Lewis B

Very true. I saw kirikomi on the mune of a Fukuoka Ichimonji and I felt it added character and didn't look like it had got the nick in the last 20 years. Correct location near the kissaki and the angle of impact was consistent for a blow from an opponent's blade. I would love to have that sword in my collection.

Personally I would pass on a blade with Ha kirikomi, on the mune is actually quite nice as it adds a little romanticism. On the shinogi not to egregious either. Kirikomi in these areas suggests the wielder knew how to handle a sword and correctly pare a strike.

Might be kirikomi which wouldn't necessarily prevent the blade from getting papers. Or the damage was caused after it Shinsa'ed in 2022 (unlikely, but possible).

Yes, another attendee kindly corrected my mistake stating it was in fact made by his younger brother Rai Kunitsugu. A spectacular blade.

I don't have any personal experience but from my understanding the blade is shipped to the Jauce warehouse and they organise the onward shipping out of the country. Of course you may have to get Jauce to authorise your bidding and they slap a 20000 yen surcharge on top of the sales price for sword bids.

Correction, it was a Rai Kunitsugu and not Yukimitsu TJ tanto.

I don't think its ill advised across the board. In fact a sashikomi polish will benefit over time. I got to see a Rai Kunimitsu tanto over the weekend with a Sashikomi finish. Owner says that with repeated uchiko applications it will look better and better and in 100 years it will look its best. Thats quite a commitment. Ultimately it depends on the style of polish. And of course, only the best quality uchiko should be used.

So Kirill's suggestion that these Ebay sellers are preying on the ignorance of Western buyers may not be altogether correct. The Kaneuji might have been lucky that session and passed Juyo even with hagire. Perhaps the Japanese buyer is less informed and is missing out on a great opportunity to pickup a bargain basement Masamune juttetsu swordmaker blade. The lack of complete Juyo Zufu origami is a bit of a red flag though.

And likely not in your favour either 99% of the time.

Well, I had a wonderful 5 hours examining over 20 blades in minute detail. Not only were the blades top examples of Soshu Den but they included a couple of TokuJu blades from Yukimitsu (with family paper archive dating back 400 years) and Norishige. There were also several Juyo blades from Kaneuji (2 long blades from different periods), Sanekage (a tanto and a katana) and Tametsugu (again an early tanto and a later katana after he relocated to Mino). It was a wonderful opportunity to note the differences in blades made years apart by the same swordsmith and the influences of their contemporaries and teachers. The Norishige was also fascinating as it seemed to have a less structured/formulaic earlier style than the Matsukawa hada he is most famous for today. I actual prefer his more freestyle earlier jihada. The TJ Yukimitsu tanto was also a wonderful example showing the early Soshu DNA. In the second half of the meeting we could compare the Soshu swords with later blades from Satsuma that emulated Soshu style. That was also fascinating to see the hits and near misses. The level of accumulated knowledge gathered in one room was also humbling. I can think of no other opportunities in Europe where there is a chance to examine so many fine blades in one place and talk with such knowledgeable collectors and dealers. The assembled tsuba and koshirae fittings were also fascinating including many museum grade pieces. Overall these events are well worth attending if you have the chance.

If I was to purchase a Gendaito sword it would be a Gassan Sadakazu. The blades that were being produced in the late 19th, early 20th Century are truly spectacular. Yes, they are reproducing the Koto styles, but no other School seems to get close across the board than these guys.

This gets to the nub of my question and the reason I posted the link. Would the fatal flaw like hagire be noted in the papers?

Definitely in need of some TLC and a fresh polish. Seller makes the point that if it was hagire it would not have passed Shinsa. Looks like classic hagire to my eye. What could cause this in the 30 years since its Juyo papers were issued? Perhaps the papers are fake?

Shocking what is being offered on Ebay. Incomplete papers and a very poorly preserved blade. Also at least one fatal flaw including hagire. Even so, given the name associated with the blade is it cheap enough to forgive its failings? I expect a genuine Saburo Kaneuji in perfect condition to be many times more expensive. Not interested just curious at what point is a blade junk or when is it cheap enough for academic interest to trump condition? https://www.ebay.de/itm/266894998767?itmmeta=01J3BJTMFYCKQJGRRGJYB8CYB6&hash=item3e242e7cef:g:7-IAAOSwM0Jh1VYT&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwJA7TmDTEh1DSRy0NJuvSlwus6YIlhdOmHK%2BD%2FLxDROXmtwrFtJuHWVKR0BBjMlLn5f0dKSQKxd9o9i%2FVgTOZbeuT29XDmCIitKD6h7kg4LDci0%2B55EqxN3pbn2LiUSKwwZhvoJas1%2B8b0MKxfY4Y6y4k6EBs9%2BBEdUuIFedq%2BbF%2F8uwtt1LXhpY0QukwUquG7fSnoxr5xliJWvg6bdaGZZ1ptmIAwB46D869hVvcspdreyIjJ0JNDI8iJfNFo6%2Ffg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4LI6vKaZA

Me too and I don't have the tsuba bug....yet.

Ah Ok, thanks for the correction Piers.

I was referring to the printed number in the top right corner of the papers ie No 3003067). The Shinsa was Heisei 25 but the original registration papers were from 1952 if I'm not mistaken (from info within the box bottom left).

Would love to see a pic of the blade.

No reason to start a new thread but after the Utrecht Expo last month I am attending my first NBTHK-EB meeting in Solingen this weekend. Really looking forward to learning more about the Soshu Den which is the focus of this months meet. I hope the experience will convince me to become a full member. There are so few venues to see the highest quality blades in Europe so this is a rare opportunity.

Also TH number always starts with a '1' while Hozon is '3'. The blade was registered in June 1952, so someone thought enough of it to get the paperwork sorted very early on.

Condition is poor and the quality of the horimono is shall we say, questionable IMHO. I assume you saw this

Lovely sword Erik. Just shows what a little time researching, learning and reading can lead to. I would agree that Naoe Shizu lives in the shadow of some pretty big beasts in the Soshu den. Its founder Kaneuji is considered one Masamune's best students, so the DNA is strong. But as Ray says many achieve Juyo and for good reason. Exceptional jihada, powerful sugata, and varied hataraki. To my eye it seems to be a good choice for a first nihonto purchase. Thanks for sharing.

Yes I can see a very faint impression of the Mei in the closeup.

Did someone paint the nakago? That looks odd. And I'm not familiar with the older papers, but wouldn't the Mei be seen on the oshigata as I assume its produced by pencil rubbing?

If I ship a sword back to Japan for Juyo Shinsa next year I plan to use a specialist. It will mean a drive to Sweden which isn't too far from Northern Germany but for piece of mind I'm more than happy to pay extra for security back and forth and have them deal with the NBTHK submission process, registration in Japan etc.