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Good luck Lewis. No gain without risk, so they say.

Lots to unpack here. I didn’t want the thread to devolve into a guessing game as to why the dealer did this or didn’t do that. I can only talk about my motivations and why I decided to take a punt. Call it an academic endeavour to test the knowledge I’ve gained over the past year, as well as an opportunity to possibly advance the current state of study for an important smith/school. I’ve been lucky to have in hand multiple Juyo and TJ blades and this has given me a modicum of confidence to be able to make some educated guesses. In no way do I consider myself an expert and never claimed has such. But I can read, have access to bodies of knowledge (new and old) and the type of work I do has given me a systematic and investigative approach to a problem. I also trust Ray’s knowledge and experience and if he saw enough in the blade to make an offer, that gives me some sense I wasn’t completely off piste. I didn’t jump in blindly. I even posted a thread last October asking about the Mei and included pictures of the blade. At this point I was still on the fence but at least I had confirmation the sugata was typical for the Kamakura era in accordance with examples in Nagayama's book. It was only after reviewing the kantei Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto’s in Sesko’s Kotozen HC that really convinced me to continue the chase. Ignoring the shape of the nakago and obviously the different style for the Mei (form and carving), the 1306 tanto was, from my perspective, the twin of this blade. The length of nagasa, style of nakago, the mune shape, the koshi-bi horimono, the yakikomi, the finely executed suguha hamon, the style of boshi etc. These are all features found on blades from the Shodei's workshop. Way too much of a coincidence not to take it seriously. It was only the post in this thread showing Tanobe sensei’s discussion of the 1306 blade and his statement that the ‘Mitsu’ kanji was atypical that I wasn’t aware of until now. However it's accepted that daimei-daisaku blades for Kunimitsu exist, as is his sons signing Kunimitsu in an atypical style, in later years, when working independently. The Horyu papers also strengthened my conviction that I should proceed. I saw enough in the blade itself to give it another chance. Many examples of Horyu eventually passing on subsequent submissions and blades getting a different attribution, sometimes a better one, after a sympathetic polish. Obviously the stakes are a lot higher with a name like Kunimitsu but the Shinsa committee can only judge whats in front of them and this tanto is still hiding its secrets. They are not infallible. For example I don’t understand why Tanobe says the 1306 Kunimitsu could not have been made by one of his sons due to their young age, because that year Kunihiro would have been 33. All of these question marks and uncertainties make this an even more exciting project. An ubu Kamakura era tanto is a rarity in and of itself. What is clear is that a window must be opened up to expose the jiba. Once that visual piece of the puzzle is available then I should have a good idea where I stand. I might even get it in front of the NTHK and see what they think before resubmitting to the NBTHK. Tanobe will certainly be consulted. Best case scenario it will test the current Zeitgeist for Kunimitsu and body of production from his workshop. If the quality of the jiba is up to Kunimitsu standard I’m hoping it will be accepted as another example of an atelier (daisaku) piece by an apprentice or daimei. This would connect the 1306 and 1308 tanto’s, both with their atypical Mei. If the quality of the forging points in another direction I will reset and decide what to do next. As Alex said the money has been spent but I paid a low enough price (for me), that I’m happy whatever the outcome. The journey will have made it all the more, a worthwhile academic experience.

Yes I think I agree with Brian. It would be better to have a strong repair (even if it was slightly visible) than a 'fix' that might fail the first time someone picks it up. I repair lots of stuff (like many of us I suppose) but I never repair a broken handle on a cup/mug if anyone is ever going to use it again.

Sarute socket looks likely was removed. Mekugi ana made to mount them all.

Congratulations ☺️☺️👏👏👏

Agree about the financial aspect.

"REPEATED", i made one comment, that was it. No matter what you say and how you word it, you know as well as i know that the only opinion that matters is that of the NBTHK, sorry but thats a fact you need to accept. Talk about the blade as much as you want. Good luck Lewis, and i mean that sincerely. Ps, If you find the general section to be irritating, you dont have to go there, it has nothing to do with Nihonto, for the most part. For some of us. we have discussions and hobbies that are of interest.

Not entirely relevant to this thread but the design of the tsuba in the first post is very close to this one found in Malcolm Cox's Echizen Kinai download

Alex, I deem it uncontestable that we shall never be equal in knowledge and information access to the Shinsa team, so we concur on that point. The Shinsa itself has not reached a definitive conclusion, so if they can debate this blade, why should/could we not? Yes, that could be done out of intellectual curiosity, pursuit of knowledge and one’s one betterment (ie learning from something others have posted). Furthermore, I do not believe we have been raising Lewis’/HB’s expectations or hopes. On the opposite, the community here has been offering insights or access to their databases of images or books, trying to help him reach his own conclusions. Some people have been more sceptical than others, and rightly so. This is a big name and a big bet, in an autochthonous environment which is astute and commercial and likely discounted the blade already, but Lewis has made an informed bet having deliberated about it for a while, not on the spur of the moment. You asked why I went off on a tangent: because of your repeated pejorative and dismissive tone about people posting, implying that our opinions, views, participation etc are pointless: “If NBTHK couldn't come to a decision, then what chance have you guys got here?” ”So you guys think you are above NBTHK now, that have seen it in hand?, incredible.” ”Guys here from images with the emphasis on the mei.” And what I was trying to explain is that someone could post for the sake of participating in a discussion, to feel part of the community, add value / thought/ knowledge, etc; not necessarily to opine on whether a blade will pass this or that Shinsa. Lastly, I do stand by my assertion that this is one of the better topics in a dedicated Nihonto forum. It is arguable whether the term “intellectual” was pertinent, but this topic does require a degree of knowledge and access to understanding beyond the beginner level. No intention on my part of undermining other topics as less worthy but similarly to other I also have the right to express a view on “good vs bad” and my gratitude to Lewis for starting a thread I deem “good”. ————————— Back on topic. There are numerous red flags and areas of concern but at the same time there are indications this could well have been a Koto blade from the wider school of Shintogo. Whether further investigation is worth the monetary investment and emotional commitment is up to the owner.

On a side note and something i did not mention. Whilst its all great discussing such blades, as anyone considered the fact that its going to be Lewis throwing money at it?, not those that are participating in this discussion. Its bought now, though when someone asks me "is this legit?" via PM, which happens now and again. Will tell them straight, if its from Japan and been in a dealers hands, don't buy it. There is no shortage of legit blades with papers.

You see habaki crafted to fit the hi, so no reason why seppa wouldn't match too.

I would never use glue on this. A good brazer can do a repair that would be fairly invisible. Looks for specialized welding services near you. I had an aluminium dagger guard (not Japanese) repaired by one, and you would never tell. They will identify the metal and match it.

It's really hard to get features properly when the blade is in a sorry state. Fills me with great sadness to know that this has potentially been around for 800 years being cared for only to end up rotting away in someone's shed in the last 50 years of it's life.

I've taken some better photos trying to capture as much of the hada as I possibly can and ill add them here. To me it looks like a tight ko-itame/masame hada? Difficult to see. With my research the most similar blade I could find in terms of sugata, mune, hada, hamon, kissaki and tapering of the blade is this kamakura piece sold recently at sothebys. But I am fully aware this may be massive wishful thinking on my part: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/important-Japanese-swords-and-armour-from-the-paul-l-davidson-collection/a-katana-attributed-to-awataguchi-kuniyasu-heian

Again, my point was not about the discussion of the blade, i made a point that whatever conclusion you guys come to does not matter. It adds nothing to the blade, im sad to say. In a month from now this thread will be forgotten. Lewis and any other future owner will obviously be able to view this discussion from now until eternity and it wont make a difference. Sadly, when it comes to the more sought after higher value blades, that's how it is, the only thing that matters is that it attains NBTHK papers. Personally, id be asking myself why a dealer in Japan let it go. I hope it all works out for you Lewis, as i mentioned in my post at the beginning. Michael, you are out of order, you know what i state is a fact. You can all talk about this blade until you are blue in the face but your conclusions mean nothing, just opinions that carry no clout. Discuss it all you want. Dealers and honesty, that's another subject.

Still available- will be at San Francisco show if not sold here before then

A few hundred seppa to look through here: https://www.jauce.com/search/+切羽?page=1&n=100&link=&auccat=2084057815&query= 切羽 But not one "bohi" that I can see, you might try using these kanji in a search 切羽 they worked at least to find these seppa. They do exist though https://note.com/katana_case_shi/n/na6728882d815

Ok thank you

The Tsuba has two holes for retaining screws and the appropriate Seppa, Fuchi, and screws are noticeably missing. The Sarute is for a traditional Tachi and the colour fittings is somewhat suspect.

Well that dealer is no fool, and with a good bit of the description advising the Koshirae be restored doesn't exactly fill one with confidence for the dagger itself. Perhaps I'm not as romantic as Lewis here but it would've been childs play for Machii San to open a window to check the deki and resubmit. Nevertheless it has been a very interesting thread and we all are hoping for a good result.

Personally, I just carefully use some gorilla glue or liquid steel.

I agree, never seen one like that! Custom tsuba, too

I don't know the history of this one as well as others, but a conservative way to look at it, I guess, is that after shinsa it probably passed through multiple hands with a question "is it worth a polish". That the collective thinking came up negative despite this being a tanto (not a huge investment) is concerning. Optimistic look is I know couple of cases when someone respected loudly stated that something is gimei and after being sold off on this basis it was accepted as shoshin the next year.