Kaigunto230

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a tired mumei katana at the Token Kai. I bought it as part of a bundle deal, and although it's in tired polish, its characteristics were far different than its counterpart in the deal, and it gives me a lot to study in hand. Part of the intriguing part of this sword was that its saya came with a sayagaki. The dealer pointed out that he didn't know from the provenance if the sayagaki actually matched the blade sitting in the shirasaya, and I negotiated the price assuming it's not a match. That said, I'd love if it actually did match the sword. The sword itself is suriage and allegedly late koto/early shinto. Could someone please help me with the translation of the sayagaki? The sword also came with a tag that read "Kashu Kanemune Saku." Does this tie into the sayagaki? I intend to fully kantei this sword sometime in the next week, but I can do quick measurements/take photos if that will help with the translation here. Closer to the top (nearer the nakago while the sword is resting with its (saya-covered) kissaki on the floor): Closer to the kissaki while it's resting with the kissaki on the floor:

Did anyone else make some purchases at the show? I'd love to see them (always fun to enjoy without spending your own money!)! For me, here's the first of my two swords: I plan to kantei the other one soon.

Thanks so much @Jussi Ekholm!! The sword bag from the dealer lists the smith as 1. YUKINAGA (行長), Tenshō (天正, 1573-1592), but since the kanji on the mei are the same for the different generations, I don't take that to mean a lot. My imagination gets a bit ahead of me though because I'd love to have a sword from the Sengoku Jidai. My brain instantly starts the shenanigans: "Ooh, it probably was carried at Sekigahara," etc. Did the Bungo book have any oshigata from Yukinaga? If so, would you mind please snapping a photo for here? I found taking the photos here very difficult, and I think the sword is in better polish than these photos depict. The hamon is immediately visible, there's that pit that's photographed, a couple darker spots, and the boshi was very difficult to determine. But regardless, I think it's beautiful! I'll pull the sword out and look at the hada again to see if it looks itame.

Thank you all for your engagement. Honestly, this community adds so much to the study. Another question. Do you see the odd darker colors on the bottom circumference of the mekugiana? It also appears distinctly on the origami oshigata. It's like someone added back material when they made the hole too wide. That's my assumption, but am I right?

@Stephen, thanks for the measurement website! I think Yumoto's book had the same/similar diagram, so that's what I tried to do. The picture above with the ruler going from the kissaki to the munemachi is my attempt. Felt a little ridiculous going up and down it for twenty minutes looking for the point with the greatest distance, but I do think it's in the waist. Here's some quick photoshopping; I think the point where the curvature starts getting smaller is the orange line. Sorry about the measurements on the kantei sheet. Relooking, those are a little difficult to read huh? Is this better? I'd re-edit my post but time ran out. Speaking of obsession, is it bad that I've already thought "Gold status is $30/six months? That's a great deal since I've been spending so much time on here!" Who knows Brief Overall Descrition: Fujiwara Yukinaga Shinto Katana with NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho Origami Shirasaya length: 93.5 cm Overall length: 82.5 cm Nagasa lengh: 64 cm Kasane length: 0.7 cm Mekugiana: 1 Mihaba: 3 cm Motohaba: 3 cm Sakihaba: 2 cm Motokasane: 0.7 cm Weight: unknown (didn't have a proper scale) Sugata shape: Shinogi-zukuri Hada: mokume Sori: 1.8 cm; Type: Koshizori (but discussion on whether it's torrizori) Kissaki: chu-kissaki Mune: Iori Hamon: chu suguha Yakiba: Nioi deki (this one was difficult too; I couldn't see any nie, but it's not in brilliant polish, so that may have complicated matters. Can you see anything different on the hada/hamon picture?) Boshi: Ichi-mai (Again, the polish made this difficult, but it seems like the entire boshi was bright like the hamon. See the picture of the boshi/kissaki above. Do you think I'm right?) Nakago: Ubu; Futsu-gata Yasurime: Kattesagari Bohi: N/A (Is there a term for a sword that doesn't have bo-hi? Online some jokester said "No-Hi" and I'm inclined to go with that unless someone points me to something better ) Koshirae: shirasaya Polish: Modern (I think; another stare at it for a time and make a call) Period: Shinto School: Takada Origami: NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho from 3 June 1974 Other Information: Bought from Mr. Tony Smith in conjunction with another sword as a bundle deal at the 2021 Token Kai.

@Geraint, it IS Takada isn't it? It's funny, my eyes must've just glanced over the a and turned it into the e given the famous clan. Thanks also for the book recommendation. Ha ha, my wife and my wallet don't want to admit that you're right on the obsession piece, but evidence suggests.......

Couple questions. Do you think I got the sori correct? I went with Koshizori instead of Torriizori, because it looks to me like the deepest curve is in the waist/closer to the nakago, but it took some eyeballing for a time. Next, does anyone have a good reference for Bungo Takeda school? Nagayama's Connoisseur's book has a short description but not too much to go on. I'd like to learn more about my particular smith.

I’m not sure who Joe is, but he sounds like a an upstanding gentleman 😉 Thank you for the compliment too. I think my generation could use a bit more looking towards the past than at their iPhones.

This will be the first of two posts, since I purchased two swords. I recently attended the 2021 San Francisco Token Kai and had a marvelous time. You can see some of my photos/video here: As I'm a beginner, and this was my first show, I had several goals: First and foremost was to learn and handle Nihonto for the first time. Next was to come away with a sword to study if I found something within my budget ($3000) that caught my heart. This may seem a humble budget, but I have already invested in a solid library of books on Nihonto, we have our first baby on the way, and I am hesitant to spend more than this at the beginning of a hobby that isn't (yet ) an obsession. Since I lived there for a time, I wanted to accomplish #2 with a smith from Kyushu. I am very happy to say that I was able to accomplish all three goals for well below my budget! With my trusty set of books and the Kantei Sheet from the NMB documents, I set up shop in our living room and got to work on my first kantei. I started with sword given the fact that it is a papered blade, and I hoped to be confirming that paper as I refreshed myself/applied the myriad terms required in kantei. Yes, I know the warnings with green origami and knew them when I purchased the sword, but it's a minor smith (less chance/cause to forge the papers), was very reasonably priced, I liked the sword itself, and see Goals 2 and 3 above: So, without further ado, here's my first attempt at a Kantei. Rather than re-typing all the measurements/assessments out, please check out the kantei sheet. I absolutely welcome all comments, constructive criticism, or your thoughts. Thank you! ..

Beautiful @Toryu2020!! Thank you!

I think it’s so fun when people post their purchases - lets us vicariously enjoy it and not spend the money Thanks!

Shoot, sorry, but I didn’t catch his name. It looks like he’s a regular though; his booth and back of his head (presumably) is in this 2016 video at 1:41, and he’s got Maker’s Mark then too: . Like I said, really nice gentleman. Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments! It was just so FUN to hold things in hand and actually talk with people about this niche topic in person.

Here's the shot of my loot upon getting home! I need to properly take photos and kantai the two katana I purchased, so those will be in the "Nihonto" sub-forum sometime in the next month. And finally is the short walkaround video I took. I didn't want to be too obtrusive, so it's probably about a third of the booths and really just a glancing view of most. But fun to see everyone!

I'm home now after my first sword show at the San Francisco Token-Kai. I had an incredible time, learned so much, made a few purchases, met some great people, and can't wait to attend another show. For those that missed it, here's a few photos and a video I took of the event. My camera is just an older iPhone, so I imagine there are better photos out there, but here's what I've got. Me up and ready bright and early for the day. My wife tagged along for the morning, but I was left free rein for the afternoon I went back and looked at this BEAUTIFUL sword several times. A Hizento by the second generation, the owner had just completed a daisho by the first generation Tadayoshi and was selling this example from the same school: One of the best attendees was this little friend: A MASSIVE o-dachi: A Yoroi-dōshi (edited for spelling, thanks Piers D!). I had been hoping to see one! Ha ha ha, I'm not quite sure about the science here, but a great way to build community, and the dealer was incredibly nice! Very few kyu gunto present. I had been hoping to study more, but honestly, I think there were perhaps 3 total. Of course, I was foolish and didn't get a good photo of this display, which was several Juyo works, and the most expensive was $175,000. Beautiful!!

I'm re-looking at it, and I had my columns misplaced. So on this photo, the black circled kanji is roughly equivalent to "this katana is signed" the red is the mei of the smith, "Fujiwara Yukinaga" and the blue is "and X centimeters long"? How many centimeters long did it list? Following that, these kanji are the "To-kyokai (our organization) has rated this item as an Extraordinary Work (Tokubetsu Kicho)"?

I am constantly blown away by the kindness of folks on this forum. Thank you!!

Oh, interesting! Is the shaku, sun, and bu measurements normally done on green origami but just not here? Or is that a switch when they redid the origami in the 1980s? Would you mind please pointing out specifically where it says that? I'm always so surprised by the length of kanji written out, but it seems like column 3 has a so many characters for just saying "This sword is X centimeters long."

@NobodyThank you for the extra information! Is there a way to determine which branch of the NBTHK issued this particular origami? So, here’s what I have after reading. Like I said, I’m illiterate and just trying to pull from Google/websites, so please feel free to tell me where I’m off. This was a little frustrating but really rewarding, and I couldn’t have done it without you two, @kyushukairu and @Nobody, so thank you! From right to left by column: Ninteisho - a writing/paper which is the recognition of authenticity This item (一) is a katana (刀)with a mei by Fujiwara Yukinaga (藤原行長). The length of the sword in shaku, sun, and bu (Still working the actual length out). To-kyokai (our organization) has rated this item as an Extraordinary Work (Tokubetsu Kicho). The shinsa was held on Showa, 49th year, 6th month, 3rd day (June 3, 1974). “Zaidan Hojin Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai” - The non-profit organization of NBTHK with its official seal. The owner of this sword was named Joe Takahashi.

@kyushukairu Thank you so much for the fast reply and for your time! I really appreciate the help. I'm headed to work, so I need to digest your link and follow-up later today/this week. At a quick glance, the link looks like a great step by step, even more thorough than other websites that go column by column (like the Japanese Sword Index (still an incredible website): http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/origami.htm ). Thank you again!

Envelope and closeup on oshigata:

Good afternoon, all. Could you please assist me with translating my green papers for a shinto katana I purchased purportedly signed by Yukinaga Fujiwara of Bungo province? If you could do a column by column translation, I’d greatly appreciate it. I understand the status of green papers and am not looking to rehash that discussion. I’m just looking to know when this shinsa was held, which NBTHK office, what they said, etc. Thank you so much for your help!

Quick note if you’re planning on attending the show that there is a new county regulation which requires indoor mask wearing for all persons regardless of vaccination status under the CDC’s new guidelines. Tell your friends attending the show!

@Toryu2020 I saw you had commented on both this and another thread about the Token, and the pit of my stomach dropped thinking it was a cancellation message due to COVID. So thankful we’re still on; frankly, I can’t remember the last event I’ve been so excited for. Bought a hard rifle case to fly a new treasure(s 😁) home, been reading and studying a bunch, made flash cards for Nihonto terminology. I’m in totally nerd mode and super excited 🤓 People at the office are egging me on too; it’s great!

That’s a great point! I meant it as a specific trait of this sword, but you’re right that this could get extrapolated out out and get someone into hot water.

Lonnie, this forum has a For Sale thread that may be helpful if you’d like to connect with those interested buyers: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/forum/6-for-sale-or-trade/