Rivkin

It says in the description specifically: - its a iaido blade (there is absolutely nothing to see in it) - bungoed by NBTHK, meaning they can't see ... either - iaido (i.e. new, cheap but sturdy) koshirae.

I always found the beautiful sugata/root of all nihonto aesthetic discussion to be a bit provocative. The moment it starts there is lingering fear, you don't nod on time you come out as a fool who can't see a thing... And you look. And you look. And instead of the hidden beauty what lies in front of you is still something that has been cut off, overpolished and violated to such an extent Bungo Takada himself wrote to NBTHK swearing he did NOT make it. There are blades which have such a graceful sugata which is noticeble all by itself: those by Chogi, unusual items like Kamakura kodachi, where the shape is often both profound and distinctively well done compared to a plain Muromachi waki, etc.. Frankly with these four I am a fool who does not see a single A+ sugata. Critical kissaki theory suggests one needs to focus on #4 since its tip proportions and tapering towards it looks no later than mid Kamakura, carefully finished suriage suggests it was already owned by someone with more than half the brain towards the latter days of Muromachi, hi pressed all the way into ko-shinogi confirms the age and the fact that hi looks deep/consistently wide all across the blade despite otherwise clear polishing distortions in sugata suggests people who polished it at least from 1500 forward had more than a general idea of what they are doing. This is a kind of blade one first buys than studies when fishing at sword shows, hoping one day it makes TJ. I should hedge all the above and below statements since its a crazy guess without knowing the actual dimensions (maybe these are all waki), but that's how it feels to me. Often one has to make buying decision based on such feelings. #3. All sexy kids with o-kissaki are supposed to have less taper, more uniform curvature and kissaki curvature should be more natural. I almost want to vote for Kambun shinto, but B&W pictures always make me suspect its Chogi which has been a bit traumatized by a polisher. Why would someone photograph o suriage Kambun in B&W? Plus its a bit more graceful than Kambun shape, less "sticky". If I were to encounter this blade with zero polish I would check the kasane. If its thin and the blade swings well, maybe it has potential. #2 is most likely a Japanese sword. Can't tell anything more. #1. Full fukura is considered an auspicious sign by some who believe such blades were tempered in the blood of virgins and exemplify ko-ikubi forms in their healthy state (???). On practice its usually cursed by witches, and after polishing comes out laughing as mid Muromachi Bizen blade. If this was out of polish I would not prioritize the restoration based on this picture alone.

Everything is sort of late. The kozuka with Shiju is probably the most valuable and the only piece I would consider collectible, there is also a classic Nagoyamono tsuba upper left, in relatively good execution.

Its not a hard-hard wood. A solid bump leaves a trace.

Modern NBTHK Papered?

Long wakizashi with an o-kissaki is basically Tensho or later. The signature is placed along the edge, non-callygraphic, which suggests koto, which means likely Tensho. The style is sort of meh-average of the period, can be Mino, can be something else, especially since we don't see jigane above the shinogi. Bi is likely Bizen as was stated... possibly ok. Nothing seen disproves it with certainty.

It does save a lot of time though. Probably the feeling is its not worth to consider a more detailed analysis which for the period will not be precise anyway. NTHK NPO issues many Kaga judgements for the same rough period. This being said, there has been many weird things with the shinsa in the post-Covid timeline. At the show I learned a blade papered as Bungo Yukihira by NTHK was given Muromachi Naminohira judgement by NBTHK. Personally it looks like neither, though I hope my memory is valid enough to serve as a reference. There was none of typical Yukihira specific features like the start of the hamon etc., but it did look early (ko kissaki, narrow hamon), had a sense of rustic Kyushu (darker jigane with utsuri, somewhat coarse masame), but did not have a typical wave strong single masame line of Naminohira and nioi-guchi though tired in places was I think better defined. It looked like a blade one would not be able to put in a single bin with 100% certainty - yes can be early and Kyushu, but not a match for Jitsua or Naminohira... Though Jitsua would make some sense, but going all the way to the famous Bungo Yukihira basically shocked the show attenders. I think that NBTHK is becoming more and more conservative (i.e. Muromachi-oriented), but at the same time they are producing less eyebrows rising judgements. Its interesting that as a result the collectors community now more seriously considers alternative judgements or asking different people for opinions. "Papered to X but the judgement is weak" is often heard.

Probably worth and more or less certainly not Muramasa.

Unfortunately I estimate about 25% of mumei blades at this shinsa were papered to Echizen Seki. Its basically says "late Muromachi to Kambun, we don't care about the details".

Bad pictures, but I don't think its per se "real" utsuri. Hitatsura, sometimes it creates a somewhat blank, mirror-like yet very dark jigane. Especially on later than late Muromachi pieces, as probably here.

Mixed feelings. NEGATIVES: Once or twice I bought from him (her? never met in person) an item which had old papers, was described as Kamakura major name with an explicit statement in Japanese its guaranteed to paper. The seller confirmed during the transaction that the item is great, Kamakura, and will paper. Turned out "guaranteed to paper" means it will get Hozon to something-anything. Another time it turned out the torokusho was from a completely different blade, which is btw not at all uncommon in Japan since it becomes an issue only when exporting. He is one of the guys who tries to haggle aggressively but when you respond in kind he might get (a little) offended. Lots of dealer speak in descriptions. Everything is dated as early as it very theoretically can be. Some items are clickbait. The blade owned by another person, but it appears in the sales section to attract interest. POSITIVES: He has very good eye, gets from time to time very pretty blades for not a lot of money, a very good photographer who can do really well with old Bizen blades (but! they will look prettier in photos than in real life). Overall, he gets consignments from good old Bizen collectors in Japan. Finally, at least couple of times I was a real .... to him, or better to say my English statements were nuanced enough they could have been (and were) interpreted as essentially taking him for a ride on a significant blade... and we kept doing business afterwords and he did put quite some effort the deals went through ok. All in all, this is a good seller, but NOT for beginners. You have to 100% know what you want.

Its a modern, shinshinto or later blade - very long, high contrast lines which are however pure nioi. This being the case, the blade reacts well to acid, but at the same time even normal polish can look acid etched. I think the polish here is ok, its mostly the blade which contributes.

Its late so I might be missing something, but it looks like its signed and dated, the work is ok, so TH is very likely. Whether it will gain a lot in valuation with TH versus just H is a difficult question to answer.

I would recommend buying first three blades from the US or at a show. You can return them if its shipped, and you can ask stupid questions. Japan is always the place to shop, but one needs some (or quite some) experience.

Unfortunately I don't know if that particular blade papers to Sengo. I think for Muramasa waki wide notare is out, and for nidai they now require substantial difference within the hamon between its lowest and highest points, midare, but this does not extend to the whole Sengo school. Nevertheless Sengo attributions are becoming uncommon, and with a long sharp kaeri and notare hamon even with a nakago like this I would believe Shimada is a possibility.

In most cases after 1980s NBTHK does not paper Muramasa ko waki with a calm periodic notare. Before it was considered a proper Muramasa style but now you can sometimes get NTHK papers on it but NBTHK would require some additional feature to be outstanding. Not this blade.

These are usually tourist grade pieces from late Meiji-WW2 period, but at times one needs to be careful since if one studies collections brought by European royalty from Japanese trips, its clear they were allergic to shirasaya and demanded even good blades to be remounted as proper weapons, so you find a LOT of scrimshaw or garish lacquer mounts on those. This piece however with pretentious brass "Tokugawa" fittings is uber tourist. I would still check the blade just in case (nakago etc.).

No. They are often called Ezo style swords and some are probably the real deal, but very many are apparently late Meiji-Taisho manufacture.

Good test is to have sterling silver cup or something at home. If within couple of months it turns dark grey you definitely need to oil the blades. The issue is very often not the humidity itself but either seasolt or sulfur (power plants) which are exceptionally corrosion-friendly.

Uchiko is dangerous and not needed if one just needs to deoil the blade. The dangers have been overstated. Its a good tool to remove spit, small fresh fingerprints and other things which are not uncommon at shows. It can also be used to purposefully adjust the appearance a bit like softening things like coarse jigane or opening up the gradient within the hamon, if there is no hadori... and I would not use it for such purposes since I lack the understanding. There are polishers who ask for specific "aftercare" regiment, which might include repeated oiling and deoiling with uchiko. Explanations of why vary.

Can we look at the entire object? The reason I am asking is the bright yellow color of nashiji and the fact that its exetured with relatively large yellowish pieces. This is Taisho- early/mid Showa style and accordingly its interesting to estimate the role plaid by the mon.

Nope.

Please come, there are no other good shows on schedule in the second half of the year, and its a really good event to visit.

Sword with hagire has almost zero value as an artistic sword, at least that's how its perceived. It can be enhanced by making it into a wakizashi without hagire, but they often hagire in the upper portion, so that's seldom an enticing option. It can pass Juyo only on the basis of historical value. Which is hardly associated with a mumei Nambokucho blade with better than average attribution.

Very nice gift, very educational, and I am certain it was treasured by people for a long time. I don't think its a reshaped regular wakizashi, and if its purposefully made to appear as Norimune, its a rare item. There is plenty to study there. By comparison buying for the same amount of money a blade with modern papers would leave one with an average blade with all the research already prepared. There is a beaty and fun in buying unpapered blades, but its a hard and at time expensive sport.