Jussi Ekholm

Thanks Steve and Piers for proper translation and education.

I am just rewatching the series and the character gets belittled few times, "You know nothing, Jon Snow". That was my original thought when I realized that this MET tanto was discussed in the Gokaden book and I started typing the text and thought it was genuine item. However I am puzzled by it a lot. As I unfortunately can't read difficult phrases like that above I have tried running it through Google translator & DeepL. "Timeless, descent of times, era falling off etc." are translations when I try it in small part. I think this was the "best" (not sure if most correct one) result by DeepL "I had hoped that this would be the standard name for Ko-Irudo, but although the front name was authentic, it was dated to a later period, and the back date was a fake name added later to make it look Ko-Irudo" Ko-Irudo = Konyūdō. Still as the passage of the item is featured in the book, I don't think it is just an average gimei item and there must be more to it.

I think I am seeing the date as - 延徳ニ年ハ月日 (1490)

I was not aware of that tantō at MET. I was looking it and then at various signatures of Kunimitsu and I thought it would be gimei. However when looking at all of the Uda Kunimitsu signatures I have in books, it seems to me they are all maybe bit different from each other... Then I thought I had Jon Snow moment when I found out that Tanobe-sensei talked about this tanto in his Gokaden book. I will attach the Japanese text I typed from book and my rough translation. 16 years ago sunnobi tantō came to repair to Japan from a museum in USA, it was signed Uda Kunimitsu and dated to 1333. I expected it to be signature of Konyūdō. Omote signature is genuine but it is timeless? (I can't read it well but I suppose he means it is difficult to date but it is not that old as it pretends to be). Ura date is gimei and added to disguise the blade as Konyūdō. Hopefully I got at least the basic idea correctly, and better translation would be of assistance. So to me it seems that Tanobe thought that tanto is genuine Uda work by some Uda Kunimitsu later in line but the date was added to fool people.

I know there is at least one book in Japanese focused solely on Etchū smiths so Uda school should be majorly focused on there, unfortunately I do not have it. So far I have found 5 signed tachi by possibly various Uda Kunimitsu and 1 tanto (there is 1 only dated to 1321 but I do not count it here). These signed works according to the sources vary from late Kamakura to early Muromachi depending on the item. For Uda Kunifusa I have 10 signed tachi and 16 other signed blades from Nanbokuchō to Muromachi. Then I do have signed items from various Uda smiths from Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi. However the lack of dated items makes accurate dating of smiths tricky. I know some sources list some dated items for Uda smiths that I have not yet been able to locate. So far I only have the 1321 dated blade with shumei to Kunimitsu, 1405 dated Kunifusa and 1400 dated Kunihisa (there are more dated ones later in Muromachi but those are not that relevant to me). That is extremely few dated works for the early school and I think like you that there is lot to research on this school.

Judging from what I can see of the tsuba I'd say it is Paul Chen Orchid Katana.

I am puzzled too, never seen one before and I have browsed lots of stuff online. I was under the impression that they just upgraded the papers from the old system into the new system.

Wish I could claim just hitting it by confidence but in reality lot of it was luck and I do think it could have been multiple of similarish options. I think the snippet from Usagiya is good one as I thought that way although I am not sure if rough etc. is best way to describe. I know the feature was present in some schools and I felt Ko-Uda is a quite common "bucket" attribution for such feature along with other characteristics it has around this time period. I was quite sure it would have been shortened naginata but as it is classified as wakizashi I'd think it to be possibly a shortened tachi or ōdachi (I'd see that as logical but I am not yet 100% sure how NBTHK sees things).

As much as I love and collect books I feel modern technology is your friend when looking for high-res pictures in easy access form. Many of the respected dealers have very nice photographs on their websites for easy access. Also in this forum NMB you have an astonisihing resource, if you ever decide to venture the Hizen route Roger himself @omidaijo is on the forum too. And plenty of other folks that know a lot about Hizen swords too. While I agree that having focus and direction is a good thing, I just feel it will eventually come naturally over time as you will learn what kind of items you are liking. I know in modern world the trend in things nowdays seem to be getting everything by snapping fingers but that is often almost impossible in a field such as this. I believe it is important to just enjoying the studying and researching you are doing, then over the years your goals will evolve and you will notice what draws you in. I think you are on a good road as you are thinking what you might like to collect.

I must admit that nakago is different than I thought it would be but I still think it would be a greatly shortened Nanbokuchō sword. It is very interesting.

Thanks for sharing Andrew, it is nice to hear the explanation.

I am not very familiar with Shintō smiths so I cannot say much with lot confidence as I don't really study them. However it seems to me that the majority of dealers seem to list swords signed this way as work of Kunishige from Musashi, Ōtsuki Denshichirō (大月伝七郎). Who apparently was the son of Ichizō Kunishige. They must have good original sources that make them say so. Here are some reputable dealers that all list the smith similarily in their description. Hopefully my understanding of Japanese is correct in this case. https://ginza.choshuya.co.jp/sale/gj/r1/008/05_kunishige.htm https://www.seiyudo.com/wa-080112.htm https://asahitoken.jp/contents/01_token/details/token-B/B079.html https://www.aoijapan.jp/脇差山城大掾源国重/ https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords5/KT331392.htm https://tokka.biz/sword/kunishige8.html Markus lists 3 Kunishige smiths having the title Yamashiro no Daijō But after reading the info on these I believe the bottom two smiths (and two entries in Seskos smith book) could be the same smith, Denshichirō. As I believe he seemed to have been moving from Bitchū to Edo and also worked in Tsuyama (which fits to both bottom 2 smiths and I think would be very unlikely happening otherwise). Unfortunately I haven't had Hawley in many years so I cannot say anything about his smith numbering. Here is also interesting one that is signed 備中国水田住 / 山城大掾源国重 https://toyuukai.com/2019/10/備中国水田住山城大掾源国重/

Thanks for posting this one. These are always great experiences.

I think it could be - 薩州鹿児嶋住XX / 慶安五年二月吉日 - Sasshū Kagoshima jū XX (I can't identify last ones) / Keian 5 (1652)

I have the same dream David, as I have huge love for ōdachi. Unfortunately for me it most likely will be 10 years from now before I might be able to get one. And I would be bit picky even on the few surviving opportunities. This upcoming auction in May seem to be one that Grev hinted above: Unfortunately they only have two very basic pictures so can't say much about it. I still remember missing this one in 2013: https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-mumei-kanefusa-2/ At the time that was not possible for me no matter how hard I tried. This has been my favorite one I have ever seen sold online. Very rare late Muromachi sword. Fellow member Ed at Yakiba had this ōdachi around 2007: https://web.archive.org/web/20071019153358/http://yakiba.com/O-dachi_tadamitsu.htm Unfortunately pics don't work through the link. It was Shinshintō but still very rare. There are occasionally some that are listed at Yahoo JP. Last month there happened to be a Shimada attributed one for sale. https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1042250145 I must confess that if I hadn't have purchased a naginata bit earlier I would have contacted fellow member Kelly Schmidt and tried to get this one. Trying to get swords from Japanese auctions can be bit problematic as you would need an agent and there is also the time difference and some auctions only run for a short time. I think maybe few older swords around 100 cm per year would appear on Yahoo JP. I would also suggest contacting fellow member Robert Hughes of Keichodo, as he is licensed dealer residing in Japan, he has chances to get some interesting inventory that would be difficult outside of Japan. There are few bit over 90 cm katana from Edo period that are currently for sale if that would be ok for you. I am always scouting for pre-Edo swords for fun, so I will let you know if I find an ōdachi.

Here are two examples of wide Yamato Shizu with large kissaki. I should have lot more of them in books. Nagasa: 71,4 cm Moto: 3,0 cm Saki: 2,6 cm Kissaki: 10,5 cm Nagasa: 64,7 cm Moto: 3,0 cm Saki: 2,5 cm Kissaki: 8,0 cm Regarding scarcity, shortened Nanbokuchō blades, while relatively rare are still in thousands and thousands (if that is what the sword is). They will get various attributions and some are more common than others. It is bit crazy but lot of the assumed value and rarity hangs on the attribution by experts.

Would help if you would give some approximation of your budget, and does the age be a factor for you? Are you only looking for pre-Edo, will you accept Edo period work, and how about modern work?

Unfortunately Yahoo JP has restricted Europe but I can still use it with proxy bidders. There is a Yamato Shizu attributed wakizashi that would be in maybe bit similarish condition to yours (and size is similarish too). https://www.jauce.com/auction/p1046697288

I am also liking the Yamato Shizu route tha Yanchen said above. Here is one example, even though the size is bit different on this one: https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-mumei-attributed-as-yamato-shizu/ I know there are several Yamato Shizu attributions that have wide mihaba like yours and large kissaki. I can try to dig up some tomorrow.

Amazing display Thomas, there seem to be several really interesting items in there

I hope some of our Japanese or Japanese reading members could verify the circulating rumor about early torokusho being "special", as in the invitation for registaration would only be sent to certain people at first etc. It seems that Shōwa 26 (1951) was the first year but possibly the registration started at different times at different locations. I do have probably few thousands of NBTHK papers saved but unfortunately I don't think I can share in public as I do not own rights to them. Now to note I only focus my research on early swords, so the evidence is skewed in that way. This is the first time I look into torokusho numbers but now after looking, I would be quite skeptical with the rumor that only Daimyō families could send items in 1951 (that Pablo stated in his sales ad for the Masatsugu wakizashi that was in the linked thread). Yours seem to be Agency for Cultural affairs N. 493. Here are some other early ones I found, after - is the current NBTHK attribution Saga-prefecture N. 62 - Mumei Sekishū Sadatsuna with kinzōgan Miyagi N. 178 - Mumei Naoe Shizu Ōsaka N. 179 - Mumei Hokke Chiba N. 186 - Sukeyori (Ko-Aoe) Now just for fun I found Tokyo N. 24748 - Mumei Kinju, from the first session of 1951, there are numbers beyond that in second session of the year. Likewise I own Fukuoka N. 6520 - Yoshikage Naginata from the first session, and I found Fukuoka N. 13521 - Mumei Unji from second session of 1951.

Hello Gabriel! If possible and the event happens, Japan Art Expo would be in the Netherlands again this summer. I would recommend visiting the event. Giheiya was at the event in 2018, and they had nice selection of various modern swords for martial arts use. I looked at few in their booth and chatted a bit with the staff. It is a rare chance in Europe to see several modern Japanese swords at the same time.

Had very good experience with John, there are always many interesting items listed at Nihonto Australia. Will highly recommend to everyone

I hope everyone had fun looking into naginata for a change. Like many I had dreamed on having a naginata in my collection and I missed few old ones in Japan very closely in the last 5 or so years. So even though rationally I really shouldn't have even thought about this, my heart was pushing me to this when I saw this at Nihonto Australia around Christmas time. I just felt I won't be able to have a chance for such an item in long long time if I miss this one. This had passed Hozon in 2021 and here is the answer: Explanation: Zaimei naginata signed 備州長船義景 / 嘉慶三年二月日 (Bishū Osafune Yoshikage – Kakei 3 nen 2 gatsu hi [1389]). This naginata is work by second generation Yoshikage. According to tradition first generation was the son of Kagemitsu (景光) and/or a student of Chikakage (近景) and second generation was a student of Kanemitsu (兼光) it is also said that he was the son-in-law of Chōgi (長義). However more recent studies have been associating Yoshikage more closely to Osafune side lines like Chikakage (近景) and Morikage (盛景). This has been mentioned in more recent Jūyō and Tokubetsu Jūyō explanations for Yoshikage, when in earlier sources he has been put towards Sōden-Bizen group. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find many extant blades by the second generation Yoshikage, I will attach naginata from Jūyō 13 (dated 1388) and the description for it, it is very similar to this naginata. I translated it myself so there can be errors so I will attach the original Japanese text too. I will quote this part of it “Judging from the ordinary worksmanship, it is seen as work of second generation, these are generally referred as Kozori-mono” So the worksmanship of second generation Yoshikage seem to also fit the “outsider” group Kozori who presumably didn’t work with main line Osafune smith traditions. Kozori group is interesting as their work generally is from late Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi period and of certain style but I think there is lot to research on Kozori. With some earliest work by some Kozori smiths being around mid-Nanbokuchō period. I have listed Yoshikage as Sōden-Bizen smiths in my personal records, however due to more recent info I might have to adjust it. Unfortunately, dated items by Yoshikage smiths are extremely rare, and so far I have found only 7 items. Jūyō 61 there is a wakizashi dated 1357 Jūyō 46 there is naginata-naoshi dated 1363 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon tantō dated 1363 Jūyō Bunkazai wakizashi owned by Tanzan Jinja dated to 1374 Jūyō 16 there is tachi by Yoshikage dated 1379 Jūyō 13 there is the naginata dated to 1388. This naginata with NBTHK Hozon dated to 1389 Out of these 7 the first 5 items are judged as work by first generation Yoshikage, and naginata (+ I would assume this naginata for kantei) by second generation. I am also aware of 7 signed swords without date and I believe they are all attributed towards the first generation Yoshikage. 5 Tachi out of which one is also dated but the era and the smith are unreadable but attributed towards Yoshikage. And two blades with orikaeshi-mei (a katana and a wakizashi). So, the total that I have found thus far is 14 signed blades by Yoshikage. In general Naginata dated pre 1400 are extremely rare. Over the years I have gone through thousands and thousands of items in my research and so far I have been able to find only 37 naginata and naginata-naoshi that have pre 1400 date. Out of these 23 are NBTHK Jūyō and Tokubetsu Jūyō items and other 14 with various designations, some high government or provincial designations and some lower NBTHK designations etc. I am sure there are some more as I haven’t been able to dig through all items in shrine/temple collections, all museums, or imperial collection and surviving major collections etc. But the point here is that very old dated naginata are rare historically important items. Here is the naginata from Jūyō 13 and my own translation.

I'll try to be there for the full 3 days this year or at least 2. I greatly enjoyed 2018 but I couldn't spend 3 days back then. I am looking forward seeing all the familiar faces and some new ones too. And of course looking at some items at the show. Unfortunately I won't be buying anything this time either. I feel it is a great opportunity for many Europeans to see items in hand. For martial artists in particular, some dealers like Giheya had last time several modern Japanese swords at their booth, so it would have been a great opportunity to handle several swords and choose a fitting training sword. It is a rare opportunity in Europe to handle several modern Japanese swords at the same time. Hopefully the attendance will be good and this event would become a permanent show in Europe. I understand that perhaps more wider scope (Japanese Art in general) for the show is needed to make it more accessible to general crowd.