cabowen

Huh??? It says nagamaki naoshi on both the NBTHK Juyo Nado Zufu entry and on the Juyo kantei sho, both written by the NBTHK....

Maker is Yoshitada. This is a standard, WWII mass produced gunto. The other markings are a number: 677

While there are many "quiet" Rai blades that resemble Ko-mihara and Enju, I think the "stereotypical" Rai is much more active in the hamon.....Like this Rai Kunitsugu and Rai Kuniyuki:

Sometimes they change quite a lot....One needs verified reference examples which illustrate the smith's mei over time. Additionally, it is not a bad idea to look at the blade to see if the style and quality of workmanship matches the smith's known work.

In my experience, in general, the hamon in classical rai work is quite different from that seen in Enju and Mihara work...

I am assuming then that you do not have a copy of Nakahara's book, "Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords", wherein he lists nagamaki-naoshi-zukuri as a blade style on page 20 and explains why they are different than shobu-zukuri....

Especially across time periods...

The blade is from the koto period and is in the form called nagamaki naoshi. It is unsigned and retains a trace of an attribution. Most of this has come off and is illegible. The blade looks to be from the Yamato tradition....It appears a bit on the tired side. The koshirae, or fittings, are tachi style. They are probably late edo or early Showa period. The photo has the name "Hirohito" written on it..... I nice inheritance.... Hope this helps.

The second picture resembles chirimen hada of the aoe group. The chikei are thick within the mokume and almost look like worms.....

I wouldn't have recommended it if it would cause a problem......

the glue may come off with acetone. looks to be a decent blade possibly worth restoration....

Thanks, I thought it sounded strange....should have looked at the lower photos where it is much clearer.....

Whoops, that slipped by.... Actually it is probably pronounced "cho" in this case, rather than "machi"... corrected reading may be: Saga shi Higashi Matsuizumi-cho Dorikoji 13　Banchi　　佐賀市東松泉町通小路一三番地

I don't think so.....

As others have noted, a properly trained, professional polisher undergoes an apprenticeship under a master polisher. This usually lasts 8-10 years. They are certified by their instructor. I do not believe there are any master polishers training students outside of Japan. It is rather easy to tell if a polisher is professionally trained or an amateur as there are only two professionally trained polishers in the US and Canada, both are on the West coast. There is another in Hawaii. I know of none in Europe or elsewhere outside of Japan at present. If someone knows of a fully trained professional in Europe, please correct me. There are a few who claim to be Japanese trained but do not confuse a few months here and there with the proper training. Some things just can't be self taught and proper kantei (an important part of polishing) and polishing is one of them.

name is Ishii Kaichiro 石井鹿一郎 address is Saga shi Higashi Matsuizumi Dorikoji 13　Banchi　　佐賀市東松泉通小路一三番地

The side with the mei is not polished....

You are most welcome....

They are the same thing- the owner's name and address.....

Huh? It is upside down! Believe it is Suketada 祐忠

tadanao 忠直

Here is my guess: Brazil has the second largest population of Japanese outside of Japan with tens of thousands of immigrants relocating there over the last 100 years... It is likely that this sword was made there by an amateur smith. It does not look like the work of a professional....

I have seen them sell for even less...Makes one wonder, doesn't it???

While the signature, horimono quality, and blade shape all point elsewhere, I hope for the winner's sake it is good as $17K is a lot of money for a gimei wakizashi in what looks like export koshirae....Guess we will never know....

I will check my sources for info on Shosui/Seisui. The whole family has been sick with nasty colds since we returned from Japan so I have a lot to catch up on first....