Ray Singer

Unsure if the attribution on the sayagaki is correct (Izumi [no] kami Kanesada), however it appears to be a ubu, mumei, Shinto hirazukuri wakizashi.

Sayagaki appears read Izumi (no) kami Kanesada.

Well deserved. Based on what I have seen, I would rate his skill the highest.

To punctuate what others have said, Okimasa was an excellent smith. Arguably the best smith working during the war. A special order example is worth having restored by a top, licensed swordsmith (ie. do not use a self-taught amateur). I am attaching photos of an Okimasa I own in an absolute top quality Japanese polish.

Reduced to $2,300 (plus shipping and PayPal)

Kanetaka

Interesting, thanks for the feedback Curran.

A local collector asked for my thoughts on the attached tsuba which is for sale, and I would prefer to ask the opinion of members who are more knowledgeable in this area. https://www.facebook.com/groups/nihontodo/permalink/1620405071413303/?sale_post_id=1620405071413303 Appreciate any feedback... Kind regards, Ray

To throw another couple of options, what appeared to be Kuni (國) may alternately be Suke (助) or Nori (則). FWIW, there were several smiths who signed 則定.

Thank you for the update Klaus. Best regards, Ray

Thanks for the kind words Hoanh . This is a nice sword for someone who enjoys Soshu-den.

The nakago has an Uda shape and there appears to be more kanji above Kuni. I would guess it is Uda Kuni___ (possibly Kunimune 國宗 or Kunifusa 國房). The compressed appearance of the kanji at the bottom of the nakago is typical of Uda.

A married daisho I owned by shodai Kyo Tamba (no) Kami Yoshimichi.

Looks like Masayasu (正泰)

Both swords named Mikazuki have that name due to the crescent-shaped activity in their hamon. May be worth looking for in yours.

There are two famous swords also named Mikazuki. Mikazuki Munechika Mikazuki Kanemitsu

Takagawa Narinari. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/NAR48

Very nice. Yokoyama Sukekane. Kiku Ichi Sukekane saku Some info on the Yokoyama Bizen group pere https://www.aoijapan.com/tanto-bishu-osafune-ju-yokoyama-saemon-sukekane https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashisunnobi-tantobizen-osafune-yokoyama-sukekane-saku http://www.ricecracker.com/info/sukekane.htm http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/6519-help-with-bizen-yokoyama-sukenaga/ https://nihonto.dilanhosting.com/archive/fss439.htm https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-yokoyama-kaga-suke-ason-sukenaga/

Please share a photo.

A crack partially through the nakago is not generally considered fatal and I know of such restored (in Japan) and receiving papers afterwards. I would not discount the sword too quickly. The blade has a nice shape with very wide bo-hi, like what you might see in Miike (Sue-Miike). Someone thought well-enough of the sword to have a reasonably nice koshirae assembled. I think at minimum the sword is worth having a mado-ake (window polish) done to see what is there and would not break up the complete set to sell the tsuba, blade, etc separately.

If the mei is authentic, this would be a late Muromachi smith. There are several generations listed in the Toko Taikan, Nihonto Meikan and Fujishiro. The Sue-Mihara school produced some very nice work, and also work that was of more average quality.

Mihara ju Masachika - 三原住正近

Uncertain of the generation. These were both offered by a Japan dealer.

It seems that many of these were made by the Kinmichi lineage, who were granted the right to use the kiku-mon on their swords. https://www.aoijapan.net/bashinkankyuto-kikumon-kaminari-yoke-fujihara-kinmichi/ http://www.nihontocraft.com/Mishina.html

That is not always the case. Please see attached for a couple of reference examples.