Nihonto student

Overall, 400 Euros seems like a fair valuation to me. I'm happy the seller was honest with you, and I hope this piece is just the beginning, encouraging you to continue your study of Nihonto. All the best Giordy

Regarding defects, everyone has their own perception of what they can accept. Some want only perfection, while others don't mind the signs of aging. Often, this is also related to financial resources. The key point, however, for me remains awareness: If you're not aware of what you're buying, you risk overestimating the item. Just to give you some food for thought on the blade you posted: - The fact that it's 500 years old (to be verified) doesn't make it valuable or rare. That's when the most blades were made, and the high demand is generally synonymous with poorer quality. - The signature needs to be verified, but generally for Bizen blades beginning with "Bishu Osafune" isn't synonymous of quality blades, but rather with blades made for purely utilitarian purposes, which are called kazu-uchi mono. - The blade seems hard to read in this condition; you can see little or nothing of the "pattern"—hada, hamon, activity, etc.—the cost of a restoration (If possible) will be around €2.000 (€ 20 -25 per centimeter is the average cost of a professional polish), with the real risk that the restoration's value will be greater than the value of the blade itself. This is just to name a few things. Based on this, as I said, you might still be convinced to buy it. I don't want to convince you otherwise...the important thing is that you're aware. Giordy

Dear Gerry, We live in a strange world, but I doubt you'll ever hear anyone say they prefer Gimei blades as a matter of fact. Have you ever heard of anyone preferring paintings with fake signatures? I don't think so. It's possible that a gimei might still be recognized for its technical/artistic quality, It can happen of course, but it's not the norm. There's always a tendency to give the advice, "Buy the sword, not the signature," but this should be taken with common sense and requires experience in evaluating a work. The market in general strongly penalizes Gimei blades. Whether this is right or wrong is something you can find plenty of insights on the forum. All the best Giordy

Seems confident mei execution: https://www.aoijapan.com/katana：iga-no-kami-minamoto-kanemichinbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/

Just reached Chonin. From Wiki: They were important figures in Japan for the introduction of a more materialistic lifestyle, not typical of Japan, characterized by an increasingly weighty connection to material goods and a tendency towards consumerism, due to the preponderant advancement of capitalism. I don't know if it's something to be proud of

I don't want to add fuel to the fire, just a few considerations, always with a view to learning: I see a lot of confidence in the Shinshinto dating, but honestly, as others have expressed, I have some reservations... it's not rare but not common to find a Shinshinto osuriage blade. 0.65 Kasane for a Shinshinto blade is very thin... why all these polishes? Horimono atobori (I agree), but considering the kasane, this makes me think it was applied a long time later... early 1900s? I also agree with Alex that to spend the money on horimono, either the blade is worth it or the owner was particularly keen on it. The Nagasa seems to be around 66cm (Correct?), so we're in the uchigatana range... something doesn't add up here either... so the blade was made in Shinshinto and then shortened to uchigatana? Perhaps a personal choice by the owner... So, in my ignorance, I see three solutions: 1. The blade is older. 2. It's Shinshinto, and the blade has undergone an unconventional life/choice. 3. Shinshinto, and modifications have been made to make it appear older. Offtopic For what it's worth: There are tons of informative posts on the forum where people can understand how to approach a purchase, from various perspectives (Some even recent posts). Despite this, someone regularly posts about their newly purchased blade without having done any research. This should make us reflect on the pointlessness of setting up a roundtable of inquiries...there will always be people who do their research and those who don't, regardless of how many posts on the subject are made...for me, a purchase in itself is never a bad thing. I'm one of those who bought their first blade without knowing anything (the blade wasn't even for me). Without that purchase, I wouldn't be here today, I would never have bought books, and I wouldn't sleep with Nagayama on my nightstand. The purchase opened my eyes to this world, I realized there was so much more to know, and it gave me the motivation to delve deeper. This is to say that regardless of the advice, there will be those who want to delve deeper, those who don't, those who will have their own time to do so, and I think that from this perspective, the role of a forum like this is also to encourage people to continue along the path without making hasty judgments on hasty initial decisions. There's always time to redeem yourself All the best Giordy

Obviously, certification can't be understood from the nakago or the signature alone, so in this case I was just making a deduction. Process: Of the three signatures, identify the one that is definitely genuine... the third is a textbook example and is also the only one dated (Perhaps a coincidence, I didn't open the Aoi links to see if the others are dated). The other two are both well-executed overall, so need to delve into the details. What doesn't convince me about signature no. 2 is the character 近, which doesn't seem precise, and it seems like more pressure was applied to the strokes than the rest. Then there's the character 忠, where the bottom stroke appears a bit rounded, whereas it should be very square, as can be seen in examples 1 and 3. Overall, his signature is very square with very clean strokes. The last is a gem from @Jacques (Honor to merit), who in another post had indicated that one Tadahiro's signature feature is the decreasing size of the characters from top to bottom. For me, this feature is very evident in #3, less so in #1, and completely absent in #2. An interesting thing to explore in this specific case is that Aoi has decided to list #2 as non-guaranteed. This, to me, means they're ruling out the possibility that it could be a daimei which is common for Tadahiro since he collaborated with both the 3rd and 4th generation, so as I interpret it for Aoi it is gimei. Giordy

Dear Pierre, Start by saying that the signatures of the Tadayoshi line are tricky and among the most counterfeited. In this case, we're talking about the second generation, which had a long career and its signature has undergone several evolutions. Personally, I'd say from left to right: - Tokubetsu - Disputed - Juyo Giordy

Dear Alex, from the pictures I can only say that it is a wakizashi, not a katana, signed Sagami (no) Kami Fujiwara Hiroshige (Edo period, first half). Giordy

Frankly, I still think that being a Catawiki appraiser is an extremely uncomfortable position from which I would be far away , and that the appraiser has nothing to do with appraisal but is only required to give an opinion on authenticity. Based on this, if we think that one of the first things that are explained in this world is that a blade must be seen to be evaluated we already have a paradox...certainly the experience counts so I sincerely ask you, dealers, enthusiasts, collectors (Although I prefer keepers) how much would you rate the Sadayuki posted by Sebastian based only on photos? Personally the valuation 10,500 - 13,000 + fees + shipping is totally crazy for me, even relating it to the European market which tends to be more expensive. Personally if I had to make an assessment on paper I would rate it less than half... but I am curious to hear the opinion of those who know more than me. However, I remain of the idea that the strategy of Catawiki is aimed at the protection of the seller unlike other platforms more equitable , this strategy is based on a solid point that is if the seller is better protected and if the seller earns more will have more incentive to sell through Catawiki than other platforms, this allows the platform to increase the items offer, the increase in the audience of buyers becomes a consequence...their main target of engagement are the sellers not the buyers because simply: + items offer means + items sold = higher commissions. The expert’s evaluation then plays a fundamental role in giving security to the buyer with respect to the perception of value, especially in a mass culture now addicted to reviews. Giordy

I don't have much to add to what has already been said, one of the best insights I've ever read... full of excellent content (Almost inaccessible to ordinary mortals) the quality of the photos is superb... I honestly have no suggestions for improvement... I can only say thank you and look forward to the next article. Giordy

I understand you very well Benjamin , I was amazed thinking about how much effort is needed to create a blade of such magnitude. Also it would be nice to be able to organize a meeting/lunch/dinner with NMB members next year by organizing it in advance.

Visited for the first time, beautiful event in an equally beautiful and exclusive location, very helpful and friendly dealers, I sincerely hope that this event will be maintained because we desperately need it in Europe, hope that the dealers have also done good business because in the end a lot also depends on this. I see the format itself as centered but in a growth perspective it would be interesting to integrate more laboratories / lectures also in general on Japanese culture that can attract a more varied audience. The blade posted by Luc is a Gassan Sadanobu was exhibited together with 3 other Gassan including an Sadakazu Odachi for the very interesting lecture held by Simone di Franco on the Gassan school, obviously magnificent horimono as per Gassan tradition. Regarding possible purchases the offer was varied with both entry level and high level pieces, especially for entry level I saw several interesting pieces compared to the asking price so I strongly suggest to those who are thinking about their first purchase to come to the next edition. @Jussi Ekholm I thought of you when I saw this , never seen so many ana.. PS: sorry for the low quality photos but I didn't want to be too annoying towards the dealers... Giordy

Nice blade Sky congratulation! I hope Seiyudo brought interesting pieces to the Utrecht show this week, I'll be there on Saturday I hope to meet some members of the forum, if anyone is there write to me, always nice to share experiences and getting to know each other. Giordy