Katsujinken

I hope folks realize how lucky we are that Darcy publishes what he does. Obviously the methods here aren’t groundbreaking, but their application to this field absolutely is. As someone born in the 80s (a rarity in this field, it seems), this kind of data visualization speaks to me with real immediacy. It makes 100-page concepts from the classic books obvious in just a moment of close examination. This is just fantastic.

A classic NMB thread! Thanks for sharing! :-)

Without better photos of the swords, my best advice is to buy the blade you love the most. Ignore the fittings. They can all be changed later if that’s important to you. The blade is what you’re paying for. Make sure you can inspect the nakago of both blades to ensure it matches the papers.

My comment does not pertain to a specific school, so I must beg your forgiveness in advance. That said... I hate hitatsura. I think it’s tacky and garish, regardless of who made the blade. :-)

Apologies for the almost-pun, but I would never use Nevr Dull on a nihonto that is in polish. I do use it on my shinken, but that’s a totally different story.

NBTHK.

$10,000 up to $20,000 is a danger zone in terms of quality for the money. I’d say spend well under $10,000 or save money so you can go above $20,000. In between is a fraught middle ground where a lot of collectors run into trouble.

I actually think the biggest obstacle here is training data: there simply isn’t enough high quality training data (e.g. photos of sufficient quality and detail) to train a model that could approach the accuracy of a trained person – because in truth there aren’t enough swords! So, maybe some day, but as Ken said it’s far, far in the future.

There is absolutely a way to do this safely that would be a huge benefit to the nihonto world, omitting private/sensitive information. However, it’s a moot point. The NBTHK is many things, but innovative is not one of them.

Looks like migaki nagashi to me. More here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/3645-scribbling-on-shinogi-ji-togishi/?do=findComment&comment=31520

Here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfkq0sc7r0otynx/nbthkcontemporary.pdf?dl=0

I’ll happily scan it for you, but I’ll need a few days. The home front is busy at the moment. Sound good?

I have a copy from my visit to the NBTBK museum in September. Need me to look something up for you?

I think he wants to sell some swords to western buyers who fancy themselves savvy “investors” or treasure hunters.

The assessments you’ve received are correct: the blade is in poor condition and the kissaki has been modified... badly. It’s okay to touch the nakago with your hands because it has patina, just do not touch the blade. I’m not sure if the signature is gimei or not (tough to tell from the photos... others may have a point of view). In any case, enjoy the sword for what it is. Nothing wrong with that. :-)

Is this the same Akihiro blade that was made available for study to NBTHK members in San Francisco last year? That was a real treat.

The Hasebe is a slam dunk! 74 cm! Well done.

Indeed, right you are. Den is only “bad” if you’re after a stronger / narrower attribution. That’s all I meant. And if I’m buying a sword by a well regarded Koto school, my personal preference is for a narrow attribution, especially for anything above $10,000 USD. At the Juyo level, den is definitely not something I want, unless we’re talking about the very top tier of makers (which is not the price range where I operate these days). For me, Yamato Shizu (the school) is not quite special enough for den to be acceptable. Same goes for Naoe Shizu. I’d need to go one level higher at least to be comfortable with den. Just a personal preference... which might change as I learn more over the years.

Given the relative quality of the school one has to wonder why this blade, in Japan, is only Hozon after almost a decade. For me personally the “fixed” gakumei is unfortunate. And the “den” is another downgrade, of sorts.

Hear, hear!

I don’t know a tenth of what Ray knows, but this was my instinct as well.

Thanks guys, very enlightening!

Interesting to note that both the Naoe Shizu and the Kashu Sanekage on Darcy’s site right now have boshi with the turn back preserved.

So now that we’re here I can ask my question again with more clarity (and apologies for the kind of circuitous first attempt): If this WERE Rai, would that make it more likely to have an unmodified, original boshi? Or is there no correlation between the level of the naginata naoshi and whether or not the boshi is original (an original boshi simply being more desirable)?

Ah okay! Cool. Mostly was looking for an opportunity to pose a question that’s been on my mind. :-)