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Hello everyone! I will use this thread for any new swords that will be for sale soon. If you want to be first to know about any new stock I will be uploading in the future, then please give this thread a follow! I will keep the list updated, so if anything sells, then I will indicate so here. The actual full sales listings for all these swords will be made once I have time to make my own photographs and thorough description, and will be uploaded separately in the for sale section. In the meantime, feel free to contact me regarding any of these swords. I will, in many cases, already have some photographs or videos of the sword made with my phone. It is also possible to view these swords in person on request. 1. Omiya Mumei Katana in Shirasaya Type: Katana Nakago: O-suriage Mumei Period: Nanbokucho around Joji era (ca 1362AD) Papers: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Horimono: Bonji Habaki: Silver Koshirae: spare Shirasaya Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): 73.03 cm (2 shaku 4 sun 1 bu) Sori (Curvature): 1.52 cm (5 bu) Motohaba: 31.2 mm Sakihaba: 23.7 mm Kasane: 7.8 mm (Motokasane), 4.4 mm (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): 839 g Shinogi-zukuri, Chū-kissaki Description: Attributed to the Omiya school by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers in 2024. This sword is a high-end Omiya katana, with an absolutely stunning Gunome-Choji hamon, and stunning jihada, mainly consisting of beautiful mokume patterns. This Omiya katana has a typical Nanbokucho sugata, with a very powerful feeling. I believe this sword dates to around the Joji era (1362) of the Nanbokucho period. The mune has a homare-kizu (honor flaw) close to the kissaki. The homare-kizu does not detract from the overall quality or integrity of the sword's structure and is a testimony to this sword's history. The sword was polished in Japan by a very qualified polisher after shinsa, which leaves the sword in fresh and beautiful polish, ready to enjoy. There was also a new shirasaya made. The original shirasaya is also included. An old sayagaki on the saya records that at a sword appraisal meeting held at Yasukuni Shrine in 1909, the blade was attributed to Motomitsu of the Bizen Kanemitsu school. This attribution is likely not true. But still adds some provenance to this stunning sword. Price: SOLD 2. Kaga Sanekage Naginatanaoshi in Shirasaya Type: Naginatanaoshi wakizashi Nakago: O-suriage Mumei Period: Nanbokucho around Joji era Papers: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Horimono: Bonji (very vague, almost polished away) Habaki: Silver layered Koshirae: X Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): Approx 47.7cm Sori (Curvature): approx 0.8cm Motohaba: 30.4mm Sakihaba: 29mm Kasane: 7.6 mm (Motokasane), 5.5 mm (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): Uncertain Description: Attributed directly to Kaga Sanekage by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers in 2025. Kaga Sanekage is thought to have been the student of the master swordsmith Norishige. This Naginatanaoshi has an absolutely stunning hamon, with a beautiful layered hataraki, and jihada, mainly comprising out itame with some masame patterns. This naginatanaoshi has a wide mihaba, which is typical for naginatanaoshi made in this period. I believe this sword dates to around the Joji era (1362) within the active period of Kaga Sanekage. The sword has some kitae-ware in the hamon, and shinogi-ji. The overall sword is a great study example, which shows clear influence taken from Norishige. Price: SOLD 3. Uda Kunimune Katana Mumei in Shirasaya and Koshirae Type: Katana Nakago: O-suriage Mumei Period: NBTHK attributed to Ōei period (1394–1428AD) Papers: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon & Honami Kisanji? documents attributing the sword to Naminohara Yasuyuki Horimono: Bohi Habaki: Copper Koshirae: Uchigatana-koshirae, with overall blue and buddhist theme, fuchi-kashira with swastika theme and a very nicely made tsuba. Overall koshirae dates from Bakumatsu-period. Blue tsuka-ito. Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): Approx 60.6CM (a little over 2 shaku) Sori (Curvature): approx 2.1cm Motohaba: 30mm Sakihaba: 20mm Kasane: 0.8 mm (Motokasane), 5 mm (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): 630g Shinogi-zukuri Description: Attributed to Uda Kunimune by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers in 2025. Uda Kunimune is a descendant of the Uda school, from Etchu, starting in the late Kamakura period. This Katana has a slight notare-hamon with stunning nie activity with stunning crystallized structures. The Jihada consists mostly of Mokume and Masame patterns, which are nicely visible and very enjoyable. This katana has the overall typical early Muromachi sugata, clearly taking inspiration from earlier Nanbokucho work, with an overall wide mihaba. The NBTHK Kanteisho specifically attributes this work to the Ōei period (1394–1428AD). The sword has some light scratches, which are negligible. The sword includes an old wooden box with documents. I have not translated all of the documents, but there is one large examination paper, made by I believe Honami Kisanji, attributing the sword to a specific Naminohara smith. These may not be entirely accurate, but they are still a wonderful addition to the provenance of this sword. The registration number of the torokusho is also a 4 digit number, indicating very early registration. Price: 4900 EUR 4. Takada Muneyuki Katana in shirasaya Type: Katana Nakago: Mumei Period: Around early edo period Papers: NBTHK Hozon Horimono: Habaki: Gold foiled Koshirae: X Shinogi-zukuri Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): 68,18cm (2 shaku 2 sun 5 bu) Sori (Curvature): approx 1.8 Motohaba: To be measured Sakihaba: To be measured Kasane: To be measured (Motokasane), To be measured (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): To be measured Description: Attributed to Takada Muneyuki. This Katana has a slight gunome-midare hamon with stunning overall quality. The Jihada consists mostly of ko-itame hada. This katana has the overall typical early edo period shape, but with 3 mekugi-ana, which gives the sword more of a late Muromachi Taira Takada feeling. The sword is in beautiful, enjoyable condition with nearly no kitae-ware, which are negligible. Price: 2500 EURO 5. Uda Wakizashi fumei Shirasaya and Koshirae Type: Wakizashi Nakago: Mumei Period: Around the middle Muromachi period 1450-1500AD Papers: NBTHK Hozon and old Kanteisho of a Nihonto study group, attributing the wakizashi to Kozori. Horimono: Bohi Habaki: Silver foiled Koshirae: Yes, Tanto koshirae, late edo period. Hira-zukuri Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): 35,7cm (1 shaku 1 sun 7 bu) Sori (Curvature): None Motohaba: To be measured Sakihaba: To be measured Kasane: To be measured (Motokasane), To be measured (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): To be measured Description: Attributed to Uda by the NBTHK Hozon papers in 2025, sent to shinsa by me. This wakizashi has a suguha hamon with overall nice activity in the nioiguchi. The jhada consists mostly of ko-itame hada combined with some masame hada. The wakizashi has more of a tanto feeling, being quite slender. The sword has the remains of a signature visible, but the NBTHK judged the signature to be illegible. The sword is in enjoyable condition with only a few foraging flaws, but is in older polish. Overall a nice wakizashi in koshirae for any collection. Price: 1500 EURO 6. Taira Takada Katana Mumei Type: Katana Nakago: O-suriage Mumei Period: Late Muromachi period (16th century AD) Papers: NBTHK Hozon Horimono: x Habaki: Gold foiled Koshirae: Mounted in a late Edo period koshirae. The saya features a rare shuro-nuri finish, made by mixing fibers from the surface of the windmill palm (shuro) into transparent brown urushi lacquer and polishing it to a smooth finish. There are some previous repairs visible. Specifications: Nagasa (Cutting-edge length): Approx 69.5cm (2 Shaku 3 sun) Sori (Curvature): approx 1.5cm Motohaba: To be measured Sakihaba: To be measured Kasane: To be measured (Motokasane), To be measured (Sakikasane) Weight (bare): To be measured Shinogi-zukuri Description: Attributed to Taira Takada by NBTHK Hozon papers in 2002. Taira Takada is the last stage of the koto Takada school, originally starting in the late Kamakura period. This Katana has a slight notare-hamon. The Jihada Itame hada, which are nicely visible and very enjoyable. This katana has the overall typical late Muromachi sugata. The sword has some light scratches, which are negligible. Price: SOLD

Perhaps Gustavo Hoefs could answer this? : He has done several works and adopted one set of Kanji [グー ] which is pronounced Gū. This is close to his pseudonym of Goo However he has had feedback from Japanese and others that leaving his pieces unsigned in anyway is ideal - a view I tend to disagree with. If you are proud of your work why hide it? Also an unsigned modern utsushi just muddies the waters and creates future problems of authenticity and provenance. No one would like their work to be lost or worse, thrown in as some sort of Chinese fake. My opinion is "You make it, you take ownership" JMHO

Imo “fake” is the wrong word especially regarding this koshirae. The quality is too good. A better phrase would be “school of Teruhide” ie to recognise that we cannot be totally sure how many artists were involved. Whoever they were they were collaborating on making this set. None of the Mei on this have been added later. There is no fakery involved. As for the hay day…..dubious signatures have been a feature of most aspects of Japanese Art throughout history going back many hundreds of years. That includes swords and the associated fittings. As soon as a “genius” appeared on the scene others (often with considerable talent) started to “copy”, often while the genius was still alive and working! Sometimes it is obvious that a piece cannot be “right” but other times it is not quite so straightforward. It is an aspect of Japanese Art that we have to live with. It frustrates many, doesn’t bother me.🙂 (quality is quality)

Stunning! Whether Omori Teruhide or one or more of his students, who-ever (singular or plural) did that work was seriously talented - not only the quality of the workmanship, but also the quality of the design. I suspect that as with similar products from western traditional workshops, asking who actually made it within a workshop led by a great master is probably meaningless. There were probably many hands - specialists in one or more areas of work - being directed by the master. We tend to think more in the post renaissance western art paradigm - the solitary great artist. But it's not necessarily the way that a master with a strong team would work. I do wonder if the character variations actually indicate the lead hand on each piece.

Why would we fill the translation section with kanji that is on a fake? Translating fake items is pointless once they are identified.

The inscription reads like Simplified Chinese for '近江守长幸作', but honestly, it’s just a Japanese wannabe.

At least it pretends to be Japanese... The inscription on the tsuba reads: 近江守長幸作 = Ōmi no Kami Nagayuki saku

Great attitude Hengu, vital for true learners, but so hard for most people to handle.

Hi, sorry to bother I have found signatures on some pieces of the koshirae I am taking care of and would love to know the translation of it. To my eye it looks like the signatures are similiar with some characters being different piece to piece. 4th picture is a kozuka back side. Overall it is truly a beautifull set with my favorite wave theme so I had to include the whole picture. And to be clear this one is not mine. It is a museum piece I am cleaning because for past 100 years or so it was not touched and had whole surface gunked up by old wax coatings or oils and such. Any help would be greately appreciated. Best regards, Martin Cheers

The first thing you need to do is see if they are registered and licensed in Japan. If not, you have a whole other set of problems to deal with. If not, this video is very informative.

It is absolutely stunning work. I agree with Colin. Wow...a real privilege to see it.

Hello! I think they are the work of different craftsmen. Of course, a proper assessment would require detailed photographs from multiple angles. However, when we are talking about the work of a master craftsman such as Teruhide, the standards the master set for his own work were considerably higher. This particular example is not flawless, either in terms of the katakiribori or in the execution of the waves themselves. The carving - specifically the thickness of the lines and the cutting angles - varies from one line to another. I agree that signatures are often of limited help when establishing authorship, but in the case of an Omori signature, I would always evaluate the workmanship itself before considering the signature. This is not to say that this koshirae is of poor quality - not at all (sometimes I feel as though I am unintentionally insulting other craftsmen when I make such comparisons). It is simply that everything is relative, and the works of artists of such renown are on yet another level. I have noticed that many people here do not recognize the difference between a truly great work and a merely very good one. For many, Joi is Joi - what difference does it make, the work is good anyway)) But that is not the correct way to look at it. All the works with complex compositions from master-master are almost flawless or flawless. And yes, there are not so many such masters, but you will see these works immediately, even without a signature.

?kata Kiri ha zukuri? ie Shinogi zukuri one side, Kiri ha zukuri the other. Not unheard of.

Hi Victor Without a doubt, the Omori signature was carved by a variety of different hands over the years and on a variety of different quality workmanship but to my eyes, which are old, this set looks like it is possibly by the same talented hand and was made as an en-suite set at the same time. I don’t think we know exactly what went on in some of these workshops….a bit like with swords….students signing work made by the master, students making and signing works with the masters name etc etc. I am also sceptical about the authentication of fittings. I have seen some dodgy stuff given Hozon and higher papers In the Mei examples shown by Mauro above there a large number of obvious differences in various kanji. I am not sure if they are all meant to be Teruhide “authenticated” or just a random selection of Omori mei. Victor, you have a great eye……do you think they are by the same hand or by various Omori “students” working to pull together a wonderful koshirae within an acceptable timeframe. For a single artist to make all of these would indeed take a very long time if working alone.

Kane is in 'square' (on papers) so they assume this character based on attribution. Right? Similar use case:

Title edited. This is not the place to call out someone, and I won't have my forum used for that. You have adequate info in the sale post.

Just an update. My tsuba (X2) finally arrived. Very happy with them. Fyi - a copy of the catalog was also provided. Mixed feelings about whether I would order from an Italian auction house again, though, given their export requirements.

I agree with Piers and Luc. Unfortunately restoration costs would far outweigh the value of the armour. Try to keep it in a stable environment, study and enjoy it, in it's current state.

Yoshihide 義英 * 芳英 * 美英 * 宜秀 * 敬英

Signature, kaō and workmanship seem all compatible with a true Teruhide tsuba. I'm more doubtful about the other pieces

Omori Teruhide . Big name , looks good. However faked very very often.

Thank you for your reply Dale! Yes I couldn't agree more with your comment about utsushi - especially if it's high quality, after a few buy and sell cycles it's provenance might get lost and possibly even mis-identified as a good condition antique! But thank you, I always wondered if it was kanji pronounced like their name (or as close as) or if they took a pseudonym and signed it with that

It's somewhat curious how some general tassels age differently, a friend brought over the middle one where the bullion stitch is barely visible from oxdisation:

Hey all! As written in another post (Here) I recently recieved a new Tanto. The fittings it came with remind me a bit of Aikuchi style Koshirae, but they look different to previous pieces I have seen. I would be grateful for any kind of insight. For once, the Kurigata is a simple metal ring, decorated with what looks to be a chrysanthemum motive. The Fuchi is plain metal, while the Kashira has a hole with a leather strap. The Habaki has some kind of Mon engraved on both sides, maybe a Mitsuboshi Mon (three star crest) ? The same Mon can be found on the opposite side of the Kurigata, below the Kozuka "pocket", engraved on some kind of metal fitting on the Saya. Sadly it did not have a Kozuka come with it :/ Please see the pictures below for reference! Does anyone have an idea what this could be? All the best Erik

Apologies if this is a stupid question but I cannot read kanji and know that some western artisans sign them this way, so I am wondering what they say as western names don't translate well into kanji.

Hi, That's interesting. I never seen a Kanji in a square like this before. The Kane on my papers is not in a 'square' as seen in the picture. It's written normally, so someone with a good eye has seen it, i guess😅

I think it's Nihonto; in my opinion. I've never seen a fake with such an unusual, yet clearly intentionally done blade geometry. Everything else looks good, and I'd really like to see the other side of the nakago and more photos. Very strange no doubt... My non expert opinion would be some kind of shinto or shinshinto oddity. Extra emphasis on the non-expert part... -Sam

If we ignore the question re authenticity of the Mei and just look at that stunning work…..it is absolutely beautiful and in my opinion just about the finest quality. Whoever made that en-suite set was staggeringly talented. As for the Mei…..others are far more qualified to offer an opinion because personally I never pay much attention to signatures…….but that workmanship, well, it speaks for itself I only wish it was for sale🙂

Sure, I will add some I have taken pictures of

Dear Jeff. It is not uncommon for tsuba reproductions to be cast in brass then covered with a dark patina which is strategically polished off to reveal a goden colour. It seems that this might be the case here judging by the colouration around the nakago ana. All the best.

英秀 Ōmori Yoshihide/Eishū

Wow Andrew. That’s him! Really cool you found the vet. Thank you for doing that research!! —Matt St. Croix Blades

I also doubt that this is Japanese; sorry. Grey

It is 大 一0，大正10年，1922

Congratulations, I'm happy for you. It's always a pleasure talking with you and doing business together. Keep it up.

Same in Canada - world wide it seems but also resolves fairly quickly. These sort of attacks against servers and other web agencies are going to continue and get worse as these folks have nothing better to do than cause others grief just because they can.

Thanks for posting the item. It does look to be a nice sword. I would think it could be much older than Shintō Hizen by just looking at the 2 overall shape pics. Of course the shinsa team has seen it in hand and they know much more than me. I remember few mumei swords that I looked some time ago in dealer inventory, and to me they looked like nice wide Nanbokuchō ō-suriage blades but had been attributed to Hizen Tadayoshi.

I want to add that the overall signature style does not seem to coincide with known signatures of Hiromitsu, take this signed Juyo Wakizashi below: (It is signed Sagamikuni Jyunin Hiromitsu not Sagami Koku Junin, but you can clearly see the differing execution and position of Mei.) source: https://iidakoendo.com/4225/ My two cents are that this Wakizashi was never a Tachi or Katana. But simply a Wakizashi. In my opinion a Keicho period work, or around that period. Greetings, Lex

I'm very confused by a couple of things. First is that I don't think there are any words about Hiromitsu or Akihiro making Kodachi in the entire 3 pages about them in Fujishiro Sensei's Nihon Tōkō Jiten, 1938 edition. Another point is that Kodachi (in this context) means Tachi that is around 60cm (say 50~65cm) in Hachou, so a 65~70cm one is just a full-size regular Tachi. This is just 101 for Nihonto learning. I also failed to find the Soshu Masters' Mei on the Sashiomote side part in The Connoisseur’s Book p. 202, or any talk about this topic in the whole book of its Japanese version 刀剣鑑定読本. (English version using https://openlibrary.org/works/OL12592939W/The_connoisseur's_book_of_Japanese_swords) On this issue, I don't think Soshu masters even are exceptions. Usually we say that in the Koto times, part of Aoe and Motoshige (who is considered under Aoe influence) are the exceptions, signing on the Sashiomote. Soshu works are mostly Mumei, but here are a few examples. (Juyo Bijutsuhin Hasebe from Nanbokuchou, Mei on Hakiomote) (Juyo Bunkazai Akihiro, specifically labeled as Kodachi at 63cm, Mei on its Hakiomote) (Many, many signed Soshu master Shizu Kaneuji's Tachi from Nanbokuchou, Juyo Bijutsuhin and Bunkazai, the go-to when praising a later-time Soshu style work, "Wow! this sword reminds people of Shizu!") Actually, I would love to see enough exceptions from the Soshu masters where their Mei on Sashiomote and being labeled as Tachi or Kodachi by the officials. So......May I ask where are you getting your information...? On an unrelated note, LLMs are extremely unreliable with Kantei Kanshou stuff, lack even the most basic resources, knowledge, and often hallucinate. Lastly, I'm going out on a limb here, asking, is there a little confusion about how the Suriage process works...? Because a sword like this could never reach 69cm in its original size. Suriage is a one-directional process, cutting a sword's Nakago and turning the bottom blade part to new Nakago part. (In this case, like this.) Many people would get this wrong, but one can not Suriage a Kissaki (unless an unlikely scenario of an Ichimai Boshi), they are shortened mostly due to damage. Because Boshi, like Hamon, are fixed, and a sword loses most of its value when the last of the hardened are on Kissaki is lost. (in extreme cases, a Boshi-less sword became what we call Satsuma-Age.) (And the Kissaki of your sword seems fine, I think. Perhaps 1 or at most 2cm lost?) So you can't "gain" extra original length from the Kissaki part, just the bottom, which is very limited because of the remaining Mei part, giving no more than 10cm of room in the most ideal circumstances, making your sword no longer than 60cm originally, like other has pointed out.

If I recall correctly Fujishiro states in his section on Kiyomitsu that most good quality later era Kiyomitsu blades signed in the general signature are actually works of Magoemon. Totally possible it could be Goro but I’d bet that on Mago with that year and overall style.

Yeap, that's Edo period. Don't want to judge whether this is the listed Soshu Hisayoshi, but it can be shinshinto soshu.

I am currently on train so I cannot write too long post. However as the sword seems to be 49 cm in current form and would seem to have long portion of the mei intact, I would guess it would have been under 60 cm blade originally.

possible photo of the veteran who brought this sword home on pg.7 of this pdf https://patcosta.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/27th-Signal-Company-Switchboard-Trailers.pdf

In koryū we don’t use antique nihontō for regular training. A blade from the Sengoku or Edo period is a historical object, and even if it is still structurally sound, it carries fatigue, old polishing cycles, and sometimes hidden flaws that you simply cannot detect without risking the blade. For daily keiko we use modern steel blades (shinken or blunt steel), made specifically for training. They are consistent, predictable, and you can stress them without worrying about damaging something that survived 300–400 years. In Europe we are also fortunate to have access to good-quality 1060 / 1095 steel blades for practice. They are not nihontō, of course, but in terms of weight, balance and general geometry they can get surprisingly close to the feeling of a traditional sword, which makes them very practical for regular training. Antique blades are handled only for study: balance, geometry, sori, niku, and the feeling of how a real sword “lives” in the hand. That part is extremely valuable for understanding the old techniques. Personally, I would never use an antique blade for tameshigiri. Cutting puts real mechanical stress on the steel, and it’s not worth the risk. For kata, however, an antique blade can be used carefully, because the movements are controlled and non-impact. But even then, it’s more about understanding the feeling of the sword than about “training” with it. This is just my personal view as a beginner practitioner and someone who is deeply interested in the culture and history of nihontō. So yes , old blades are still “usable, ” in the sense that they can be drawn, felt, and studied, but not for repetitive cutting. Modern training swords for practice, antique nihontō for understanding. Thansk a lot and nice to meet you :-)

Excerpts from a Gen AI research response (not verified or validated): "The mountain 双子山 (Futagoyama / Sōzan) is a real, named twin-peak feature on the slopes of Mt. Fuji itself, in Suruga province, on the Gotenba route at about 1,800–1,929 m elevation. It consists of two peaks (上塚 Kamizuka / Upper Mound at 1,929 m, and 下塚 Shimozuka / Lower Mound). It is also called 二ツ塚 (Futatsuzuka). This is exactly what 駿高双山 ("Suruga's High Twin Mountain") refers to — the twin peaks high on Mt. Fuji's eastern flank in Suruga province. The signature is saying: "Residing at the foot of the High Futagoyama in Suruga" — meaning the artist lived in the Gotenba / Subashiri region at the eastern foot of Mt. Fuji. This is a wonderfully specific and poetic location claim. The Gotenba / Subashiri area was in Suruga province and was part of the Odawara domain's territory at various points, and the foot of Mt. Fuji had a culture of mountain ascetics, literati, and craftsmen drawn by the sacred geography. The signature 駿高双山麓寓 — "residing at the foot of the high Futagoyama in Suruga" — points to the Gotenba / Subashiri area at the eastern foot of Mt. Fuji, on the Suruga side. The character 寓 (gū, "temporary lodging") implies the artist considered himself a sojourner there rather than a hereditary native — perhaps a ronin, retired samurai, or literati-craftsman who relocated to this scenic, semi-rural area. Name: 岩佐正 + kaō. With the kaō immediately following, the given name is a single character 正. The most likely readings are Iwasa Tadashi or Iwasa Masa(shi). Single-character art names with kaō were a common late-Edo / Bakumatsu literati affectation, modeled on Chinese-style scholar-artist signatures. The honest reality: This artist does not appear in the major standard references (Haynes, Wakayama, Sesko's Genealogies). The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attests that this is a genuine and important work, but the artist is what specialists call a "rare master" or unrecorded smith — a skilled independent craftsman whose oeuvre is too small or too localized to have entered the major published indexes. The high quality of the work (Tokubetsu Hozon for an unrecorded maker is uncommon) suggests he was a serious artist, possibly: A samurai-amateur from the Odawara, Numazu, or another local domain, working in metal as a refined avocation A late student of one of the Nara-school descendants (Hamano, Yokoya, Yanagawa lineages) who left Edo to retire to the Mt. Fuji foothills A Bakumatsu literati craftsman who consciously cultivated obscurity as part of a wabi/recluse aesthetic — the elaborate poetic residence inscription is consistent with this" I'm not sure if this helps, or how accurate it is, but it sounds plausible and may provide some direction for additional research. Damon

I was told there was an issue but by the time I logged in, all was working fine. The whole of SA has had some serious internet disruptions the past few days. Apparently massive DDOS attacks launched against all the ISP's, and most have had some serious problems, so I'm guessing that was part of it. No-one knows why or by whom, but it's a large one, and taken down most of the providers for a bit. I expect there may be some lingering issues over the next few days.

The Toyama Sword Research Society brings together young people and women from all over the country. In recent years, the Toyama Sword Research Association, a sword enthusiast group based in Toyama Prefecture, has seen an increase in its membership among young people and women. Due to the influence of online games such as "Touken Ranbu ONLINE," the number of young people becoming interested in swords is increasing, and the company has made great efforts to make the game more approachable for beginners and to spread the word on social media. This initiative, which is rare nationwide in the world of swords, where middle-aged and elderly men have been the main fan base, has paid off, and the sword is becoming a popular choice for "sword beginners" from a wide range of regions, not just within the prefecture. The Toyama Sword Research Society was formed in 2017 by Yasunori Sawada (57) (Nanto City, civil servant), an enthusiast and former director of the Sword Museum (Tokyo). He holds sword appreciation events about five times a year and visits art museums both within and outside the prefecture. The study group, which began with around 20 members, has now grown to 220, 70% of whom are women. By age group, the most common age group is those in their 30s, followed by those in their 20s and 40s. 40% of people live in the three Hokuriku prefectures, with many in the Kanto, Kansai, and Chukyo regions. Some members are from Hokkaido and Kagoshima prefectures. In order to encourage young people and women to join, the study group has put in place a number of measures to make it easy for beginners to participate. This new sword study group has proven itself to be very successful and is quickly showing the way forward for Japanese Sword Societies in local communities.

I ended up going with Shining Moon 13/Wally H. He will be repairing the saya and replacing the green/tan sageo with black silk. Also, having him re-do the tsuka. Not a huge fan of the green silk. Will be doing Black silk. I think the Gold Menuki will really pop.

Nice example: