Lewis B

Can't give you a direct answer but a message to Mike Yamasaki (tetsugendo.com) or Ray Singer might yield some options. Mike I believe is based on the West Coast.

Yes definitely.

Yes definitely. As soon as I collect it from a dealer in Utrecht on Saturday I'll post pics showing the sugata. Please let me know if you remember the attribution of the Tanto. The TH papers clearly attribute the sword to Shikkake as does Tanobe's sayagaki. The jihada and sugata are VERY similar to some other (not all) Shikkake blades including Juyo ones I've seen online. I think this sword will be a very interesting subject for further study. Thanks Sam. I immediately appreciated its quality as soon as I set eyes on it. I would be lying if I said Tanobe's positive response to the blade didn't influence the decision to purchase it to start me on my nihonto collecting journey.

Here is a video I took showing both sides of the blade. The jihada is representatively shown, only the hataraki in the hamon is less obvious. I will post a pic of the nakago next week. Extract from the Real-Life Kantei of swords #17, Yamato Swords W.B. Tanner and F.A.B. Coutinho In doing a quick view of Yamato blades found in the NBTHK Kantei books, we found several that had utsuri. Also, in Sensei Tanobe NBTHK Special report “A Journey to the GoKaden” section on the Yamato Schools he states, “Works from before the Nambokucho period have frequently clearly visible nie-utsuri whereas blades from the Muromachi period show rather a shirake-utsuri.” (Tanobe- Part 1: The Five Schools of Yamato (Senjuin, Taima, Tegai)– page 4) What should be noted is that Yamato blades have nie-utsuri, rather than the utsuri commonly found in Bizen blades. This fact is easily understood when you consider that Yamato blades are hardened in nie-deki and are known for their very fine and powerful nie structures, ranked above Yamashiro, but below Soshu Schools.(Tanobe- Part 1:The Five Schools of Yamato(Senjuin, Taima, Tegai)– page 4) Bizen blades, on the other hand, are hardened in nioi-deki, therefore their utsuri structures are different than Yamato blades. When looking at Yamato utsuri, it is often weaker in appearance than the typical Bizen utsuri and can easily be mistaken for frosting on the blade. (very fine ko-nie scattered above the hamon line) Whether this is identified as nie-utsuri, or frosting is subject to the opinion of the viewer, but it is clearly a feature found in finer Yamato blades. Also, in some cases we have seen Yamato attributed swords that have shirake-utsuri identified on the blade. We are not sure if this a weaker form of nie-utsuri, but in any case, it will be comprised of fine ko-nie particles. We believe the main difference between the scattered ko-nie being frosting or nie-utsuri is if there is a defined line of dark hardened steel (antai) between the hamon and nie particles that delineates it as being a line of utsuri rather than frosting on the blade. Regarding the purpose of this layer of nie-utsuri, Sesko argues that it provides an outer layer of hardening (but not too hard) that improves the torsional rigidity of the blade. (Sesko (2013) – Markus Sesko, SOME THOUGHTS ON UTSURI)

Beginning to agree with your assessment. I found this Shikkake with an almost identical whitish area under the shinogi, albeit a little less intense. https://www.invaluab...ana-195-c-10840c2ab4

Good luck. Its a minefield on that site. I would only consider swords with NBTHK papers and clear pics. I was interested in a Kamakura era sword but the pics were awful. Never got a reply from the seller when I asked for better and clearer images. Next.

Thats the reason I passed on the Ko Uda at the Utrecht Expo. Completely devoid of boshi on one side. Question I have is why it would get Hozon papers with such a kissaki issue. Maybe the Shinsa review panel could detect the slightest shadow of the original boshi under their lights. I couldn't see anything under halogens or diffuse sunlight.

Don't think so. The channel was really rough and irregular both sides with some red rust embedded in the contours of the fissure on the side pictured. No telltale in the nagaso or at the machi

I inspected a sword at the recent Japan Art Expo with a very similar indentation described as kirikomi, and in a similar part of the blade, about halfway along. It was over a cm in length with quite a jagged appearance

I agree, there is some further investigation needed here. The dealer called it utsuri (and it does have some characteristics such as the fading in and out depending on the light and angle of viewing) but to my eye its just too intense, especially as I now know, for Shikkake. I read Markus Sesko's treatise on utsuri and I will use this a basis for further investigation. I don't think it was the chemically applied as a means to deceive as the jihada stands on its own. The togishi I showed the video to suggested the polish might have accentuated this effect, so further study is necessary and to provide a plausible explanation. The jihada in the screenshot is representative of the entire blade and its consistency is what caught my immediate attention. There were no ware that I could detect unlike the 'good in parts' Ko Uda I inspected.

So if I interpret your comment, with all other aspects being correct for the school, the utsuri is likely 'enhanced' as there are examples with that feature (see below) and will largely disappear the next time its polished? Andrew I. brought this subject up a couple of years ago saying swords were appearing with chemically applied utsuri. Being a surface treatment, they will disappear when the blade is polished as real utsuri extends deeper into the structure of the blade. Tanobe's reaction I would have expected to be less than complimentary as he would certainly have recognized this inconsistency within the school. If thats the case here then its not too concerning as the rest of the blade is in nice condition and without kizu. Although utsuri has been described in late Kamakura Shikkake blades like this Juyo papered one as well as several others. https://www.aoijapan...kkake-yamato-school/

Thanks. I appreciate the comments. The videography was less than ideal. And the lighting also quite poor. You're right the hamon is not the most active although it is possible to see sunagashi and short kinsuji in real life. This could be that sword. The papers are over 3 years old. It has 3 mekugi-ana and the nakaga is really clean with a nice even black yokan-iro. Tanobe gave it a positive sayagaki and told the dealer it had a good chance of passing Juyo (for what that is worth).

Found this sword at the Japan Art Expo. Attributed to Yamato Shikkake with Sayagaki by Tanobe. Approx 70.6cm Nagasa, 3.03 Motohaba, 2.2 Sakihaba I won't have the sword in hand to take more detailed pics of the blade or nakago but these are a couple of screenshots from the video I shot. Hopefully I made a good choice and happy to receive your thoughts.

Any idea if thrusting action into armor might have caused this damage. A similar gouge in the same place could be seen on the opposite side. Ko Uda katana. This is a screenshot from the video I took. Personally I think there was more extensive damage and this is the remainder that couldn't be erased due to its position so close to the bohi. Also the boshi can't be seen on one side.

Its worth persisting. Andrew I feel is either a photography master or one of the best (certainly outside Japan) togishi currently working. I think its a bit of both based on what I've seen. You are lucky to have him in your backyard.

I attended that lecture too as well as the one on armor. Both talks were very informative and the Juyo Ko Uda from Henk was a really nice example. I thought the talks were a little light this year. Previous years had many more on both the Friday and Saturday. This year only on Sat. I think it would have been nice if we all had name tags and not just the exhibitors. Udo D. had some really nice swords on display. As did Nick Ruppero. His 28? cut test wakizashi/short katana with Marko Sesko writeup was the standout piece. What a beast of a blade. I ended up buying my first Koto blade. It was the first blade I inspected at the show and I spent the next 2 days doing some research and viewing everything else on display, before committing. It is late Kamakura Yamato blade attributed to the Shikkake school with TH papers and a nice Tensho style koshirae with papered Tsuba and new black Urushi saya. There was a shirasaya with sayagaki by Tanobe san that the vendors had done when they visited him at home last year. Nakago approx 71cm. The blade shows a strong utsuri which had me a little concerned but it does fade when viewing the hada directly. It has that ethereal quality giving the impression it floats above the hada. I will post some pics when I collect the sword next week. In the meantime I will try to upload a closeup video I took of the blade. The same dealer also had a Ko Uda with Hozon papers which had many interesting features. What put me off was the boshi was not existent on one side and there were 2 weird deep scrapes approx 7 mm long on one side and 5 mm on the other. Same place on the blade but hard to see due to them being sandwiched between the tip of the bo-hi and the edge of the shinogi. The explanation offered was it was damage that occurred from a thrusting action through armor. Not sure if I was buying that tbh.

Tomorrow is the day and I have just arrived at a nice parkup beside a lake near Utrecht in my VW California. Hopefully I will get to meet a few of you over the next couple of days at the Expo.

Those images are exactly what I'm looking for , especially the detailed shots under different lighting conditions. I wonder what aspect of the blade moved it into Den territory.

Well obviously sugata and boshi characteristics are very different and these are often characteristic for the smith. Thanks for the link. Thats another book I need to acquire, but it's so expensive.

Thanks Ray, Good detailed descriptions but pics were not available to me. Are you able to access them?

I've looked everywhere online and I can only find low rez pics of his long swords. Tantos are quite common but of limited use for study. I would like to find some pics showing Hada and hataraki as part of my due diligence into this smith. Darcy had some but those are currently unavailable. If anyone has a link it would be much appreciated.

Good call. That is a really nice looking piece with excellent activity in the Hada. Fine polish too.

I don't have a particular interest in koshirae that are often bundled with swords in shirasaya. I feel like less than premium accessories are being bundled to pad the already high retail price. I inquired with one dealer if I can remove the koshirae and fittings for a lower price. In the end the discount was only 100k yen on a 2M yen sword, and probably adds more than that on the secondary market if decent quality.

OP how was the sword advertised? If it was described as a Japanese Nihonto and you paid with a credit card, initiate a charge dispute and return it. If paid for with cash please use it as a learning experience and spend a few months understanding the finer details of nihonto before considering another blade.

Sorry for bumping a 6 year old thread but this is probably as good as any to express my regret from a couple of years ago. I had the opportunity to buy this Norishige which was languishing at a dealer in Vermont or Montana. As they say timing is everything and it came on my radar around the time I lost my job of 17 years. Still think about it 4 years on.