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As stated at the top: https://nbsk-jp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/12_e.pdf Congrats to the non-natives that did quite well: Tosogu: Ford Hallam - Gold Prize (2nd place) Jeff Broderick - Bronze Prize (2nd place) Christoph Kopp - Nyusen(Recognition prize) Saya-nuri: Michael Cummins - Nyusen(Recognition prize)

Seikōsai Ichimonji kore o tsukuru (晴光斎一文字造之) - Yasuki-hagane sanmai-kitae (安来鋼三枚鍛)

For your information: 第27回特別重要刀剣指定品発表.pdf (touken.or.jp) 展覧会 | 刀剣博物館 (touken.or.jp) As always, quite an interesting list. And in addition to the top Koto-names, it seems noteworthy that there is again a Sa Yukihide blade in the selection (as it was in shinsa 26).

After many months of study, assisted in large part by members of this forum, I completed the acquisition of this yoroi set. Many thanks to the wonderful John Masutatsu for advice refining the armor arrangement for display. Suggestions and comments are welcome. I'll post papers of the mento and kabuto below.

I'm a Treasure hunter by nature and because I'm not a financially wealthy man. I'm also a bit of a romantic. I've been buying various things from auction sites since they came about. I'm pretty good at being able to tell when something is good or bad on those sites. That said, I have been combing auction sites for literally years looking for a decent Sword at a decent price. That "Diamond in the Rough" so to speak. First, let me say... DON'T DO THAT!!! You will be disappointed 99 times out of 100 and you don't want to spend that money finding the one Diamond in the rough. It's NOT worth it. That said, I pulled the trigger in recent Months on what looked like a "decent" sword for around $600.00. The sword was nowhere near what the seller described it as or what it looked like in the pictures. He said he bought it at an Estate sale. The Koshirae was obviously not made for this sword and the Tsuba was a modern reproduction. The sword was slightly bent. It looked very wavy on both sides and it had forging flaws that had carbon under them. This seller has multiple swords listed all the time and keeps getting more and more of them all the time. The only thing that makes sense is that he is getting these mostly "junk" swords shipped to him from Japan in bulk and peddling them off for much more than they are worth to us "Naive Americans". No need to mention names because you probably already know who I mean. Once in a while he seems to throw in a good one just to keep the interest levels high. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE realize that if it seems too good to be true, it's probably not true. Like almost everyone here will tell you... Do a TON of research first and Expect to be disappointed if you do go the "online auction" route.

Item No. 232 Tsuba in Shakudo with Silver , Gold and Copper 7.29 cm x 6.77 cm x 0.48 cm Subject of the Chinese General Guan Yu and his squire Chou-tsang. Signed Yoshinau with kao. End 18th/ early 19th cent. Guan Yu was a famous Chinese General at the time of the Han dynasty. He was known for his military prowess and loyalty , in fact so well known that he was deified as the God of War by a number of Buddhist Sects .

Agreed! Nice find! @Volker62 - Very elegant! Is it yours? Unique combo of gold and silver colors.

Katana by Kasama Shigetsugu dated 1937

Hey guys, well, it was not a big surprise to myself that after the first blade I had to get myself another one if I would see one that appears to be of interest to me. This was one of the cases - especially since it came directly from the vet (or his wife - she turned 97 and moved to a nursed home; he already had died). She didn't care much on his souvenir since it still was in the wooden box in which he had sent it back home. I've attached a few pictures of this box. Someone was researching on behalf of the widow on the blade, mainly because she wanted some money, I made an offer that was accepted. Then it was shipped at beginning of May - and disappeared in tracking at the end of May. Turned up again mid of August, and today finally received it! I was amazed by the fact that inside the wooden box that I said I definitely would want with the blade was a clothing bag in which the blade was stored within a Shirasaya. I've been told this is a Tachi, based on the shape, and that it must had been shortened (based on the amount of holes). Total length is 96cm, blade length is 75,5cm. Yes, there are some small rust pittings on it, unfortunately, but at least the hamon is still visible and otherwise not bad. I wiped it down with oil to make sure the rusting will stop. Looking forward to be educated on what I've purchased and please forgive me my incorrect wording and especially since I'm sure I'll need to look up words that will be used in the replies. So please make them as simple as possible for me to understand ;-). Any ideas on where and when it was made, any features that I should know? And to have made this very clear, I bought this for myself because the ensemble itself was attractive to me and I somewhat got caught with Nihonto as well - hence I'm not selling this! To however find out if I overpaid or underpaid this Tachi it would be appreciated if I would be given feedback where you would place the value of this ensemble. More pics to follow, once I know what you need to see. Most pictures were taken with the DSLR, but also tried with the HighRes scanner, these are the last two pictures. I hope you can see the details that are important. If not, let me know what else I should picture and I'll do my best!

Hi all I thought I post up few photos of my first sword I got back in February. I had read few books, but wanted a blade with history attached. It's a late muromachi 1527 hozon papered blade from Mino senjuin school by Kanesaki. What attracted me to the blade was price and it being a Koto era sword. Also the history of the sengoku jidai and that this blade was one of many produced for the war effort. However it is o suriage and mumei. Koshiare was meiji era, but the blade had been polished not too long ago. It has sashikomi polish and sanbunsugi hamon / togari gunome. As it was my first sword, I ensured it was papered and some history to it. I dont ever plan to sell the blade, probably will get new koshiare made for it at some point. It has nice jigane , jinie and hada, which my camera fails to get with current photos. I personally love the blade. And it was my first ever purchase in this new hobby of mine. Regards Paz

also two piece solid silver ....

What I said last week when another new collector asked the same question: I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Under $1K for a Nihonto will get you something that is either low to mediocre quality or a blade with serious problems. When the time comes to sell and move up, you'll have trouble recouping the investment. Double the investment and take the time while you're raising it to study. You'll know more, which will allow you to buy something worthy and pleasing to own. Grey

Kevin, not very much value for the smaller bits and pieces I'm afraid. Sorry I can't make out the signature on the smaller tsuba. Do we have a photograph of the other side of the larger tsuba? I would guess around$100 to $150 for that one if the back is in the same sort of condition Others will add to this later on. Just one question, are there two of the little ornaments on the hilt? They are menuki and if so and they are OK then maybe a bit in them, can't tell from these photos. All the best.

Congrats David ! Glad it found a good home.

Hi Kevin, welcome to NMB! So the smaller copper washer like objects are called seppa, they fit on either side of the tsuba or handguard. The broken leather washer would have been on a military sword and the tab would have had a press stud on it so that it could pass through one of the slots on the tsuba and clipped to the scabbard. The broken bit with the cloth tape is the pommel end of a tsuka or hilt. It has an iron kashira or pomel cap. The other bit is a tsuka but it looks like one that someone was attempting to make up. The metal collar with the flowers is the fuchi. The two larger items are tsuba or guards, the smaller one is for a tanto or dagger, the larger one is the most interesting of the lot. If that's not clear then please do ask. ALl the best.

Post polish, it does indeed look late Yamato (Muromachi) blade with the sugu hamon, the nagare hada and also the wider shinogi-ji. Still some side shots pointing towards a light source would be useful. However, the hada and jigane are not indicating Shinto to me…. And I am very glad for Georg that it polished so well. I was initially concerned about some deep rusting (and hamon not being consistent throughout) but that seems to have fortunately been addressed and resolved!

Very nice, David - congrats!

So I had sent this blade to Japan for Polish & Papering. It still is there and waiting for the export - but I already got pictures! Considering how wide spread the opinions on it were in this thread I thought it would be a fun idea to make some Kantei on it and post pictures of the polished blade only and see if those that have contributed with a guess in here would keep their opinion, or if they would change. And for those that had not participated in the past, maybe they would now give an opinion themselves. Therefore please find attached pictures of one side of the blade. Due to file size limitation in a second post the pictures of the other side.

on a O- wakizashi from my collection, a very nice work thank you Bruce!

Goo Gone worked perfectly! Took about 30 minutes and I was nervous the whole time. Thank you!

Details of the do.

Enlargement of side of kabuto, showing details that match those of the do (below).

Thank you, Uwe. I agree and have read several similar caveats from others (Abelson, Kozan, etc). I did see works in Kozan very similar to the hachi and menpo that Kozan’s book attributed to Myochin (in some cases with the same first name) but I only view the appraisal as evidence that the armor was created before 1703, the date of the appraisal, and that the Kabuto and menpo were likely made in the Myochin school.

Congratulations, a very nice armor David! The appraiser (seemingly “宗介”) has picked out the oldest smith’s recorded with that names, “吉久“ and “信家”. That said, a Myōchin has papered the work of two Myōchin craftsman, you know These origami, as the whole Myōchin genealogy, is to be taken with a grain of salt. What I’m trying to say is, the attribution is rather questionable!

三原住正清 = Mihara ju Masakiyo

Papers and labeled silk bags for each part (the bags are very thin and many were falling apart). The appraisals say the kabuto was made by Myochin Yoshihisa, and the menpo was made by Myochin Nobuiye. The appraisals are dated 1704, and those two Myochin smiths according to Kozan worked 1504-1554 (Nobuiye) and 1532-1554 (Yoshihisa).

From Johannesburg South Africa. https://www.sirkeljewellery.co.za/mens-collection/owxjbojbi1irydmmwza3f5zcho6lm7 'Tsuba' Ring - Hand engraved white and yellow gold, rose gold with garnet For the man who has everything else tosogu!

I took some gambles for sure on eBay. Threw in a really low offer that got accepted on a tokubetsu hozon blade with an oshigata pic that didn't even show the right sword....turned out amazingly and everything was as said. Gambled on a seller with almost zero feedback and got one of my favorite swords. Bought a couple papered swords off a guy i could tell was a collector that I Iove. I probably just cursed myself by acknowledging this luck. I would always suggest messaging the sellers before buying, I always did and the vast majority I bought from people that used the correct terms and seemed to know their stuff which I think protected me. I've now reached a number and quality in my collection that I can slow down and not gamble as much. In the beginning I feel like gambling is or seems a better option especially when wanting to get a collection on the cheap. It's either know someone, come across a great blade in real life you can buy cheap, be left/gifted a sword, save/spend more money or gamble....makes it more difficult too that I never find or even see nihonto for sale in real life where I am. Online is my only way. Thank god for the Chicago Sword Show too. I totally agree that learning/honing an eye is key to having a chance if you do go online auctions. Also being open to ages/smiths etc...don't need a Rembrandt as your first sword...I honestly believe starting in guntos is the easiest way to start. It has everything and the market is pretty stable and has affordable ranges. You will learn all the terminology and puts mounts into a smaller field to learn but you'll get the basics. Just makes everything bite sizeable.

Late reply, but just been thinking about this. In contradiction, it may actually make matters worse. Imagine customs officers making a big deal about dealing with the import of Japanese swords, the headaches involved and the hassles. Wouldn't want them to make life easy for themselves and just ban ALL Japanese sword imports

Anyone using Ferric Chloride

2022年度　NBTHK Shinsa Dates And New Procedure for Shinsa Submission Greetings sword friends! I thought it worthwhile to post an update regarding NBTHK shinsa procedures as they have evolved a bit. Mostly, it is about advanced preparation to be eligible to submit items into shinsa. Previously, you could just show up on the days for shinsa submission and drop off the items. Now it requires pre-registration! See below! I previously made this announcement on my new Keichodo Fine Samurai Art Facebook group (check it out), but will continue to make announcements for the NMB as well. NBTHK new requirements: Items for shinsa submission must be pre-registered during the month preceding shinsa. If you fill out shinsa forms by hand, these have to be submitted prior to the 10th day of the month preceding shinsa. If you fill out the forms on-line, these have to be submitted prior to the 25th of the preceding month. April Tokubetsu Juyo 27th shinsa (submission days for items April 4-6) May Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon fittings (submission days for items May 9-11) June Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon swords (submission days for items June 1-3) August Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon fittings (submission days for items Aug. 1-3) September Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon swords (submission days for items Sept. 5-7) October Juyo Shinsa (68th) (submission dates Oct. 3-5) November Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon fittings (submission days for items Nov. 7-9) December Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon swords (submission days for items Dec. 5-7) February Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon fittings (submission days for items Feb. 1-3) March Hozon/Tokubetsu Hozon swords (submission days for items March 1-3)

Hi Volker, Tks. Close up pictures on the hada and harmon as requested

Item No. 120 - Copper tsuba with copper , shibuichi and gold inlays 7.93 cm x 7.18 cm x 0.46 cm Subject of falling Ginko leaves by Ford Hallam 16 years ago. On the carved copper tsuba there are inlays of three different copper alloys and two alloys of shibuichi - the gold highlights applied by fire gilding.

Good find. I must ask them who commissioned that. Hmmm.

Ha! Maybe you should explain that you’re married!!!