sabiji

I'm planning to go to Japan again in 2025, in the fall of course, and of course this time to the DTI.

Oh, sorry. That's fine then.

Mmmmh, what were your intentions when you bought this blade? Was it a typical Mino work of the Muromachi? If so, in what style? I find it difficult to recognize typical Mino in this blade. Of course, it is difficult to judge from photos anyway. And I can only partially recognize the Yakiba, just like the Nioiguchi. Tsurete, i.e. a uniform coupling of fairly identical Gunome, is not an invention of the Mino and became more common at the end of the Kamakura and in the Nanbokucho. You can also find it in Osafune, or in the Kozori. A Sanbonsugi is a Togari Gunome with a very identical repeat. Repeat is used more often in Gunome than many people think. It brings a certain pleasant aesthetic when the repeat is varied. That is why a pure Tsurete Hamon, or a very identical Gunome repeat like Sanbonsugi, looks strict, even boring. (Even though such a perfect and flawless Hamon is of course quite demanding). I mean that only from an aesthetic point of view, not a technical one. But what are our roots here? It is not a Sanbonsugi, and I cannot see any Togari anywhere. The Yakigashira all look very round. But it is not a Kenbo-Midare either. I recognize a coupling of Gunome groups mainly in combinations of two and three. These are connected by round Tani. The sides are relatively steep, some a little flatter, which is somewhat reminiscent of Koshi no Hiraita. A Bizen invention, which was also copied and interpreted in Mino. But if we come anywhere close to the Koshi no Hiraita here, this Hamon seems far too stiff and "intentional" for a Muromachi/Momoyama work. And I certainly cannot detect any Yamato influence. That is just my opinion.

Ko Shoami, Blüte und Ginger

I see a dark future for Nihonto in other ways. There is the tightening of gun laws in many countries. More and more shipping service providers are refusing to ship swords. And another thing, the collector scene is not getting any younger. I really can't imagine a “sell-out” of swords in Japan.

Georg, we had to thank you! Your Masayuki/Kiyomaro is an impressive sword with an excellent polish! In addition to the master, we were able to study two of his students: 2x Saito Kiyondo and 1x Minamoto (Suzuki) Masao. There is also a sword from the Hamabe school, the school where Kiyomaro was trained at the beginning of his career. Enclosed a bad photo of the table only (so as not to show any people...).

At the risk of being burned as a heretic, I see some pretty rough welds in the circles... ...fine chains of black Nie I think I see scattered all over the blade.

I agree with Rokujuro, Satsuma-age would not explain the course of the Shinogi.

Robert, do you mean the “black dots”? They are Nie.

@Jussi Ekholm, your Tadahiro comparison is certainly interesting, precisely because we have a noticeable price difference here from one and the same swordsmith. You base your choice on the fact that price is not important. But it would be interesting not to do so, precisely in the spirit of the topic. Your choice is understandable. The blade is relatively well preserved, it has Horimono and it has a Koshirae. These are all factors that make such a sword very attractive to collectors on the general market. But it is priced exactly in the middle. So why isn't the most expensive Tadahiro in your comparison with such high market potential? Is it just because of the cut test of a well-known representative with a good, fairly early date? The appearance of the sword is marred by the fact that it has already lost some material. In some places the thin Hizen-Kawagane appears to have been polished through. In addition, the blade is machiokuri and the original Nakago-Jiri was cut off. Nevertheless, I think that this sword is the best of the trio in terms of quality. Although my opinion is irrelevant, I would go so far as to say: if this blade were in the best condition and Ubu, with the cutting test as a bonus - this sword would be a Juyo candidate! (Jussi, you know more about this, but I seem to remember that Nidai Tadahiro is the Shinto smith with the highest number of Juyo). But since this is not the case, it requires a collector who is willing to pay the price and is willing to accept the "problems". However, in the price range you have presented, Tadahiro katana with TH are very common. Collectors who are specifically looking for a Tadahiro have a choice and can set certain parameters, such as the time the blade was created, the shape and length, the characteristics of its signature and ultimately its style, which also includes gunome and choji. Your Tadahiro example in particular shows that the topic of prices and swords is not so simple and that you often have to look at each individual case. If the old guard continues to disappear, an era is certainly over. I don't have enough insight into the scene, especially in Japan. But I have the feeling that a certain elitist and hierarchical thinking was not beneficial in past decades. It is so important that students surpass their masters. Only then has the master done everything right. And only then will new, strong generations emerge. I emphasize again that I have too little background knowledge on the subject and I can only rely on my gut feeling. Old names are disappearing. Submitting kodogu and blades to a Shinsa of the NBTHK has become more difficult due to limitations and tight registration windows. The last Juyo sessions were the strictest in history. The positive thing, however, is that it counteracts the previous paper inflation. Yes, more young people in Japan seem to be developing an interest in Nihonto, also triggered by various anime and manga. At the same time, more and more museums in Japan are experiencing financial problems. The number of registered swordsmiths is also decreasing. There are discussions in Japan about whether the traditional training of apprentices in the swordsmith's home is still appropriate... Internationally, too, one must not forget that certain political activism and tightening of national gun laws are making it increasingly difficult for collectors in some countries to pursue their hobby. I would really like to be optimistic, but to be honest, I am anything but sure in which direction things will go in the future...

A description (Setsumei) of a particular blade is only given once you have achieved Juyo status. A sayagaki primarily serves only as information about the content (what it is, who made it, the length). Tanobe Sensei's sayagaki are usually accompanied by an explanation and his opinion of the blade he has studied - which is basically similar to a juyo setsumei. Therefore, it is not the simple presence of a tanobe sayagaki that is important, but its content! And it is precisely this point that makes his sayagaki so coveted. One should not forget that Tanobe Sensei writes a sayagaki because its owner wants it. Therefore, you should also carefully consider why you are presenting a particular sword to him in order to request his assessment.

So if it's the sword I remember, it would have to be a Kanabo blade...

Isn't that the sword of Mori Ranmaru?

Honestly? I definitely couldn't have made a Kantei just from the pictures. But I know the swords from previous visits. Most of the swords have already been mentioned by the others. I still remember the Kanemoto and the Kunitoshi. I find the presentation of the swords in Nijo very sad and unloving. You can hardly see anything under the lighting on site. We've already covered this topic. In the Tokyo National Museum, the lighting was so good that I was able to stand far enough away from the glass so that I couldn't decipher the lettering straight away. Here you could actually do something like a little Kantei because you could see quite a lot.

1. Kotetsu 2. Magoroku Kanemoto 3. Ikkansai Shigetsugu 4. Muramasa 5. Masamune 6. Rai Kunitoshi

I have seen a wide variety of papers in over 30 years. But never one like this. At first I thought they were Honami papers. But the modern dating and the photos confused me. I will try to see the papers and blade again. First of all, many thanks to everyone who tried to help me!

Hello Benjamin, thank you very much, I know the site. Unfortunately, the origami I'm looking for isn't there.

I realize that my request is difficult without a photo. I thought it inappropriate to photograph the origami as I was only a guest. I was confident I would find something comparable on the internet. In fact, I haven't found anything comparable yet. So I'll try a description here. Maybe it will look familiar to someone. If not, it's no big deal. I myself have never seen a comparable origami. Basically, it is very reminiscent of the typical honami origami. It is a similar paper, is folded similarly, has a similarly folded envelope with a kao. The content of the origami is completely handwritten. There are several hanko, one of which is very large. So everything looks very similar to honami origami. However, the paper is dated in the Heisei period and contains modern photos of the Nakago, as with the NBTHK or NTHK or other appraisers. The origami is almost 20 years old. The author has also made a sayagaki for the sword in question. Perhaps it looks familiar to someone.

I am also very surprised and can only agree with Michael. I've been to the NMT twice so far and have always been very satisfied with the illumination. I'm really sorry for you, Eric. I don't have any pictures as good as Michael's at the moment, but here's an Awataguchi Yoshimitsu on a visit in 2022.

Stupid and ignorant in 1991 at the age of 21, but actually much more stupid 1 year earlier at the age of 20. I went to my first gun fair in Berlin in 1990, when I was 20 years old. I bought 2 Gunto from an English dealer who was quite well known at the time. Both had silver, inlaid Kamon and were among the more expensive Gunto from this dealer. I was absolutely delighted. Well, one room further on, a well-known Berlin dealer became aware of my package. I was persuaded to show him the swords. "That's all well and good, but they're gunto and not real samurai swords." I could buy them from him, of course they are much more expensive, but that's the way it is. I could sell the gunto and I would have the starting capital for my first real samurai sword. The implanted worm gnawed at me for a year and finally won. I sold the Gunto for less than half the purchase price in favor of an O-Suriage Mumei Koto blade in an old mount. More were to follow. BUT: Years later, while cleaning up, I found Homemade oshigata from the Nakagos of the signatures of the two Gunto blades. One was a Kane...someone with a Seki stamp. The name of the 2nd smith was Kato Tsunahide (the big brother of Tsunatoshi), dated Bunka 9. Looking back, the O-Suriage Koto was not my first historical blade. That was something of a turning point for me to really sit on my ass and learn, see and understand. I became "unfaithful" to my dealer and soon became a member of the NBTHK EB.

A very interesting topic! @TumiM Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the Bizen Osafune Museum. I was last in Japan in October 2022 and was one of the first "normal tourists" to be able to visit Japan again after the Covid pandemic. Since I was also in Kyoto, I also wanted to visit Osafune. At that time, some museums were still in Covid mode and you had to book a time slot for a visit to the Osafune Museum. To register, you were then redirected to purely Japanese websites. Despite translation programs, I gave up. But maybe I'll manage to visit Osafune in the future. Nevertheless, it touches on a point that is not unimportant: the web presence. The Osafune Museum, the NBTHK Museum or the National Museum are quite good, or sufficiently set up, when it comes to information, for example in English. But I also wanted to visit other smaller museums and exhibitions where information for non-Japanese speaking visitors was already difficult. I always found the lighting of the blades in the Tokyo National Museum or the NBTHK Museum to be excellent. You can see quite a lot, despite the distance, the display case and the glass. In other exhibitions where blades only play a minor role, you can't expect much. The presentation of some important blades in the Nijo in Kyoto is horrifying. Well, it's not a sword museum, but there must be ways and means of displaying such swords in a more interesting and dignified way in a tourist hotspot like this. Randell talks about the Samurai Museum in Berlin. I have very good contacts with the staff and the museum management. And of course, as a "Nihonto lover" you would do a lot of things differently. But you shouldn't forget one thing: how many "experts" are there? More than 90% are interested laypeople, and in my opinion the museum is well equipped for that. A museum should always address a broad public so that it can pass on art, culture and history in this way. Compromises are always necessary, and as a knowledgeable person you should overlook some things. Well, and then of course there is the economic factor. Previous exhibitions had a more academic structure. Then the exhibitions became more modern, more interactive and more entertaining, like the Samurai Museum in Berlin. The costs of a museum, the running costs alone, are not insignificant. You have to weigh up what makes sense and what doesn't. I and a few other enthusiasts organize so-called "study evenings" four times a year in collaboration with the museum to go into more depth on certain topics for interested museum visitors. Here you can look at some objects very closely without any annoying glass in between. But here too you quickly notice that you have to adapt a lot to the interested layperson so that what you are explaining is interesting, entertaining and understandable. Tips and advice and criticism from experts are always important and helpful. There is always something to improve. But first and foremost, we need to reach laypeople, because that is where the next generation comes from.

Jean, what I wanted to say was that original koshirae, whether worn by a merchant or a samurai, are important cultural relics, windows into the past. If they are original! A (family) sword has gone through many generations with different demands or tastes, and besides, koshirae are wear items. Even if an owner in the Edo period never used it as a weapon in his life - but, as you say, had to carry it every day - all the organic components of the koshirae have to be replaced at some point. Therefore, the vast majority of surviving original koshirae are not that old and date from the late Edo period. The percentage of older koshirae becomes smaller and smaller the further back in time we go. But this is not unknown to you. And so you can deduce the cultural characteristics of a certain time from koshirae. As in the Momoyama period, we find both: extremely extroverted koshirae in bright colors and surrounding gold bands on the saya, or the simple, dark, yet elegant uchigana koshirae in the sense of wabi/sabi. The custom of wearing a daisho developed during this period and was to become the norm. In any case, the koshirae becomes a calling card for the wearer in terms of his taste, origin, education and, of course, his income. More was certainly possible here in the Momoyama and very early Edo period than the rules allowed in the course of the Edo, in order to give a little more leeway again in the late Edo. In some domains it was naturally viewed somewhat more strictly, in other domains less strictly, and the urban bourgeois culture in Edo or Osaka was a topic in itself. As for the merchants, they created their own space. It is not in the Japanese way, especially for those who consider themselves cultured, to project wealth outwards. In the Momoyama period in particular, the richest merchants - who had become rich through the wars of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieayasu and the trade in guns, steel and leather - were also their most important tea masters and representatives of wabi/sabi. Until the tea ceremony was brought back to the samurai level in early Edo by Furuta Oribe or Kobori Enshu and there was a class separation here again. As a result, the rich merchants did not follow the Omote principle but the Ura principle. Their wealth was not for everyone to see, they decided who was allowed to see it. There are still preserved or reconstructed houses of important merchants with secret and separate entrances for important customers, including high-ranking samurai or lords, with delicate and tasteful gardens and rooms with fine works of art. And when you were in public, you could still show off expensive quality without everyone recognizing it. The lacquer of a sedan chair can be plain on the outside, but of the highest quality, and richly decorated on the inside, visible only to the passenger. Kimonos are the same, plain on the outside, but have the finest silk on the inside. The koshirae doesn't look like much from a distance, but the connoisseur recognizes the quality up close. And the blade, which you can't see anyway, will have been of excellent quality. That's actually typical Japanese understatement. At least in this respect, and even if only internally, traders could put themselves on a par with the nobility or the samurai, who they had economic control over anyway. The latter enabled some to bear family names and swords. For my daughter's host parents, it was the other way round. The ancestors gave up their samurai status in the late Edo period. They moved from Higo to Satsuma to make a better living as traders and farmers. When the Satsuma uprisings broke out, the great-grandfather of my daughter's boss, joined Saigo Takamori. Because of his origins and status as a trader, he was nicknamed "the squirrel of Higo". Unfortunately, the family no longer has any of their ancestors' swords.

Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. But is that important ? I can imagine that merchants in particular were an important clientele for swordsmiths, but also for Kodogu workshops, simply because they had the necessary financial means. But that's not my point at all. Especially when it comes to katana, it is very difficult to find a koshirae that already existed with ALL its components AND the blade before 1868. That's why, from my own experience, I'm less interested in who might have carried sword xy, but rather whether sword xy was carried in this constellation at all. Swords in mounts are easier to sell, and what doesn't fit is simply made to fit. And even with dealers here in Europe, who also like to buy back their sold pieces, I have experienced several times that swords known to me suddenly had different tsuka, tsuba, kozuka and kogai. A few months ago, a collector asked me to admire a particular sword. The koshirae was definitely en suite and interesting. But I was particularly pleased about the blade! It was a reunion after more than 20 years! I had imported this blade from Japan myself back then. Back then, the blade only had a shirasaya... So, to come back to the first sentences written in this thread: don't read too much into certain things (Koshirae)!

Well, Brian is not entirely wrong, even when it comes to long blades. It may be that the vast majority of merchants were not allowed to carry long swords. But they did own them. Some important merchants were sword enthusiasts and owned extensive collections of first-class swords.

Hello Dan, don't be angry with me, but this doesn't look like a Daisho set from around 1580 to me. At least the tsuka show no similarities with the type one would expect for the Tensho period. An original tensho daisho would be priceless. The menuki look like shinshu or copper.