Surfson

Kosuke Daijo and Sukenaga were most highly regarded. Here are the final pages from a review by Craig Bird in Art and the Sword volume 1. Sorry if the pages are out of order! It

Agreed, thus my use of the word "often". I haven't studied the mei with the books, but just from memory it looks likely to be good.

If it has been on the site for a long time (it is possible to tell by the serial number of the sale, though I don't know the code), you can make an offer on the blade. I have gotten discounts (typically 5% or so) in such cases from Aoi in the past.

Hi Nathan. It's an interesting sword, and has much to like about it for collectors of shinshinto makers. Sukenaga is arguably one of the two best of the Yokoyama Bizen school (there is an Art and the Sword article about them I think). The mounts are nice too. The seppa are interesting thick ones, presumably in gold foil. The tsuba looks like Umetada to me. The mounts on the saya and tsuka appear to be en suite; it looks very black like shakudo on the saya, but the tsuka makes me think that they are all silver with some sort of black patina applied. The activity on the sword is unusual for Sukenaga, including a "jewel" (I guess) near the kissaki, a long stretch of suguha, the typical Sukenaga choji/gonome, and what looks like a rendering of Fujisan. As Tsuruta san, or his associates, describe the hamon: "This blade is called Fujimi Saigyo which means Mt Fuji and other mountains and also Miho Matsubara(it is beautiful see side contrast of Matsu trees and seaside). The sentry from the view from the point(Miho Matsubara) Mt Fuji is excellent scenery.

If you are going to boil them, be sure that you use deionized (distilled) water. "Hard" water has a lot of minerals in it.

I have a couple of Sukenaga blades, that I pictured down this link. Often they have a kiku mon and ichi:

For the envelopes. I have had papers for which the envelopes have been lost.

John Tirado or Brian Tschernega

Marki, I just skimmed this thread, but will comment that the sword you posted appears to be a very stout sword, long, thick and heavy, as is typical of Koyama Munetsugu. Some collectors find the Hamon of Munetsugu, and his student/son Sokan to be slightly repetitive. I own both a Koyama Munetsugu and a Sokan (tanto and katana respectively) and find them to be very pleasing blades. At the price that is being asked for the one you are asking about however, I would say that the mounts must be of outstanding quality. I think that a TH Munetsugu in just Shirasaya, even one of this size, would be half of that price, so if you are seriously interested in this blade, you should be sure that the mounts have great value. I didn't see photos or descriptions of the mounts enough to tell whether they are highly important.

Brian, the most valuable commodities in sword collecting are knowledge and experience. These can be had a myriad of ways, but extensive reading, attending sword shows and, if you have the inclination, buying and selling in order to learn by ones experiences and, especially, mistakes. With these things, and hard work, there are still plenty of undiscovered treasures that you can unearth at sword shows or on eBay or in other auctions. They are still rare, but can be found. I am aware of friends finding important swords or fittings, and I have found a number of them myself, at prices less than $3000. Of course, they will usually require shinsa, restoration, more shinsa etc. If this is one's temperament, a person can build a wonderful collection on "sweat equity".

By the way, I bid on it, but was cautious because of doubt about the mei and lack of papers.

Piers, it had a Myochin Muneyoshi signature on it, though I couldn't find great examples. There was one from the Met signed Muneyoshi, but the chiseling was different. It is certainly in an "armor maker's" style.

Every sword is different Brian. It is hard to find a juyo katana for under $20,000. Upper limits are hard to set, as a famous maker sword with Hozon papers can be worth over $100,000 in some cases (e.g. Kiyomaro or Nagamitsu...). Good entry level pieces can be found at the bottom of your range; as prices go from $5000-10,000, the condition of the polish and the quality of the mounts tend to increase dramatically. In-polish, tokubetsu hozon katana from jo-saku makers and better with nice mounts can be had in the $10,000-20,000 range. Just a very rough answer. Your question is like saying I have a car in my garage. How much is it worth?

That nice Myochin 24 plate tsuba went for 254,000 yen. Did anybody on NMB get it?

I'm looking for a bunny Jeremiah. Is it inside the tube? Nice piece.

Mark, there is also often a shinsa in Chicago if that is more convenient to you. If you do decide to come, I would be happy to have a look at the sword and go over it with a fine tooth comb. A show would be a good place to find a nice pair of menuki as well. Another unknown in this thread is the extent of the repair to the says that will be needed. If it needs replacement, a new says in Japan can be costly ($2000-4000), though the product is beautiful. It's a nice sword and I'm happy that you are excited about it and want to bring it back to its previous glory. You will be amazed at how nice it will turn out.

Mark, if it passes shinsa in SF, then I would send the whole sword to Japan for restoration. That can include the saya, having new seppa fitted (I would recommend gold foil covered seppa), rewrapping the handle (does it have menuki?), making a tsunagi (wooden sword) for the mounts, making a shirasaya and, of course, polish and papers from the NBTHK (preferred to NTHK papers). Total cost would be $5000-8000, depending on work required.

I usually have shinsa done before restoration, unless I have no doubt about the sword's authenticity. I haven't studied the mei on yours at all. But the company that it keeps (i.e. the very nice mounts) and the hamon are both helpful to give confidence. It's not that hard to submit to NTHK shinsa, and restoration for this sword in Japan is about a $6000 proposition, so yes, unless you are sure it is shoshin, I would suggest you submit it.

That is a great site John, thanks. I have a Omi Daijo katana in general's mounts that have a family mon. When I get back home I will have to see if I can figure out who carried it!

Hi Chris. Looks like an Edo era wakizashi, possibly by the Kaga school, based on the tang shape only. You can take some ivory or horn and rub it to remove the active rust on the tang. Some oil on the blade is a good idea too. My guess is that it would not be worthy of a polish based on economics, so I suggest you study it and move it along. It might fetch a couple hundred bucks on eBay. Hope this helps.

That sword looks familiar Volker!

It's a nice blade in aikuchi mounts,Tatyana, and worthy to be enjoyed. The hada, or grain of the steel, is attractive, the tanto is in a good state of polish and has some Gassan features. If this is your first sword, it is an excellent study piece. Hopefully it didn't cost you too much and when your studies are completed with the tanto, you can get your investment out and find the next piece to enjoy. Welcome to NMB!

Maybe Volker Hoffert will chime in, as he is very knowledgable about the Minatogawato and the Yasukunito

I didn't realize that this is possibly the same as Minatagawa Masatada. He was the original sensei in the shrine as far as I know but had a relatively short career. I have been lucky enough to have two of his blades. You can find some information about him online, and there are also a couple of books about the Minatogawa, one by Kishida and the other by Wallinga (very hard to find).

Nice sword and nice thread. Looks late Edo to me and very worthy of consideration for full restoration. Is it missing seppa? If so, it may be loose and there is danger the habaki will put undue wear on the very nice tsuba. I just skimmed the thread, so sorry if I am repeating what others have said, but I would think that the next step is to get it into shinsa, though I am pretty confident that it is genuine. By the way, nice posting Geraint!