Death-Ace

Brian, Thank you for the info regarding importation laws! I figure it may have been more lenient in the past before it really got up to speed, possibly why that one S&W came through, and during the time pre-9/11 and heightened security. I am guessing their declining of exportation is more due to hassle than anything else. Even though it seems the black market has decreased a bit for firearms and ammo here, Chinese Tokarevs seem to be a choice pick for "no-gooders." I am thinking of visiting in the near future on my next trip to Tokyo. If they allow, I'll snap some photos for you as a current sampling of their showrooms! It would be a shame to export something that has been in this country for generations and cannot be brought back in, if that is the case. I'm sure the same would apply for Koa Isshin if they left the country. Fun fact, due to the SOFA agreement with the US and Japan, an American residing on onbase housing can bring their long arms in country via military mail, as they are not checked by customs. Of course, you cannot have ammunition shipped over, so it is more or less a courtesy and surely to avoid having to store them. Not sure exactly regarding offbase usage, but believe due to the agreement, can be registered with the JPN police and ammunition usage via the same laws that Japanese citizens abide by. Makes one wonder some swords come through the same way before registration, although I will not attempt it (as tempting as it is) as I live off base. Unfortunately, as much as I love this country, I do not believe I could live here forever as I am a competition shooter (mainly pistol now) and it would be my kryptonite! There are some really nice guns on this thread! I do hope others will share their pre-1900 Japanese made and foreign contract pieces! There can't be that many sources regarding the history of that manufacture, especially outside of Japan. Would be nice to compile all known data together!

Very neat guns, guys! I've always wanted to buy one of the foreign made Colts such as this. Definitely love your tastes in these firearms. As a side note from early in this thread, I have always wondered about the Japanese Firearms law? At first I only thought that hunting rifles and shotguns were the only ones allowed, with antique black powder and pinfire a given. But I see there is a store in Tokyo called Regimentals that deals with many firearms. Most are deactivated modern ones, but seems the "Juyo priced" ones are old "live" firearms from 100+ years ago. With the pre-T14 Nambus reaching and having reached that age, I wonder if any came out of hiding. But is the law only for 100+ years prior to it being enacted? And if there has been any change to importation? Seems if someone brought a few Colt 1851s, they'd make a killing...unless registration fees are astronomical or restrictions on resell. There was an RIA auction with an IJN marked S&W New Model 3 awhile back that was stated to have been part of a business transaction in the 70s from Japan. Of course, buy the item not the story, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched with the news articles of the Hino pistols and the Yakuza-owned T94 in the past two decades.

Hey Conrad! I visited Aoi a few weeks ago on my weekend off and they are very nice. It is a small shop. However, call them in advance to see three blades max at once. They're more than happy to help but as they're show room is about as big as a tiny apartment, they have most stored in a tiny apt. The do have some blades not on the site, so def ask. They had a nice ko-wak awhile ago with Tokubetsu Hozon papers for abput 1500 USD, but think that's sold. Let me know when you land, could show ya around!

Very, very nice piece Bruce! For a machine made, that blade looks well crafted!

Very, very cool!

It's always worth sending something to Shinsa if it has a chance! Even though the experts are most od the time right, we have instances of something being named as gimei, just to have it pass to that smith after the signature was removed. Benson is always a good choice, but sending it straight to the source is also great. Paul has my praise as well! Just ensure you use something other from tape to hold whatever the sword is wrapped in as he does have to present it to the registration board out of the box. But he can tell you more, definitely a great and humble man.

Stephen" not by personal experience, I hope!

I agree with Chris; however, it may be worth it to separate the shirasaya in the halves to see what the issue may be. Whether dirt, to enclosed, etc. Sometimes, a cleaning is all that is needed, but in other cases, it is best to have a new one made. Unless someone else has been handling it and drawing inappropriately? Wouldn't think it would look like that in that one section though. Hope this helps!

Hey Bruce! Maybe my translation is rough on this end, but this may be the page. I attempted to sprt through Ohmura-san's site, but this and another "sword-less" page is all I could find. Hope this helps a little! http://ohmura-study.net/211.html Unfortunately other from that, the only supposed Seki-stamped Showa 12 I could find is from a Christie's back in 2012. https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-Japanese-officers-sword-gunto-signed-5601538-details.aspx

Sorry for the wait and Happy New Year! I have not asked as of yet regarding the origins of the attribution. I honestly didn't even think about what the ichi could be until my mind registered some disused data, haha. Whether it was done in trickery or good heart, I believe whoever attributed it saw some characteristics of Fukuoka Ichimonji or another, the sori, even rhough suriage, a low hamachi and hamon near and "consistent with ancient and repeatedly polished blades" and considered the bohi a later addition. At least that is what I think is a possibility of why it has this attribution, could have been someone wanted to gift another with a supposed "legendary" sword, but could not and would not afford an actual Ichimonji. Of course, we all know it could have been any possibility! Also, now that I am here, if there is anything you ever need me to look at foe you or attempt to find or need a middleman, let me know! I know there are definitely more qualified folks, but I'd love to lend a hand!

Jae, Well done! I always love Heritage Auctions and they always have good blades, some going for a bargain due to pictures. Keep up that good collecting spirit!

Hey guys! I moved to Japan a few months ago and with the bonus the Navy gave, I was able to splurge a little after paying off some things and getting the wife a little something. I saw this blade on Touken Komachi for a minute and after talking to and emailing their more than helpful staff, decided to purchase this. The blade is definitely tired, but I like the craftsmanship. The mokume hada is gorgeous and the notare/gunome mix with sunagashi is definitely a nice study, along with hakikake at the boshi. The polish seems a little scuffed amd scratched due to repeated draws and I guess uchiko prior to my purchase, and the hadori is a bit caked on, but still in excellent shape to study. The funny thing is the suriage nakago has an attribution to Ichimonji, which I'm sure the poor thing isn't, but a decent Uda work. On the bottom, there is the remnants of a shu-mei, but not enough to attempt to see what attribution this sword once had. Still, a nice old warrior, I believe from Muromachi Uda, and glad to give it a good retirement. More pictures to come, but here's a few from the site. https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A070718.html

My condolences to the family. May he rest in peace knowing the legacy lives on in us! 67 is too young in this day and age...

Looks like a nice, original parade sword to me!

I'm STILL surprised this blade hasn't sold yet even at the previous price. I remember lusting over it when it was still on Moses' site. If I were still in the States, I would gladly have bought it. For the advanced, and especially beginning, collector, this really does mark off all the boxes. Previously papered, in decent polish, excellent shirasaya with sayagaki. I agree with the sentiment that this is more than likely koto Tsunahiro. Must have been a tiring day at shinsa. For those in the US who do not want to hassel of awaiting overseas items, this really is a good piece at a really good price. Good luck on the sale!

Haha, oh yes, I hear what you're saying, Steve! I have become a person who likes to see visual proof anyways when there's a debate like this. But also, would love to see your creations as well! Edit: Ahh, out of my dumba**edness, I did not see your link! Quite the good stuff! I love your guitar as well! I have a love for these hollowbodies, and my dream would be an old 335! However, my heart still goes to Fenders, yet all I have left is my 85 MIJ Squier Bullet. Quite the trooper, though!

Agreed with both. Although I believe it does lend to more bending (seen a bit of blades from differemt cultures with grooves bent, and not all from just poor maintenance or use), I think weight reduction was a goal. Although placement and amount of steel removed can be a factor. As stated, a more solid steel will mostly be stronger than one that has had a bit removed. With I-Beams, I believe it is a way to save material, but lend strength due to shape, although not as much as say if something was made from full on steel beams of the same size. I can see where the argument comes in, and I agreed once upon a time that it does have some structural properties, but saving weight qithout fully compromising the blade. I think of guns sometimes, even though the "trauma" is quite different. Some guns that have been polished down, especially older ones that have had steel when refinished or such, can have drastic consequences when fired, as it can no longer withstand the force projected when fired. Same goes for anything. Wood furniture that can been sanded and refinished theough the ages, even if preserved well will not have the integrity to support the weight of the same person after enough has been removed. But the engineers here know more, I may be mistaken in my thoughts and am open to see results of studies! I believe for practical hi, it was and is meant to be a weight reductor without fully compromising the blade and still give it support. Although blades weren't the main line weapon and fights weren't hours long in a duel as some movies suggest, you still want a good back-up that could give you an advantage to draw quickly and wield shiftly to get home at the end of the day, much like firearms. The weight reduction as studied by one mentioned above brought a memory to mind. I once had a gimei Nobuhide. Very meaty, heavy, but still felt good in the hand. When I practiced Aikido/Iaido for a bit, I could tell how it was well balanced. Cut forward three years when I visited a great collector, Ed, who had shown me a very nice, healthy Ichimonji. It had very familiar similarities in the dimensions of my "Nobuhide", but with bohi, it felt even more balanced and lighter, of course! Even if it had a few polishes more than the Nobuhide, if I were a professional swordsman or modern day practitioner, I may have taken the Ichimonji instead for a quicker draw and faster movements. Of course with nihonto or other blades, grooves be as much about aesthetics/religion as practicality. Some bohi or duel hi only go a certain length of a blade, or one side. One thing we can agree on, sure as hell ain't a fuller for blood!

It's possible depending on the environment and storage that the saya has shrunken. I have personally never seen a kyu-gunto koshirae incorporating a traditional saya as carried since they were westernized at the time, but maybe someone can shed light. Looks like a beefy blade! A shame about the nakago, but there are samples out there of every type that has been modified like that. A tanto with the end modified to allow a screw fitting of a Navy dirk. On FB, someome had posted a nice Koto/Shinto Kaga blade that was in Gunto mounts, but was mounted as Kyu-Gunto prior to that as the end of the nakago had half of it shaped like yours! Even though it can be considered mutilation, it was neat to see something that went through three mounting iterations of the Japanese military forces from the 16rh century to 1945. Even some of em can still pass shinsa. Guess it can be considered it a form of suriage and not too damning a flaw.

Good stuff, Steve! Even though most of the time the swords are average or a good one bunched with others in a lot, I see some good ones quite often there. However, as they are primarily firearms, of course its going to be like that, and boy do they have some good ones! North China Nambu? Both Hamada types? Sugiura? Tri barrelled flare guns? Grandpa, Baby and Papa Nambus? I always enjoy these little known or low production handguns of Japan. I just wish they had an Inagaki and a Hino to make it complete!

Even though the pictures aren't the best, I've always enjoyed HA for the quality items they have! I missed out last December when they had a nice Koto Bizen daito in Gunto mounts. Forgor to put my max bid as 1000 and it sold as such.

Half of it, at least with beginner or average collectors of nihonto or swords in general, seem to do with history, the other half the worksmanship of forgotten skills. There is allure in the fact that a lot of skills have been forgotten or recently rediscovered, such as true utsuri, etc. After viewing excellent vlades here in Japan and with a few great collectors in the states as well as shops, I can tend to agree with the allure of koto. There is something about the use of ore from certain regions and styles that are now "extinct" or no longer profitable that gives us an old fashioned sense of pleasure. While there are very many beautiful shinto to present blades, koto is a bit more rare in the sense of being ubu, especially Heian to Nanbokucho, so having an intact weapon from that period gives you a sense of being in that era as close as possible by holding such artifacts. Also, the skill put into these blades seem like none other while certain modern smiths only beginning to recreate their works, or even faithful ones from 1600 to present. Think of Shibata Ka and some of the blades he emulated. It is about as close to seeing one of these ancient blades as they could have been when new as possible. For others, as stated, there are blades from other cultures that have that allure. Bulat steel, damascus are started to have their secrets unraveled, amd there is something joyous in that. Or even certain firearms. Handguns from militaries of the world wars in mint condition is as close as we can get, and are in themselves mechanical marvels of when things were mostly done by hand. This is not to say modern smiths or any other era has no good ones. There are great blades and smiths from every era. But from one during decades to hundreds of years of warfare that has survived to this day, art blade or not, has some allure. And the forgotten craftsmanship, the mysteries of schools and smiths, etc. are things that put these in perspective. Kodachi, uchigatana, which when unneeded and most discarded or shortened can have an allure as well. Many blades were used up, modified, shortened. And many koshirae were only temporary, with tosugu being their remnants. All in all, something about rarity of some schools, forgotten styles, history, and high quality full hands on craftsmanship is what put koto into the headlines. Also the hope of finding a forgotten blade by a legendary smith, lol.

Krill, It's funny but I actually just bought that daito with the gold inlay since I had the funds (Nice little Navy bonus for being stationed and having offbase housing in Yokosuka as well as the fact a katana I had bought (mostly for the mounts) had nioi giri, so I wanted a nice blade to study)! Looked like an Uda like you stated, so even with the flaws, I took the plunge. Not the most collectible school, but I always love theirs' and their predecessors' work. Tsukada-san and her staff are most helpful. The blade looks gorgeous, but I'm awaiting shipment since I don't have transportation to have brought it back from Tokyo to Yokosuka. Steven, I think you got yourself a wonderful blade, as stated, very sharp lines and wonderful craftsmanship. That seller always seems to have goodies!

Although I don't have any pics (had to save energy to make it to a show with my fellow Corpsmen), I want to recommend these guys. Even though I didn't purchase anything (at the time), one of the workers was more than happy to let me handle a few blades, including an early yoroi doshi and show me the gallery upstairs. There are more blades for sale that weren't on display, but on rewuest, they have a ledger of every blade available. I got to see my first Gassan school blade by Sadakatsu (a tanto) and enjoy the Ayasugi hada that the school is known for. Another intriguing blade was a Kogarasumaru utushimono by a modern smith in newly made Kyu-Gunto mounts, like that of an Imperial Household koshirae. Upstairs were many treasures from early Kamakura to Shin-Shinto, including a Juyo Ko-Aoe and Juyo Ko-Bizen that had older documents from the 19th century, if I remember correctly. Very healthy in terms of today, other from being osuriage, and the craftsmanship was wonderful. It was also an honor to view many high quality tsuba, with quite a few Higo on display. There were more, but I was overwhelmed and honored by the amount of works I saw, its a shame I didn't stay in order to meet up with my guys and gals. In all, I recommend them to anyone that wishes to visit or even purchase.

Nice piece! Agreed with the fees. However, I will say that auctions remind me of towing companies. They can charge what they want. Although they are in thr wrong quite a few times when it comes to towing, auctions are really ran by the bidder...disregarding grey blankets lol. Some nice pieces can go tona home because of disinterested bidders due to fees, poor pics, but it is risky. I was in the field and forgot to leave a bid for a nice koto wakizashi (looked Bizen) in pristine Eso period mounts for 425...no one bidded. Got a nice Yamato wak for 950 after taxes. But quite a few times, one can get burned or get caught in a bidding war. Still a nice one and with Mantetsus getting more attention than ever, may be good bidding...if it's right.

Stephen, That seems to be another one I figure is why they sometimes give a pass. Those battle damaged high quality nihonto. Beautiful blade, however! I feel as you're right. Do enough and everyone will expect it...just like my Marines (loved them no matter, haha)! It seems a given for ancient blades and those of the highest importance, but then everyone with a worn out Muromachi katana/wakizashi would then wonder why their blades didn't pass. Unless I bought one cheap or was given it, I don't think I could own another one with hagire. I had a gendaito by a lesser known smith that even with rust marks in areas, had the most gorgeous flamboyant hamon and nice itame hada. I didn't know until after I made the trade and it was too late that there were two hagire an inch apart in the center of the ha. Just like old P38s and 1911s with a cracked slide, there's just something about a weapon that is fatally damaged that just gives me shivers, no matter how beautiful. Might change my mind if the right one did make it to me!