stephan_hiller

Hi, I have also dealt with that seller and never had any problems. Regards, Stephan

Hi, do you also have pictures of the mei? Would like to see the Masanaga (Masakiyo) signature. Thanks, Stephan

Mmmhh, when I asked him this morning for the list and if he would also sell single books I got the following reply "Not selling one at a time right now. Thank you" You must have asked somehow "nicer" than I did :-) Stephan

Definitely a fake Stephan

Hi, I just acquired another blade from Amatsu Masakiyo (it is now my third blade from Masakiyo) and already found quite some information about the swordsmith. However, searching the web I noticed that the JSS/US seems to have some articles in its newsletters about him. Unfortunately I do not have the JSS/US newsletters but would be happy if someone can either provide me a scan of the articles or sell me the Issues where Masakiyo is covered. More precisely Masakiyo is covered in JSS/US Newsletter Volume 31; Issue 4; Page 23 and Volume 33; Issue 5; Page 20 Many thanks, Stephan

Hi Peter, many thanks for the informative post. I have sent this information to my UK seller and hope that he accepts one of the alternatives. I am willing to accept the risk of an uninsured package - doesn't really bother me from UK to Germany. Best Regards Stephan

Hi, I recently acquired a Japanese sword from a seller in the UK. The seller today wanted to ship the sword to me (to Germany) and went to his local post office (he talks in his email about a courier). When he told the guy at the post office that he wanted to send an antique Japanese sword to Germany the guy told him that this won't be possible as they do not take weapons and Germany would not allow them into the country. At least for the latter I can say that this is bullshit. Over the years I (and many other collectors in Germany) have imported many Japanese sword and never had an issue with that - getting a sword from a EU member state is usually even much easier than from a non-EU member state. As I said I do not yet now which courier he wanted to use but would want to ask our UK collectors if they know of any issues with e.g. Royal Mail, DHL or other when sending swords from the UK to Germany. And advice would be really appreciated. Thanks, Stephan

Hi Ian, Thanks for sharing this with us. I took the opportunity and bought the newsletters (although shipping to Germany is rather expensive). Stephan

Hi Christian, You should send Roger Robertshaw an email. He is the known expert for the Hizen Tadayoshi school and should be able to help you. His website ist http://www.hizento.net/index.php Best Regards Stephan

I would also say a chinese copy. - Crude tang - Lines of the blade are not crisp - No yokote - and the kissaki is odd-shaped - Fuchi and Tsuba are badly casted - compare it with real WW2 fittings - the cherry blossoms are much more crosp I don't understand how a "reputable" dealer can sell you such crap - probably depends on how the dealer defines "handmade" Regards Stephan

Dear Chris, I am trying also to go the path like your friend did (hopefully not having to sell them off one day). I like old swords for their history but I also value good gendaito for not being overpolished and for not (usually) having forging flaws. I like beefy swords with a strong sugata but try to avoid to put big bucks on swords. This is how I found my first Masakiyo some years ago. For quite some time I had this interest put aside but now with my second Masakiyo I think I will continue acquiring blades of this smith when they cross my path over the next years. I will stay away from all the Nagamitsus and Emuras as I think they are not worth the money that people bid on them on ebay. But hey, this seems to be the European/US mainstream hype. I think there are quite some good gendaito out there from lesser known smith; Masakiyo is one of them. Best Regards Stephan

Dear Morita-san, Many, many thanks for taking the time to translate the signature and especially for the third kanji I missed. It is really greatly appreciated. I will add the information to the data that I already have about Masakiyo Best Regards Stephan

Hi Chris, Many thanks for your help. I am trying to get some more info on this swordsmith. As I already have a sword made by Masakiyo I gathered some information from my books and on the Internet. The signature from the picture above does not seem to have been made my him directly (maybe one of his students) - his signature is quite unique as he signs in gyoshi and the signature from the image is rather sloppy. So far I have found out the following about Masakiyo: Masakiyo, real name Amatsu Tomita in Shimane prefecture was born in 17th year of Meiji and worked for Navy/Army on before WW II and was awarded the president prize by the military sword academy. In the 1941 exhibition, he ranked 1 seat! Very high for all the smiths at that time who entered. In 1942 he became head swordsmith for the Izumo Seiko (Izumo Steel Works Company) located in Shimane prefecture. He sold his blades for the same prices that the yasukuni shrine smiths sold theirs for at that time, He formed his own school and had two renowned students. In 1942, Kurihara Hikosaburo, the man who revived the Japanese Sword twice, reported about 400 gunto tosho's ranking at Tosho Banzuke (刀匠番附). He classified as 7 ranks and included lots of wartime swordsmiths. Amatsu Masakiyo is listed as JO SAKU More information on Masakiyo (or even a photo of him) would be really great. Best Regards Stephan

Hi, I just bought a blade (that is currently shipped to me) and I have a picture of the mei. I translated most of the signature but need some help/confirmation on the translation I think it reads: "YAKUMO XXX AMATSU MASAKIYO SAKU" and is dated: "SHOWA JU KU NEN SHI GATSU KICHI JITSU" However, I can not read the third kanji in the signature and I am not sure with the "SHI" in the date. So I would be really happy if someone can help me with the missing kanji and/or confirm what I have found out. Many thanks, Stephan

Hi Jason, can you please post some pics of the blade. Thanks, Stephan

Upps, I think you guys are all correct. I did not get his intention Stephan

Hi Jock, Thanks for letting us know. I also had a look at the blades and noticed that the style of the auction is that of candelaria2007. I thought at first that the seller is trying to resell blades that were acquired from candelaria2007 originally. However, can you please let me know why you would be willing to spend $ 5,000 on each of them. Although they seem to be okay, I think they aren't worth any close to $ 5,000 Thanks, Stephan

Hi, I agree with Peter that you should try to sell the blade on ebay to a wanna-be samurai and move on with the money to a better acquisition. Even though it may has a romantic flavour to restore any Japanese blade for "future generations" I personally prefer to stay away from these. There will be the day when you see "THE" beautiful blade you ever wanted to have and then it can be quite difficult to sell a restored junk blade. Cheers Stephan

I just noticed that the author provides some details and photos of the book on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japanese- ... 1140520277 I have put the book on my wishlist - I think it will be worth reading. Stephan

Hi Marius, The book is NOT YET available as it has not been released. You only can preorder this book and if you don't have a certain relationship to the author you proabably will not find many people who read the book :-) Regards Stephan

Hi Mariusz, You are basically correct. But I was surprised here that the seller is making so intentially wrong statements about this sword (Shinto, worth over $ 3000.00, from 19th century) that I thought this should be mentioned here. But I agree that there is nothing you can learn here, except that this is not a sword you should be looking for :-) Regards, Stephan

Hi guys, here is another fake - "Shinto" wak worth over $ 3000.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/Authentic-Samurai-S ... 2a0a6b3fb8 Stephan

All, I am just discussing with a dealer about a sword from "Yakumo Amatsu Masakiyo". I already have a sword of this smith and like his work, but I am in doubt about the signature of the Masakiyo from the dealer. All mei I found so far (including my own blade) differ significantly from the one on this blade. I have attached a picture of the mei and date and would be happy if someone would comment on this. Many thanks, Stephan

I just came across this blade and my first thoughts were "Chinese Origin". http://cgi.ebay.de/Japanese-Sword-by-O- ... n_Antiques - Boshi looks strange - No habaki - No Shirasaya This reminds me of the forged blades they are selling from China - always without a habaki and shirasaya. The seller currently has also some other swords for sale where I would say that they are definitely Japanese (the Kanesada is even quite nice). Therefore I am not 100% sure about this blade. What do you think? China or Japan? Stephan

Hi, I would be highly interested in a Shinsa in Europe as I don't like to send my swords out of Europe. You have to deal with quite a lot of paperwork when re-importing swords into Germany (after the Shinsa). It is not so much about the costs but rather the hazzle around it. Stephan