Ray Singer

The owner just located the NTHK kanteisho. Please see attached. Best regards, Ray

Robert, have you seen this one? Was on a dealer's site for quite some time. https://web.archive.org/web/20070703061357/http://www.sho-shin.com/hara1.htm

Date is 昭和二二年十月十日大安日 (the 10th day of the 10th month of Showa 1939 on an auspicious day)

Thank you both, and much appreciate the comments on my photography Mike. Never an easy process and each sword has its own challenges to capture detail properly. Stay well, Ray

This is one of the longest gendaito one is likely to see. Signed Bishu Asai ju Kanemitsu saku and dated Showa 14 (1939), this sword has an extremely long nagasa for the era of 71.9cm. The blade is also very wide and thick with a motohaba of 33mm and kasane of 8mm. The sword has a powerful sugata with shallow sori. The jihada is a very elaborate and vivid one of that I beileve is accomplished through mixed steels. The blade is in a fine shirasaya with koppa-maki and has a solid silver habaki. $4,250 (plus shipping and PayPal). Any questions, please email raymondsinger@gmail.com.

For anyone who has been looking for an original, wakizashi-size shin-gunto this is a beautiful sword. An ubu blade signed 水野源正國作之 (Mizuno Minamoto Masakuni kore o saku), measuring 51.2cm. Moto-haba is 27mm and kasane is 6.5mm. The koshirae is in excellent condition, with a lovely red/brown color saya. All matching number fittings and everything is complete with the exception of the sarute. The overall koshirae length is 65cm. The habaki is an excellent one in silver foil, perfect condition. The hamon is gonome-midare with lots of fine sunagashi. The blade is in old polish with some superficial staining but is totally flawless. $2,400 (plus shipping and PayPal/Wire). Any questions, please email raymondsinger@gmail.com.

Photos of the solid gold tachi habaki attached.

Attaching additional photos of the koshirae.

Moriie is among the most famous smiths working in Bizen during the Kamakura period. He was said to have been the founder of the Hatakeda school and worked during the middle Kamakura period, and the same time as Ko-Osafune Mitsutada. He was rated Saijo saku in Fujishiro and exhibited a style of work very similar to Fukuoka Ichimonji. To find a signed example of Moriie's work of near josun length (2 shaku 2 sun 9 bu) and intact boshi is something extraordinary. This sword has exactly the workmanship which you would expect to see in a high-quality Hatakeda. The hamon is an extremely active choji-midare in ko-nie with vivid midare utsuri. Look closely at the photos to see the activity within the hamon, with fine kinsuji and inazuma dancing throughout. The jihada is a beautiful itame with ji-nie. Nakago is suriage, but with a fully intact mei of Moriie tsukuru. There are three mekugi-ana. The nakago has beautiful color and texture. This tachi is in shirasaya with kinmuku (solid gold) habaki and comes with an excellent itomaki-no-tachi koshirae. Tosogu are iron with intact zogan. Tsuka is done in jibara-maki and has menuki of dragons in shakudo. While the blade is a fit to the koshirae, I believe that this is a married set and would want any buyer to be aware. The sword has NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon kanteisho. The Moriie is from a Japanese arts collection for an individual now residing in the US. It has been exhibited several times in museums, including the Museo Franz Mayer for the 120th anniversary of the Japanese migration to Mexico. https://youtu.be/RcNbthSyWA4 The price for this Moriie is $28,000 (plus shipping). Any questions, please email raymondsinger@gmail.com.

Will see if I can assist with this, in part. First portion of the sayagaki (description): 慶応元年紀有之 Keiō gannen aru no This sword is of (made in) the first year of Keiō period (1865) Second 姿態剛壮作域賑々數候 Third 屶耒レ且為此工ノ最高作哉