Greetings! nihonto for comment

[Mike P.]

Please let me introduce myself to your forum, I look forward to some good reading and hopefully, good posting.

 

Allow me to show this nihonto that I have had in my posession for some time now.

 

The blade characteristics resemble a 1st generation Kinmichi, but the mei indicates this to be a 2nd or 3rd generation Kinmichi. For this reason I suspect it might possibly be gimei, however, it is still a masterfully crafted blade. With a 31" nagasa and 1/3" thickness, it is unusually massive, in fact the largest blade I have seen in person.

 

Comments, interpretations, opinions, etc. are more than welcome.

 

Thanks for viewing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

The ura mei "nihon kaji sosho" (日本鍜冶惣匠 ) indicate the second generation of Kinmichi (for the third generation the character Mune (宗) was used in place of So (惣) ) but the jigane of the nidai is more tight than the shodai one.

[Darcy]

It looks like a well made sword. The polish makes me scratch my head though, the shinogiji is highly emphasized, makes me think that it was wiped down with an acid at some point.

[huntershooter]

The old saw "I may not know art, but I know what I like" applies to me here. Impressive, lovely blade.

[Mike P.]

Thank you for the comments gentlemen.

 

Jacques, thank you for the clarification... since I can't read the mei I depend on the interpretation of others who can. I would not know about the jigane differences between the two, but I will research it. Much appreciated!

 

Darcy, the absence of nagashi and burnish, and the prominent hada make your observation quite accurate, I agree with you. If I'm able determine the blade is authentic, it will undergo traditional finish by a professional, otherwise I will not be able to justify the expense. I'm 2 hours away from Tampa, so I will schedule a visit to the February sword show and get some opinions.

 

Huntershooter, glad you enjoyed the photos!

 

Mike

[Guest Nanshoku-Samurai]

Hello Mike,

 

this is an empressive blade. Ubu, great Nagasa and nice activity.

 

Again just my two cents but I feel Darcy is right that the blade has had an acid job down. Basically nothing wrong with that BUT its aim is do make it look fancy without spending much money.

 

The Saya suggests however that it's been to Japan and was probably coming from there not too long ago.

 

Then again when it's had the acid job done and NO papers attached to it, I feel it might be Gimei without having checked the Mei though.

 

The Nagako looks Shinshinto to me in your pictures but it may again only be due to the pictures.

 

Regards,

 

Max

[Guest Nanshoku-Samurai]

PS: Mike, what's is the thickness of the blade. If it is massive as you say, you might be looking at a Shishinto copy. Just a hint. Again let me say that I haven't checked the Mei. The workmanship is good. However check the Mei first before you reconsider a new polish as it is a huge sword and thus quite costy to polish.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

PS: Mike, what's is the thickness of the blade. If it is massive as you say, you might be looking at a Shishinto copy. Just a hint. Again let me say that I haven't checked the Mei. The workmanship is good. However check the Mei first before you reconsider a new polish as it is a huge sword and thus quite costy to polish.

 

Usually Mishina blades have a stout sugata with a thick kasane.

 

With Acid polish we can't see the start of the hamon wich should be a kyo yakidashi.

[Mike P.]

The motokasane is over 1/3", it is massive indeed. the mune is barely narrower than the shinogi, so as you can imagine it is very heavy... which makes it temptiong to think that it was crafted for "show" rather than as a practical weapon. A shinshinto, or shinshinto copy would be a good guess, Nanshoku.

 

Crafting a blade of this size in a flawless fashion requires talent and excellent control, so if gimei, I suspect it started out as mumei by a good smith, and then someone came along and signed it to pass it as someone else's work. I would have a hard time believing the actual smith put a fake sig on it... but you never know.

 

A full polish on a blade like this would run inthe order of $3000, which in my mind could only be justified if the blade is authentic, or even if recognized to be crafted by an importent smith (the fake sig could be hammered out.) Otherwise I see no reason to spend the $$ on a blade which is worth less than the polish.

 

In any case, this is a piece to behold, everyone that has had a chance to examine it comes away in awe by its massive presence and beauty, and always wondering what kind of monster was this made for. So if gimei, it might be something special as a curiosity...

:D

 

Thanks for the input all.

[Guest reinhard]

Hi Mike,

 

Apart from the blade itself, which is difficult, if not impossible, to judge from pictures alone, the nakago makes me suspicious. The patina seems to be added chemically (sabitsuke nakago). You can tell by the blunt edges. A naturallly grown patina covers all areas in a uniform way. You see chemically altered nakago often on swords which have their signatures changed. The second point, that makes me feel uncomfortable, is the signature itself: The kanji for "Kami" in "Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi" has a strange shape, which cannot be brought in accordance with the mei of any of the Kinmichis I checked. This is also a problem with other less obvious details of the signature. As to the shape of the blade: This kind of overlenghty and extremely massive swords are most often found during the time of bakumatsu, i.e. the very latest years of the Shogunate. Maybe some expert for the Kinmichi smiths (there were many of them) will come to a final conclusion.

[Mike P.]

reinhard,

 

What would be your best guess for the origins of an unusual sword such a as this?

 

I pose the same question for anyone else who cares to speculate.

 

Thanks for all the observations!

 

Mike

[Jean]

It is very a interesting blade. Were it mumei (I have no way to verify the dignature) from the suguta, length ... I would have said shinshinto.

 

Now, what bothers me, it is the colour of the nakago, it seems very reddish (red dust).

 

I wish Darcy could tell us a bit more about Nakago picture. I have been already totally fooled by Nakago pictures showing red dust (close pictures) and same pictures taken far showing a black rust nakago. It was in fact a late Kamakura blade.

 

So, why this difference of colour in pictures of the same Nakago?

[Guest reinhard]

Hello Mike,

 

It won't be much help to make some wild guesses on the basis of photographs, but the blade seems to deserve a proper judgement by a trustworthy expert, who is able to see through the present state of the surface. All I can tell you is, that on the basis of the nakago, the first 4 generations of the Kinmichi smiths can be quite safely excluded. The fourth generation was most prolific in the Kyoho era (1716-1735) and I don't have reference material to check later generations. The Kinmichi smiths were active until the end of the Edo-period. I don't know, if this helps you any further, but this is all I can say, whithout seeing the blade at first hand.

[Mike P.]

Thank you reinhard and Jean for the comments. I do plan to have someone take a look at the next Florida Token Kai meeting in Tampa.

 

The nakago flash photo does not do it justice, in reality there is no reddish color at all, more of a dark gray/brown and well "cured" rust, see pics under incandescent light bulb.

 

 

[Jean]

HI Mike,

 

Thanks a lot for the nakago picture, it is extraordinary the difference between the 2 pictures : one with red rust and the other one deep black/grey.

 

Where does come this red rust nakago picture? Natural light? ...

 

A tip from Darcy (he has written a splendid article in last JSSUS news issue), I do not have any mei reference to compare but I f you get one, have a look at the way the mekugi ana is pierced compare to the second kanji of the mei, it may be a clue to gimei or not.

[Darcy]

The kiku in the new picture looks kind of wobbly, which is not a positive thing.

[Jacques]

Hi Mike,

 

The second point, that makes me feel uncomfortable, is the signature itself: The kanji for "Kami" in "Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi" has a strange shape, which cannot be brought in accordance with the mei of any of the Kinmichis I checked. This is also a problem with other less obvious details of the signature. As to the shape of the blade: This kind of overlenghty and extremely massive swords are most often found during the time of bakumatsu, i.e. the very latest years of the Shogunate. Maybe some expert for the Kinmichi smiths (there were many of them) will come to a final conclusion.

 

 

You surely made the confusion with The Ray Kinmichi line. In their engraving of the kanji kami the vertical line crosses the horizontal one, in the case of Kinmichi line the vertical engraving is under the vertical one.

 

 

Rai kinmichi exemple.

[Jacques]

Hi Mike,

 

The second point, that makes me feel uncomfortable, is the signature itself: The kanji for "Kami" in "Iga no Kami Fujiwara Kinmichi" has a strange shape, which cannot be brought in accordance with the mei of any of the Kinmichis I checked. This is also a problem with other less obvious details of the signature. As to the shape of the blade: This kind of overlenghty and extremely massive swords are most often found during the time of bakumatsu, i.e. the very latest years of the Shogunate. Maybe some expert for the Kinmichi smiths (there were many of them) will come to a final conclusion.

 

 

You surely made the confusion with The Ray Kinmichi line. In their engraving of the kanji kami the vertical line crosses the horizontal one, in the case of Kinmichi line the vertical engraving is under the vertical one.

 

 

Rai kinmichi exemple.

 

However, i think also that this blade is gimei but i'm not an expert.

[Mike P.]

However, i think also that this blade is gimei but i'm not an expert.

 

Is it because the kiku petal strokes go counterclockwise?

 

Darcy, the kiku on my blade is definetly not the best rendition, and there are a couple of "missed" strokes. I know it is a lot to ask from just pictures, but if gimei, do you think this might have started as a mumei, or could it have been made with the intention to be a fake?

 

Jean, the red nakago was with the flash, the dark color was under a light bulb.

[Jean]

Thanks for the answer, I have learnt something today

[Guest reinhard]

Hi Mike,

 

Your decision is right. Whatever any of us will tell you about the pictures you sent: The truth lies in the blade itself and it cannot be evaluated by photographs alone; no matter how well made they are. If you're lucky, you will be told, that the signature belongs to one of the later generations Kinmichi, if not: You will be told to have it removed to get a final judgement. Whatever will be the outcome: I'm looking forward to hear from this sword again.

[Mike P.]

Thank you for the kind comment reinhard. I really did not expect any final judgment from the pictures, as you say, they might not be enough but for the most knowledgeable eyes to make an educated guess. My main intention was to show the piece to a group of people capable of enjoying them, I really appreciate all the comments, and there is something to be learned from most of them.

 

I will be more than happy to share my findings, regardless of the results it is a special piece. In spite of my rudimentary knowledge and exposure to nihonto, I was a member of the Florida token Kai, have been to several shows both in Orlando and Tampa, and have been an enthusiast and somewhat of a collector of nihonto for almost 20 years. I have seen a few exceptionally good looking blades, and this is one of them.

 

So, regardless of its provenance and pedigree, I recognize it as a quality piece and I'm very proud of it, definetly the best blade I have ever owned or will ever own. Regardless of the outcome, the discovery process is a lot of fun, and getting opinions from everyone is part of that.