Vermithrax16

I will look into it Peter.

Peter, I am a Massachusetts native, is this in Springfield, MA?

Ray and Jean have my guess, I would say Uda but cannot give a Ko attribution without better pictures of hada/hamon activities. If the nagasa and kasane readings are correct, this one has real potential.

I was under the same impression as Alex. This is encouraging for the more modern smiths if a real trend.

No!!!!!

Javier, WOW, thanks for sharing this.

Wow Frank!!!! Stunning set, detail work is amazing. Congratulations sir!

I dreaded even clicking this thread, it's always a Bizen sword that is going to be the question. Another reason I don't bother with them. The pictures provided are not good enough for any real assessment of the blade, so I will just go by the mei. It's not close at all, not by a long shot. Agree with John above, free shinsa, why not? Not free, move along.

Something different for me. My wife, let's just say, is not really into the whole sword and tsuba passion. It was my birthday yesterday and in advance, she wanted birthday ideas. I decided to side step anything sword related, and I was inspired by the okimono member Frank Gorelik had up a while ago. So I looked for okimono. Well it's a bit hard to know what you are looking at, when you don't know what you are looking at Luckily member Raymond Singer had the perfect contact for me to work with and I thank him. I now have a rabbit okimono made by Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012). It's in the medium of ceramic, and it's truly beautiful. The color is an off blue that's hard to describe (celadon?) and the work is calming and peaceful. I really am happy and it's a fine gift from the wife. Very happy with the outcome, thank you Raymond. Pictures: Last picture shows the work on white paper, to see the subtle blue coloration:

LOVE Hosho!

Walk away. Please.

Yeah, I can see why......... Amazing Ray, just case study in appreciation.

I like what Eric and Jason are saying. Having never been I would want those things they suggest. For me and swords, I usually will spend 2-4 weeks studying a sword online, requesting other pictures and thinking it over before I buy (well not the last one, 1 day decision, BUT I had studied that sword for so long previous) so a show is not going to be a place I am going to buy a blade. Fittings? No problem.

I figured there would be a bunch of discussion on this one, but every time I went and tried to make an observation or a comment, Darcy had already covered it well in the article. Amazing. Only thing I will add: We get another good cluster of Juyo blades right before the end of the Shinshinto era (1850-1870). When thinking about the highest rated Shinshinto smiths, not many were making swords in that era. Masahide, Motohira, and Naotane were a touch before then. Kiyomaro ended sword making in 1848 (abruptly, sadly). So I do wonder what this cluster refers to.

With every shinsa session I do wonder where the heck are the works I am most interested in. Someone find some!

How many blades were submitted? Always blows my mind how many get sent every shinsa here or in Japan.

There you go! Nice Adam.

Yeah, I will will try not to. I just posted a mei comp. Not sure what you mean but thanks.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Is this a joke? I gotta check.

Great detail work, nice Frank.

Send to shinsa. Here is what I came up with as a comp tonight:

Well I do like other styles other than masame hada, and Ishido is one of my most beloved. TH waki by Yasuhiro, well worth a look: http://www.sword-auction.jp/en/content/as18560-%E8%84%87%E5%B7%AE%EF%BC%9A%E5%82%99%E4%B8%AD%E5%AE%88%E6%A9%98%E5%BA%B7%E5%BB%A3-wakizashi-bicchu-kami-tachibana-yasuhiro

No not that smith, just thinking of this really well done blade that had me do a bunch of research: http://world.seiyudo.com/product/ka-030713/

I dread Bishu school posts.......... Jean found some examples but I would think the nearest I could find in mei comps tonight is 6th gen Morishige (1491). Ana hole is not in correct place and looks gimei to me after photo compare. Agree with Ray, send it to shinsa and find out, always the possibility it's some other Morishige or a school sword etc. I am being kind in that comment.

I got better results (not Ray, Darcy, or Ed level) by making sure I had the camera phone in focus but based on a stack of books or other stationary setting. Then you can use flash and figure out some better ways to see blade.