eternal_newbie

The only Yoshimochis of note are Fukuoka Ichimonji so it doesn't need to be qualified here. If they thought the mei was legit but belonged to some other, less well-known Yoshimochi, then they would add a qualifier in brackets.

It's not even the beefiest blade on their site! https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk031-kazuyoshi

Agreed; their photographs and descriptions have been useful in my own research as well. Not quite the super-detailed resolution you can find on some of the online museums, but a good deal better than most, particularly when it comes to getting different angles and orientations of the blade. Even better, several of their pieces are also showcased on their Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@touken-world/videos

I always get tripped up by kissaki definitions - some kissaki that seem barely longer than a chu-kissaki will be described as "classic Nanbokucho o-kissaki" while others with kissaki that almost look long enough to be naginata-naoshi will be described as "extended chu-kissaki".

There is a JuBi zaimei tachi by Yoshimochi in one of the Sano Museum sword appreciation guides which, if anything, is even more subdued than the one being discussed here. Almost Yamashiro in shape and hamon structure.

Yep. Some sites that deal with higher end items will list prices all the way up to 9,999,999 yen and "Please enquire" above that. Aoi-Art is, as far as I know, the only dealer website that will give a price for everything, even items in the hundreds of millions.

Yes, usually the original Japanese text will say something like "bold", "robust" or occasionally "heroic". It is a cultural/translation issue that a translator equates these things with masculinity. As for "noble" - in this case, "noble" is quite literal; the tapering koshi-zori sugata with fumbari and ko-kissaki that you see in Heian and early Kamakura period blades were associated with the nobles at court, rather than footsoldiers on the battlefield.

Suspect it may have been dumped by someone who was hoping it could go Juyo, being ubu zaimei Ichimonji, and decided to cut their losses when it failed a couple of times. But for someone who cares more about the historical value/significance, it could be a good pick up - assuming there aren't bigger flaws being hidden by the photography.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sword is a fake Japanese sword, manufactured elsewhere (likely China or Thailand). Whomever gave this to the family member you inherited this from was either part of the deception, or themselves a victim of it. Please refer to this page for a visual guide to the various tells that this is a forgery: https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html As this is probably not the news you want to hear, you can get a second opinion here if you wish (but be warned, they are often less diplomatic than we are here): https://www.reddit.com/r/Katanas/

"ああええあああ あああええあ" is the new "chin chin, cho cho"

@SteveM This blade seems like it would make a good memento/talisman for a swordsmith to own.

Kanzan, Kunzan, Tanzan... Clearly, what we need is another great scholar of nihonto with a pen name ending in 'zan'

Ironically, Tanobe-sensei continuing to do sayagaki might help with that in the long run, if there's a pretty good correlation between his attributions and what the shinsa team give out (or in fact if the shinsa team's attributions turn out to be more conservative than his, on average). But that would be something for the "big data" folks in here to look at.

Understand that when you see a "Masamune" tanto selling for $80,000 USD, it's either got some near-fatal flaws and/or it's likely to be a Shizu/Yukimitsu work where the shinsa panel didn't want to openly contradict whichever authority previously attributed it to Masamune. Such blades will be identified as such in the Juyo writeup, which will contain a line to the effect of "certainly, it was made by a high-ranking Soshu smith, but the attribution to Masamune requires further research". Unless you meant to say $800,000 which is closer to what I'd expect (or meant to say "Muramasa" instead of "Masamune").

Based on the other photos and their written description, I would say it's yubashiri that forms in long bands resembling a heavy utsuri or a nijuba. You also see this on Soshu blades in Masamune's generation, albeit somewhat more elegantly done.

Seeing the monospace font (and the term "grinding process") makes me hopeful that this is a translated reply from someone in Japan describing the progress of the restoration. I've seen Google translate and other apps translate polishing or sharpening as "grinding," and also the Kashima sisters on their website describe the initial removal of material at the start of the polishing process in this manner.

@Nihonto Australia have a Nozarashi tsuba for sale on their website: https://nihonto.com.au/product/nozarashi-skull-tsuba/

Indeed. There are many Juyo and higher blades with "Bishu" mei, and many mediocre works with "Bizen"

Masahiro is another representative smith of Ko-Mihara, check out this particularly impressive example (ubu, zaimei and with yubashiri that resembles nijuba and sanjuba): https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk019-juyo-token-mihara

There's no harm in knowing the worth of what you have. I know many of us don't like thinking about it, but accidents (or not-so-accidents) and sickness, old age etc. come for all of us in the end, and having valuations of your belongings will help your loved ones after your passing. It also helps with home & contents insurance.

Agreed; this is a spectacular, extremely tight and bright nioiguchi that demands to be front and center, not obscured behind a gunome or suguha interpretation.

If you zoom out on the image it kinda makes it easier to see them snaking across the hada.

When they say that Sadamune's jigane was superior to Masamune's, this is what they're talking about. No doubt this was a major factor in attributing this to Sadamune despite the atypical sugata (Sadamune tended to work more in the Nanbokuchu style, with extended kissaki)

It'd pair nicely with a Hocho Masamune for all your kitchen needs

I'm more leaning towards a display mogito, mainly from the low quality of the tsuba carving.