FletchSan

Yes, same sword - thanks Simon. The description is from the owner prior to the previous owner and not verified. Not sure how much credence to give it. Would be amazing if it was a 13th century yamashiro-den sword and something very romantic about it being owned by a Japanese Iaido sensei that just never happened to have it papered It will be a fun one to research and is a beautiful sword in hand. I'll try to take better quality photos in the sunlight tomorrow. cheers, Ben

Sure thing. Nagasa: 65.0 cm Sori: 1.4 cm. Motohaba: 29 mm Sakihaba: 19 mm Motogasane: 6 mm Sakigasane: 4.5 mm Nakago: 20.3 cm

No attribution - it's not papered. I believe (hope) it may be Koto, perhaps early Koto just based on the usual Kantei. It is also o-suriage so would have been a reasonable length originally.

Thanks Paul. Very interesting. Here are a few more pictures hopefully showing it a little more clearly. Not easy to photograph. Ben

Hi All, I have recently picked up a new sword that has an abundance of nie along the blade (at least that is what I think it is). Unlike the nie that I typically see that flows off the hamon into the ji this seems somewhat disconnected from the hamon and is randomly scattered across the blade. Is this just referred to as ji-nie or is there another term for it? Is it intentional and a kantei point that may help identify the school and/or period? cheers, Ben

Thanks David. Good points and I'm sure it would be a monumental task to organise. I've never sent a sword to Japan for Shinsa and have heard that it's getting a little difficult to do so these days. Hopefully Adrian or another major collector is able to organise one here again in the future without being out of pocket.

Is it worth getting a window done? Are they collectable and potentially decent quality blades or more of a curio?

No worries - thanks Stephen.

Yes it has a tiny 2 piece habaki. I'll have to look up Mamorigatana !

Thanks all for your feedback. I think the photos magnify the issues with the blade significantly and in hand obviously a lot more subtle. To help me better understand the issues with this blade, can you clarify what aspects represent it being tired and what aspects point to the acid treatment. To confirm: Tired because of some of the hada lines opening due to many polishes and also reduced hamon as the ha-machi is fairly small? Acid wash - if this isn't exaggerating the hada so much and brings out the hamon I'm not seeing that on this sword. Hamon is fairly subtle but there. Attached close up of the mei. cheers. Ben

Thanks all. I'm not sure if it is refurbished longer blade as it is very small and delicate. The photos make it look much bigger than it is. The width of the blade at the habaki is only 2cm. cheers, Ben

Really? What makes you think that Stephen? Looking at images of mokume hada it seems pretty similar. Definitely doesn't look like a Chinese knock off in hand... It may have been acid treated as part of its polish to bring out the hada I guess...

Hi All, I have no idea what this is - haven't seen one before though looks well made. Out of polish so a bit hard to see too much detail. The blade is only 23.3cm long and has a huge sori. The nakago has a dark patina and 3 mekugi-ana. Bridal tanto? Something else? cheers, Ben

Hi All, I am struggling with the Kantei on this sword and after some assistance. The nagasa is 64cm with a fairly shallow sori of 0.9cm. The hada is a fairly strong mokume I think with a suguha hamon. It is suriage and the nakago patina is a nice dark black which suggests it has some age to it as well. The mokume hada is present in the shinogi-ji which also suggests Koto given most Shinto are masame hada in the shinogi-ji. So the two points that are suggesting possibly Shinto are the shape being fairly straight with a shallow sori and also the mei which (thanks to the translation forum) reads Geishu Ju Sue ? as it is cut off. Geishu is the Aki province and apparently there were no notable smiths working there until around 1600 when Teruhiro moved there and started producing swords. If the mei is correct (gimei or not) then that would also point to early Shinto. Plenty of photos to hopefully give me a hand. cheers, Ben

Thanks Guido. Makes sense. Just trying to understand this sword a little better and following John's suggestion that it might not be Sue but could be Fu and if Aki province then possibly Teruhiro school that's why a light bulb went off with Fujiwara or Fuyuhiro. A few other Kantei points match Teruhiro school from what I've researched so far in that it has a fairly bold mokume hada and suguha hamon. Understand the mei may just be a red herring though.

Is Fujiwara or Fuyuhiro ever written using the Kanji 末 for Fu?

The connoisseurs book of Japanese swords also mentions that there were no important smiths active in the Aki province during Koto times and it was not until 1600 when Teruhiro started producing swords there in Hiroshima. So perhaps the sword is just not by a well know smith or is later than I had thought and possibly early shinto - or the mei is not original to the sword and throwing me off..

Interesting - what would that Kanji be John for Fuchu?

Thanks Geraint. British Museum is definately on the list and would love to visit the Wallace Collection time permitting. Only in London 2 1/2 days unfortunately though 2 weeks in the UK. Although I'd be very happy to turn it into an antique arms & armour tour the rest of my family may have a say on the itinerary

Thanks Greg. The Victoria Albert museum is just across from our hotel so will definately check that out as well. cheers, Ben

I'll be visiting there in 2 weeks. Tower of London is first on my list followed by the royal armouries in Leeds - can't wait

I would have thought getting 300 items from Australian collectors would be very easy given the number of serious collectors we have and venue wise there are a ton of good locations, community halls etc that would be low cost - it wouldn't have to be CBD. I guess the main factor is someone actually taking on the responsibility of organising it. Perhaps a kickstarter would be a decent approach - once the funds are raised then it goes ahead if not it doesn't.

Thanks. I can't find any smiths so far signing Geishû ju sue? (藝刕住末?) so far in my search. ​The sword appears to be koto based on the usual kantei. I guess it could be gimei though would have thought a suriage nakago with a cut off signature that doesn't represent any well known smiths may be at odds with gimei? cheers, Ben

Thanks Bazza. I haven't seen shu written that way before, do you have any other examples where the Kanji is written that way? I wonder if it could be.. Seishû 勢州 or Esshû 越州 or Geishû 藝州 ​​Geishû looks the closest I think? ​Ben

I wonder how many swords they'd need submitted to warrant a visit. Maybe we should do a poll of AUS / NZ Collectors? I'd have 3 I'd like to submit for Shinsa... Ben