in too big of a hurry or you may regret it later, learning about these swords can be an expensive proposition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, its not a huge name with even fewer blades to the name (not a lot of demand at the time), and the work shows nothing obviously disputing the signature, though without seeing the nakago and/or better photographs its hard to tell - but as far as purchases go the risk of gimei here is not that high. 

It appears to be in full polish and there are some good things about the sword. If its long enough, and you like it, generally speaking can be a decent purchase for the money. Below the polish-shirasaya price.

 

Kirill R.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike, if you have the budget for this blade, I'm wondering how much you've spent on books, so you understand what you're buying?

 

As others have stated, the blade is in decent polish, but its lack of distinctive jihada, & with a rather blah hamon, it just doesn't appeal to me.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. It has been a big help. I have asked the seller for some pictures of the nakago and I will post as soon as they arrive. I am doing a lot of reading but would always welcome more good titles to look for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

A good effort Francois, well done, very close.
So you have Nobu...next one, anytime you see that "box" kanji, think Kuni.
So Nobukuni Mitsu...you got the masa correct.
And then having another part of a name at the end would be odd, so look at typical mei endings and you will come up with saku or kitau or tsukuru. In this case...made (tsukuru)
So it is Nobukuni Mitsumasa tsukuru.

Compare with http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords5/KT331359.htm

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one, unless your post is really relevant and adds to the topic..

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...