Ray Singer

A sword which has been sanded down to round off all of the lines of the blade, such as you see with the shinogi, yokote, ko-shinogi in the attached photo, has had its geometry comprised. PS: the sori being a disaster is a whole other issue.

Real, ubu mumei shinto blade in which the geometry has been compromised. Not something I would consider a worthwhile candidate for restoration.

Price reduced to $5,950 (plus shipping and PayPal). Best regards, Ray

A friend reached out asking about a sword today and it turned out to be this same tanto (already with one bid for $1,100, with the same description). Posting here in case the bidder is a member of our group. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/77122068_original-Japanese-tanto-from-the-famous-samurai

Still available, for any questions or inquiries please reach out via email at raymondsinger@gmail.com. Best regards, Ray

The mei looks fine to me.

The second kanji in this mei appears to be Sada: 定.

This appears to be Showa (1940s).

It appears to be signed Amahide. Are there any stamps on the nakago?

I'm deeply saddened to hear this. Arnold and I spoke often, and it is not long ago that he generously mailed a number of needed, reference scans to my home. It was always a pleasure to correspond with him and he was ever generous with his time and knowledge. I send my sincerest condolences to his family. Kind regards, Ray

壽命 - Jumyo

Corrected a mistype above.

Zaimei Mihara Masaie Nagasa 9 sun 2 bu

Thanks you for the kind words on the Omiya . And as far as fitting to horimono, I have a koshirae I will share in a separate thread where even the saya has been contoured inside to fit the blade's bo-hi.

I have had several swords with habaki carefully made to fit into bo-hi and futatsuji-hi. Here is an example from a Kamakura blade in my collection.

Thank you Ken. Away from the house at the moment, but I believe it is machiokuri about 3cm. Yes, 67cm is the nagasa.

Thank you Chris!

This is an exceptional 67cm Bizen tachi by Bizen Morishige. It is ubu, though a bit machi-okuri, signed Bishu Osafune Morishige. The NBTHK Kicho token kanteisho (very early papers dated Showa 32) does not specify a generation, however I would lean towards this being late Nambokucho into early Muromachi. The generation which worked during Oei continued to sign tachi-mei during that time period. The mei is very clear, the nakago well preserved and the sword itself is very healthy. The hamon is a very beautiful and active choji-ba with kinsuji and sunagashi running though. It is full of naturalistic variation which one can enjoy for hours without tiring, and continue to provide new features to enjoy. The jihada is itame with utsuri. There is a lovely two piece habaki of light gold color, which has been made to fit the bohi. The shirasaya is likewise fitted to the bo-hi in the tsuka. This sword shows why koto Bizen blades are such a popular target for collectors and will be a joy to own for the person who adds this to their collection. $6,500 (plus shipping and PayPal). Any questions, please just let me know. Kind regards, Ray

It is difficult to evaluate the quality from those photos, however I do suggest that you factor nakago condition in the future as one of the evaluation points. For Shinto, you should target a nakago where the mei is fully intact and the nakago does not have severe pitting. With older blades, some degradation to the nakago is more acceptable. With Shinto though, the nakago should be relatively clear.

Gimei.

FWIW, I would not have much confidence in the authenticity of this mei.

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/9230-kanenobu/

Depending on how much of the sword is left above the nakago, there may be a possibility for a satsu-age repair. Another possibility is o-suriage with one or both sides transferred as long gakumei. Lastly, o-suriage wakizashi with the relevant information transferred to the sword in a new inscription (and the sword would be kept with the original nakago). ALL of those options would require a licensed swordsmith in Japan.

I do not see a record for 加賀守清重,however it may be by a Meikanmore (an unlisted smith)

Back up for sale today. http://www.ricecracker.com/inventory/988_tanto_muramasa/2068_tanto_muramasa.html