Toryu2020

Unfortunately it appears the tsuba in the box and the tsuba mentioned in the Hakogaki are different... The larger one has a Choshu Mei. -t

Dan - Are you able to post photos of the tsuba? -t

Dan - You might contact Moises Becerra of Nihonto Antiques - he may be handling swords for his clients - we are not local to Orlando so are not planning on offering a mail-in service. -t

Pure masame with a suguha hamon is prone to vertical breakage - so we are told that adding a bit of gunome/ashi reduced the propagation of longer "chips". Add to that a mokume or itame matrix and the cutting edge is much stronger, chipping is less likely. Pure masame also is prone to kitae-ware so difficult to do well... -t

The bed clothes were still warm which meant to the searchers that Kira was not far away. Though very popular this was essentially a revolt against Tokugawa rule so to avoid the censor they may have changed the names slightly... -t

Thats right - We'll be there! -t

Nicely spotted...

Kesho-yasuri means it is definitely Shinshinto... -t

Think its just decorative - might be an image of Kumagai and Atsumori? -t

Well,since you're quoting me. Here are four oshigata - two first generation and two second generation. Compare the signatures closely. I was taught if you can find four anomalies it is highly questionable. Look at your temper line do you see anything like what is illustrated? especially at the tip? Looking at your photo the grain (jigane) looks rough and tired, not in keeping with this master. I'm guessing they (the fakers) saw the shape of your tang and thought "close enough, lets put Kinmichi on this one..." -t

The Nihonto Zuikan has several examples with this style of 伊 also found one in the Shinto Oshigata Shu. Unfortunately there are significant differences with those examples so I would call it gimei. Of course the blade is the thing, what does the workmanship say? -t

Stephen try posting photos with the nakago straight up and down and be patient I am sure you will get an answer... -t

Right you are!

I don't think it is eleventh as sayagaki like this were not a thing during his time, has to be Komei but it is missing one stroke. However given the context I would say it is not a concern. -t

Here are the 11th and 19th generation - the 19th is Komei (Mitsuaki) 光昭 not Kochu...

Looks like Kochu 19th generation Ansei to Meiji but its not a good match...

Personally I agree with Darcy's conclusion, all papers from that era are poisoned. Does it mean your item is bad? No, the item still has to speak for itself. Does your own research confirm the attribution, do others agree with the attribution when studying the piece in hand? Have you the confidence to submit it for new papers? The real take-away is for new buyers, do not give any weight to these papers, buy your items based on the quality that can be seen and do not be swayed by these papers. -t

As long as it is for educational purposes you should be able to use it - full credit to the author and all... -t

Here's the direct link - this should be an article in the members section... Green papers = no papers – The Cutting Edge (archive.org) Green Papers Pt. 2 – The Cutting Edge (archive.org)

Cheers Ray!

Darcy did a whole article on this subject - do we know if it was preserved somewhere? Yes I looked at the member's articles section... Any help appreciated, -t

Ron - in Japanese the two characters are read individually as To and Ma. In sword language the two characters together are read Taema...

I believe she had issues with that publisher and dumped them. Try to contact her here... Contact – Study of Japanese Sword (studyingjapaneseswords.com)

No, but there is a sword-seller named Keiji Igarashi...

If you are looking for more in-depth on a specific smith, I recommend the articles on Nihonto.com... -t