Ed

Fred, I understand your point here, as it is human nature to become upset or defensive when someone makes a negative comment about you or in this case your sword. But no, that kind of talk doesn't make me mad, it is just part of dealing with the public. Probably due to the fact that I have been told that so many times . I have learned to either ignore it or deal with it in a rational manner. Ex: Read the Dotanuki thread, my sword was trashed, bashed and smashed by naysayers. It was gimei, had broken tip, hagire, you name it. In the end, it papered and is now in the possession of an owner who is thrilled with it. He stated: "It’s a very beautiful sword and I don’t understand the previous fuss". When you offer anything to the public, especially in a venue which encourages comments and opinions, there will always be different views. Views which almost certainly will spark debate, argument, and anger. Again, human emotions which can rarely be altered or prevented. It was my intention to point out that negative comments are better ignored or responded to with rationale and/or evidence. I agree that offering your guarantee on the sword passing shinsa should eliminate any hesitancy on the part of potential buyers and perhaps offset the downside of any negative comments. Good luck.

Fred, Food for thought. I have no interest in the sword, but you seem upset and became defensive that potentially negative points have been observed regarding this sword. As this was posted in the “discussion” section, and you admit to seeking comments, then it is open for discussion, observation or opinion, positive and negative without restriction. While it would be beneficial as well as educational, there is no criteria stating that comments related to personal observations must be accompanied by any proof, NBTHK examples or others. You are correct in that none of the comments/discussion are proof of anything, any more than your guarantee, yet that doesn’t make them fictional. They are only comments being discussed by interested, educated collectors. Opposed to trying to limit or control what is being said or discussed, perhaps it would help if you were to provide some NBTHK examples which would support the sword you are selling. This would also be more educational for NMB members. I think there is a real interest in your sword and supporting evidence would benefit you more than an attempt to restrict what others have to say. Again, I have no dog in the fight, and my only goal is to make an objective observation for the good of this thread and the sale of your sword.

Hands down the best way. Miss my study days with both Dean and Dr. Ford. Before he died, we had a regular study group with Dr. Ford. One of those meetings was the last place I saw Paul Goodman before he passed away. Harry Watson used to stop over for the night on the way to Tampa every year.

Good one. I may never do either again, without thinking of the other

I have always been a proponent of oiling the nakago. To me it is simple common sense, the nakago is steel, steel oxidizes and rusts without the magic preventative, oil.

I might marry her, but I wouldn't piss her off.

Thanks Ray.

Fake or not, I don't know, but looking at this listing again, the description states: 後胴のみ - rear trunk (plate) only.

Thanks to everyone who provided their thoughts on this. I must say that all of the kanji provided look like reasonable choices. With so much of the top character missing, I am struggling with making a final choice. Thank you, Ed

Have been trying to translate this mei for a bit, but it is proving difficult. The top character has been drilled through, the rest is inscribed lightly. The middle character is Mitsu 光. It is the last character giving me trouble. I was thinking perhaps Tsune (常), but that doesn't really match, maybe Machi (市) which looks closer. ???? Can't find a smith using either of these possible names. Anyone care to have a go at it, I would be interested in what you think. I have attached several views in different lighting.

Have sent tsuba to Japan last year USPS without difficulty. Sent a sword to Spain via USPS, delivered without difficulty. Two to France, one USPS, one UPS both delivered without difficulty. One to the UK, no difficulty except the customs officials opened the box and apparently played samurai which resulted in damage to the saya. Had to fight with them to settle the claim, but eventually all was well. Shipping to Japan can be tricky. Depending on what you send and the method will determine where it ends up for inspection. This can add time and aggravation for the receiver. Might add that I have never had issues with EMS shipping to me.

I own a few books and guess I am a bit of a book collector. Some of them are a bit redundant, but as Franco mentioned in Stephans post, having various sources gives you additional options to compare. Make no mistake, books are still very, very useful and I would never get rid of mine, yet I have come to appreciate Ebooks. At first, I didn't want anything to do with Ebooks, but after giving them a try I love them. They are very handy on the go, very fast in looking up info. When researching, you don't have to thumb through pages of material. Go to the search box, type in the name and everything related pops up. Yet, they are not all inclusive and the manual legwork of looking up oshigata in the books is still a very necessary and enjoyable task. Ok, enough yada, yada and on to the book photos: My library consists of some 150+ books on swords and fittings and way over 200 various sword related publications. Only the top right shelf contain unrelated material In the large photo I placed a full length Naginata pole in the center for scale. One of my Hawley's along one of my Nihonto Meikan are signed by the authors. No matter what I try I can not get the Hawley's photo to orient correctly.

Very nice indeed. Just FYI the "double bo-hi", is called bo-hi, so-hi. So-hi being the smaller groove.

Certainly the shinsa teams have access to much more reference material in Japan. The question is, do they always use it. I have experienced several instances where this point directly influenced their decisions, both positively and negatively. But those are stories for another day.

Tagane = Chisel marks Looking at the close up it is difficult to say. Looking at the full view photos, it looks as though there may have been a mei there. ?? Generally speaking, tagane marks on the seppa dai are limited to along the nakago ana as a type of makers mark or fit adjustment. Aside from a mei there wasn't much need for decoration on the seppa dai, though there are examples of carvings which extend into the seppa dai.

Hi Paul, I have heard stories of other scandal, but nothing as extensive or well known as the NBTHK scandal. Perhaps I should have been more specific by stating the NBTHK was guilty of the largest scandal known regarding corruption and the issuing of counterfeit papers. You are correct that it has been 40 years since that happened and I don't personally hold it against them any longer and have moved on. Fact is, I have several items there now. Even though it was local branches, it still reflects on the organization as a whole, and unfortunately(?), society doesn't easily forget when they have been wronged. Perhaps we should remember or more importantly they should remember that we have not forgotten. That stigma will likely be with them 40 years from now. I too, have had a number of odd things happen with at least a couple of the organizations. Things, both bad and good that have lead to an attempt to understand their position. There have been occasions when a bit more research revealed a perfectly plausible answer, and others that left me scratching my head. As I stated previously, the Shinsa teams (all of them) are hands down the most educated and dedicated scholars in the world when it comes to Nihonto! While writing this response, Paul brought up a great point regarding the length of time spent on a sword going through shinsa. I can't say how much time the NBTHK or others spend in Japan, but I have witnessed several US shinsa proceedings. Due to time constraints there is very little time spent on each individual sword. For mei comparisons, they rely on a couple of books and for mumei pieces they rely on experience. Kantei is done by the members, a short discussion is held and if the majority agree, papers are issued. That is why on NTHK papers where stamps are seen, at time you may see five stamps when all were in agreement. Other times perhaps three stamps where three out of five agreed. Tom, Actually you can receive different attributions from the same organization. They rotate shinsa judges, which means the judges that looked at your blade this time, may not be the same judges next time. Best, Straw man

I will say that when the papers on this sword came back stating Shinshinto I was taken aback. I have never seen any written information on the topic of Shinshinto Dotanuki smiths. It was signed with a smith name it might be easier, but as is. ????

It would seem to be an attractive piece for anyone on a budget.

"IMHO only NBTHK shinsa is trustable." We can always count on Jacques to stir the pot. Seriously, I can not understand that mindset and Jacques is not alone. Isn't the NBTHK the only group who was ever found guilty of corruption and the issuance of counterfeit papers? Not accused, GUILTY! Yet, they are more trustworthy than others, please! The recently deceased Yoshikawa of the NTHK was a second generation appraiser and tsukamakishi for the Imperial household. His father Yoshikawa senior was an incredible polisher and appraiser. The second generation Yoshikawa grew up with swords and was taught by one of the absolute best, his father. Miyano san of the NTHK-NPO is the oldest living sword appraiser in Japan. He starts his day, every day doing sword kantei. As he is now in his eighties, he has done this longer, way longer than most of you have been alive. JP, the statements above in part answer your question "what tools do they have". To summarize in a word, experience. These guys have seen and studied more great swords than all of us put together and more than 99.99% of us ever will. In regards to Kens statement about sending it to the NBTHK to see if you get the same results. You must remember that shinsa is an opinion, not a guarantee as so many western collectors seem to think or promote. Miyano san stated this clearly in Tampa a few years ago. After performing kantei on 15 never seen papered blades and only missing, no let me rephrase that, he disagreed with only two out of the 15. What he said was important, maybe the most important and honest thing I have heard one of these guys say: "You must remember this is only my opinion, someone else may have a different opinion". So, yes if submitted to another organization, or resubmit to the same organization you may receive a different opinion (result). This is why Ken Mack used to say, "Shinsa three times, before removing a mei once". The main reason you hear negative comments about any of the groups, is generally due to their opinion differing from the owners. This includes attributions that differ from the owner hoped for or being rejected as gimei, again not what the owner wanted. Because the shinsa team differs in their opinion, "they don't know what they are talking about", or "They are wrong". I have heard these comments time and time again. Are any of the shinsa teams perfect? No. Are they better than 99.99% of western collectors? You betcha. Are they the hands down the most educated and dedicated scholars in the world when it comes to Nihonto? Absolutely.

....for sale. Very affordable wakizashi in good polish, lots of activity in excellent condition. Did I mention affordable: $700 plus S/H *If interested please contact me via email: yakiba.com@gmail.com For the complete listing: http://yakiba.com/Wak_Mumei_3.htm

Look forward to seeing the nakago.

Justin, I think what you are seeing as nodules protruding into the inside is an optical illusion. Look at the last photo showing the dragon and you see the nodules protruding to the outside. The inside, while it does look to be protruding, I think they are protruding to the outside with the camera producing this illusion. I could be wrong, but that is how it appears to me in the photo.

Wow, nice sword. Kudos to the lucky winner.

Where did you get Yasutsugu? The papers say Shimosaka, not Yasutsugu. Yasutsugu did sign with Shimosaka early on, but not simply shimosaka. There were many smiths who used the prefix shimosaka.

Absolutely! If you enjoy it, that is all that really matters.