toukerb Posted July 18, 2014 Report Posted July 18, 2014 Hello all, I would be most grateful if someone might let me know if this BISHU OSAFUNE SUKESADA wakizashi (cutting length along the back rib 45cm) is indeed one of the lower grade blades as suggested by the signature, or if it might possibly have some merit. This is my first nihonto acquisition and I am therefore correspondingly ignorant of even the basics in this field. Thanks in advance, Marc Quote
Stephen Posted July 18, 2014 Report Posted July 18, 2014 Marc Looks like its a keeper, dont see any kizu, lot of the mass produced blades have, what did it come in?? Quote
toukerb Posted July 18, 2014 Author Report Posted July 18, 2014 Thanks for your thoughts Stephen. I've looked for flaws but have not been able to find any, but that may only be my inexperience. It came in a lacquer scabbard without a handle at a flea market in the south of France. Thanks again Marc Quote
leo Posted July 18, 2014 Report Posted July 18, 2014 Marc, this looks like a shinto blade, so no need for mass production. Seems to be of good quality. Regards, Martin Quote
Gunome Posted July 18, 2014 Report Posted July 18, 2014 I second Martin, looks like a decent Shinto wakizashi. IMHO, a nice find Quote
toukerb Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Posted July 19, 2014 Thank you both Martin and Sebastien for your insights. Perhaps you might offer me some suggestions as to whether it makes any sense to further research this blade, and what details might be useful to try and photograph which may reveal a workshop/maker. Is it possible to use the styling of the mei for example? Also, is it worth investing in (polish/shirasaya/koshirae). Many thanks, Marc Quote
Stephen Posted July 19, 2014 Report Posted July 19, 2014 Id have it polished and in shriasaya, remembering its for preserving and not for recoupe of money spent. Quote
Gunome Posted July 19, 2014 Report Posted July 19, 2014 Hello Marc, Based on your photo, the hamon has crabs claw that is typical from bizen schools. I think your sword is from one among other Sukesada in the school. You may try to compare the mei to oshigata to find which one ?! Sebastien Quote
toukerb Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Posted July 19, 2014 Thanks Sebastien for your suggestion, I had the same idea earlier today, and was able to find a mei with a similar treatment of the shu character, on a Christies Bishu katana. As I don't know the subtleties of Kanji styling I've focused on the Shu character which seems particularly defined stylistically on my mei, but this obviously limits possible HITS to Bishu rather than Bizen examples, and these appear to generally be missing the smith's name. Catch22. This one is dated 1528, so that may be a chronological hint, if indeed my assumption that kanji styling reflects time period is correct. I also wonder whether the mei would be inscribed by the actual smith for these 'anonymous' mei blades, and thus am uncertain as to the credibility of this approach. My real specialty is musical instruments; with these, we say that the work is the real signature, and that the label is merely confirmation. I suspect that it is the same with nihonto! Merci encore, Marc Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 It looks very nice to me as well as promising. A proper polisher like Tsuyoshi Morodomi or others in Japan could make it look really nice and bring out all the details. That will cost you though, but it probably is worth it. KM Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome to the world of collecting nihonto Marc. I think you made a very nice flea market find, I wish I will be that lucky someday. This next pic is of a sword by Kozuke no Daijo Sukesada, who is regarded as the best Shinto Sukesada smith. While mostly my books have only images and descriptions of the famous smiths, some parts of the descriptions can be used for lesser known ones too. Some things to look on your sword, I think it's easier to explain these with the above pic as reference. Does your sword have a yakidashi? Yakidashi is a straight portion of the hamon shown at the base of the sword. Sugu-yakidashi is common feature in Shinto Sukesada blades while Koto period blades do not have this. Another important feature to look is boshi, the tempering at the tip. Sue-Bizen Sukesada smiths often applied complex midare-komi style boshi, so the hamon continues to be irregular and turns back. Shinto Sukesada smiths also used midare-komi variation but also suguha with small round turn back, as you can see in the pic. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.