eternal_newbie

Update: Yamanaka Newsletters Volume 4 Issue #10 available: Yamanaka V4 NL10

Noted and observed. Sorry to hear that; I'll add it to my list of stolen blades to look out for. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to have a pinned thread, or even a new forum area, for stolen/lost blades that folks can easily consult whenever they're buying a sword...

Agreed; earlier Gassan work tends to have a more naturalistic ayasugi pattern (similar to how the Kanemoto sanbonsugi gets less even and regimented as you work backwards through the generations to the shodai). Edit: some examples of early ko-Gassan ayasugi - https://web.archive.org/web/20071213011622/http://www.nihonto.ca/ko-gassan/jigane-l.jpg https://nihontoantiques.com/project/name-sword-fss-693/ https://www.aoijapan.net/tanto-gassan/ https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-gassan/ https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/45265-nbthk-papered-ko-gassan-katana-with-kijimono-nakago/

I believe this is what you're after: https://www.militaria.co.za/articles/Examining_the_Origin_of_Soshu-den.pdf It's actually an updated version of this article - you can compare the two links to see what information was added in the newer version. And this is the thread in which it was discussed (and the aforementioned controversy arose):

If it matters, I just had an extended period of extremely slow loading, sometimes not loading at all. From about ~20m ago up until the time of this post. Different browsers didn't seem to make a difference.

Yes, kijimomo (雉子股) translates to "pheasant's leg/thigh". Although personally, I mentally translate it as "drumstick"

Thanks Lewis. It's always a treat to see koshirae/tosogu that predate the Edo period as so many blades were remounted to suit the Tokugawas' preferred aesthetics –– plus wood, cloth and leather just generally have a much shorter lifespan than steel.

Unless your first name actually happens to be Forest/Forrest, in which case please update your name field to reflect that

Agreed. It is mostly used for verification and to determine the particular period during which a smith made it, as they often have various titles throughout their career.

I stand corrected, and can personally vouch for both the book and Grey's store.

The only thing that stands in the way of this book being an instant recommendation for any newbie is its rarity and price - it was a limited print run and copies now are hard to find and expensive (especially if you don't live in the same country as the seller). Fortunately, Dmitry has generously made most of the content available online, and instead the web version can be recommended, with the advantage of being free and instantly viewable on any web-capable device: https://www.nihonto-museum.com/

Basically, yes - there's only so much you can do with the same steel, which is why several smiths make or enrich their own tamahagane (the Akamatsu Taro family being one well-known example - they make theirs from scratch using iron sand they gather themselves). Many smiths and researchers believe there was some mineral or chemical component of the steel used to make the great old works (particularly Soshu) and that this steel running out is what led to the decline of those schools in quality and also drove some of the migration we see in those times. Naturally, it would follow that to truly reproduce those old masterworks, you would need to develop steel of a similar composition as what those old grandmasters used. The research and experimentation continues...

Update: Yamanaka Newsletters Volume 4 Issue #9 available: Yamanaka V4 NL09

I think Kanemitsu, like Kiyomaro, is one of those smiths whose sugata and hamon shape alone is usually so eye-catching that it even enchants people who don't know enough about swords to tell you why a Masamune is superior to a shinsakuto. Anecdotally, for partners/family being "dragged" to one of these exhibitions, Kiyomaro is the undisputed king of "okay, I have to admit that looks pretty cool"

Even aside from the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, the general consensus in *all* fields dealing with historical artworks and antiquities is that it's better to leave something in a state of decay, arrested as best you can manage, than incorrectly restore it. For your consideration, I submit the most famous example in modern times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_Homo_(García_Martínez_and_Giménez)