cabowen

left to right I would think...kao usually at the bottom/end

If the person who shortened it is known and his signature is valid, and the mei he adds is correct in the eyes of the shinsa team, then, speaking only for what I know of the NTHK-NPO, I would say yes...

Welding it back together will not work out well and always be detectable. Satsuma-age anyone?

Sure....could be late Koto into early Shinto....

As Geraint succinctly notes, kantei is not an exact science. Many traits are subtle and different people will see them slightly differently. Some will put more emphasis on one trait and go in that direction, others will focus more on something else and go in a different direction. While anyone can toss out an opinion, and there is nothing wrong with that; just be aware that said opinions are worth price paid...Most shinsa judges have decades of experience handling many thousands of blades. There are no shortcuts; in hand experience with many many swords is what it takes to get into the deep water.

Yes, NTHK-NPO will give an attribution when possible to a period, group, and sometimes smith at the US shinsa. They would probably do it in Japan as well if you submit it through someone who knows them and can request it. They are usually quite approachable.

I have read this comment here several times: I have seen this happen several times. Let's be clear though: the mei in the cases I am familiar with was judged to be an ato-mei, that is, it wasn't by the original smith, it was simply cut later by someone other than the smith. These are not considered to be historically valuable. That is a very good point, but apparently the answer is yes....perhaps if more people felt this way things might change. As long as collecting involves large sums of money, and the collecting community is reliant on the opinions and validation of organizations that do not share this outlook, I see little chance of change in the way things are done. HIstorically, kantei-sho have the word "正真" at the top which means "genuine". If a blade is signed, it is then taken to mean that the mei is genuine. The NBTHK papers make no such claims, only a sword is "worthy of preservation", "especially worthy of preservation", "an import sword", or an "especially important sword"　under the current system. One could make the argument that therefore the NBTHK has some wriggle room and could paper a gimei blade with the rationale that a spurious mei has no bearing on the intrinsic value of the sword from a preservation standpoint. The reality though is that people take the NBTHK papers to mean something other than what they actually say: there is an implicit understanding that if a sword passes NBTHK shinsa, the mei must be genuine. Conversely, if a sword is considered gimei by the judges, it will fail and you will be told "gimei" as a reason and that if you remove the signature, it will then pass. The only explanation I have been given for this that makes any sense is that it protects the NBTHK from lawsuits due to errors. I do not know if there is any truth to that but it makes sense. No doubt there have been valid mei removed by accident but usually, if it is a big name, most prudent people in cases I am familiar with, do not rush to judgment and seek many opinions, carefully weigh them and then a choose a course of action. Perhaps mistakes are still made, but that is the nature of the game when there is money on the table and people are self-interested. Japanese swords are each unique; art by its variable, organic, and changing nature is not so easily classified or pigeon holed in any sort of absolute and artificial matrix. It isn't a science where computers and data mining are going to give you an exact answer when you punch in a few variables or tick a few boxes. The whole Go-ka den concept is rather recent and an entirely artificial construct- a stab at organizing a large number of smiths and schools into something coherent and some what navigable. As anyone who reads this board with any regularity should know, exceptions are the rule. Kantei has never been an absolute science-but one based on experience, knowledge, and some will even say a bit of intuition . Thus, it should come as no surprise that opinions will differ even among experts at times. And opinions can change over time; gimei today, shoshin tomorrow, gimei again the day after...In many of these cases, we can never know with certainty. This is not to say that a rationale, deductive approach is not helpful, only that one needs to recognize the inherent nature of the art and the limitations in predictive power of working with a limited and fuzzy data set. I can understand leaving a gimei signature alone if it is so close that no consensus can be reached among experts. I do not understand people who say a gimei signature should be left alone because it is part of the sword's history- by that logic, hakobore should be left alone, as should bends, twists, and all other signs of "history". Maybe swords should never be polished because it is removing history? We are back to the art vs artifact dichotomy. Personally, I take most gimei to be unfortunate damage to a blade which should be repaired the same as any other damage. Notice I said "most". To play the devil's advocate a bit, I also know of many swords that were dissed as gimei and sold for cheap. Smart dealers had the mei removed, the sword restored, and not only profited handsomely, but much like Kunitaro san's story, turned a toad into a prince that would now be respected and preserved. In the long run, the sword survives when it might not have otherwise. Finally, there is little that can be done to change the fundamental nature of Japanese sword collecting, that being, it is, like most collecting, about the exchange of money. Profit drives people to sell. We can each make the choice when the opportunity presents itself to forgo profit and preserve what we think is more important and simply get off the paper carousel. As Guido said, and I find it quite profound, "no one is putting a gun to anyone's head to get papers". For those concerned about removing signatures, the solution is right there...

It doesn't hurt to clean the inside of the habaki with a q-tip and alcohol now and then...

It is undoubtedly a real WWII Japanese sword by Ishihara Nagamitsu. The signature is genuine.

All I said originally about this tanto here was that "the nakago looks like Sengo" and "nice Soshu". You can assume what you wish about that...Based on my experience with Nanbokucho Soshu, and what others like Nakahara have said, I later repeated here what I said to Kunitaro san privately- that it seemed too short to be Nanbokucho Soshu, which is what it appears to be at first glance. Just an opinion. Your data mining shows that there are indeed a small number of Juyo Nambokucho Soshu tanto less than 30cm; what percentage of the total does this represent? Yeah, we have no way to know. Taking the small sample of blades that are Juto and extrapolating to the larger population is problematic in many cases don't you think? Or have you done statistical analysis to verify the robustness of the sample size? I will agree that it does mean that this tanto could be Nanbokucho though as Kunitaro san has said, we don't really know. You seem certain this tanto has machi-okuri. What leads you to that opinion? I agree that this is most likely the work of a less famous smith.

WWII smith Ishihara Nagamitsu.

Looks like a great time....and what atmosphere!

Here it is as simple as I can explain it: real kantei-sho are being doctored to match a different sword. The picture with stamp is replaced with a fake and the length and mei, which are the only physical descriptions of the blade that appear on an NBTHK H or TH kantei-sho, are apparently erased and rewritten. The torokusho registration info, which also appears on the reverse of the kantei-sho, would also have to be changed to match that of the fake sword. If the sword has remained in Japan since the original NBTHK submission, you can call the NBTHK and they can check by the torokusho registration number in their records to confirm if it matches the torokusho number now on the papers/license with the sword, to see if it is the same. If the sword no longer has a torokusho registration number because it has been exported out of Japan, or has been exported and reimported (given a new number) they can only confirm by visual inspection of both the sword and kaneti-sho together, in hand. Kunitaro san never said the kantei-sho was presented with different swords. He said the same sword with bad kantei-sho is recycled through the system over and over as new owners send it in for higher papers and it gets sent back and then resold and then sent in for higher papers and sent back and resold and sent in.... There is info lacking. I recommend familiarizing ones' self with a H or TH kantei-sho to understand exactly what is being discussed. It wouldn't hurt to reread Kunitaro san's comments a few time as well.

top starts with a name I think, maybe Goto X taro...can't make out the rest... bottom inscription reads "Kimi Banzai" 君萬歳

In a word, no.

There are blades that are highly papered that have even been rehardened (saiha) and a number of Juyo and up even with sketchy boshi I believe but in general, yes, they need to be something pretty special to have these otherwise serious defects overlooked. At what point age, rarity, etc., trump the general guidelines is hard to say. It's a grey area. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules. We do see, in general, that the older the blade, the more can be overlooked. If you look at the NBTHK guidelines for shinsa, you will see, for example, that early koto osuriage can be TokuJu but osuriage Shinto will not even make TH as I recall. A koto with flaws that would turn one away in a later blade are tolerated in many cases. Of course, this is one organization's opinion/system, albeit the one most turn to for guidance. There are other views. I have seen highly rated/highly priced koto blades that were rather tired, with flaws, etc., that I wouldn't want at any price. To others, they are treasure. Ultimately, it is an individual decision as to what you can tolerate.

It is difficult to cut the steel if the hamon is not heated and softened; it is the usual thing to do when shortening the blade.

He doesn't say if they are scarce or not.....

Seeing as how Omori Teruhide is a famous kinko, there are many gimei, so it is a rather safe bet...

Omori Teruhide kao I'm gonna guess gimei...

Bob, a skilled craftsman can shorten a blade and remove the hamon as this appears. It can't be determined with certainty here from the photos but it may not be an issue. This isn't really a yaki-dashi.... As for the boshi, there are Juto, TokuJu, and higher with less....for some, it's part of an old sword's history. Like I have said before, older swords often get a pass with things like this...to some it isn't a deal breaker.

Doesn't seem so.... As I pm'ed Kunitaro san, my first impression was Nanbokucho period, but noticing the nagasa, I had my reservations. Nakahara says Nanbokucho wakizashi are usually "33cm to 41cm in length with tanto very rare". This blade is only 26cm according to the original post so, accordingly, it is very rare if Nanbokucho. Blades of this length were common to later Muromachi. No doubt someone will confirm/deny Nakahara's statement by telling you exactly how many Nanbokucho Soshu den tanto less than 33cm are found among Juto, TokuJu, etc. blades....

Different kanji.　繁広

That seems to be what Kunitaro san has said. Who said it was a "few fakes"? Is that a presumption? One man's panic is another's cautious consideration perhaps....Anyone who buys and sells NBTHK H and TH papered blades who thinks deeply about this situation should be concerned. And I think that is what we are seeing here in the discussion-concern.

How many H and TH kantei-sho do you think they issue every other month for swords? I have heard that they receive over 1000 items for shinsa each time; that is anecdotal, but I wouldn't be surprised. If roughly half pass, that is around 3000 items a year. Pretty big book! I have actually discussed doing this with the items passing US NTHK-NPO shinsa, or a selection of them, with the directors. I never pursued it but still think it would be an interesting and worthy project. OF course, there are far few items!