eternal_newbie

Agree, nice clean lines, good length, tight hada and seems quite healthy - definitely worth sending to shinsa. If the kissaki was reshaped, it was done with skill - the boshi is still very healthy and doesn't look out of proportion to the kissaki geometry.

For what it's worth, I think you made the right choice. Unless you're a real professional or have large amounts of cash to throw away, it's too risky taking a punt on things in bad condition without assessing them in hand.

Credit goes to @MassiveMoonHeh for that one, the thread is here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/54748-art-of-the-samurai Other than that, good luck with your pursuit, I await the results eagerly.

I suspect another victim of autocorrect (more and more people visit this site on their phones now).

Agreed Kirill, it's a Bizen-like choji but it's done in a sanbon-sugi repeating pattern. Quite unusual.

Appreciate the link, and Kapp's work. I own a disintegrating loose-leaf set of the Newsletters and it's very good to see it being digitized for posterity and easy access (the ability to do a search will be a godsend once the whole thing is complete).

And here is another example of the hidden nuances and politics of attributions and setsumei. During Tanobe-sensei's time at the NBTHK he (and other sources) was adamant that any attribution to Shizu means specifically Shizu Saburo Kaneuji; however reading between the lines (and here, explicitly stated) it's acknowledged that this does encompass a line of smiths distinct from Naoe Shizu who could theoretically be referred to as the Shizu-den, all considered more or less equivalent for the purposes of attribution. This is why, in most cases, a setsumei for a mumei Shizu blade will say that a sword "exhibits all the qualities of Shizu" but occasionally you'll see "exhibits clearly the workmanship of Shizu Saburo Kaneuji". This may be something that's always been the case, or it may be something that shifts depending on who is in charge of the Juyo panel; perhaps during Tanobe-sensei's tenure, he really did allow attributions to Shizu only for Shizu Saburo Kaneuji and lumped all others of that line in with Naoe Shizu.

Tametsugu and upper grade Naoe Shizu are somewhat equivalent - someone who learned from one of Masamune's students, with some Yamato influence. Tametsugu for a wilder hamon or features that lean more to the Uda side of Yamato; Naoe Shizu for a more controlled hamon or features that lean towards Tegai. Neither has achieved TokuJu to my knowledge (without having the attribution changed to a better smith), though Darcy wrote that there is a signed Naoe Shizu blade in a private collection that is likely to become the first TokuJu if it ever gets submitted to shinsa. Personally I would prefer Tametsugu because of the stylistic connection to both Go and Norishige, but that's more a matter of taste.

Hmm... so taking into account the cost of a polish and shinsa, someone's already pricing that as Juyo-grade Tametsugu. I do see some masame-like bands of sunagashi/yubashiri in the ha area and nagare in the shinogi-ji, and combined with the overall Mino look and the wildly active hamon, I'm guessing the buyer's punting on an upgrade to Shizu (or better) at Juyo shinsa. 75cm+ Juyo Shizu would definitely be a good investment for 3.5mil JPY + light polish to get the scratches out (and of course, if it goes to a higher smith than Shizu you're rolling in cash).

It's clumsily worded but the listing says "Sue Sa / O-Sa School" and the O-Sa School is precisely what Sue-Sa is.

That is truly a mighty naginata!

It's definitely a wakizashi now, but was shortened to its current state from a naginata.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoami https://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10237/10350

I'd say hakikake then, with some notare-komi (the way it swells out slightly before reaching the tip). For reference: https://markussesko.com/2015/06/10/kantei-3-hamon-boshi-3/

A bit difficult to tell exactly how much nie there is in the hardened area, especially at the turnback, but I would agree with either kaen or hakikake in notare-komi.

For various reasons, many owners of Juyo candidates will instead appoint their agent (often the dealer they bought it from) as the blade's owner while in Japan. Makes things easier if the contact person is there and speaks Japanese (plus the shinsa fees are lower if submitted by a local NBTHK member).

If I'm not mistaken, Andrew Ickeringill has photographs of the Go on his Facebook page as he's the one who polished it (well done, by the way). https://www.facebook.com/toukentogishi

Just a heads up for anyone who's in Japan over the next few weeks that the New Juyo exhibition is running until the 1st of March in the Tokyo Sword Museum. 36 blades from the most recent Juyo shinsa and several koshirae and tosogu are on display. You can see the details as well as download an English list of exhibits here: https://www.touken.or.jp/museum/exhibition/exhibition.html And here is a link to @Jussi Ekholm's translation of the full results from the 71st Juyo Session: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/54363-jūyō-71-results

Generally, when buying from a somewhat reputable dealer such as Aoi, they will have at least gone to the trouble of making sure the saya fits the blade by using a long-handled rasp. However it's always worth tapping out the saya to shake loose any debris or shavings before attempting a fitting - even for a koshirae that was custom-made for the blade.

If you can't find one, it may be worth sending yours in for shinsa to the NBTHK. Being a rare example of a signature adds historical (and often financial) value to a sword, especially koto.

Google Translate got it wrong, the original papers clearly state 8th gen (八代, hachi-dai). The 5th or 6th gen Masahiro (there are some disagreements; Nihonto Club says 5th gen https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/MAS205 while the Soshu-Den museum says 6th https://nihonto-museum.com/blog/soshu-tsunahiro) was the one who changed his name to Tsunahiro, however the Masahiro line continued for at least another 2 generations parallel to the newly established Tsunahiro line.

Not only that but blades owned by more prosperous samurai often had multiple koshirae at the same time (e.g. one for ceremonial duties, one for casual use, one for battlefield use). Check out this Hokke sword that just sold on the forum: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/53726-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-hokke-katana-w-2-koshirae/

A good first blade indeed. Regardless of when it was made, koto Soshu in good condition is a very nice place to start. Putting in the effort of looking at blades in person has worked out quite well for you. I believe this is your sword: http://www.nihonto.us/SOSHU mASAHIRO KR.htm

The lighting tricks needed to properly photograph a blade also makes them look deeper than they really are.

Looking forward to it!