Jussi Ekholm

Hozon paper says 無銘 (長船清光) Unsigned (Osafune Kiyomitsu), length 2 shaku 2 sun - c. 66,66 cm

Bizen Kiyomitsu? Kaga Kiyomitsu?

It's a fun question to think about. I think my small collection of couple swords might be slightly different if I couldn't take off tsuka on either one. First of all my both blades are signed and in shirasaya. So it's easy to figure out that signature is important to me. I think in my collecting mindset sugata the shape of the sword "overrides" everything else. When I see a sword that has shape and features I like, after that I check if it is signed, and then comes the all important condition. This is generally ass backwards thinking when you consider the usual advice to collecting and for everyone I would definately say that they should focus on good condition. I just think I kinda know what I want to focus my collecting, and currently the condition is the part where I have to be accepting with my focus. I think if I couldn't remove the tsuka I would be much more focused on quality and condition. Now I am more willing to own a signed sword by lesser smith but if I never could see the nakago it would be all about the quality and condition. My swords would still be quite curved as it's the curved tachi sugata that I desire but I think their quality might be a notch higher. Of course I would have to give up on my desire to collect signed swords.

Paul said pretty much what I was going to say. Go for the sword that you like the most. You might get "more quality" for money invested in wakizashi but they are not as "desirable" as katana or tachi like Paul said above. However it might open some doors financially that would not be possible with a longer blade. It all comes down to what you want to collect. Also collectors have various collecting preferences and people might have differing opinions on prices of some particular swords depending on things the appreciate. It's very hard to give any set prices as it's so much based on unique items. Someone might think a sword is worth 5000€ but for another person fair price in his mind might be 3500€. Question would be how is the condition of the unsigned Koto blade and who is it attributed to? Likewise with the Showa wakizashi, condition is one major thing.

Green book is Meito Oshigata Shu - Koto 1 You got some excellent books there, very nice score.

I think it could be 義忠 Yoshitada.

Sorry I can't find the pictures of some of the more rare sageo types anywhere. I have 30+ variety types that I can't find pictures of... I have the kanji for them but Google gives nothing. Here is the Facebook of Nakamurasho (that Thomas suggested earlier) and it has a link to their homepage. https://www.facebook.com/nakamurasho1893 You could also try contacting Hans Koga. I saw some of the sageo he had made on NBTHK meeting some time ago. I can't really remember the weaves but Hans will surely know more than me. I made some basic sageo styles many years ago. It's pretty fun but for me even this basic weave was pretty time consuming as I ain't no craftsman. I always used cheap cotton thread but I got some decent results. Kumihimo skills are very nice, and of course the more complicated weaves are pretty awesome.

Both are stunning.

I think it is 長州須佐住宮内藤原清重作 Choshu Susa ju Miyauchi Fujiwara Kiyoshige saku

Forgive my paint skills as it's 1.45 in here but I am seeing this.

I think I see takanoha yasuri in the lower portion of the tang on the pic (10) of the omote side.

3M Yen in Toko Taikan, TT lists him working at Kanbun. I think he is also listed as Ryo Wazamono in Kokon Kaji Biko. Here is another signature reference: http://www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/08309.html

I can try to look more info for you when I've got more time. I have plenty of reference terms in my nihonto encyclopedias for sageo and tsukaito. It's getting 2.00 in here and I need to get to bed. Look for 竜甲組, I read that this type of sageo was popular in Owari koshirae, not sure if it's the same style you are looking for. You'll also find some styles from Japanese wikipedia to aid your searching: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8B%E7%B7%92

I think it is 波濤雲龍図鐔 and the theme might be translated as rolling waves and cloud dragon.

Digitalization is an amazing thing sometimes. Thought I'd search some of these titles from National Diet Library database. 解紛記 - Keifun-ki: http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2606135 本朝古今銘盡 - Honchō kokon-mei-zukushi: http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/9892696 Mei-zukushi from 1423 that is listed as important Cultural Property: http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1288371

Here are the book titles in that Token Bijutsu article. I'll put in brackets the number in the Wakou museum index. 解紛記 - Keifun-ki (43) 本朝古今銘盡 - Honchō kokon-mei-zukushi (30) 囗伝書 - Kudenshō? , oral transmission writings 倭朝古今銘冶之次第同名乗事 - ??? 銘盡秘伝抄 - Mei-zukushi Hidenshō? (120) 古今銘盡 - Kokon mei-zukushi (115?) 銘図 - Mei-zukushi? (57) 銘尽 - Mei-zukushi? There is lot of interesting information about these books written in the article but unfortunately I can't translate it fully.

Awesome find Randy. There is article on Token Bijutsu 689 about early Edo period sword books. I can't read the article in whole with my very limited Japanese skills but I can at least try to get some titles for you.

Kanetsuna 兼綱 - Tenshō 1573-1592.

It's very fun exercise. I can't really participate as by trying to nail it down I ended up finding this tanto. So I guess I was kinda in right direction but I was still very far actually... In my case it was luck and not skill pinpointing it down.

I agree with Maurice 1. 平長盛 and 2. 肥前国忠吉

Very nice picture Derek. I believe this same exhibition was on display in Tampere about three years ago when I visited it. I'm posting another picture, which in comparison looks like it was taken with a potato... This shows how important the display & lighting are when items are on display. I visited the exhibition with my sister and both of us thought some of the rooms were way too dark as it was hard to get a proper look of some of the items. At least the actual Terracotta warriors that were the main attraction were properly displayed and could be really enjoyed. Not really adding any insight of the sword itself but the displaying of this item seemed to me like day & night, and I thought it would be important to point it out. Seeing this item in Tampere in person and seeing it displayed like that in Chicago, it just makes a huge difference how the item is on display.

I'm not a tsuba guy so my help will be very limited. You could also try asking the question from both AB and EB of NBTHK. I know there are guys with great tsuba knowledge in our EB. Unfortunately I have never been in the US and I haven't met US members but I know there is also great tsuba knowledge there. I agree what was mentioned earlier that seeing various examples and get bit background info and explanations about them would be very fruitful to us newbies. Even though it's not as good as hands on teaching I think a lot can be learned from online conversations too. I tried to track down some Higo tsuba for you from 2014 and 2015 but I didn't exactly find too many of them listed at dealer sites. So I didn't found too many attributions even to plain Higo on this timeframe. I tend to approach it with a collector view as that is only last few years. I understand that dealers will flip things but I think many collectors will not want to sell the item almost directly after getting papers for it. You can find lots of attributions for various Higo schools as well as plain Higo attributions pre 2014. Maybe there very well might be tighter criteria for attributing mumei pieces directly to certain schools in the NBTHK after 2013 I don't personally know this. However I think it's more probable for "unwanted" attributions to end up for sale than the "wanted" ones. Also as I don't know a lot about tsuba I think attributing mumei pieces directly to someone will take immense skill and the work has to be quite stereotypic. Of course it's the same as with swords. I fully understand the "basic" attribution to for example in this case Higo. It's a lot safer to give more broader attribution than very specific one. Of course it would be great to get the most accurate attribution possible but I think sometimes it will be very difficult. Maybe the NBTHK is not currently the best organization for identifying Higo tsuba? If that is the case maybe getting opinions by those in Japan who focus their studies on Higo tsuba would be the correct decision, I think Chris said this already earlier in the thread. Of course the opinion of high level Higo collector might not have the same general commercial value that NBTHK papers tend to have among collectors but I believe for high level Higo collectors the opinion of an expert specialized in Higo tsuba might be much more valuable. Here is one for your list of post 2013 even though it's a den attribution. 伝楽寿 I had to check and his den is to my understanding of Kamiyoshi school. It's fun trying to look up things as it's a learning experience. http://web.archive.org/web/20150218034725/http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/b00142.html

I should have been asleep for a good while now but I got hooked on timetravelling on web archive. It's an amazing tool for tracking down things. Of course I ended up surfing and searching many old tachi as I got carried away... As I focus on older swords I haven't searched more modern swords in a while. Here are few more tanto to give you some idea, with more digging I am sure you can find many more examples. I couldn't be too picky about papers as I wanted to give you a small bunch so you have some start. 600,000 Y http://web.archive.org/web/20130915030839/http://www.aoijapan.com/tanto-gassan-sadakazu-kokuin-engraved-mark 800,000 Y http://katananokura.jp/SHOP/1512-T01.html 480,000 Y https://web.archive.org/web/20141110100339/http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2015/1510_3005syousai.htm 780,000 Y http://www.seiyudo.com/ta-011112.htm 730,000 Y http://www.seiyudo.com/ta-08121.htm

I would go with the upper one as I base most of my terminology to Zusetsu Nihonto Yogo Jiten. Also in that book it is referred being a kozuka for tanto koshirae. Hawleys fittings terms has similar description referring them as small sized kozuka made for either tanto or aikuchi. In the Hawley book it is mentioned that Goto Tokujo would have been the first one making them. Encyclopedia by Markus gives a description of hanzashi/hazuzashi that it is a small knife or kogatana that was used for cutting a notch to arrows. So this term the my understanding means different utily knife. I should have checked the actual description of hazuzashi before posting it as I wrongly assumed that both hanzashi would mean the same thing.

I think I would try to approach this by looking up for what prices Gassan Sadakazu tanto have been for sale & sold in lets say around 5 last years. With this research you might get a good bunch of data, and you could try to compare the tanto in question against this small database.