Mushin

I was talking to Ray Singer about this yesterday. The problem here, as we discussed, is the connection with the Tokugawa. That association is such that few are going to ever say it is a fake, even to this day. Cultural respect, etc. But the fact that sword has no official status -- not Kokuho,Jubi, JuBun or any flavor of Juyo -- is telling. So it appears to be exactly as labeled: a sword signed Sadamune that was owned by powerful member of the Tokugawa family. No more. No less.

Sa blades attributed to specific smiths tend to be highly valued blades. They are considered a big step above the more numerous Sue-Sa and O-Sa Ichimon attributions, and thus are prized. Yoshisada has to his credit 56 recorded blades, including two Jubis, four TokuJus and 42 Juyos. Not too shabby by any standard. That said, top tier work like this is not that common and the setsumei is certainly very positive about the attribution and the quality of the blade. For me, a Sa School lover, I think the price isn't unreasonable at all especially with the current exchange rate for a Juyo work from a good session and great setsumei. And comparing the quality to other Soshu-adjacent schools and smiths, I think they represent probably some the best value in Nanbokucho Soshu works. The value of Sa blades within the Soshu pantheon was something that even Darcy commented on. And while Yoshisada's works are not as well-regarded as some of the other inner Samonji circle such as Yukihiro (my favorite) and Yoshisada's older brother, Yasuyoshi, his work is considered closer to his father's (Samonji) work style than is Yasuyoshi. (Kunihiro mentioned above was also good but was later and not necessarily among O-Sa's inner circle of children and early students.) Yes, there are lots of options at this price range, but if you are looking for a Juyo blade with excellent Soshu pedigree and supreme clarity of the steel and such a wide bright habuchi, I am not sure you are going to find much better at this price. Just my humble opinion. (And FTR, the only reason I didn't jump on it is these days I only collect tanto. My safe and closet are grateful!)

So glade you and Mark are coming as first timers! Looking forward to meeting you!!!

Thanks, Hokke. The hotel says the room block closes on May 26th so there is still time to book for reservations with the reduced rate.

The 12th Orlando Japanese Arts, Collectibles & Sword Show (June 26–28, 2026) continues to grow and improve every year, and this year is shaping up to be the biggest and strongest yet. This year’s featured exhibition is “Masterpieces of the Yamato Tradition,” with a special educational display curated by Ray Singer and Joe Forcine highlighting important examples from one of the most influential traditions in Nihonto history. The dealer room is shaping up to be the strongest yet: 41 table holders spread across 60+ tables Dealers and exhibitors traveling from 12 states Seven first-time exhibitors, which means fresh inventory and new material that attendees likely haven’t seen before That combination of established dealers and new faces should make for an especially strong buying, selling, and networking weekend. In addition to swords, there will be: Tsuba roundtables Sword etiquette presentations Toyama-ryu demonstrations Hōzōin-ryū sōjutsu demonstrations Bonsai and ikebana exhibitions And plenty of opportunities to talk swords with fellow collectors from around the country One of the things that makes Orlando particularly easy is logistics: the venue is just minutes from Orlando International Airport, with hotel shuttle service available. Event Details: June 26–28, 2026 DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Airport Orlando, Florida The hotel room block closes in 11 days, so if you’re thinking about attending, now is the time to lock things in. More details here: Orlando Sword Show If you’ve never attended, this is an excellent year to start. If you’ve been before, expect a bigger room, fresh material, and one of the best educational displays the show has hosted. Hope to see many of you there.

I had this issue once with the Feds. The rayskin was not mentioned on the import paperwork and Wildlife officers in the CBP office threatened to destroy the whole package. I actually told them to keep the koshirae and send me just the shirasaya and the blade. They said they couldn't. The matter was resolved one the dealer supplied paperwork about the same wrap. But it was nerve-racking. Another potential area for big trouble are the little ivory adornments to the shirasaya. Those can end up getting the package impounded and ultimately destroyed. I have them removed by dealers in Japan before shipping and I have them replaced with black horn or fake ivory when they arrive. That said I have stopped ordering from Japan because of so many shipping headaches and the tariffs, which might be behind us soon. At least, I hope so!

Bummer you weren't in Chicago, there were some killer Gassan tanto, including one--double boxed--in amazing koshirae that a friend picked up for $5k. It was one of the best I had ever seen. We can keep our eyes peeled for you in Orlando in June.

It was and is always a great show, thanks to Mark and his family, who infuse it with the DNA of Midwestern welcoming kindness. And many do come just to see people as well as have look see and don't get anything. Not me. I bought four tsuba this time around but no blades. That said sales seemed to be great and there were many fine pieces to be had, from Juyo masterworks to some promising out of the woodwork pieces at prices even mere mortals could afford. Truly, a great time was had by all. Thanks, Mark!

I am envious. What a great exhibition! Thank you for sharing the photos. Being a Soshu nitwit I love the Norishige and the Tsunahiro!

Is there any evidence that there were forgeries of torokusho as well as everything else? Not sure what it would get you but to further the perception that all early registrations were from important collections. Like Lewis pointed out, if this blade were shoshin, why no modern papers? I can understand how some folks didn't paper their blades, but when you see the prices commanded by top makers like Samonji, the only reason why such a blade would show up in one of these online auctions sans kanteisho instead of a big name dealer would be is if it were not as advertised and the seller was in search of a new fool.

Is it one pillow per order?

LOL. Yes! And that is exactly what Tanobe did: his judgement on this particular work was much less conservative than the NBTHK , and the sayagaki was given to the master, not the student, raising its fortunes considerably. From a 50,000 ft view, Tanobe-sense simply validated the NBTHK's call suggesting the blade was a top-work in a top lineage from a remarkable time, which was reassuring. I was very grateful. I would like to say it restored my faith in NBTHK attributions but I have since seen other calls have left me deeply perplexed and even more distrustful. The fact that I felt I need in the first place for a known outside expert to validate the validators is the problem we are dealing with. When Tanobe is gone, I do not know where we will turn. Who has the gravitas and confidence of the majority of the collectors and market players to take his place? That is the answer we all want to know.

At least with the NTHK list, you get an idea of the folks directly involved in the Shinsa process. That said the names don't ring out. Moriyoshi has been around for a while but with all due respect, not he or anybody else on that team had the gravitas of Yoshikawa Koen, or even Miyano-sensei from the other NTHK group. The NBTHK board list doesn't tell us much either about the direction of the organization especially in regards to research. I think if there are any hints it will be in the authors of articles in the Token BuJitsu magazine. To be honest, I rely on the brief summary translations provided on the NBTHK's website. Maybe somebody who reads them more closely and more deeply will have noted an up and coming star. But when I ask my friends in Japan or key collectors and players in the West the same question that Mark is asking -- especially about the NBTHK -- all I get is a shrug or somebody confirming that it's a really good question. This sense that there is no recognizable grownup at the helm when it comes to shinsa might have a lot to do with declining trust in recent papers. I personally don't trust them. In fact, the last sword I bought from Japan about six moths ago had 2024 Hozon papers to a very desirable Bizen smith from the mid-Nanbokucho. The price was reasonable but not cheap. Like the old adage says about something looking too good to be true, I refused to pay the full asking price until Tanobe-sensei confirmed the attribution, which he did, and more actually. I am not sure I would have bought the blade had he not be around as a reality check. I can understand how an organization might eschew a single expert who is loved by the market and scholars alike, preferring that the organization as a whole was seen that way, but without more transparency that trust will be hard to regain.

Bless you, Sam—I admire the optimism. But I do think the question touches on something many collectors are fretting about: what happens after Tanobe Michihiro? The answer is that we just don't know. Since the end of the war, there has been a fairly clear intellectual lineage in the study and appraisal of Nihontō—from Hon'ami Kosson and Honma Junji, to Sato Kanzan, and then to Ogawa Morihiro and Tanobe-sensei. That continuity has provided a kind of anchor for the field. What is certain now is that nobody seems to know who the next generation will be and how to access their chops. The NBTHK these days is, by most accounts, something of a black box, and it’s not clear who the torch will be passed to—or whether it will be passed in the same way at all. I’ve heard some interest around figures like Hirosuke Sato at the Tokyo National Museum, but that’s a very different institutional lane from the appraisal world the market tends to care about. It may be as Sam suggests that the next generation is being quietly groomed and hasn’t yet stepped forward publicly. But I keep hearing about a crisis in the Honbu which is shaking lots of peoples' confidence. From the outside, there appears to be no clear consensus on who carries that mantle next. And that uncertainty, for a lot of people, is unsettling. Maybe somebody here has heard of a potential rising star, but I certainly have not. Scary, actually.

I became a Soshu nut because of that book. Completely worth the price of admission!

The general rule of thumb that I have always heard is that Tanobe will not do a sayagaki for a blade that is not worthy of TokuHo papers. I have also heard that he has refused on occasion for other reasons such as thinking that a signature might need more research. But it works pretty much as you laid out: An agent/dealer/friend brings the sword to him. They sometimes discuss it, and he agrees or not to do the sayagaki. Then some time passes and you get word it's done. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes weeks pass. I have heard that he has been backed up as of late w/requests and that he is starting to take less, but if the sword is a great one or by a top maker, he usually agrees. Some dealers have better relations with him than others and yes, they should know what he will take on and what he is likely to refuse. Good luck!

There are at least 94 recorded blades recognized as Masamune, including 5 that have a mei. They are 10 Kokuhu (National Treasures), 13 Juyo Bunkazai, 8 Juyo Bijutsihin, 2 in the Imperial collection, 26 Tokubetsu Juyo and 35 Juyo. These include 47 Katana, 36 Tanto, 3 Wakizashi, 5 Tachi, 1 Kodachi and one "other." There is also one Tokubetsu Hozon and many more in collections that are not designated. Prices can and have gone well over a $1m.

The Expert is Ito Mitsuru of You You Gallery. His daughter Rei handles most dealings w folks from overseas. They are both supposed to be in Chicago next week.

I will keep my out out in Chicago for you!

By all means try. But I was outright refused as I could not clearly demonstrate whether the swords were stolen from the USPS facility in Jamaica, Queens, which is Federal property, or at JFK, which is not, or en route into or out of the facilities. Given the jurisdictional issues, I was told repeatedly that the report had to be made to USPIS which could then be shared with the NYPD. Never happened as I could never get a report out of the postal inspectors. And when one case was finally resolved, a report was presented to my member of Congress, but USPIS claimed that the sword was legally auctioned though it clearly happened less than 30 days after the package arrived at JFK and was reported missing, not the 90 days the law requires before it becomes USPS property. Like I said, this advice comes from hard won experience in chasing two lots swords stolen from me and a friend, and then taking on four other cases for some major players on both coasts and in the Midwest. Obviously your mileage may vary but local LEO tend not to take reports of theft from federal facilities for obvious reasons. You would think that this would concern the Post Office and America’s first police force. Unfortunately, that was not my experience.

Mauro, First, let me say how sorry I am this has happened to you. As someone who has been tracking this issue for several years—and who has personally been impacted by these thefts—I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to get meaningful help once something goes missing. Despite what some people may suggest, local law enforcement and the FBI are not going to help in a situation like this. In practice, the only agency with jurisdiction is the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. However, unless a case involves theft from an actual mailbox or an assault on a carrier, these types of losses receive limited attention. The presence of insurance seems to shape their response, and if you don’t have it, they don;t care. It’s also important to understand that this problem extends well beyond Nihonto collectors. Similar losses are affecting shipments of fine art, antiques, and other high-value items. Based on patterns many of us have observed, issues often arise during handoffs—particularly between USPS, Customs, and third-party contractors responsible for air transport. When tracking shows a package “disappearing” for a period and then reappearing elsewhere, it’s often because that segment of transit is handled outside USPS systems and isn’t fully trackable. There are also troubling reports of packages being diverted after labels are removed or compromised. In theory, such items should be routed to recovery centers for identification and return. In practice, if no information about their final destination can be found, the package is categorized as “unrecoverable” and eventually sold through government auction channels. This is supposed to happen only after 90 days, but we have seen packages with swords (including a Sue-Sa/Sa Yasuyoshi wakizashi stolen en route to me a few years ago) end up in the hands of someone who purchased it at a government auction less than 30 days after it went missing. I’m afraid your best bet now is to make lots of noise with your representative in Congress and demand that they deal with USPIS. At the same time, you should carefully monitor government auction sites, as well as Reddit and other lesser-known sword forums, where people who have “legally” acquired these items sometimes seek advice on pricing their ill-gotten treasures. I’m sorry that you—and others—have to go through this. But the truth is we can no longer ship these goods around the world without using AirTags or similar devices to track them throughout their journey. I have long said that Japanese and American dealers need to raise these issues in Washington, but to my knowledge, nothing has come of it. It has gotten to the point where I no longer ship items to or buy from Japan because of the combination of shipping risks, tariffs, escalating transit costs, and unreliable customs brokers. It’s simply too much stress. But if we can’t stop this trend, the long-term impact on the hobby will not be good. So by all means, let your local post office know you’re upset—but direct your real pressure toward your member of Congress. Going forward, if you want to continue operating in this space, your best options are proactive: Put at least one tracker in every package, and ask that shippers you rely on do the same, even if it costs extra Document everything carefully before shipping Build relationships with your representative’s district and DC offices, just in case Sorry this isn’t better news. On the positive side, I was able to recover one of my items by using the insurance payout to buy it back from the person who had acquired it. Hopefully this lovely daito will appear before you have to do the same. Good luck.

Kiril, I wouldn't say "arbitrary drawing," as it implies whimsy and serendipity. I think the attempt to recreate the hamon is more of artistic interpretation or impression, which can be arbitrary but I wouldn't say that Cezanne's still life's were arbitrary. That said no two artists will see and interpret the same subject in the same way, pretty much the same way no two people see all the activity in the same way.

Jacques, where did you see a claim that these traits were exclusive to Shinto Kunimitsu? He said "commonly found," which is correct. Is this a language issue. or are you just being provocative? It's guess you are right: it's pointless to fight human stupidity...

Spent years in the former Yugoslavia and so I speak Serb Croat! My Slovenian, however, is nonexistent. Again, thanks!

Hvala, Brano!