This is the owner of the Koto Sukesada. First off I did not buy it from Mike Yamaguchi, second it is exactly the kind of sword the Japanese parliament has authorized to be confiscated under the national treasure and antiquities protection act. As one fellow collector states from personal experience "the Japanese government has become Zealous about confiscating old nihonto for their cultural value". It is a FLAWLESS blade by a swordsmith who has recently come to light as one of the most advanced smiths of the 16th century. There are 4 known in existence with this signature or a variation of it. I have several Koto nihonto and have held hundreds, but to hold and own this sword was a privelage to say the least. To say such a treasure is not worth $10,000 is a dishonor to the maker and the entire tradition. Besides it was bought by a curator during the time it was listed for more than I asked for. So to all you haters out there keep weeding out the crap so I can get the good stuff. Some of you obviously live in the small universe called e-bay and have no idea what you are talking about. And as for the nihonto I bought from Mike Yamaguchi, It does have a re-shaped Kisaki and is noticeable to the S trained eye. You can see the wave in the yokote and a bulge where it terminates at the Ha as if too much were hastily ground off in the effort to re-define theYokote. It would otherwise be a nice blade. I just thought that I would point out that the shinsa looks for just that sort of flaw. The poor "picture polish" required several evenings of careful work to overcome and is resting nicely and will remain that way until I hand it over to my son.
K. Savage
