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Hello everyone, I also wanted to share with you my result at the last NBSK contest. Last year, at my first participation, I received the “Kasaku” (佳作) award and it was a great honor for me, as well as seeing my work exhibited first at the Tetsu Museum in Sakaki machi (Nagano) and then at the Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. The results were published in last days, and I can proudly say that I have confirmed the Kasaku award for the second consecutive year, in a context where the level is extremely high and the pursuit of perfection is constant. This year, I decided to raise the bar with a more elaborate work and a more challenging execution technique: from the choice of an “archaic” hitatsura hamon, complex and highly dynamic, to the realization process itself, which led me to a nearly three-dimensional result. I worked in multiple layers, with different dilutions, using brushes and a shodō ink stick, following the teachings I received during my last trip to Japan and after countless hours of experimentation to find a balance that satisfied me. It was a process with no margin for correction. There are some imperfections but that's okay, we have to know how to accept them. It was a long process—a true pursuit of perfection—almost a form of active meditation in which time seems to lose its meaning. The choice of the kakemono (made in Japan), too, was not accidental: on the shirasaya there is an old label bearing the name of the blade, “Amanokawa” — the Milky Way — likely inspired by the long sunagashi and the brilliant nie that characterize it. For this reason, we chose a display that would evoke, even if only from afar, a starry sky. Below I leave you some photos, and thank you for your attention.

Just had lunch in Fukuoka at the udon place called Bizen Fukuoka Ichimonji, and was explaining to one of the offspring that this name means more than just a random udon shop by the river.

Very, very tired…. Signs are everywhere: weight, jigane (with all the forging lines visible all over the blade), hamachi narrowed down, hamon running off the edge in a few places. It must have been a very good blade once. Yet, zaimei ubu Ichimonji…. so it has historic and other value….

G'day Guys, I eventually was able to find a copy of "Nippon Toh". I scanned it using my phone in three parts. I am no computer wiz, so it is a little messed up. I will see if I am able to upload it to the forum. Interestingly the photo used as an example of "Masamune Den" actually shows itame hada. Cheers, Bryce

As a historic enthusiast I might say who cares about the condition as it is such a rare signed tachi Well that is of course slight exaggeration but I do think to me this is far more interesting than lot of the fine mumei Jūyō blades. I have so far found 11 other signed Yoshimochi swords, and here are few of them Jūyō Bunkazai owned by temple Tokubetsu Jūyō owned by Tōken Nagoya Museum Tokugawa donated tachi owned by Ise Jingū Jūyō Bijutsuhin in private collection Jūyō Bijutsuhin in Sano Art Museum Jūyō Bijutsuhin in Tokugawa Art Museum I have only seen 1 signed Yoshimochi tachi with Tokubetsu Hozon sold online. It was very short blade but in better condition. Still I think I might prefer this longer tachi in weaker condition over it. I must say I am totally out of clue when it comes to valuing items like these, as I could see this selling way more than it is currently listed.

Here's a quick video in sunlight of the tsuba for you to better appreciate it https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xPGDzFvqnX69nEFrNMGgFwfyYPqa5tLJ/view?usp=drivesdk

Thank you, yes they have to be traditionally made. It took several weekends to make, I don't really count hours since it's an hobby and what matters is just the final result

You do see a little variety in the style and depth of serial number on these late war Variation #8 examples, but it still looks OK to me. Same style as on the 200k side latch aluminum examples too, as can be seen on ohmuras link here http://ohmura-study.net/791.html I think it’s hard to use the nakago as an identifier, because I suspect it’s been heavily abused/altered and the hamachi moved. The nakagojiri on these, although seldom seen, is straight. All that said, I’ve been wrong before and I’m sure I will be again Best, -Sam

A comparatively subdued hamon to more flamboyant Fukuoka Ichimonji works is an important kantei point for Yoshimochi specifically.

Yoshimochi is passed down as the son of a Fukuoka smith and there is a Juyo 61 tachi signed that includes Fukuoka Ichimonji in the attribution. Earlier setsumei just tend to state his parentage and school lineage through his father and not make other mention of it.

That Mōgusa tachi at Eirakudo is indeed interesting item. I am not sure if it is indeed from Heian period, I would personally be more comfortable with more conservative Kamakura period estimate. This does indeed show the bit "rough" northern style quite well. However I think I am seeing hamon dropping off from the blade at several places, or at least getting extremely on the edge. Even though I am big fan of the school I am not digging the price. I think this has been my all time favorite of Eirakudo Mōgusa swords (funny enough I have seen 3 tachi and 1 katana sold by them that were attributed to this rare school) https://web.archive.org/web/20240624062731/https://eirakudo.shop/token/tachikatana/detail/644744 As for the big Hōju blade, I am not sure if I understand it well enough. It is either ō-suriage ōdachi as the description says or it could be later very large katana close to original size. It is unfortunate to admit that just by looking at the pictures I cannot say if it is indeed ō-suriage ōdachi or an ubu katana. Maybe I could give better opinion if I saw the sword in hand, maybe I wouldn't still be any wiser. From the pictures I cannot say if the hamon continues onto nakago or if it terminates around the machi. NBTHK has attributed this to kōdai Hōju and by that they mean later Muromachi Hōju. This type of sugata occasionally appeared during late Muromachi to Keichō. You can see signed sword that is shorter but has quite similarish sugata by the same seller here: https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/P-993.html It is an interesting item for sure. With large items like this one I think seeing them live even behind museum glass is important to get the real perspective about the size, as it is indeed a big sword. There are some ōdachi by Hōju school, I have seen the Hōju ōdachi at Musashi Mitake jinja few times, it is a marvellous sword.

Fraudulent Sayagaki are a thing, as are spurious blades being married to genuine Sayagaki to boost value.

Some similarities here?

Not meaning to muddy the waters here... But there is nashiji hada aka "pear skin" and several other forms of densely forged hada. As well as mu-hada "no hada". All three can appear very frequently in Shinshinto blades. This one might be a good candidate for Shinsa, just to get an expert opinion on the hada alone!

Yes, usually the original Japanese text will say something like "bold", "robust" or occasionally "heroic". It is a cultural/translation issue that a translator equates these things with masculinity. As for "noble" - in this case, "noble" is quite literal; the tapering koshi-zori sugata with fumbari and ko-kissaki that you see in Heian and early Kamakura period blades were associated with the nobles at court, rather than footsoldiers on the battlefield.

That’s an ugly one . This started out as a Variation #8 wood-hilt Type 95, probably made in 1944, but it’s been pretty heavily messed with. I have the high/low range of this variation between 203306 and 218821. It’s missing the pommel, mekugi, tsuba, and seppa. The ferrule (fuchi) looks original, but the clip’s been cut off or removed. You can still see the chūkan (the clip housing). At some point it was painted that same brassy color you see on parts of the scabbard. The scabbard itself is a Nagoya scabbard, so that's correct, but the clip opening at the throat has been filed off, or replaced. And the blade’s been buffed to oblivion, which also softens the edges of the serial number making it look weird. I think it's real, but looks like heavily damaged post-war “bubba” work to me. I would avoid. -Sam

Kanzan sayagaki were often faked and he even commented on such in one of his lectures. Sesko - Fake Kanzan Sayagaki

Always been the case above 5 to 6 mil yen

In the auction it will go higher... However the prices of signed Ichimonji in suguha-like execution, tired - were never super-high. This one is not really suguha, there is definitely plenty of choji and activity but its probably still not the most active blade in hand. It may sound conspirational but I was always surprised by how large percentage of signed Ichimonji blades are actually less active compared to an average suriage one... or is it just my impression. I am not sure its a great Juyo candidate, could be, but it looks like a nice blade anyway.

Suspect it may have been dumped by someone who was hoping it could go Juyo, being ubu zaimei Ichimonji, and decided to cut their losses when it failed a couple of times. But for someone who cares more about the historical value/significance, it could be a good pick up - assuming there aren't bigger flaws being hidden by the photography.

Kyō-kinkō?

I got informed that the tsuba i submitted to the 2026 NBSK tsuba contest ranked Nyusen. It was my first time attending this competition so overall it's a positive result. Let me introduce my work: The omote depicts plum blossoms, traditional symbols of resilience and elegant beauty, as they are the first to emerge at winter’s end, often pushing through the lingering snow. On the ura, I have engraved the haiku: 見らわても 見らわなくとも 花は咲く Mirawetemo / Mirawanakutomo / Hana wa saku (Whether seen or unseen, the flowers bloom) This serves as a gentle reminder to the bearer: one should act with integrity not for the sake of recognition, but because it is one’s nature—just as a flower blooms to fulfill its purpose, regardless of an audience. The intentionally naive, almost childlike rendering of the blossoms and calligraphy creates a deliberate juxtaposition against the raw strength of the iron and the tsuba's martial function.

Dear friends of tosogu, A few months ago I started a little project about early European Collectors of tosogu. I wanted to understand the start of the "japnonisme", to people behind the first collections, their perspectives and networks they operated in. My goal is to make this knowledge accessible and build a series of essays to share. Please take a moment and have a look: https://tosogu.eu/essays/ It's not complete, so I invite you warmly to share your feedback, discuss with me and help to find some blind spots Also I would be very happy to identify objects of these provenance, understanding the symbols, markings or numbers used by the early collectors. One example I can share is the tsuba (sign. Sadamasa) from the Fahrenhorst Collection: https://tosogu.eu/walter-fahrenhorst-the-collection-that-came-home/ Thank you for your time and help already. Regards from Frankfurt, Alex

Congratulations Manuel

Congratulations Francesco, that is awesome. I feel this wonderful execution also shows your good eye for fine details

Amazing, many congratulations . So nice to see that such skills, knowledge and ability still exist in this world. I understand your comment re “active meditation”. It is a very peaceful place to be.

秋草図縁頭 無銘 尾張金工 山銅地 鋤出高彫象嵌色絵 Akikusa zu fuchikashira mumei Owari kinkō yamagane chi sukidashi takabori zōgan iroe

Thank you Piers, for your help! His name does not appear on my screen, I only see W.H. Might be a technical issue on my side? Polishing YARI seems indeed to be more difficult than sword blades. Usually, their steel is very hard and the surface to be treated is often relatively small, so TO-ISHI are easily damaged (= becoming hollowed-out).

Thank you Dale, yes that's the one.

Hi, When you see an error like this or oddity in the data, please drop me a PM with the exact item that is faulty or report on the site directly on the item with the flag icon. Cheers, Hoshi

Umabari/Bashin/Kankyūtō. Sadly in poor condition, but it does have some redeeming features. Fairly slim, the kasane at the Nakago ranges from 22mm~25mm. Overall length 22.1 cm, or nearly 8 3/4”. The cross-cuts on the tang may have been to enhance thumb grip. The characters for ‘protection against lightning’ (Kaminari yoké) 雷除 can still be seen faintly among the blade scratches. This was a general invocation against natural calamities like fire, flood and earthquakes, and the centers for such prayers were Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, Kaminari Jinja, etc. Although used as fleams for horses’ ankles, there is a theory that they were pushed into the temples of trophy heads after battle for Kubi jikken before your leader. And 雷除

Hi Khalid, That's an attractive tsuba. I think the mei reads Kishu ju Sadanaga - if I'm correct (see below), there's an example with Tokuho papers on Aoi at the moment but in a different style to yours. I'm having computer issues at the moment and I can't copy and paste the link so here's Aoi's comments on the artist longhand: "Edo period...Sadanaga, a prominent tsuba artist from Kii province is believed to have descended from Hoan, who migrated from Owari to Kii and later to Aki. His works, likely based on the Owari tsuba tradition, exhibit exceptional craftsmanship in both iron quality and design. Good metalsmith". There's a thread on the artist on NMB if you have a search which was started by @Higo-san who can perhaps offer further information - again I can't link it as I can't copy the link. To be fair I don't think your tsuba is done in the Owari style and the examples shown in the thread I've tried to quote differ from yours, so there is some doubt in my mind as to whether this is the same guy, but I'm sure you'll get some more informed answers shortly.

There is a JuBi zaimei tachi by Yoshimochi in one of the Sano Museum sword appreciation guides which, if anything, is even more subdued than the one being discussed here. Almost Yamashiro in shape and hamon structure.

Certainly very interesting and a relatively small price for what it represents. If given a choice, I would prefer an O-suriage example that was healthier and possessed all the attributes the Ichimonji school is so revered for.

545g is lightweight for it being nearly 75cm in length. I agree with others that it appears to be tired, and the weight suggests that it has lost a lot of material over the years. But zaimei and ubu would seem to be worth more than the auction’s low starting price. I’m guessing it will go for quite a bit more.

In Japanese (translated) descriptions, I have never read these terms, so I don't think there is a problem (until we create one).

W.H., please sign all posts at least with your first name so we could address you politely. It is a rule here on NMB. I suggest you have the spider rust removed as soon as possible before it creates more damage.

Just a mediocre yari I picked up for cheap. Nothing too special.

Both Aoi's Japanese and English websites are mistaken. The Japanese website claims the sayagaki and polish were done by "the famous Hon'ami Kōkei", but Hon'ami Kōkei died in 1800 or thereabouts. And...I don't think he was particularly famous. He seems to be a bit obscure. The English website is completely lost in translation, as it says the sayagaki and polish were done by Hon'ami Kōson. Anyway, the sayagaki has a date of 1990, so it couldn't have been written by either Hon'ami Kōkei or Hon'ami Kōson. The sayagaki isn't signed by the author. The sayagaki does say that the polish was done by "Kōkei" (光敬), who I presume refers to the living national treasure sword-polisher Ono Kōkei (小野光敬), who died in 1994. No idea about the condition of the blade. Looks OK from the photos. Ubu, signed, published in a very old book (Muromachi-era "Ōsekishō" 往昔抄), validated by the NTHK in 1980, and by NBTHK in 2020. One worth looking at in hand. The timing of the NBTHK papers makes me wonder if this sword maybe never quite got the approval of the old guard at the NBTHK.

double publication of a blade by Moritsugu Norisada Besides the illustration in John Scott Slough's Book "Modern Japanese Swordsmith 1868 til 1945 Oshigata Book on pages 137 u. 138 here in in Fuller&Gregory Oshigata book 106 Oshigata from 1985 on page 113 u. 114 an interesting oshigata of a gift sword to the governor of Burma

I have done a three book set on the subject, along with five others centering on specific collections from the 19th century and early years of the 20th. Plus a few related design references - the books mentioned concentrate only on tsuba other objects from those collections are not included. Total pages 934 1924 100 pages 1894 > 1902 88 pages 1916 98 pages 1911 68 pages 1884 and 1898 82 pages I did the Wrangham collection along with the Hartman collection for my own study source. A thick book of 415 pages [I guess it is a "pirate book" as it is the only one in the world ] The Georg Oeder collection was translated from German to English - the original German is here: https://archive.org/details/japanischestichb00vaut/mode/2up Willkommen bei NMB, Alexander!

Deleting the pics renders this thread pretty useless. It would be nice if you would upload at least 1 or 2 pics of each here directly. Not because anyone thinks any less of someone with fakes, but because it may help someone down the line looking at something similar. We have a nice reference library growing here, and I am sure we have saved more than a handful of people from wrong purchases.

Dear Jonathan. Just a couple of things to consider. The last photograph in your first post shows what looks like a hamon with no discernable activity and spots in the top of the gunome. Both these features might be seen on an oil temepred blade, specifically Showato. However your sword has yakidashi, a feature that I have not noted on Showa blades. You mention that the sword does not have masame hada which puzzles me, certain specific schools do have this hada but from Shinto it is usually evident in the shinogi ji whereas other forms of hada are evident below the shinogi. If you can discern ko itame hada on your blade does this run over into the shinogi ji? It might be useful to know what you can see in the boshi, is it midare komi? With the sword in hand what activities can you see in the hamon? For an oil quenched sword one would expect none, but that could also be a feature of a Shinshinto sword so this may not help. All this assumes that the sword did not come with papers but if it did please tell us what that says.I am looking forward to other opinions on this one. All the best.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/137238358374 looks like top of the range!

Oh man... I hope the old man was better at his main line than he was in his trades! Thanks for your time guys.

Thank You Hiro, wife will be so happy to learn what she inherited. Appreciate your extra effort in helping us. Howard & Debbie Dennis

I am having less and less confidence in eirakudo photos. Now for some reason the photos from the top which used to be very realistic show too much hadori (wrong light angle!), those taken at an angle were always pulled so hard it looks a bit more involved than in hand. This is ayasugi hada, as expected, why its so contrasty - its probably the image itself. The blade is indeed early, with curvature going into nakago. Were it signed this would have been an important piece.

I am fortunate to have a copy of this beautiful book. It has pride of place in my library. It has to! It doesn't fit on any of my shelves, so it sits on a book stand in a corner where I can stand and read it.

Antiques don't have a well defined price, or liquidity. Every auction generates stories how this item was for sale for 50k for a year with not a lot of interest, now it sold for 300k. It found the right buyer. Even if we just consider some abstract "value", people collect for different reasons. For myself its probably 40% interest in solving mysteries, which swords generate a plenty, 20% militarism, and 40% aesthetics. But there is a considerable number of people whose collecting is guided by specific historic or ethnic interest, or (a very considerable portion) because they believe it marks them as part of the elite, or because they believe they'll make money on it. Accordingly to some the fact that this maker was collected by a Daimyo, or that he was generally well regarded - is important. Knowing its Juyo - is important. Its "elite" by definition, in the very least. For me Juyo is like you took a perfectly good blade, added spoilers and now want a lot more money... Hm.... From purely aesthetic prospective many very high ranking smiths are not only associate with great blades. They also have a lot of bad blades. Plus condition. Plus intrinsic ambiguity with attribution. You end up with something that is very attractive to those who want to be the elite (big name), but aesthetically is so-so. Which is one of the reasons I tend to be allergic to any approach where a maker is "scored" by some formula or table, or the emphasis is made on how many Juyo he has. Plenty of high class early Kamakura smiths for whom there are couple of known blades. What's the pass ratio? How many were published-Meibutsu-whatever? Is it even in Fujishiro? By default I would take signed Mogusa over Kanemitsu anytime of the day, but that's just highlights my mystery-historical and aesthetic based preferences. Others will think very differently - and their price strategy will also be different.

Oh happy day… After quite some time of research, visiting a lot of dealers and talking with a few more experienced nihonto addicts I succeeded in buying a really nice papered Den Enju katana. I have to shoot a couple of photos during the next few days but for now here are the first quick impressions (no hagire to be seen on the photos, just a few tiny hairs from our cats Enjoy!