Ray Singer

Hi Jean, Your sword has what appears to be a darkish jigane, which is what is associated with works from northern Japan. The jitetsu appears to be a combination of large patterned itame with areas of a flowing itame (nagareru) which is seen in Uda / Ko-Uda. The sugata has an old feel to it (to my eyes) with a somewhat stretched kissaki that has a feel of Nambokucho. The hamon is a low-lying midareba showing Soshu influence, that is (among others) representative of Ko-Uda. Shinogi-ji is proportionately narrow. There is a trace of soe-hi visible in the nakago. This is an old sword. A few reference examples: https://www.aoijapan.net/?s=kouda&x=0&y=0 https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-mumei-kouda-2/ Kind regards, Ray PS. I might be 100% wrong, but as requested am giving feedback on what details I noticed. I do not follow a structured approach to kantei, going sequentially through sugata, jitetsu and hamon. Often, the attribution I suggest will be an impression based on what a sword reminds me of from past examples I have studied. Usually it is a gut reaction that a sword looks like one or more blades I have studied which show similar attributes.

If you want to try your hand at translating the date, I have a chart here. http://swordsofjapan.com/Japanese-nengo/

Inoue Izumi no kami Kunisada, and yes dated on the reverse.

Here is another example of a shinsakuto that has passed Tokubetsu Hozon. Ozawa Masatoshi. https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s651467682?fbclid=IwAR3a1PpwbqgXXrrQcmtGOYadrl92S_n4klchsiLPrMgSs29Gcv7kg2ekDQw

Hi Jean and welcome. This looks like a potentially very nice sword. Nambokucho period Ko-Uda would be my call. Has an iori-mune (rather than mitsu-mune). Boshi appears quite narrow, not sure to what extent it is still present at the end. PS: Please check on the large fingerprint (clean and oil the blade). http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm. If you decide to have restored, please also do so in Japan. The hamon, as narrow as it is in places, should be handled by a good, licensed togishi. I would recommend Paul Martin as a good choice to assist.

Iga no kami Fujiwara Kinmichi 伊賀守藤原金道

I was leaning towards 義 as it appears that there are three parallel horizontal strokes at the top. The pitting makes it difficult though.

Tom, as mentioned above Yoshi is a slightly different kanji : 吉

Yoshisuke

古田 Furuta

Chris, I sent you a PM with a few suggestions. Kind regards, Ray

This is a seller we have spoken about in the past (also sells under the user name Changtian-swords). http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/25062-sword-up-for-sale-on-ebay/

I would consider a madoake as a starting point, to help you evaluate health of each sword. It is a fairly low cost investment which will give you a more informed perspective on the restorablility of these blades.

These appear to be two additional kamon. For example...

Unfortunately not authentic. Please see the link below. http://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html

Thanks Steve! Franco, I just updated the post with nagasa of 6 sun, 18.2cm (per the kanteisho). I don't have the piece on-hand here at work but will confirm the moto-haba and update with that information as well. Best regards, Ray

The kamon may indicate maternal and paternal lineage. Fabulous koshirae BTW. I would think the blade is a Kamakura naginatanaoshi. A friend had an almost identical Aoe naginatanaoshi juto. I think I can see some utsuri there. Perhaps look at Aoe and Ichimonji as options. Definitely worth going through the process of shinsa in Japan.

This is an excellent quality tanto by the shinshinto smith Hioki (Heki) Kanetsugu. He worked around 1865-1868 and was of the Inshu Kanesaki line, having studied under the 10th generation Kanesaki. He also studied under Yokoyama Sukekane and later forged swords alongside Minamoto Kanenori. This is a thick, healthy and flawless tanto in unokubi zukuri. The kasane is a very healthy 7mm. Nagasa is 6 sun (18.2cm). The jihada is ko-itame and the hamon is a togari gonome is nioi and ko-nie.

I don't recall having seen this specific arrangement before. This is a date of Showa 3 (1928).

This is a sword I recently acquired from Jean, and is my favorite acquisition in a very long time. NBTHK attribution to Naoe Shizu, with an old attribution (on a "daimyo" torokusho) to Shizu. Jitetsu looks more Shizu (in my opinion, and Benson had the same observation) and while the hamon looks very Naoe Shizu. Lovely and strikingly healthy sword, with mitsumune. Enjoy the photos

What a wonderful presentation, congratulations on putting this very nice reference together Chris.

I have seen a healthy Ko-Bizen which showed some feeling of kamasu kissaki. That feature is specific to the earliest blades (going back to chokuto, which all had kamasu kissaki) and into Heian. In terms of schools, I would look to schools which worked at those earliest time period. Ko-Senjuin, Ko-Bizen, Mokusa, etc. Ko-Bizen Tochika attached.

Rereading that article makes me even more appreciative to have had a sword pass in session 57.

Thank you Luis

Still available. I know its only been a few days since my initial listing, but I wanted to restate that this is something quite special. A signed and dated hachidai Tadayoshi with zokumei, and one which shows a very high level of work.. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask... Best regards, Ray