Leaderboard

Today I would like to introduce you to my Kurihara Akihide Subudai from 1945 I love the Hada

Interesting photos of the official Japanese surrender of the weapons in Batavia on 15 May 1946. The allied representative is Major P.A.A. Haining of the Allied H.Q. The Japanese representative is Major-General Nishimura. .

I had the pleasure of meeting Manazu Hitoaki today and watching him work in his home in Osaka. It was a fascinating experience that significantly deepened my understanding of the sword polishing process. Despite his immense skill, he is very humble and spoke only a little English. Fortunately, his apprentices were more than happy to translate and quickly mentioned that he is one of the finest sword polishers in Japan. Some interesting facts stood out during the visit: Hitoaki learned the art of polishing from his father at the age of 15 and has been improving his craft for 58 years. Hundreds, if not thousands, of blades have passed through his hands. Currently, the demand for his services is so high that customers face a two-year wait. He works diligently, more than 10 hours a day, to complete each sword on time. His rate is 20,000 JPY per sun (1.3 inches/3 cm). One of his apprentices eagerly explained the process and the stones used. He has been training under Hitoaki for eight years but still considers himself a beginner. He mentioned that he wouldn't charge more than 8,000 JPY for the same polish as his master. As an amateur knife sharpener myself, I was curious about how they maintain the niku of the blade during polishing. They explained that they work on a very narrow section of the blade at a time, gradually transitioning down the convex surface toward the edge in small increments. Each section is completed before moving on, rather than working in long sweeping motions. Their ability to assess a blade with such precision is astounding. The apprentice handed me a blade and asked me to hold it to the light, pointing out that it was uneven. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't see any imperfections. It really highlights the incredible attention to detail required in this craft. Much of their skill is visual; they don’t count their strokes on the stone but continuously check the blade until they are satisfied with the result. It’s quite remarkable. Hitoaki shared that, despite his best efforts, he has never delivered a sword with a perfect polish, there’s always something he feels could have been improved. He also mentioned that, though the old grandmasters are long gone, he continues to learn from them by studying the swords they polished. This is a vital part of his work, as he strives to adapt his polish to each blade, taking into account its era and style. If the current polish is good, he aims to replicate it in the same way. A very interesting experience that I won't forget.

Hello I’ve just read the thread on Ford’s death, it’s lovely to hear your memories and thoughts on him. I would like to tell you all that the funeral is on Monday 9th September at 1pm on 9th September at @sharphamtrust Natural Burial ground. https://www.sharpham...ls/location-visiting Followed by a wake at The Seahorse in Dartmouth https://seahorserestaurant.co.uk In lieu of flowers Ford requested donations to Palestine. Our very good Palestinian friend is an emergency surgeon and he suggested ‘Medical Aid for Palestine’. We are livestreaming the funeral and I will make a short film to put on YouTube also - it seems fitting that we do so given that I spent so much time documenting his every move! The livestream link is here: https://www.funerals...ce.co.uk/ford-hallam Password: Monday Of course if you would like to come to the actual event you are more than welcome. Here is a lovely photo of him. A friend also sent me this photo of us the other day taken in happier times when we were opening the Atelier. I honestly loved this man so very much. He was my complete reason for being and the loss to me is more than I will ever be able to articulate. I cannot fathom the rest of my life without him and the years ahead of me seem long and empty.

My wife surprised the ever living heck out of me with this amazing birthday gift. An exceptionally wide wakizashi made by Motoyasu. Can anyone tell me more about this maker? Another name perhaps?. I can't seem to find anything about him other than the he was possibly a Satsuma smith. Came with some nice fittings and an iron tsuba signed Mototake.

@Brian Will be back later this fall on a more regular basis here 👍

A good original WW2 Navy traditionally made MINATOGOWA sword rarely comes up for sale these days. Very few were made, and many "went down with the ship"! This January 1943 example offered for sale here, was made by the MASANAO. In very good as found polish, no rust, no pits, no chips, all the details in the hada and hamon perfectly visible. The boshi and kisaki are complete and undamaged. The sword is still ubu-ba, indicating no post war polish. A few very minor scuff marks only, that is consistent with age and use. Features include, all fittings have original matching numbers, the ray-skin saya is superb, has the extremely rare extended drag, original IJN brown tassel, and as a bonus gift with purchase, I will include the rare and sought after MINATOGAWA book by Herman Wallinga, a must have for collectors. The Kiku-sui Mon on the nakago and habaki are beautifully present. With all the add ons and postage included, a steal at USD8400.

Two more documents from Australian Army HQ: Dutch Borneo: List of surrendered Japanese arms Disposal of surrendered enemy equipment:

I'm sorry if you knew this, I found it fascinating.

Fish and Kingfisher….

Turtles all the way down...

I have a brass tsuba that weighs 672 grams: Best, rkg (Richard George)

Hey guys, Not sure if this belongs in this section or not but I have been waiting forever for Markus to put his books on sale. If anybody else is in the same boat, Markus is doing a 50% off sale again till September 15th https://markussesko....-end-of-summer-sale/

Nihonto-Steel.pdf Hello all, I have been recently quite miffed at the apparent return of the "Japanese SteEL was Baaaad" cliche on the internet. I've yet to seen anyone back their claim and decided to gather some of the most excellent data that has been published throughout the years. A lot is in Japanese, which means it remains inaccessible to many. At any rate, feel free to take a look at it. I have focused on the metallurgy, i.e. the chemical composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Cheers

Tadahiro is a good example because they are plentiful and similar. It's the closest we have to a commodity in the Nihonto sphere. This lets us compare different attributes and think more deeply about price determinants. Tadahiro_1: 1M yen Tadahiro_2: 2M yen Tadahiro_3: 3M yen For most in the West, Tadahiro_2>Tadahiro_3>Tadahiro_1. Why? It's an excellent example because it illustrates some of the difference between Western appraisal of value and Japanese appraisal of value. Koshirae: West > Japan In the West, having a koshirae is highly valued. It's known to Japanese dealers, hence they'll adapt low quality koshirae to sell blades to the western markets. In Japan, sword collectors typically do not care. These are seen as two separate objects, and they appeal to distinctly different collectors types. It's a completely different world in terms of knowledge. Jigane consistency: West > Japan Western buyers are highly sensitive to minute defects in the jigane such as ware, showing of shintetsu, or irregularities (nagare elements). Much less so in Japan. In fact, if one carefully studies the elite blades (Tokuju/Jubi/Jubun/Kokuho), these types of defect are often present, even in the highest ranking smiths. Jigane consistency is not to be confused with brilliance/wetness (Uroi). The uroi quality of the jigane is a highly valued attribute in Japan, even in the presence of nagare elements or ware disturbing the consistency of the jigane. Brightness of the Hamon: Japan > West The attribute of "bright and clear" or Saeru is the most important attribute of a sword in Japan. This manifests as clarity in the Jiba, the contrast between the ha and the ji, and the overall consistency of the nioiguchi, a ha free of blemish (Shimi), and overall distribution, type and variety of nie. These are paramount qualities. There are differences between schools in how these qualities are appraised (e.g., Soshu vs Bizen), but these are advanced topics best left for another discussion. Now go back to the 3 Tadahiro and look at the hamon photos. Tadahiro_1: suffers from a grave flaw on a suguha blade: inconsistent nioiguchi. There is an area where the nioiguchi expands upwards and downwards, this is considered a lack of control by the smith and disqualifies the blade as a good sword. This explains the price, it is simply a bad example of Tadahiro. Mistakes happens. Tadahiro_2: the nioiguchi is rather consistent. Check. However, the contrast between the ha and the ji is not pronounced. Hence, it is not 'bright and clear' - rather, the noiguchi line is and the hamon is rather unremarkable. The Jigane is consistent everywhere, and it has a koshirae and a horimono. This appeals to the western market, but is very weak in the Japanese market. Tadahiro_3: the nioiguchi is deep and consistent. The ko-nie laden nioiguchi creates a bright contrast with the ji, and extends downwards towards the ha. There are kinsuji forming into the ko-nie, another sign of a good sword. These attributes are highly valued and constitute the essence of a masterfully crafted sword. Now, there is shintetsu showing. Big problem in the West, not so much in Japan. For these reasons, Tadahiro_3 > Tadahiro_2 > Tadahiro_1 - and while this hierarchy will be quite obvious to any intermediate student in Japan, it's puzzling for us in the West simply because we value attributes differently. For the sake of simplicity I'm leaving out other attributes (Motohaba, Sori, Nakago condition). These attributes are overshadowed anyway by the stark contrast in the Jiba of these works.

Jacques, That is not a valid statement in reference to Tanobe sensei writing a sayagaki for a gimei sword. He does not do that. At minimum, he would recommend gimei removal. Jacques - how do I know that? Well, I have been there personally in that situation…..If you have not experienced it first-hand and have no evidence, why are you making allegations? Firstly, he does not often disagree with the NBTHK. Quite the opposite, in the vast majority of cases, he agrees with them and his sayagaki supports the NBTHK certificate. Secondly, sometimes he goes a step beyond the NBTHK and attributes the sword to a specific smith within the school the NBTHK has appraised. Thirdly, the NBTHK itself changes its mind (between polishes, between separate shinsa) so why would Tanobe sensei not be allowed to have a different view to what is stipulated at that particular time on that specific certificate? Yes, occasionally, often privately, he might have a slightly differing view. Finally, as we know well, even experts disagree. There are swords which receive different attributions when submitted to the NBTHK and NTHK or even the same sword which went to different hands (eg Nisshu, Honma, later NBTHK certificate etc). Yes, sayagaki work is paid for but that does not impinge on its objectivity. Juyo certificates are also paid for. Private medical care is also paid for, etc etc. Please let us not contaminate this valuable thread with accusations of monetary benefit outweighing objectivity or whatever insinuation is being made. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Remembering Ford's demonstration in the Citadelle de Besançon 2014, just 10 years ago: I had the pleasure to exchange a few e-mails with him over the years. We also communicated on some material I sent him like old wrought iron and raw copper (from an experimental production process) for his work. I will miss him greatly.

Hello everyone, Sunobi Tanto signed Echizen Kuni Shimosaka Sadatsugu Sadatsugu Shimosaka Early Edo – Echizen Province – 1624 Shimosaka School NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate Fujishiro rank : Josaku Flawless and beautiful ubu blade, one mekugi ana. Koshirae richly decorated with solid gold menuki. Nagasa: 30.5 cm Sori: 0.2 cm Moto-haba: 2.8 cm Moto-kasane: 0.5 cm Don't hesitate to visit my website for more information and pictures. If sold through the NMB, I will make a donation. My price : 7800 € (+ shipping)

Its not often an opportunity presents itself to handle a blade by arguably the most famous Japanese swordsmith, Masamune. The owner was Albrecht Von Roretz and he brought this blade along with 60 others from Japan in the late 1800's, after several years spent establishing a modern Western health system during the Meiji period. He had a keen interest in Nihonto which makes this particular Masamune worthy of a hands on viewing. Markus Sesko was supposed to inspect the collection but left for the USA before getting the chance. There are certainly some questions as to whether this is a genuine blade by the Master but given Dr Von Roretz's status, knowledge around the subject etc, its worth giving it a careful look. I will ask if I can take some photos and if possible, view the Nakago.

Turtles and catfish tsuba

Hello Bruno, I asked the Nihon Tōshōkai this question last year (2023). Their reply to me was: There is no legal requirement for swordsmiths to put the date of manufacture on their swords, but it is done as an "unspoken rule". Recently there has been an increase in the number of swordsmiths who do not put the date on their swords. Most swordsmiths put their names on the nakago in order to indicate that they are the manufacturer of that sword, but strictly speaking there is no requirement for them to do so. However, the prefectures are in charge of sword registration, and there are apparently some prefectures which require names on the swords. There are still some inconsistencies within the registration procedure. Steve

This was on the NMB before so just an update after restoration and received yesterday Original info when first posted so there may be some updated info. 7ft 5inch length complete - Blade around 15" - Tang around 15" Circa 1761 Your pole arm is well balanced and has good line or shape and length. Hamon curls over the kissaki and down the mune for some length. Lower hamon looks like horse teeth pattern while upper is wide suguha. Polish by Les Sheppard New saya and pole refurbished by Mike Hickman-Smith Before and after polish Only a small amount to be seen of the pole in these two image A majestic new saya - glorious texturing An idea of the overall size (I'm about 5'10"

They don't make it easy but I found all of them except for Hotei which the V&A don't seem to have a current image of - they can run but there is nowhere to hide! Some images are still very grainy. The Tiger tsuba in that image: https://collections..../O199603/tsuba-soyo/ M.20-1913 "This one is made of shibuichi, an alloy of copper and silver normally patinated to give a wide variety of colours from silver to brown as well as a range of greys. It is encrusted with a tiger and a leopard which are gold with shakudo stripes and spots. Shakudo is an alloy of copper and gold generally patinated to a rich black colour. Beneath the animals are tall bamboo, also of shakudo, touched with gold, and on the reverse is a second tiger and bamboos similarly rendered." Length: 8cm Width: 7.45cm signed Soyo, Yokoya school, probably ca. 1700-1800 M.465-1916 - YOKOYA Kozuka no other information. M.464-1916 - YOKOYA Kozuka no other information. M.463-1916 - YOKOYA Kozuka no other information. M.259-1911 - YOKOYA - Purchased from Yamanaka & Co. (127 New Bond Street, W.), accessioned in 1911.

there is an image plate 94 at the back of the book and the Hotei fording a stream tsuba was formerly from the Hawkshaw collection now in the V&A A round one in the by Ōtsuki Mitsuoki, 1766–1834 I just searched through 3,325 images in the V&A and they have not updated their records since this entry https://collections..../item/O187937/tsuba/ images from at least 100 years ago! This image taken from the Hawkshaw collection by Henri L. Joly 1910 [ catalogue number 2463 ].

Hello, several years ago there were some interesting posts in the forum about tsuba in the shape of a snake. This year I got a wakizashi at an auction with a snake tsuba and a perfectly matching outfit. The handle winding was badly damaged, but all the parts were there, so I was able to rewrap it. When I get better at it, I will do it again. The mounting is beautifully executed in all parts. The insects with their antennae and wings, the tiny eyes, the delicate legs, just super. Maybe someone can translate the signature on the tsuba for me, all the other parts are unsigned. Greetings from Germany Uwe Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

I have my doubts, it will boil down to the classic garbage in, garbage out scenario. The problem that may come around is that the water gets so muddied that it's no longer possible to rely on internet-based research as no-one knows what sources are trustworthy or that it becomes accepted as reliable because, well it's the internet isn't it. We are cursed with living in interesting times.

Dear Emil. As no one else has answered you I will offer my thoughts. I have not been able to find this idea in Nagayama so I may have misunderstood your question. The mitsukado is not generally considered to be an indication of the smith's skill or lack of it, the boshi most certainly is. During yakiire the smith is controlling a sometimes very long blade and controlling the temperature in the boshi is a very skillful thing to do. Hence a well done boshi, one which demonstrates the smith's control, is indicative of a high level of skill. (See page 108 in Nagayama) The smith is responsible for the sugata of the sword and in this case forges the kissaki to shape and then the polisher is the one who finally defines the precise shape of the blade though in theory the polish will remove very little metal and the polisher will have a high regard for the intentions of the smith. It is conceivable that a poor polish might result in the mitsukado not being geometrically correct, the three lines that meet here are the result of three surfaces and poor shaping could result in the lines not meeting here. I have seen polishes where the yokote has been poorly applied and seems to miss the junction, for example. You would not expect to see such things from a properly trained togishi. Hope this helps. All the best.

Dan, the sawastika is called manji 卍, the pattern on the second one is called sayagata 紗綾形. There are many Tsuba with this auspicious pasttern. Here's one of mine with some kind of manji: Best, Florian

This one was sold to me by the excellent Grey Doffin under the tittle Yamabushi manji tsuba. I like its simplicity.

黒蝋色塗鞘脇指拵 – Wakizashi koshirae of black lacquered saya 縁頭　草花圖赤銅魚子地高彫 – Fuch-kashira: figure of grass and flowers, shakudo, Nanako-ji, takabori 目貫　兜梅圖赤銅地容彫 – Menuki: Figure of kabuto-ume, shakudo-ji, katachibori 鐔　草花圖毛彫 – Tsuba: Figure of grass and flowers, kebori 小柄　秋草圖赤銅魚子地 – Kozuka: Figure of autumn grasses, shakudo, Nanako-ji (Red characters might be wrong.)

I don't like to talk about the price of a sword, but as I sometimes deal for collectors, here are my criteria (NBTHK papered swords only as i don't trust other oraganisations) Sugata = length, width, kasane. Blade condition (number of polishings probably received) Reputation of the smith (jo, jojo, saijo saku) Period of the smith's career during which the blade was forged (all smiths had a period when they were better) Quality of workmanship (most difficult to determine and only blade in hand) Once all these elements have been verified, we negotiate - there is never a fixed price.

I've got broken fans to add.

Just for fun, this sweet little Namban just came home and I thought some of you might like it. It's just 61mms by 53mms and in a form that I've never seen but I'm sure Dale can come up with one. All the best.

Butterfly menuki in probably gold leaf.

Hi, It's a Seki stamp. The mei says Nishibe Munenaga (西部 宗命).

Well you could well be right. Even so I had an absolute blast and got to see the entire collection of 60 blades of which 40 I removed from their shirasaya and inspected. The overall condition I have to say was a little upsetting. The blades have been languishing in a storage room since Anton Petermandl donated them to the museum in the late 19th century. The curator was more than gracious and allowed me to remove the tsuka and inspect the nakago of the 40 blades. I spent 3 hours in the room with the swords that were stored in 4 pull out drawers and could have enjoyed 3 days. When people say old polish that would have described these blades, probably rarely out of their saya in over 100 years. There were 2 Heian era blades and a total of 4 or 5 blades that had signatures. Then we can judge if Albrecht von Roretz had been taken for a ride. The Masamune is in desperate need for a polish. So much Ware and uchiko like scratch patterns it was almost impossible to see the finer detail hiding underneath. At first blush it looked like a good blade, whether it is up to the standard of the top Soshu master is yet to be determined. The motohaba was approx 2.9cm. I will post the photos I took of the sayagaki for the 30 or so blades that had attributions and the Mei on the Nakago. Maybe those more knowledgeable will be able to say who wrote the sayagaki. My first cursory inspection suggested there were maybe 5 blades that could benefit and justify the post of a proper polish. One Bizen blade and what might be a Go seemed especially worthy. Here's a teaser. I was a little perturbed a Masamune would have a copper habaki though.

Wild geese (or are they swans?) are well known motifs on TSUBA:

Nambokuchu or earlier tachi tsuba at about 350-400g?

Hey, Dave....small world.....my mum's brother was a sapper in the 2nd Field Coy. in the Royal Australian Engineers in the Borneo campaign. He was at the surrender at Labuan and brought back a Type 98 Gunto (gendaito but unsignes and undated). When I was a kid he told me that he had to chase the Japanese soldier 20 miles through the jungle to get that sword....but he told me 20 years later that in fact, the unit held a raffle after the surrender and he was lucky enough to win this sword. My cousins still have it. Regards,

Hello NMB, One big question I had for the hobby pertains to the price of nihonto and what exactly constitutes their prices. How exactly are they determined? I know what something is worth is a subjective matter and for something to be sold, that subjective opinion has to be a shared one. But, for example, what are some things that seperates a $8,000 Tokubetsu hozon from a $28,000 Tokubetsu hozon? Because with such a price difference, they seem like they should be in their own category. Does the NBTHK/NTHK or other organizations determine the price and tell you after their judgement? Or does it always come from the seller? Is age not a very relevant aspect to nihonto? I know I shouldn't compare the two because they are very different, but here in the west, if a 700 year old sword is found, even if is in an unrecognizable condition, it is still a priceless find. Contrast this to a kamakura era sword I saw that was advertised for only $300. It had many areas of rust and damage, but it's still a ~700 year old sword that may have a whole history to it. Swords from whoever made it (it was mumei) and swords from the kamakura era will never be made again so shouldn't there be more appreciation for a sword that old? I know Japan preserved their old swords much better than Europe did and high supply = low price, but it is still a piece of history. One thing that does make sense is that longer blades seem to trend higher in price than shorter ones so typically, I'd see katana be more expensive than wakizashi, and wakizashi more expensive than tanto. I think that makes perfect sense since the longer the blade is, the harder it is to craft (I assume) and it uses up more tamahagane, which there is only a finite amount of. But gimei are also made of tamahagane. And while they are not the smith they say they are on the tang, it doesn't mean it is a poor quality blade or that it can't perform well in combat. So why is it significantly lower in price? It may still function just as well or close to a more renown sword, and is made from tamahagane. But because the signature is inauthentic, it is entire realms cheaper than an appraised sword? Another point on how function also doesn't seem to play a big part is the abundance of super short katana I've been seeing. So many Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon katana have these very small 60cm blades. From what I know, that is about the minimum length to be considered a katana. I don't know of any schools that teach such short katana like those nor have I seen any kind of demonstrations or sparring with them. They usually are around ~70cm in blades length which from what I can tell was the legal limit for much of the Edo period and is why so many pre-Edo blades are now suriage/O-suriage. My point is, outside of a specific contexts like home defense in the tight corridors of a traditional Japanese house, how practical would those short blades be? Sure it may come from a distinguished swordsmith, but in a duel with an opponent who has a 80-90cm blade Ubu tachi with equal skill, the guy with the near-wakizashi-length blade will likely lose, so how much would that be worth really? Does it serve its purpose as a sword that well anymore after being nerfed that hard from shortening? Is it now just a highly refined piece of steel, far removed from its original purpose? I'd like to hear any and all advise, criticisms, or just any thought really on this subject. Please be patient with me since I am only starting to get serious about learning about nihonto. This long post started when I saw this 68cm blade Katana from the Kamakura era (~1317 they said) with no visible blemishes (to my inexperienced eye) and a Tokubetsu Hozon certificate and it was only about $6,500! From everything I've seen up to then, that sword sounded like a total steal, so I just started thinking and realized that my perception of what nihonto are worth is probably way off of from what most collectors/sellers is. So I'm just putting this out here so I can get a better understanding of why things are priced the way they are and what more experienced people look for that I may miss. Thanks for reading all of this, Connor

Now I am someone who collects sword books, yet still I wouldn't recommend getting a huge amount of them in the beginning. Getting some is perfectly fine and recommended, just blowing thousands of dollars on books in the beginning is not really feasible. However to me personally owning a huge reference library is more benefical than owning a Jūyō sword. Unfortunately here in Finland the reality of having hands on experience with high quality items is extremely rare. Getting to meetings in Europe would be one way to go but as travelling is somewhat expensive, I plan to cut travelling in Europe to extend my yearly visit to Japan. Here are some things that for me are facts about books vs. real life. - Even in Japanese museums the items might not be perfectly presented, and at least with my eyesight & eye for details, it doesn't always work out with fine details. I am happy as overall shape & size is my main thing but I struggle with small details. - With books you can spend as much time viewing and studying as you like. Even though I spent a lot of time at few shrines looking at their awesome items, having the books of their collections I can open them any time I like and do research with plenty of time and other books for extra resources. - It is somewhat rare occasion to be able to study multiple items by the same smith side by side. In various NBTHK-EB meetings this has been possible for me. Tōken World in Nagoya has the most swords I have ever seen at one place. However due to their layout their items are scattered in various rooms and display cases. For example they had 4 Rai Kunitoshi blades, 3 Chōgi etc. however difficult to compare the items. Then as I have huge amount of books I can pull a massive amount of Chōgi blades side by side and have a good study with all the background info about the items featured in books. Of course seeing the items in person would be amazing but having the possibility to pull huge number of items by smith X to study is amazing, even though pictures and text only. However I do think Jacques is correct in some things. - It is a fact that enthusiasts in Japan have the opportunity to advance knowledge very fast. I have personally seen friends advance really fast with access to top class teachers with super high knowledge. That way you will learn things that would be next to impossible to learn just from books. - In order to understand kantei you need to see and view swords (with a teacher if possible). My own knowledge is theoretical vs. real knowledge as I have not seen enough items in hand. So always it is extremely nice opportunity to view swords with the owner, or experienced people who can tell more about the sword(s). I would strongly recommend reading the forum a lot, there is a lot of knowledge in this forum and threads. I think having an open mind to learning is important. Often when visiting here I learn something new, I remember reading few nice tidbits even this current week that I try to remember in the future.

Time for a tiger ….

Robin, trying to imagine those with Shakudo finish intact. What could they be? Strips of konbu with biwa fruit, tied as an offering??? Wasp menuki

Just to share with you the latest addition to the collection. The blade is signed Bishu Fujiwara, the rest of the signature is cut off.

A good student of any discipline learns from many sources, including hands-on/in person experiences, books, written descriptions, and videos like posted above. The best asset any student has is an open mind.

My guess is it is a hira-zukuri wakizashi that is original length.

Bizen Osafune ju refers to the province and village. On the other side is the school, title and smith name. Osafune village is probably the most famous center of sword making in the history of the craft, and may be the location responsible for producing more swords than any other in Japan (Seki being another).

The one on the left; 備前國長舩秀光 – Bizen no kuni Osafune Hidemitsu 生茎而備州長ノ三字判讀サル小反物ノ特色ヲ明示スル所作而取分ケ互乃目ヲ揃ヘテ焼ク點ガ同工ニ擬セラレ候 - Unshortened nakago, and three characters “備州長” are deciphered. The characteristics of Kozori school can be seen. Especially its regular gumone suggests the smith’s work. 長貮尺壹寸有之 – Length is 2-shaku 1-sun. 惟時癸巳極月探山邉道識 – Mizunoto-Mi (2013), December, Tanzan Hendo appraised.