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Showing results for tags 'koto'.
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Afternoon/morning gentlemen! Its been a while since I've posted a blade of mine here but I just recently bought this from Eric from his eBay store for a modest sum. I rather like the blade despite the few flaws it has. I will let the pictures do the talking since Eric was so kind as to allow me to keep/use them here for discussion. Eric believes it is Sue-Bizen and dates to around 1530. Utsuri is present. Here are the measurements and specifics, as per Eric: Blade: Nagasa: 25" Nakago : 5-5/8" Total blade length : 30-5/8" Blade thickness at the habaki notch : 7.13 mm Width at the habaki : 1-3/16" Width at yokote level : 13/16" Sori / curve : 7/16" Point / Kissaki : 1-1/4" Hamon: A beautiful very attractive well controlled Choji-ba on both sides. Strong long point/kissaki & there is boshi turn-back on both sides. Hada : Itame mix with beautiful activities within Mounts: Blade rests in its original WW2 gunto mounts circa 1940 in fair condition Showing some wear & tear from age & WW2 use. A Family Mon on Kashira & wooden scabbard with no leather cover. Pieced Tsuba + 4 seppa's Original old silver foil habaki Solid handle but showing some fraying & losses on the brown-silk wrap Good solid scabbard & the lock mechanism works fine. My only ask is: what do you all think of it? I think I did pretty well. I am happy with it and there is a lot to study.
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Hi there, Its me again. This time I wanted to post my 2 katana that i own. both of them seem interesting, atleast to me. The one in koshirae couldnt be attributed to a smith(in the hozon certificate), the only information i have about it is that its mumei, sue bizen school and from the bunmei era (1469 - 1487). it also has a bit of damage at a specific spot (shown in the pictures). If anyone is able to find out more info about it, please tell me. The one in the Shirasaya is allegedly a Kaneharu Gen.3 piece (Kanbun 1661 - 1673). it isnt NBTHK papered but i have Japanese registration papers and an assessment document of an expert from germany. what i find interesting about it is that its length is 2 shaku down to the millimetre. so from the length alone it could be both a katana or a wakizashi. Now i first gotta save some money till i can make my next purchase.
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Lots of chatter lately about Kamakura - we should not neglect to note our own Robert Hughes and the dapper Hisashi Saito recently toured " the old capital" and made a terrific video record of their visit. Please view and share liberally... -
First off, I hope those of you at the Chicago show are having a great time on day 1. Hope to make it to one once I am back State-side. For those of us stuck at home, as promised the last in the series and it is for the Soshu crowd -- This sword is an osuriage wakizashi which appears to be a Nanbokucho-period naginata/nagamaki-naoshi. With ato-bori bo-hi and the kaeri looks intact to me. Although a commenter did think it was rather a shobu zukuri tanto or ko-wakazashi. It has itame jihada with nie arcing out of the hamon becoming chikei in the ji. The hamon is midare, with some gonome-midare. Like the Bizen in #2 I do plan to send this to NBTHK shinsa once global shipping is more reliable and will update the thread then. This was also featured on the forum for purchase so some of you may have seen glimpses of it before (hint hint to those looking for a first piece, some great deals here on the NMB with some patience ). Again credit to @Ray Singer for the better photos. to everyone for taking a look, I hope the series provided some examples of various smiths and traditions until we can all get out and view more swords comfortably again. Nagasa: 41.1cm moto-haba: 31mm 7mm thick at the shinogi The sword has two old attributions: an early 1962 green paper to Naoe Shizu and an old sayagaki from Honami Koson to Sa Kunihiro. (Those are lights reflected int he boshi along the edge...)
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As promised the second addition, this one for the Bizen crowd. This sword is o-suriage mumei with gonome choji-ba hamon, ko-nie, and utsuri. The better photos are again courtesy of @Ray Singer (that may be a trend with these) with some of my own thrown in... I know I need a darker background. Happy to provide any photos of specific areas if my skills allow. nagasa 69.9cm moto-haba 3.2cm kasane 6mm There is varying opinion on attribution: The NTHK attributed the blade to Hidekage, Eikyō era; there is a remnant of an old kinpunmei (see photo) that might be mitsu 光; and a previous owner was told it could be Nanbokucho Omiya. Attributions all in the same general style but vary from Nanbokucho to early Muromachi. In hand it has a lot of heft to it. I do plan to send to NBTHK shinsa once global shipping is more reliable and will update the thread then. The blade has a lot of heft and a lot of activity to see in hand that I am not good at describing quite yet. This was a forum purchase so some of you may have seen glimpses of it before. (The black line in the boshi is a relfection, not a ware)
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Hello all, acquired a few pieces over the past year's mix of COVID lock-downs and while eagerly waiting for the latest to arrive thought I would start a few threads to share the blades with fellow members and provide some more searchable examples of these smiths for the NMB. Also maybe start some discussion if anyone sees anything interesting. The first is a papered NBTHK TH to Ko-Mihara with a sayagaki from Tanobe Sensei. Photos are courtesy of @Ray Singer and will get an in-hand update/photos once it arrives hopefully this week… delayed due to an issue at the DPO transit point . Without a full translation yet but looks like Tanobe-sensei commented that it a representative example of the sword, dates to Nanbokucho jidai, is osuriage mumei, and yuhin (exceptional work). I had been on the lookout for a blade in this style with some helpful advice and comments on other pieces from @paulb . nagasa: 66.3cm moto-haba: 28mm saki-haba: 18mm kasane: 6.5mm The next two pieces to be posted await post-COVID shinsa but have other attributions that might spur some debate.
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Hey everyone, I have another blade here to share. It appears to have an o-kissaki. I believe the patina on the nakago points to it being koto in age. Here are the measurements: Nagasa: 27 inches or 692mm (the measuring tape was not really cooperating and stretching in the heat!) Sori: .8525 inches or 21.65mm Width at Habaki: 1.04 inches or 26.52mm Kissaki Length: 1.6 inches or 40.64mm Overall Length: 33 inches or 838.2mm The blades overall hamon pattern is obscured but it appears to a form of notare but I cannot honestly say to what degree or if it is simply a more complex pattern hidden by the lack of polish. The blade seems to be healthy enough to receive a new polish and I do not detect any fatal flaws; the yokote is intact as well. I think this blade is on its first polish but someone may have taken a buffing wheel or something similar to it as the metal has a 'slicked' appearance to it. I am also unable to remove the habaki as it is firmly rooted on and appears to already have taken a beating from a previous owner attempting to remove it. Opinions of all kinds are welcome. I bow to the knowledge of my betters! Thanks guys!
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Hey guys, I know things have been a bit slow around here with people selling/showing/talking about blades so I thought I'd post another one of my blades. I think this one is either koto or shinto and appears to have Sukesada-like qualities to it. I am just looking for general opinions. I think the blade's overall condition is poor with the polish being non-existent but the blade itself is very healthy so likely only on its first or second polish. It is mumei but I think would be a good candidate to be restored. And I've heard people say you can remove active rust with antler, but what kind and quality of antler? I also have a rather worn tsuba that I've no proper knowledge of; it came with it and fits rather well.. I will post that in tosogu later! Opinions are appreciated!
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Hey all! I am in the process of obtaining two tachi blades made by the same smith purportedly. Can anyone give me a translation of the following kanji found on one of the blades? Thanks and have a Merry Christmas! ~Chris
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Hello Everyone, Here is a quick preview photo I did of a new NTHK papered tanto I picked out late last year on a trade with a local friend. It is unsigned suriage nakago but attributed to be the work of Uda Kunimune circa the late Muromachi Period (sue-koto) by the NTHK. While the tanto is in a art polish it was still very difficult to photograph and I now currently in the process of redoing my whole lighting setup that I will use just for Nihonto. My goal is to produce photos 1/4 as good as Darcy's. Here is his website (https://yuhindo.com/) for reference of what level I am talking about. This will likely result in multiple orders from BH Photo (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/) and me paying with the new lights and my DSL camera tripod. Enjoy and feel free to comment about the sword or how to produce better photos but keep the discussion civil and polite like a Japanese sword club meeting.
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O-Tanto/Ko-Wakizashi for sale Signed Kane Masu... very similar to the one featured as Tanto of the Quarter in Bushido Magazine (pictured). There are many generations of this smith spanning late Koto into Shinto. I am not sure which one made this sword and so am also uncertain about the exact age. Mino School- Gunome temper with itame hada. A few spots of loose grain and some minor chips but otherwise quite sound. Well cut grooves. Measures 41.7 cm total length. Nagasa is 30.3 cm. 2.7 cm wide It can be enjoyed as is or if polished would be quite lovely. The saya is a bit longer (46.1 cm) than the blade but it is original as far as I can tell. Same on the handle is high quality. Fuchi is ishime (stone pattern) shibuichi. Habaki is good quality silver foil. Again, worthy of completion with tsuba, menuki and a new wrap job. SOLD Ships worldwide.
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Here is quick preview for my mid month update of Tsuba Otaku website (www.tsubaotaku.com) of a kotō tantō I am going to be adding to the homepage. The length of the cutting edge is 25.4 cm. It is unsigned but was attributed by Honami Tsunemasa to Echizen Rai Munemitsu who worked in Ōei Era ( circa 1392-1428 CE) in Echizen Province but came from Yamato Province. The tip has has been reshaped and the sword shorten due to serious combat damage via a method called satsu-age. This process was not extreme enough for the tanto to lose its boshi or to have the nakago shorted in anyway as it is still ubu. The copper two piece habaki is very nice. Here is a photo of it as well. The ji-hada is itame with a mixture of a running masame visible in a few places. Polite discussion is always welcome.
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The article is calling it one of "Japan's oldest Nihontō", dating from the end of the 12th century. It was found 80 years ago among some other swords hidden in the rafters of a treasurehouse on the grounds of Nara's Kasuga Taisha shrine. It was recently polished by Hon'ami Kōshū as one of the events of the shrine's ritual rebuilding (once every 30 years). After polishing, the sword was declared to be a Kohōki (古伯耆) sword made by Yasutsuna. It is accompanied by black lacquer saya dating from the middle ages, and it is thought the sword was presented to the shrine sometime during the Nanboku - Muromachi period. On display at Kasuga Taisha until March 26th. https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL1H6S9SL1HPOMB009.html
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Haven't posted here before so I figured I should.. My Bizen waki, this was my first nihonto Momoyama jidai Mei: Bishu Osafune Sukesada Suriage from an uchigatana
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I can't decide which one of these two sword I should buy: Wakizashi #676 http://www.juwelier-strebel.de/asien-kunst/Japan/wakizashi-tanto.html Katana #713 http://www.juwelier-strebel.de/asien-kunst/Japan/katana.html
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https://www.japanische-schwert-galerie.de/pages/de/antik/katana--waki.--tanto.php?action=more&id=508&wb_6508_session_id=3166a20b17557bd290cdc26d0c78cae4 I've found a german website that only sells antique nihonto that are worthy of preservation. There is a sword (linked above) claimed to be made by a swordsmith called Kamino Nagatoshi who is said to have lived in the Hyuuga/Miyazaki prefecture, in the Bunmei era (1469-1487) in the Muromachi period. My problem is that I couldn't find any information about this smith in any of the avaiable online swordsmith indexes (in english). I've tried everything and I'm clueless. I don't know how or where I should continue my research. Do you know anything about him?
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Just acquired this beautiful tanto, and I'm trying to get a little more information. This struck me as a possible masamune copy, and based on the characteristics, my mostly amateur eye is guessing the blade is muromachi, and I could certainly be wrong! I am writing because I have had a difficult time finding much on hamidashi tsuba, and it looks as though every Hung matches. I still have not received the sword (bought through a buyer in Japan), and only have these photos for now. Any guesses as to age/maker, or any information is greatly appreciated!
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A NBTHK Hozon Wakizashi sword from personal collection for sale. This sword comes with its official NBTHK judgement paper. Mumei but the NBTHK attributes the blade to Bungo TAKADA (豊後高田) smiths, from late Muromachi period (c. 1558 - 1570) I believe. This sword is in good polish and overall health blade condition. The blade remains in good shape, and its suguha hamon and steel grains are clearly visible. There are only a couple of minor kizu (one small fukure, few light oxidation spots, and few surface scratches) detectable, but the blade is of course free of hagire or any major flaws (see attached pics). This sword comes with its own Shirasaya mountings. Nagasa is 52.7cm (20.76 inches). Total length while in shirasaya is 79.5cm (31.5). The blade weighs 750g (1.65 lbs). Asking price $2,500 USD or best offer. You may make your offer via my ebay listing page: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-Japanese-sword-w-NBTHK-judgement-paper-Bungo-Takada-wakizashi/272629139341 Or email me at: kuw148@psu.edu (Sword pics taken with my cellphone camera, please forgave my lackluster photography skill) Front side of the blade: Backside: Kissaki region, front and back: Nakago: NBTHK judgement paper (held against window light to show its watermark security feature): Blade in shirasaya:
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Hi all, just thought I'd post pics of a Sadatsugu (I'm told)53cm nagasa wakizashi, Sorry about pics all i got. I'm looking 2 add this one shortly 2 the lot, and would like 2 know more about it. Comments all good, thanks Details not 2 good in pics Mark L
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Hi, I have a ww2 GUNTO (leather combat cover missing), with a KOTO blade, MUMEI with BoHi. It has a 26inch cutting edge, and 27inches to the TSUBA. It has a silver coated copper RAIN engraved HABAKI. A straight HAMON, and no other markings. It is in good shape, and feels beautifully balanced in the hand. Is it possible to make a stab at a SMITH, SCHOOL, LOCATION, DATE or any other information. Neil.
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Absolutely stunning late Koto Bizen work. A single handed Uchigatana, poplular during this period. Uchigatana was a lighter single handed sword. A steep saki-sori, thin kasane and short nakago made this weapon a ease on the battlefield or in close quarters (indoors). Although this sword is mumei, it is attributed to Katsumitsu of Eisho era, makng this the 5th Generation Katsumitsu. Bizen no Kuni-ju Osafune Jirozaemon no Jo Katsumitsu. Son of 4th generation Ukyo no Suke Katsumitsu. Beautiful ko-mokume hada with ji-nie. Very active gunome-choji hamon with several tobiyaki. Boshi is ko-maru. This sword is completely flawless in every aspect and perfectly preserved. Attributed to a high ranking smith and polished by a high ranking polisher. Perfect example of Sue-Bizen craftsmanship. Nagasa: 61cm Sori: 1.3cm Kasane: 0.8cm (Yokote Kasane: 0.5cm) Mihaba (machi): 3.1cm Mihaba (yokote): 2cm This sword was recently polished by master Togishi Koichi Eto in Japan. It is also accompanied by Kanteisho designated by the NTHK-NPO in Japan. This Uchigatana is currently available for purchase: $9,500 USD Best to reach me by email if interested, thank you. Travisclarke@telus.net
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For Sale - Early Koto Wakizashi - O-Kissaki In Koshirae
Atsumori posted a topic in For Sale or Trade
Early Koto Mumei Wakizashi - O-kissaki shinogi-zukuri Blade in older polish In Koshirae with iron Higo style fuchi & kashira with gilt inlay Old shakudo menuki and a rare Higo wrap of lacquered paper ito carved in tsunami maki Saya red matt with tooled brass kojiri and slot for kogai Habaki yamagane Blade length: 37.3cm Sori: 0.7cm Moto-haba, thickness at the Hamamachi: 2.6cm Kasane, thickness at the Hamachi: 0.5cm Era: Early koto £1950 for collection in London or SE UK or I will ship to UK/EU/ US
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Hello everybody i am from Holland and hoped that somebody could give me some info about a short antique wakizashi? I like to get some info if it is possible about who made the sword? And when is it made? And what kind of crazywild hamon is this? A while ago i bought an old short wakizashi with a nice old and signed tang onthe sword. The total length is 51 cm. The cuttig edge is 38,5 cm The edge thicknes is 0,6 cm. And the edge widenes is 2,7 cm. My friend is polishing swords for some years now and i brought him the blade to show his polishing skills. After a week he phoned me up and told me that it might be a n important blade because he had never seen such a wild and misty kristal hamon in his life. He did not know what kind of hamon this was. So maybe someone can tell me something about this mystery blade? The seller thought it might be made around 1500 and he called it a Magoroku blade or signature. I did not understand it very well that's why i am asking the expert here. Thanks for everyone who wants to help me out!!
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Here is mine katateuchi with Hon'ami Koson sayagaki. Is it possible to pinpoint this sword to exact generation of Masahiro? One of the guys, who saw the blade says it is most likely 6th generation, the one who later become Tsunahiro. Additional photos are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j0c91jy5wpu54w3/AAAAU2s91OBOLc6uurgipVuBa?dl=0
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Gentlemen, I'd call this a rare opportunity to own a long ubu Kamakura tachi. The sword is ubu, and with a nagasa of 81.5 cm (32 inch) it has an imposing size. A Hoju school sword that has been awarded a Tokubetsu Hozon by the NBTHK. This is not an art sword, but a formidable weapon and a rare specimen of an ubu Kamakura tachi. The Hoju school from Oshu (Mutsu) has been producing highly functional weapons which, unlike other Japanese sword, withstood the harsh coldness of Northern Japan. The sword retains a grand sugata, although it has had it share of polishes, and it displays all the characteristic o-hada of Oshu-mono, the most visible of all being the standing out, large hada (o-hada, hadatatsu). It feels very heavy in hand. It is very likely that the nakago had originally a more pronounced curve so that the koshi zori was deeper. It has likely been hammered back during the Muromachi period (a theory of a Japanese sword smith who has seen this blade) The hada is somewhat coarse, as is typical for this school, and there will be small tate ware here and there, but nothing that detracts. The sword comes in a Japanese shirasaya and an old one piece copper habaki. My pictures are pretty bad, but at least you can see the hada and some parts of the hamon. In one of the pics you will see the tachi together with another Kamakura sword - a suriage daito with a 70 cm (27.5 inch) nagasa. That should give you an idea how long this sword is Nagasa: 81.5cm Sori: 2.2cm Motohaba: 3.15cm Sakihaba: 1.8cm Motogasane: 7.5mm Sakigasane: 4.5mm Nakago: ubu Mekugi: 1 Jidai: Kamakura Province: Oshu (Mutsu) Hamon: Suguha cho with ko-gunome Boshi: Yakizume with hakkikake Jitetsu: itame $9,000 plus shipping and PayPal fees. Find me a long and ubu Tokubetsu Hozon tachi for this price if you can Bank transfer welcome, payment schedule possible (don't be shy, ask). Guarantee: 3 days inspection period and if, for whatever reason, you are not happy with the sword, you can send it back for a full refund (minus actual shipping costs)
