Ray Singer

Inscription: Mei: Minamoto Masao Date: Bunkyu ni nen san gatsu hi (a day in the third month of 1862) https://sword-auctio...kubetsu-hozon-token/

Hagire would not seem to be related, a hagire can happen at any time (for example, damage from impact at a later point in time). I would not make a connection between the two separate situations: The blade was shortened and documented by the smith who did the work At some point, the blade sustained damage resulting in a hagire

Throwing in a set of late Edo menuki and dropping the price to $725 (+ shipping & PP). Just something that I am assisting with as a favor.

A Ko-Bizen Tomonari has been added to the gallery of art prints. Here are photos of all prints now available. Please message with any questions and I will provide further details on these.

To clarify, this is on a kogai (not a blade).

When a sword has been shortened and there is a komei inscription ( indicating what the previous inscription was), the stated attribution is not taken at face value. It's only upheld by the shinsa team if the characteristics of the sword itself align with that attribution. For example, a nakago inscription of komei Norishige Tadatsuna suriageru would not receive NBTHK papers if the blade looked like a Nagayama Ikkansai Yoshihiro rather than a Norishige.

Unfortunately also a Chinese fake.

Please see below. http://www.jssus.org...japanese_swords.html

Osuriage mumei katana, 66.5cm nagasa with copper habaki and saya only. Gunome hamon in nie-deki with a thick habuchi. Deep sori, extended kissaki and raised shinogi. Futatsuji-hi on one side and the reverse with bo-hi and soe-hi. $700 + shipping & PP

A boy's day sword, shinshinto with wisteria theme sukashi tsuba and hawk & monkey kozuka. Kashira and menuki are missing. Wide gunome-midare hamon. This style of blade was produced often by the Mishina line of smiths. $850 (plus shipping and PayPal)

Something that may be informative on the subject is Tamio Tsuchiko's book The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths. In particular there's a chapter on Ohno Yoshimitsu, and the focus is on a shift in thinking and considerations he goes through in order to support sword orders for marital arts usage, which is not the same as his typical orders to forge swords for collector appreciation. This is one of the best living Japanese swordsmiths, who produces swords either for appreciation or for practical use.

At a guess perhaps 吉氏 (Yoshiuji) or 吉武 (Yoshitake).

Hi Jamie, I sent you a message. Best regards, Ray

And to answer your question more directly, no these type of papers do not have a discussion about the quality of the sword. That is why collectors are very appreciative of having sayagaki by Tanobe-sensei, because it gives more thoughtful insight into the blade, its quality, and other considerations about the style of workmanship.

The papers are Hozon, which is the lowest of four levels that the NBTHK issues, however we do not know whether the sword has been submitted for a higher level of papers at some point.

Be aware that if the NBTHK themselves were not able or willing to pinpoint it to a specific Norimitsu, it's possible that you will not be able to get that level of specificity outside of the shinsa process.

I recommend purchasing the ebook below, which will provide you with bios for the Norimitsu who worked during the time period your sword is dated. https://www.lulu.com...ml?page=1&pageSize=4

NBTHK is the leading authority (in terms of an organization) for issuing of kanteisho. There was more than one Osafune Norimitsu working at that time. They did not specify which individual or generation was responsible for the sword, they simply authenticated the inscription.

NBTHK Hozon kanteisho Bishu Osafune Norimitsu Bunan San nen ni gatsu hi (a day in the second month of 1446)

坂倉言之進照包 - Sakakura Gonnoshin Terukane

This is a very nice katana in koshirae with an NBTHK Hozon certificate attributing it to Echizen Seki (a school dating from late Koto into Shinto times). https://swordsofjapa...echizen-seki-katana/ Echizen province is in present day Fukui prefecture on the western coast of Japan. The Echizen Seki school was one of the two principal schools of sword smithing in Echizen, the other being the Yasutsugu who were originally from Omi province. The Echizen Seki were created by smiths moving from seki to Echizen. and were particularly active from 1658 -1680. This is a nice long blade with a low choji-midare hamon. Black tsuka wrap with very high quality Nio (temple guardian) menuki. The menuki has an NBTHK Hozon certificate. Iron jingo tsuba and shakudo dragon fuchigashira. Black lacquer scabbard. copper habaki. Hamon: Gunome-choji some togari-gunome, in nie-deki Jitetsu: itame with mokume mix. blade has muneyaki Boshi: ko-maru Nakago : 21.1 cm Nagasa: 70. 0 cm Moto-haba : 2.9 cm saki-haba: 2.1 cm moto-kasane: 0.6mm Saki-kasane: 0.5mm Kissaki: 3.2cm $4k + shipping and PayPal

Okada Kanesada saku. https://www.warrelic...e-sword-tang-823682/

Ujifusa was a lineage of Owari smiths. Yes, this appears to be Edo period and restorable, but that is a question best answered by a polisher evaluating the sword in hand.

Ujifusa. Authentic antique Japanese sword.

Thank you for the catch Piers, I will update with the correct smith bio when I get off my flight.