Gakusee

Gunome midare with some choji The rust should be stabilised. Have seen people here recommending using horn to scrape it away but repeated treatment with choji oil should suffice. This here is one of these rare cases where the application of uchiko will actually improve things as uchiko is a mild enough abrasive to retain the hamon etc but remove rust.

Well, I would have hoped for a more tangible proof of provenance, like a certificate of investiture by the imperial office or an invoice for the sale with a clear link to the family..... .....but a nice package nevertheless. Somewhat fully priced on the sword side, but the koshirae is a nice sweetener and has value in its own right if properly papered and documented as Edo period.

Horrendous translation

I also think the blade is in a very good condition. Rob, sorry but I cannot opine on the koshirae here and how old it is. Kirill, in a separate post about your kazari tachi, was opining on the size and colour of the gold flecks. Not sure to what extent those statements are borne out by fact and study. However, I have heard elsewhere, too, that the gold used more recently is indeed brighter and yellower as opposed to more tinted in the past. However, one need not forget that the lacquer layers on top also affect the colour. it could be that the koshirae was made to order for the imperial gift and is this only 100 years old or it could be it is 250 years old. Indeed one would need to examine properly the nanako, the gilding, the gold flakes etc etc.

Signature, patina etc looks consistent with age and broadly workmanship. Amazing how he did such suguha for a Bizen Smith (I know some of the Oei guys did it but prefer the koshi no hiraita midare hamon of Oei).

Sorry, cannot open the image bank on my iPhone but did you receive photos of documentation proving the provenance and the boxes in which it was kept or presented?

Adam, if the blade papers with one of the shinsa and they put the nakago in a photo, then it is fraudulent to reinsert it after receiving the certificate without a mei. Of course you can keep the mei as a souvenir but not reattach it after it has papered. There are swords that have had mei removed and have papered. I can think of at least one. But in that case someone had made an effort to redecorate the nakago a bit, even though it was still barely visible where an orikaeshi or gakumei (cannot remember which one) had been. The problem here is that you have received advice from the board (there are knowledgable people here, but not “experts” in the true sense). If Paul has seen it in hand, it is different. But even he cannot give a fully qualified opinion via photos. The blade has not been to any shinsa and, I am sorry, but to me, only they alongside Tanobe sensei are “experts”. Yes, it would have been a “waste” of £150-200 If it failed die to gimei. but this is not a cheap hobby.

Guys, can’t you see the mei has already been removed. No point crying over split milk. Too late for advice

Adam, why would you go and remove the Bishu Munemitsu orikaeshi yourself?!?!?! You should have just sent it to Paul Martin, as you planned to, get it through Hozon Shinsa (or fail it, but Paul could get comments from the Shinsa Panel as to why it failed) and only if it fails because gimei, could you consider having it done by a professional in Japan...... Frankly, disappointing.....

Well, there was one with kinpun “ichi” on the nakago, but the kinpun mei was poor

Mine you mean? Mine is here .... Tokubetsu Hozon at the moment.

Funny... I have a tachi koshirae just like that (almost identical). The koshirae itself (if genuine Edo) is worth more than the total amount being asked for the package.

The reality is there are so many polishers in Japan.... Saito san, Abe san, Mishina san, Fujishiro san, Honami, Dodo san, etc - all mukansa. Then you have their deshi. Sasaki san is another mukansa with top work. Ikeda san, Mizuta san, Usuki san, Tsuyoshi san, etc etc etc the list goes on and on. Paul Martin has access to many Japanese polishers - he facilitated a sword of mine being polished by Ono san. Why don’t you ask him? I have had a different sword polished by Dodo san. I have had one by Sei san.. They were all good. Admittedly none of those was hitatsura. Ted is one of the best choices outside of Japan, but he is in the US.

You mean Iida Kazuo’s Shin Nihonto No Kantei Nyumon translated by Afu? If so, do you have the original Japanese text?

Tanobe sensei indeed could now write sayagaki even for an unpapered sword or Hozon or TH. But he indeed is selective and the submitter also needs to be “self-selective” and not “embarrass” Tanobe sensei by requesting a sayagaki for a bad sword etc. The older or the more interesting the sword the better. Also, how much he liked or appreciated the sword is also evident by the length of the sayagaki and the floridness of the language used. Tanobe sensei could evaluate a signature, the state of the nakago (age, rust, etc), the overall blade and could concurrently recommend a polisher best suited to restoring it. Then he might say that he would study it and write a sayagaki after the blade comes back from polish. Paul is not the best suited to commission to intermediate that. One is better off requesting a local Japanese dealer or intermediary for that.

Tanobe sensei indeed could now write sayagaki even for an unpapered sword or Hozon or TH. But he indeed is selective and the submitter also needs to be “self-selective” and not “embarrass” Tanobe sensei by requesting a sayagaki for a bad sword etc. The older or the more interesting the sword the better. Also, how much he liked or appreciated the sword is also evident by the length of the sayagaki and the floridness of the language used. Tanobe sensei could evaluate a signature, the state of the nakago (age, rust, etc), the overall blade and could concurrently recommend a polisher best suited to restoring it. Then he might say that he would study it and write a sayagaki after the blade comes back from polish. Paul is not the best suited to commission to intermediate that. One is better off requesting a local Japanese dealer or intermediary for that.

Merci! Beautiful!

Tanto lot 6. Went up a bit pricey....

Well, Bob, I liked the Koto tanto in the NTHK papered koshirae that went for 6k plus I bid on the Shigehisa kodachi. There were some decent Shinto / ShinShinto deals if one wanted to stick their neck out - they were priced at rock bottom.

One of the good choices, Bob. There were a few good blade and koshirae packages and yours was one of them. Congrats.

Well, clearly the kozuka bidder thought he was buying a genuine Natsuo, but the mei does not seem genuine to me. The collector passed away in 2012. I think the swords were not properly taken care of since then as they had all developed rust.

Not too much bubble wrap and not too much sellotape. But wrapped well still. Clingfilm is not bad.

So everything needs to be shrink wrapped and put in their bags. Paul is not coming to the UK probably not even in 2021, for now. That is what he mentioned to me a few weeks ago. Of course, if a vaccine is discovered and deployed in the next 12 months (unlikely so quickly to reach mass deployment) this could change.

Look up the international harmonised tariff code for Japan - I think it is the same or similar. Blades to be wrapped in shrink wrap (1 layer) so that they can still go in the shirasaya. Shrink wrap / Satan wrap prevents fingerprints on blades when they do the magnet test (they always run a magnet to ensure the blade is steel and not imitation). Blades in shirasaya and koshirae separate in the same parcel. No problem for multiple blades in same parcel but I think up to 3 in one shipment. If blades only housed in their koshirae, then shrink wrap and in koshirae. Not bare blades in parcel under any circumstances, even if very well wrapped. Not sure which courier you are using? In the past it used to be EMS but Paul will be best to advise you now.

You need to specify a sword (tachi or katana) older than 150 years (as your Munemitsu is probably 450 years old), if you have old paperwork - enclose it. Mention Muromachi period. include a letter or 1-pager stating to whom it goes (who will handle the torokusho) and enclose a reference to his website or books. Anecdotally, once I was bringing one of my swords to Japan in person. At the customs, as always happens, when they called and brought the local police inspector to issue a temporary torokusho, I was lucky he was an old guy who enjoyed swords too. The sword was an Yoshioka Ichimonji wakizashi and he marvelled at it. I showed him my Facts and Fundamentals and as Paul translated it and his photo is inside I think, I told the guy that this is the guy to whom I am bringing the sword and he would help me with the logistics. That completely sealed the deal. So, the more the better in terms of transparency.