Surfson

Steve, I take it that it has a handle but not a scabbard - is that true? Do you live close to the sea or ocean? I am guessing that you may have salty fog near you and salt will accelerate the pitting process. It appears that the handle prevented the pitting from occurring on the tang. The pitting appears to be fairly deep in some places (though this is a important question that requires looking at it in hand). If a polisher tries to polish it, the deep pits will remain and be visible. I have seen this several times when friends have sent swords for polishing. In some cases, even with pits, a sword can be worthy of a polish. One problem with your sword is that it is not possible to see the steel or the tempered edge pattern. The purpose of polishing a window would be at least two fold; 1, to see the pattern of temper and steel to assess age and to determine whether it is beautiful or uninspiring, 2, to see if the pits are too deep to be polished away. The temper and steel would be clues, along with the shape, as to whether it was made in the 1200s, 1300s, 1400s or 1500s. My impression is that it was made before 1600.

Well, I guess I should respond. Even though I am 68, my last eye check a year ago had my eyes both at 20-15, so I can't claim that my eyesight is failing. In practice, I rarely do use uchiko, especially on fully polished swords. I only clean and oil my swords around once a year, just after the dry winter months, and I usually do just as you say - wipe off the oil completely (I usually use an unscented but soft kleenex type tissue since the Japanese sword paper seems a bit rough to me), enjoy the sword, and then put a light coat of oil on it. I have microfiber but haven't gotten in the habit of using it. I have a number of swords with a very old polish that is not 100%, and will use uchiko on those with the expectation that over time the uchiko will clean the surface. I was just pointing out that the experts that maintain this collection continue to use uchiko, and certainly don't want to get into a debate with Darcy or others about it since I really have no original information or data to bring to the discussion. These discussions, without data, become pure opinion rapidly. I would be interested to know what percentage of high end collectors in Japan use it. Darcy, you have a scientific approach to sword collecting; do you have any hard data on the prevalence of uchiko vs no uchiko use or the relative ability of uchiko vs microfiber to prevent the onset of cloudiness or rust?

Phil, aside from the obvious forging flaws, it is an interesting study piece, especially if you didn't pay too much for it. What is the length of the cutting edge? It could be osuriage and might be fairly old. It's hard to tell without a photo of the whole bare blade, but it looks to have a fair bit of koshizori, at least based on my impression that there is a fair amount of curvature in the nakago. A photo of the whole shape, and dimensions of the cutting edge and sori would be helpful.

Bruce, yes the very straight shape can often mean it is from Kanbun era, relatively early in the shinto period. The kissaki looks like it might have been repaired at some point.

Our dearly departed friend, Arnold Frenzel, would often participate in discussions about the economics of buying swords, swords as an investment and the importance of liking what you buy. For those that don't remember him, his NMB handle was seattle1. Worth doing a search, as he had sage advice. One thing that he always said is that buying swords is not an investment, and one's motivation should be from the joy that owning whatever swords, schools or makers you like should be the main motivation.

The translations seem to be in the book, unless you are referring to the explanation at the bottom. You might turn it right side up if so.

Mark, how do you call Onin vs Heianjo? The small number of little dots of inlay?

Thanks Brian. Not light sensitive, but the dark background reminds me of the old days.....which ended about a week ago! Do take it easy my friend.

Well done Matt, and that does make the case that many, or at least enough, imperfections can be removed by a good polish on a blade that is otherwise juyo grade.

A friend of mine picked it up at an online auction in Japan without any papers and then submitted it to NTHK- NPO where Miyano San made the call. He isn't a Bizen guy and gave me a good deal on it. I'm having it cleaned up a little bit by Ted Tenold currently, as there is a little surface rust.

Speedy recovery Brian!

Mike, it is not uncommon for collectors to stack a couple of seppa on one side to tighten things up. It is worthwhile to accumulate a supply of seppa to have on hand for this purpose. Often the dealers on Yahoo/Buyee sell huge bags full of them for little money.

Nice post Kawa San. I just picked up my first Soden Bizen, a Yoshikage; I really do like that shape, and when combined with the great hataraki and jitetsu, they are very popular collector swords. There is also something about a big stout sword with a long kissaki that naturally exudes the power of the Japanese sword, I have never held one that is ubu, it must be quite an experience to have in hand one that is 80-90cm+.

Matt, the naginata naoshi sounds less promising. First, it sounds like it definitely needs a polish, second, if there is a problem with the hamon, that may be permanent or not remediated by a polish, third, in general, katana and tachi fetch more than naginata and so it sounds more pricy at the same asking price. Having said that, yes, I would want to have a good look at it if I were in the market for an Ichimonji. But remember, I have said for quite some time that I have only recently turned my gaze to koto blades and am very far from an expert.

I have bought four swords from him over many years John; Taikei Naotane, Nanadai Ishido Korekazu, Echizen Yasutsugu and Gassan Sadakazu utsushi of Masamune. All in great shape with NBTHK papers, the transactions were fine and I am very pleased with the swords. I am curious enough to have sent you a PM and would like to hear the story you have to relate. Cheers, Bob

I would also highly recommend Andy Quirt as well, if you are interested in a entry level sword. His site is Nihonto.us

Hahah, no trap Kawa San. I have been amazed at how a good polish can make a blade look great. I have to admit that 70 cm seems to be a magic length, as does 27 1/2" (28" is better!). I have heard the term "josun" used, and according to Markus' encyclopedia (which is a fantastic book by the way), josun, or standard length, is between 69 and 72 cm. I appreciate your feedback on this sword, as it seemed to be a fairly reasonable price for a papered Ichimonji to me and was making me think that an Ichimonji might some day be affordable, even if from the least regarded of the four branches.

And do you think that a quality polish will not smooth out most of those flaws? By the way, I don't see the umegane, can you point it out? Also, Tsuruta San implies that he thinks it might be one of the other Ichimonji groups - do you agree with that speculation? I ask since you are clearly a Bizen aficionado. I only have a couple of Bizen blades and haven't spent much time studying them.

Kawa, do you base this on the type of study that Darcy and Jussi do, or is this just your personal experience? Does it apply equally to all schools?

Wow Dale, the one above Jauce.com looks like he took too much LSD!

I have a have dozen pieces apparently stuck in the Buyee warehouse, as far as I can tell, and do hope that shipping has resumed.

I would also recommend Mark Jones. He runs the Chicago show and is always coming up with good pieces. He is honest, his prices are fair and he won't lead you astray.

Best wishes from me too Brian. I do know that he is not only alive but responding to emails, as I just communicated with him, having not been able to log in to NMB this week after the upgrade. Cheers, Bob

There are other videos about the true story of the last samurai out there that also focus on the Boshin war. It does cross over with sword collecting, though it marked the end of the samurai and the carrying of swords. Of course, carrying swords came back quickly in the military ranks of the new civilian government. There was a Munetsugu tanto on Yuhindo that was made at the beginning of that period by Koyama Munetsugu (one of the more famous shinshinto smiths) and was owned by Prince Tomomi Iwakura that can be found here: https://yuhindo.com/munetsugu/ As it turns out, I picked up a very similar tanto (I believe discussed on NMB) made by Koyama Munetsugu that has sayagaki referring to it being carried both in the Boshin War as well as in WWII. It is still stuck in Japan and hopefully one day, the mail will start to flow again.....

Let us know how it turns out when you receive it Geoff. Is shipping to Oz delayed like other international shipping?