Lewis B

Your blade is more like Yamato Shikkake than mine, which is papered for that den. The masame above the Hamon, which is absent for my blade, is a regularly cited feature. Would be interested to hear what others think.

The Hamon on this example is less exuberant (gunome) and more notare as exhibited on my blade https://nihonto.com/shizu-saburo-kaneuji-志津三郎兼氏/

Nagasa: 70.6cm Motohaba: 3.03cm Motokasane: 6.8mm Sakihaba: 2.2cm Sakikasane: 4.8mm

No long swords?

This was the Koshirae that accompanied the Yamato Shikkake. Tensho build. New black urushi Saya, Hozon papered Tsuba, Dark green doe and ray skin Tsukamaki. Nice quality menuki that appear to be a pair of Phoenix. Just learned how to tie the Sageo (took a long 30 mins to figure out the second half). And there is a quite unusual Bashin. Appears to be silver judging be the weight and tarnish. The wave motif matches nicely with the design on the Tsuba. Overall a wonderful simple companion piece for the Shikkake.

And UK have only recently finished paying for the privilege. Final bill $35billion (todays money). Thanks buddy.

Absolutely not, but I'm a novice collector so have a VERY low tolerance for questionable swords. There is a good chance I will buy a baddun someday I just prefer not to make mistakes at the start of my journey.

Sadly all too true. V&A Toshiba room was a total disappointment. 2 swords with very poor lighting. The best was this Osafune Bizen Morimitsu from the early Muromachi era (~1400). Far better to attend the Utrecht Japan Art Expo, local clubs or private individuals.

Visiting London today and plan to stop at the Toshiba gallery at the V&A. Besides this venue are there any other galleries and retailers with a good selection of Koto blades worth checking out, on permanent or temporary exhibition?

What a wonderful opportunity. There are several swordmakers in that list that are on my shortlist, namely Hasebe, Sanekage and Sekishu Sadatsuna. Do you have any specific comments regarding these blades?

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).