Katsujinken

To be fair, Aoi says jojosaku, but Fujishiro says chusaku (which is mostly where my 'pedestrian' comment comes from). In any case I appreciate the input! Thanks. :-)

What is it? This should be a fun one for a few reasons, so I'm very curious to see what folks come up with... First person to get it right gets a high five in San Francisco. :-)

I appreciate the concern, Ken, but rest assured I wouldn't be asking if using a live blade wasn't part of our training and completely appropriate. As for papered vs. not, I think Guido made the point: it doesn't much matter as long as one knows what's up with the blade itself. Hozon papers make no difference in this case. That's why this one jumped out at me: as far as nihonto go, it's a fine example but generally pedestrian – an everyday workhorse. Which means it's an excellent candidate for Iai. Hope that doesn't offend anyone. I don't think it's disrespectful to use a sword like this for Iai if you're ready for such a thing and know how to handle it properly. I was really just asking for a gut check based on the available photos, mostly.

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-mumei-kanetsune The blade seems healthy enough. Obviously being o suriage, mumei, papered Hozon to a chu-saku smith, and late Muromachi at the oldest it should not be very expensive. I'm wondering what you all think of the auction starting price in the context of the above and as a potential blade for Iai.

With regard to the CURRENTLY used NBTHK Hozon and TH papers (not the old, generally disavowed ones), does anyone know when they switched from oshigata to photos for the nakago? Thanks! :-)

I was actually thinking that reaching out the NY Club itself might be the best option for Cate. Cate, send them an email: http://www.ny-tokenkai.org/ny-tokenkai.org/New_York_Token_Kai.html

$2000 is not bad at all for a traditionally made shinsakuto. Don't let the weight throw you. Lots of production shinken are insanely heavy. That's not to say there aren't also heavy shinsakuto, but if they are heavy the balance is usually much, much better.

Right, I definitely do not think there is any malice or purposeful misrepresentation on Aoi's part. And while I can understand translation issues related to the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of kantei, the titles of the papers should be correct because there are only four possibilities for foreign buyers. That is a mistake that should never happen and is avoidable 100% of the time. Aoi either cares enough to prevent it or they don't. We're talking about tens of thousands of dollars, after all.

I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for messing up the papers like this. It's not a translation issue. The paper titles are transliterated and never change. A teenager could ensure this kind of thing never happens. Yes, final responsibility rests with the buyer (and fortunately we have great resources like the NMB), but at what point will people decide enough is enough with Aoi?

With a bit of seppa swapping I was able to mount this on a modern shinken. Fits like a glove! The shinken is a custom katana made by MAS. It's made with Japanese L6 steel. Their forge is in Korea, I believe. The properties of L6 result in a fairly minimal hamon, and as with most modern blades not made with traditional materials the yokote is cosmetic. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It feels good in the hand, but I'll know for sure on Tuesday after a bit of tameshigiri.

That would Hataya Sensei, proprietor of Touken Hataya, in Machida City. He is 9th Dan Hanshi and acting Kaicho of the Zen Nippon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei (全日本戸山流居合道連盟). He is easily one of the most accomplished swordsmen alive today, and he's a tremendously nice person to boot!

Thanks! I don't think I would've bought it from afar without the papers given the idiosyncrasies you both highlighted, but I'm very happy with it. Looking forward to mounting it soon!

Just picked this up for an excellent price (a steal, really, given the cost of papers). Really happy with it, and planning to mount it on a modern shinken for use in training. It's papered to Shoami, so the shakudo odawara fukurin is distinctive. I love plum blossoms (the ryokan Shiraume in Kyoto is a special place for me), so this one just immediately jumped out and called to me.

Well, everyone has their favorites. I don't want to offend anyone through omission. But it's safe to say that individual dealers mentioned by name on NMB with a good reputation are a good place to start. A bit of searching reveals the core group pretty quickly. But even with the pros, responsibility begins and ends with the buyer. In most cases, you are going to pay at least a little premium for their expertise and handling. How much you're comfortable with is up to you. :-) But this is just what works for me.

Aoi is a nice resource in the modern age but I'll never buy from them. I'd rather bide my time and spend a bit more with a very small number of dealers I trust and with whom I have built a real relationship. Aoi is like the Wal Mart of nihonto. And there's nothing wrong with that as long your eyes are wide open with regard to what you're buying. You can't walk into a Wal Mart and buy Versace, after all.

Darcy has written about this extensively, so I look forward to him chiming in. But I will add that the older a sword is, the higher it can paper when mumei. Darcy has stats, I am sure. Important to remember that once you're into koto, the attribution on a mumei blade is as much a metaphorical statement of relative quality based on our judgment of the smith/school as it is a declarative statement of what person forged it X00 years ago. E.g. Imagine an attribution of Kaneuji vs. Yamato Shizu, etc. In the past there are attributions on well known top quality blades that have changed. Again, Darcy has loads of data and anecdotes around this exact issue.

Me too, thanks!

The yokote has seen better days, I think.

I recently got my hands on the (very reasonably priced) English translation of Otake-sensei's newest book, Heiho. It was translated by Daniel Lee, Otake-sensei's most senior non-Japanese student. It's an earnest, personal look into Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto-ryu, and, I think, a priceless record to have with us. In addition to various histories and stories (some of which folks may find a bit quixotic), there are touching anecdotes about Donn Draeger and interesting tidbits about Otake-sensei's swords, the early days of the NBTHK, and the modern promulgation of Katori Shinto-ryu. Absolutely a must read for anyone who is a student of any form of iaido or kenjutsu, and for anyone who appreciates koryu and believes they should be preserved. https://www.kendo-world.com/wordpress/?mbt_book=strategy-and-the-art-of-peace

I've said it before: unless you know the seller, all you're bidding on at eBay is trouble. With this piece, there are no returns accepted. Absolutely preposterous for something that costs $10,000 and doubly so for a nihonto.

Thank you for updating this thread, and congratulations!

Indeed, a thin or tight nioiguchi may not be the usual for Naoe Shizu, but it does exist in some extant works (perhaps when the effort was an utsushimono?). This setsumei says as much.

To me Naoe Shizu offers such a great combination of elegance and power. Would love to see what NBTHK has to say about this blade, especially since the [very special] sayagaki puts it down to a specific smith.

Thank heavens

Part 1: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16303-nihonto-oil-a-study/ Part 2: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/16521-nihonto-oil-a-study-part-2/