Pete Klein

OK - thanks. As you know I do not 'follow' swords but I remember several dealers running around sweating a lot...! lol

Ray - do you know if by any chance this sword was at the Tampa show a number of years ago? I remember there was some commotion going on about something very important which several of the 'big guys' were interested in.

The paper you have link to image above is from Heisei 2 = 1990. Paper from link I provided is from Heisei 3: (thank you Danny) The serial number is close to yours and the embossed stamp on yours seems to be valid.

This article goes over NBTHK paper history: http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html

Well, Aoi has 'announced' it has a Juyo Muramasa tanto for sale but as of now no pictures or further description aside from name. If you are interested, get in touch. https://www.aoijapan.com/tanto-muramasa-nbthk-juyo-paper/

The results will be published in the NBTHK Token Bijutsu, probably the December issue. I am not aware of any on-line link to the information.

One happy bidder.

Dentists have the best toys: Hu Friedy 11/12 EXP (explorer). Very fine and sharp but you use at you own risk! They can scratch the patina very easily.

https://www.shoubudou.co.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=88

It was listed as modern.

Just curious - shouldn't this be signed ura mei? Please correct me if I am mistaken as my primary interest is in fittings but I seem to remember this school signed the opposite from the norm.

The only guy who might know is Darcy. Juyo papered true dai sho, not married. LOL! More than I'll ever have.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/corekyoto/20181108/2029116/ I just watched an excellent program on NHK World online on swords of Kyoto which touched on the exhibition and went into some details on nihonto in the Kyoto area. A nice overview it should be available on their video tab for a few weeks after it's current showing schedule which ends tomorrow.

That's a fair cop... but I still think it's Ko Shoami.

Very good tsuba. I would attribute to Ko Shoami, Momoyama jidai, probably for an uchigatana prior to dai sho due to the size and design elements. Kogai hitusana is older design with smaller size possibly indicating a time when the kogai was in decline in use but that's conjecture on my part. Positive and negative matsukawa a nice touch, most likely a relevant mon to the owner. The bracken are often seen as decoration but what I find interesting is that they are open and therefore very bitter/inedible which could be a subtle hint to an opponent, but again just conjecture. The lateral view shows age in the oxidized texture of the sukashi and the mimi has interesting 'feel' to it . It's just a very good piece all around.

All I can say is that if I had $14,750 in hand it would already be gone. Hell, I'd buy it for the shirasaya...

Grev - better check that spelling...

10月 64回重要 刀剣 刀装 刀装具 済 11/9 予定 翌年12月頃 From the NBTHK homepage. Juyo shinsa results November 9th with origami around 12/2019.

https://springfieldmuseums.org/about/smith-art-museum/

To quote from Haynes Index, pg. 85 on Chojo: "He was a better artist than his brother (Tokujo), but there are no signed examples of his work, or even example with attestations". This mei is inconsistent as the kanji for Chojo are different from those for Goto and the kao. It looks to me as if someone removed someone else's name kanji and added these as the Goto and Kao look to have identical stroke technique.

LOL - YEAH - I feel like stuffing something tonight!!! ROFLMAO

What I am seeing when magnified are areas of loss of the silver plating from the copper base which appears pinkish in the picture(s). It would of course be better to evaluate in hand.

Genuine but I believe the kinko designs have been overcleaned.

Correct.