cabowen

Kantei-kai, as it is held in Japan, is where the "process" is explicitly put out there as a learning exercise. Education is the purpose of kantei-kai while the purpose of shinsa is to provide an origami. It would indeed be nice if the shinsa team provided a full and explicit account of their reasoning but unfortunately, since that isn't its purpose, it is not structured that way. This does not mean that an origami can not be educational- like a zen painting, one must complete the picture one's self. The considered opinion from an experienced shinsa team should allow one to work backwards from the answer to uncover the reasons why the team came to their conclusion.

Yamato is what came to my mind as well....The signature looks to have been lightly cut or partially removed...

This family of smiths has been mentioned here several times, usually in regards to fake Kiyomaro/Kiyomaro utsushi blades.

Sori seems a bit deep for this smith/period but I agree, looks nice!

Which is quite common in Kaifu work...

From what is visible in the photos, I would think it could be restored. The question is, would it be a financial viable move? Kaifu work is not highly thought of, in general. The cost of restoration would easily end up being more than the blade would be worth. The ura mei is hard to see clearly but it might be the name of someone who ordered or carried the blade at some point...Kinoshita Kane ? 木下金 XX

For now, the book Guido has referenced is a start. Or you can do a google search and find a papered example.

Made by Ujiyasu living in Kaifu. It says something else on the other side but I can not make it all out. It's in poor condition; it might be worth $300-$500 to someone.

Kaifu ju Ujiyasu Saku perhaps....It's Japanese and worth $50.

That makes sense Mark, if the signature is original...seems to me that this shape is more common in Muromachi (and later) than in Nambokucho....

Not that the two terms are meant to be mutually exclusive, but I believe "Gendaito" is more accurate because the smith has been deceased for over 20 years. However, it has only been polished once. We had an interesting discussion about Gendaito v. Shinsakuto a while back: http://nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&sid=c689911998358c1bda3a3aec5adcb4e6 Seems there is no established rule. You can call it gendaito or shinsakuto. I wasn't aware the smith was deceased...

I would agree-Yukimitsu

relatively rare shape, active, bright hamon with what looks like possible utsuri. forging, what can be seen, looks good. Older blade....not at all surprised at the auction result as it has real potential to be something nice.

It's a shinsakuto, probably only polished once.

While saidan mei recording the testing done by well known members of the two established testing families can be checked, there are many saidan mei recording the results of unknown testers. These are nearly impossible to verify as genuine or discredit as false, though some are so unrealistic that they can probably be discounted.

Smiths employed by their han had a steady income and made whatever they were told. Those that were not so employed, satisfied whatever orders came through the door. It is doubtful that han smiths made blade for the merchant class though surely they made wakizashi. Smiths that were basically self-employed probably made many wakizashi for the merchant class and probably katana for samurai lower in rank. With the low demand in peace time, no doubt they also did other work to make ends meet.

Wanted to get the word out that I have received the kantei-sho from Japan from the Tampa shinsa and 3/4 of them will be mailed out tomorrow. I wasn't able to get to those from the Sunday shinsa so those will go out a week from tomorrow. My thanks to all for your patience...

don't believe so....

They are called ippon-yasuri and take a lot of time and effort to due properly. We see them sometimes in the work of WWII era smiths, sometimes well done, sometimes not...They are seen in some Gassan group smith's work and also in the Hosokawa smiths from Shinshinto.

very cool!

sesshu ju sukeharu 摂州住祐春

There were a few Edo era waterwheels used to grind wheat for soba near me in Shizuoka....

Written/chiseled kanji don't always match the printed versions. Artistic/personal liberties are often taken....I think you can trust the translation given on these.

Eiwa 3 nen (1377) Mihara Masaie saku Can't say if the sayagaki is correct but the blade looks to be of good quality.

I would almost bet that at shinsa it would go to Ikkansai Yoshihiro. I have seen a lot of his work- he did many of these Norishige-esque works. He was a very good smith with blades receiving Tokubetsu Hozon.