Natichu

Thanks Oli! Glad to hear I wasn't the only one eyeing it, as it definitely caught my attention from go. I'll likely ask Matsumoto Touken in the coming days in case they have some documents to share. Will update this thread if anything comes from it.

Hello all, I've recently purchased and taken possession of a Tokubetsu Hozon Shinshinto piece by Shohoken Yoshiyuki. Details here, and hopefully pictures attached: https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/ja/product/shousai/KA-0740 Currently just studying the piece and getting used to owning it. All things told thus far I couldn't be happier, and my experience with Matsumoto Touken was excellent. That said, I did have a question in terms of research. Matsumoto Touken in their descriptions says "Later Shohoken moved to the city of Osaka where he learned Bizen-den." ("のち大阪に出て備前伝を学び..."). The smith is not discussed in Markus Sesko's Shinshinto-shi, but is in his listing of smiths where he states: "YOSHIYUKI (吉幸), Bunkyū (文久, 1861-1864), Hōki – “Hōki no Kuni Fujiwara Yoshiyuki” (伯耆国藤原吉幸), “Hakushū Yonago-jū Shohōken Yoshiyuki” (伯州米子住曙峰軒吉幸), “Shohōken Yoshiyuki Un´han ni oite” (曙峰軒吉幸於雲藩), “Hakushū-jū Yoshiyuki” (伯州住吉幸), “Hōki no Kuni-jū Yoshiyuki” (伯耆国住吉幸), real name Shimizu Tōshirō (清水藤四郎), he was the son of a certain Yamazaki Hei´emon Yoshihiro (山崎平右衛門吉広) but was later adopted by Shimizu Masayoshi (清水正吉), he signed his name first with the characters (吉行) and used the gō Shohōken (曙峰軒), he came originally from the village of Osa (小佐) in Izumo province and worked for the Izumo fief (出雲藩), later he moved to Yonago (米子) in Hōki province and died on the 21st day of the ninth month Meiji 19 (明治, 1886) at the age of 75, we know blades from the Ansei era (安政, 1854-1860) to the ban on wearing swords in the year 1876, dense ko-itame mixed with mokume and fine ji-nie, the hamon is a gunome in ko-nie-deki, the bōshi is sugu with a ko-maru-kaeri, the yasurime are gyaku-sujikai with keshō, he chiselled his signature close to the mune of the tang, chūjō-saku" No mention is made of a sojourn to Osaka or learning Bizen-den. That said, to my limited understanding the blade does seem to have the Shinshinto fukkoto Bizen style at least in terms of hamon (nioi-deki gunome and choji midare). The jihada is quite subtle and so harder for my beginner eyes to assess. Does anyone know of the smith and any ties to the Bizen tradition, or have suggestions as to other materials to review for more information on that point? Any assistance or suggestions would be very much appreciated!

I assume this is our gentleman, from Markus Sesko: MORIKUNI (盛国), Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Musashi – “Izumi no Kami Minamoto Morimasa” (和泉守源守正), “Izumi no Kami Senju´in Minamoto Morikasa tsukuru” (和泉守千手院源守正造), “Kōshō Kunnai ni oite Hachiman´yama Senju´in Yamato no Kami Minamoto Morikasa saku” (於甲州郡内八幡山千手院和泉守源 守正作), “Izumi no Kami Senju´in Morikuni saku” (和泉守千手院盛国作), “Izumi no Kami Morikuni kore o tsukuru” (和泉守盛国造之), he was a late smith of the Akasaka-Senju´in lineage and came originally from Kai province, later he moved to Edo where he studied according to tradition under Izumi no Kami Kaneshige (和泉守兼重), he signed in early years with the name Namen Morimasa (守正), from the point of view of workmanship we can see common elements with Kaneshige, Kotetsu (虎徹), and Kazusa no Suke Kaneshige (上総介兼重), he signed in a peculiar manner with noticeable wavy and rounded-off strokes, ō-saku.

Dream koshirae that one with the leather sageo, I have to say.

All I can add is my guess is Kanbun era Yamashiro shinto. Not a great guess, but I'm running with it. My apologies for not using the hidden text, still not entirely sure how to make that work from my Android phone.

Makes sense. I figured there was likely a workaround, but one that simple clearly makes it a non-starter.

Possibly an unpopular suggestion, but I would think limiting searches for non-gold members would be a helpful way to monetize things. While the ongoing conversations are always good to follow, as several have pointed out one of the greatest benefits of NMB is the huge amount of information that is readily searchable for research purposes. Limiting search rates is one thing, but if non-gold members were limited to a total number of searches per day/week/month, that may well encourage sign ups. It may also have the knock-on effect of an increase in basic posts that can be answered by a simple search rather than starting a new thread, but that seems like a pain that might be worth bearing to help leverage the forum's greatest asset - its knowledge base.

Hope we get to see pictures of the new arrival in due course! From what I've seen of their site they have some stunning pieces.

Many thanks for that link, those are phenomenal!

I appreciate there's been some animosity as of late on the board, but I'd implore some civility. Mine was truly a genuine question (or set of questions, more accurately), and having more threads dragged into attacks and ultimately locked furthers none of our pursuit of this hobby. There have been some very insightful posts on this thread and I'd like to see that continue personally. I don't mean this as an attack in any way on you @Hokke, and genuinely appreciate your contributions to the board as well. It just seems like tempers are running a bit hot as of late.

Many thanks for the interesting thread and the food for thought; as a beginner I very much appreciate it. I suppose I have a few questions for you - you say that you would rather have saved to spend more now that you have ended up further in your understanding and collection. But without those 100 some odd purchases, do you think you would have ended up where you are? How many of the mistakes have added meaningfully to your understanding and appreciation? Are there any in particular on reflection you think we're worthwhile even though you've now moved on from them? I appreciate many may not have contributed much, and those that have might make for expensive lessons. But I have to imagine they've contributed something in their own right.

Different dealers for different things I'd imagine. There are some dealers with more economical options. Touken Komachi has a lot of entry level options, along with the higher end: https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_ja_tachi&katana.html Seiyudo has their S-Line offerings: https://world-seiyudo.com/product-category/s-line/ Nippontou has their Reasonable Japanese Sword section: https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swordlist0.htm At the end of the day, lots to be had, but it all depends on what a person's expectations are. Papered katana in good polish under $2000 US? Probably not. But a shorter blade, and/or some tolerance for wear and tear, and there are options out there it seems. (Note: of the three I only have experience with Touken Komachi, who have been phenomenal to deal with.)

Still having issues with the text boxes, but piggybacking off another post to see if that will work. Contents of the hidden text box are my own, and I don't mean to attribute them to @nulldevice.

I'll leave it to the more knowledgeable members to chime in, but the one thing that jumps out at me is how little ha-machi is left. My very limited understanding is that isn't usually a good indicator when it comes to blade health (though some flexibility is likely necessary there given the age). The thin kasane and light weight given the length may indicate plenty of past polishes, but I may be wrong on what one should expect for the era.

Along with all of the excellent recommendations above, I'd add: For Kyoto - check out Okochi Sanso. Well worth the 1000 yen entrance fee, as it helps escape the crowds. In addition, a trip to Fushimi Inari is well worth your time. For Osaka - given that you're there in March, see about attending a day of the March/Spring/Haru sumo basho. Tickets can be tricky to get but there are some good services to assist with that.

My apologies if posting the screenshot is an issue, please do delete if it is!

The translation that Reinhard mentions:

An absolutely stunning piece! Any chance you happen to have the measurements for the motohaba and sakihaba? You'll have to forgive the necropost, I'm delving more into Shinshinto and so searching through older threads. If you ever decide you'd like to part with this one Gary, please do let me know.

Interesting, I had the rather opposite impression, with my thought being koto as king in terms of designed for use (along with keicho shinto), then shinshinto, and then shinto itself. Clearly more reading to do for me!

Any particular shops in Nagoya you'd recommend?

Good evening all, Having focused my reading primarily on koto works so far, I've recently started seeing a few shinshinto blades that have caught my eye. So for the shinshinto afficianados among us, I thought I'd ask what is it about shinshinto works that got you interested in them? And importantly, any resources you recommend for more in depth discussions of the period and the break from the shinto tokuden? Any insights or stories would be very much appreciated!

Interesting! If it's the one I'm thinking of I had been eyeing it for a while but never could bring myself to pull the trigger. Very glad to hear it would be going to a forum member and that we might get to see more pictures!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those show attribution to (den) Yamato Shizu? Not Kaneuji himself. So number 4 in Darcy's breakdown (though I'm not clear how NTHK vs NBTHK might factor in there).

I'm intrigued by this as well, so figured I'd try to bump this thread up. My sense is it's likely an overall impression ("vibe of the thing" for those that like The Castle) rather than a fixed ratio or numerical difference. But would love to hear from those with more experience!

Not in the UK, but I have had Touken Komachi make a couple sword bags for me for a wakizashi in shirasaya and for an iaito. Might be worth shooting them an email. Information in Japanese here: https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_ja_okatanabukuro.html