cabowen

I think it is Tensho 7....

Don't underestimate the added amperage a shinsa brings.....There were probably twice as many people in Tampa in 2014 simply because they came for the shinsa...I have seen this time and again. Without a shinsa, it is an entirely different show...

Sesshu Ju Fujiwara Tadayuki 摂州住藤原忠行 perhaps....

True, eyesight is very important but they make some serious eyewear these days! I remember watching Enomoto Sadayoshi make swords at 90+ years of age. I asked him if his age was a factor and he told me he had done this so much for so long he could do it in his sleep! I think we see experience and knowledge making up for a loss in physical skills in many fields. No doubt at some point though they are not enough to compensate and the work declines... There are a lot of rumors about Okimasa (and most other well known smiths for that matter)....It is hard to separate fact from fiction but if we look at how connected he was at the time of his death, his students, the prizes he won, the buzz around him (the movie, magazine article), etc., it is a safe bet that as one of the most famous smiths of his day, he was on the path....Becoming a Ningen Kokuho depends on many things and without a doubt politics is one of the biggest factors. He was a rather brash person who was very confident in his abilities and not afraid to say so. But bottom line, he backed it up. I have heard time and again from old collectors and sensei that he would have been a LNT if he had lived longer. It is an oft expressed opinion. Seemingly he had everything required. Whether or not he had the political clout is a matter that can't ever be known....

Truly hard to say when a smith is in his prime as everyone is an individual. Some are better in their 20's than others ever are! And some do remarkable work into their 70's and 80's. These days, with the limits on output and the use of machinery, smiths' bodies don't see the wear and tear they did previously and thus, conceivably, they should be able to work at a high level longer. I agree completely with your excellent observation that work done after receiving the LNT designation may well not be the best of one's oeuvre on an absolute basis and only valued higher due to the status that the designation LNT confers... I agree that Tsukamoto Okimasa was at least as good, if not better. I would even say better, at least at the time of his death. He was rated much higher during the war and won many more awards. Miyairi san really came into his own with the boom in the sword market which unfortunately for Okimasa, occurred about 10 years or so after his death. I have no doubt that Tsukamoto was on the path to become a Ningen Kokuho and would probably have if not for his untimely death...He is my personal favorite so I am a bit biased....

Miyairi san was a Ningen Kokuho, unlike Sadakatsu or Shigetsugu. He is very famous (and was very well liked). These are important factors in regards to the price. His war era work is quite rare as I mentioned and it doesn't hurt that his work is very good. His war era work is thus valued quite highly, though not as highly as his post war and post Ningen Kokuho nomination work. Personally, I don't think his war era work is any better than Gassan or Kasama san's work, nor many others. One pays something extra for the name and fame... He worked primarily in Bizen-den and Soden Bizen, like his teachers, during the war. He is of course in the Kasama den. After the war he often worked in Soden Bizen and also worked in the style of Kiyomaro. Remember they were both from Shinshu! Usually, in my experience, the work done AFTER one becomes Ningen Kokuho is more valuable and in much greater demand than the work done prior. If you study prices of work done pre and post of a wide variety of artists, not just swordsmiths, you will notice this trend. Incidentally, buying the work of a smith who you think will become a Ningen Kokuho as an investment is usually not a winning ticket (unless of course you manage to find a very good deal and buy it below market for that smith). With little doubt this sword was purchased in Japan at Japanese retail and the Ebay price is well in excess of Japanese retail. I would call this a case of buying high and gambling you can sell higher...One always has to consider the seller. If you do some research you will find he usually attaches very large price tags, clearly a believer in PT Barnum's maxim. Keeping in mind the fact that one can always come down, but never go up, why not shoot for the stars??? You will notice though that the price is coming down.... As I said above, I have owned two war era Miyairi blades. Both Bizen den. The first I bought on Ebay and sold for about half of what is being asked for the current item. The second I bought in Japan through the back door for $6000 and I have no plans to sell it. Neither of mine had/have kantei-sho but they are both very good and representative of his war era work. The 5-6 others I have seen for sale in Japan over the years were priced at $10K-$15K as best I can remember. I have also seen a few Takahashi Sadatsugu (another NIngen Kokuho) war era blades over the years for sale. These were around $15K-$18K but also had horimono. Interestingly, the one I sold I had once brought to a NTHK-NPO Taikai, along with a blade by Ota Chikahide, and they were both displayed. Miyano sensei, the head of the NTHK-NPO, not knowing they were mine, was behind me as we went through the long display of swords. The two I brought were at the end of the line, the Ota blade the last one. He spent a long time looking at it and when he put it down he said to me, "These two gendai are really nice but that last blade really surprised me! I have never seen that smiths work but it is as good as these shinshinto!" The shinshinto work he referred to were several blades by Koyama Munetsugu who is one of the top shinshinto smiths. I was quite happy obviously to hear such an unsolicited opinion from someone with Miyano sensei's experience and knowledge. One should keep this in mind: there were many talented but rather unknown smiths from this period and learning to recognize quality, rather than chasing names, will allow one to assemble a high quality collection without paying a premium. Back to the blade under discussion, I will conclude by saying no doubt this is a good sword and quite rare. The market will decide what it is worth....

Check out Kanebo Masasada.

Non-traditional means it was mass produced using western steel and oil quenched, unlike traditional Japanese swords which are hand made of a special Japanese steel and quenched in water. The upshot is it is a piece of militaria and not an "art sword" collected by traditional Japanese sword enthusiasts. It was made in the late 1930's or early 1940's. Iai is the Japanese martial art of drawing and cutting with a sword. Seems these sell on ebay for $800-$1200 depending on condition...

It's a WWII era blade signed Maegawa Kanetsugu Saku (Made by Maegawa Kanetsugu)........Probably a non-traditional blade and maybe made for iai originally, later converted for military use.

He didn't make it, Stuart Branson did....

It notes that it was made from (surplus) steel used to make a treasure sword for the Ise Shrine. Yes, date is 1954 and made for Tanaka Hidekazu.

Fujiwara Hisa ? Saku perhaps..... You bought it without knowing the maker?

You mean other than pride, authority, and godliness?

I think the mei is fine- it is just a WWII era Seki blade with a doctored date. The date appears to have been messed with, changing it from Showa to Genwa and adding some other nonsense. The "hi" kanji after the nenki 日 gives that away. I think anyone that is aware of the standard Japanese way to write dates would spot this on sight....Am I missing something more profound here?

yes, it will be moved as well...It actually starts on 2/25/16 and runs 4 days......The calendar is missing the first day of the shinsa....

That's what I just did...we'll see how long Ebay takes to remove them....I am starting to understand all the negative comments I have read lately about selling on Ebay....

Of course that is the most important thing. Regardless, it looks to be a well made sword. Again, this is just an interpretation based on my take on what is visible in the photos and what is most common. There are always exceptions...

Curt- Looking the nakago mune, it is clear that this sword has been polished very little in its present configuration. If it is osuriage, it would in all likelihood had to have been shortened rather recently since it hasn't been polished much. It looks to be quite thick. If it was osuriage, as I said, it would have originally been at least 33" long. Often a koto blade of that length is thinner to compensate for the great length and thus I would find it a bit unusual to have this thickness this far up the blade. If it is ubu, it probably isn't that old of a sword since it hasn't been polished much at all. These pictures make me think more than ever that this is not that old of a sword....

Keep in mind that a polisher generally moves blades through his safe in a rather regular progression. They usually aren't stored there for a long time....No doubt there are exceptions though...

Do a search of the forum. I just advised someone with a Nobutaka to contact Fred Geyer as he has many blades by all the different generations and would be your best bet in finding out which, if any, of the Nobutaka line made this....

Not true. Tachi were displayed vertically but they weren't stored that way....At least I have never seen a "tachi-dansu" that held the tachi vertically...Katana-dansu, the traditional storage chest for swords (all swords it seems) hold the blades in a horizontal position. Tachi or katana, the blades are stored in shirasaya and placed in a horizontal position in a katana-dansu. There is a reason for this- to keep the oil from pooling in the end of the saya. Japan is a very humid country and oil is a necessity. If you don't need to keep oil on the blade, it doesn't really matter. It is tradition. There are many traditions associated with sword use, care, and keeping. You can pick which you wish to follow I suppose, whatever is convenient.

Yeah, I was shocked to find out that I can't even leave negative feedback for the deadbeats. Turns out there is really nothing that I can do and Ebay doesn't really do anything either....Apparently being a deadbeat is pretty much ok with Ebay....

Have you checked all 9 or so generations?

Thanks for the tips! I will keep that in mind for any future listings....I was just surprised at the 2 to 1 ratio of deadbeats....

Have a look at these "job site boxes" that they sell at Home Depot, etc. 16 gauge steel, covered lock bays....16 cubic feet of storage.....They would be tough to get into....Usually around $300-$400....