Grey Doffin

The nakago looks like it was patinated yesterday. Grey

Nick, The real Sanjo Munechika worked 1,000 years ago and is among the most important smiths ever. Your tanto isn't by him. For some reason I don't know, many short tanto made during WWII are signed this way. Grey

Kin pun mei (lacquer) or kin zogan mei (gold inlay) are attributions, supposedly made by an authority of some sort. Normally, but not always, the person making the attribution would sign his attribution, which isn't the case with this sword. The lack of a signature doesn't mean that the attribution is wrong, just that it is somewhat less likely to be correct. The only way you'll be able to know if the sword warrants restoration is to show it to someone with the knowledge to tell. A classically trained polisher would be a good bet. Grey

Sebastian, The 5 traditions (den) of Koto are Yamato, Yamashiro, Bizen, Soshu, & Mino. Each of these had sub divisions. Once Shinto came around the lines between the traditions blurred and the smiths of this time and later are said, in some cases, to work in the style of one of the 5 Den, but not to be of that Den. There were many different schools in Shinto and later. I think there is a list of recommended reading at the links at the top of the NMB welcome page (or somewhere here). Read every book you can get your hands on, and if you learned something read them again. Grey

Someone should jump on these books: good books at a good price. http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Samurai-Sword-Fujishiros-Koto-Shinto_W0QQitemZ110303115110 Grey

John, I'm constantly updating my index. Currently, the periodicals that are included are: "Token Bijutsu" English edition complete, "Token Bijutsu" Japanese, maybe the last 6 years and only those articles for which I have translations, "The Afu Quarterly", Florida Token Kai "Newsletter" complete, JSS/US "Newsletter" from the early 80s on, and "Meito Zuikan" by Fujishiro (not complete). Don't buy the hard copy; it's out of date and soon will be obsolete. I'm close to having the current Index available to all on the JSS/US website. Grey

Trouble with that interpretation is that the yasurime aren't Kongyobei; they're Mino aren't they? I don't think mori is the answer and I'm beginning to think we may never know the answer. Thanks again for trying. Grey

Hey guys, thanks for all your effort. A better, unglued picture is below. Grey

Nope, just some old glue. Can't be too firm in the tsuka, you know. Kanetoshi doesn't seem right. Anyone have a better idea? Grey

Hi guys, Can anyone read the 2nd Kanji here? Kane something. This will be for sale. Thanks, Grey

May be even worse if you did. Don't clean it. Grey

I think you have a Namban (sp?) (foreign influenced) tsuba. The tip off is the rectangular seppa dai and the convoluted sukashi. The period would be mid to late Edo, if I'm not mistaken. Anyone agree? Grey

I get, "Noshu Ju Jumyo". Grey

No idea who that is! Grey

Mark, Unless you intend to buried with the swords you intend to sell (you or your heirs). Glad you're leaving them alone. Grey

Mark, I don't know about the ink but I can tell you, that unless your friend is a recognized authority on Nihonto, I think her saya-gaki will decrease the value of your swords. When the time comes to sell, the buyer will ask who did the gaki, and if you're honest in answering many buyers will either pass or expect a discount. I know I would. Saya-gaki is supposed to be a meaningful opinion from someone qualified to give one. Anything else is something I'd rather not have. Maybe I'm wrong about this. Anyone else care to chime in? Grey

Thank you.

Any collectors of Gendai will be interested in this sale: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170268894819&fromMakeTrack=true Grey

Would someone be so kind as to tell me what this says? It's for sale on ebay now. Thank you; appreciate it. Grey

The same reason diamonds are worth more than rubies. Since no one is taking these swords to war any more, value is determined to a large extent by whim of the market. If Shin-Shinto swords are popular their value increases. Works the same with wakizashi and katana. No practical reason why katana are worth more; just collectors' taste at the moment. Grey

Renato, According to the write up in "Token Bijutsu", it has been thought that there were 3 generations of Moritsugu, differentiated by changes in the mei. However, the author of the write up posits that there is no real evidence for more than one smith doing the work, and that all 7 mei might be by the same hand. Considering that Moritsugu worked mid-Kamakura and that nothing was ever written about him or his work at the time he worked, it isn't possible to know for sure how many smiths were responsible for the work. Grey

Hi Renato, From "Token Bijutsu" volume 56 English edition. Grey

Brian, The nice example you show us is a katana presently, and it used to be longer still. Grey

Rob, The fact that the blade has a paper from the NBTHK means that the signature is good and that the sword is worthy of preservation (has artistic merit). The paper also shows which Kanji are signed on the nakago. Looks very nice to me, and in excellent condition. I won't comment on the asking price; that's something you have to decide about. I think the seller is telling you that he's not interested in accepting returns from outside Japan. If you have questions, before you buy is the time to get them settled. Grey

Joakim, Ohara Ju Sadamori didn't make it into any of the references in my index, so I have no oshigata with which to compare the mei. He must be in some reference somewhere; otherwise Hawley wouldn't have known about him to include him in his list (if this is the same Sadamori that Hawley lists). While it is possible to have a gimei of a little known smith it isn't very common. The fakers were more interested in producing copies of big name blades; more money in it for them. Chances are your sword's mei is right. Grey