Opinions On Wakizashi And Condition Of Blade

[FletchSan]

Hi All,

 

I have a wakizashi that I quite like however there is what appears to be rust on the blade though I don't think it is active.

I'd like some thoughts on the fittings and blade and also whether I need to do anything other than oiling the blade to maintain it.

 

The fittings other than the saya are antique and I believe the mei is Sakakura Gonnoshin Terukane.

 

The Tsuka is also signed - though haven't been able to translate it yet.

 

The sword isn't papered so assume Gimei though it did come with a cover letter and photo of registration certificate which I also haven't yet translated and I assume from the original owner when they purchased from Japan. I'll include a pic of theses as well.

 

thanks in advance,

 

Ben

[Ken-Hawaii]

Hi, Ben:

I was thinking how nice a package you have...until I got to that last photo. Wow, what a shame! What your wakizashi needs is a new polish, although you're correct that rust doesn't look active. Oil the blade thoroughly, & put it away where it won't rust any further, keeping in mind that koshirae do NOT protect a blade the way shirasaya are intended to do.

 

Ken

 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Ben,

Pity about the rust but other than a light oiling there is nothing you can do for it.  Resist all urges to fix it yourself; anything you try is likely to do damage.

Grey

[FletchSan]

Thanks - the last photo is using a scanner which does do a wonderful job of showing all of the gory details. It is noticable but doesnt look nearly as bad in person.

 

Is it worth investing in getting it polished or better to keep it oiled and appreciate it for what it is? Would love to know what the cover letter says as well as if it is gimei then probably not worth investing any $ in?

[Ken-Hawaii]

The blade is in decent shape, other than the one area of course, but doesn't appear to be anything other than what it is: a basic Shinto-era wakizashi in fairly-nice koshirae.  It's genuine, meaning it's a traditionally-made Nihonto, & the cover sheet is exactly that, something that allows the blade to be shipped, not an authentication paper.

 

As far as value, if it was in pristine shape, the blade might bring around $2600 (reference http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=2363432),so if you were to get it polished at approximately $100/inch, you would be lucky to break even, ignoring what you paid for it in the first place.

 

So my suggestion is to oil it well, & enjoy it as it is.

 

Ken

 

 

 

[seattle1]

Hello:

I think some study is called for starting with the yasurime, then some inferences from the quality of the koshirae, before going any further. Terukane is a well regarded smith.

Arnold F.

[Peter Bleed]

To follow up Arnold's suggestion, it is worth remembering a law of modern swords collecting.

"Any sword that has been in Japan and doesn't have papers is a gimei."

Peter

[seattle1]

Hello:

Your caution might not be a bad rule of thumb Peter and could save a buyer a lot of anxiety, however I think there are many exception cases. I think that the channel by which swords that are signed, or unsigned for that matter, come to the West from Japan, could considerably allay one's fears if they come from a well known and responsible dealer. The supply to market system in Japan, like in the West, can be from the collecting community, where you would expect that a blade for sale probably has a paper if correct, but they could also come from a non collector who just stumbled on the sword, for example from an estate which had it stored away for many years.

Mr. Tsuruta's Aoi Arts is mentioned quite often on the NMB, and he will usually have papered pieces, but sometimes they are not papered. In the latter case you will often see him guarantee that a piece will paper at least at the Hozon level. I also notice he will regularly say that such and such a blade that is signed, and not papered, does not have a reliable signature. There were many families that had large collections and were called to get a torokusho for each blade in those special years of Showa 26 and 27, and the blades simply went back into the family kura. If the family was well enough off they didn't have to sell the swords. When such things become part of an estate that must be liquidated, well, no paper. I guess that Mr. Tsuruta handles a lot of estate or distressed sale situations where a blade has no paper other than its registration paper and he has a reputation to protect when they are put on the market.

I think is also true that our current passion for papering everything is mostly a post-war phenomenon and people in Japan who are outside the active collecting community only need a torokusho just to possess a blade, signed or unsigned. That stock of blades that does not circulate on the market could be surprisingly large. The Cultural Ministry would have that data, and what interesting research it would make!

Arnold F.

[Peter Bleed]

Arnold,

This is an interesting topic. Perhaps it needs to be turned into a new thread.

Basically, we find ourselves talking about the operation modern sword collecting. How do collectors acquire and appreciate Japanese swords etc. In the old day -when you and I were coming up -  the basic skills of sword collecting were 1. finding swords, and 2, determining if they were "good."

The rules have now changed. Sword markets are now rather well organized so that it is easy to "find" swords."  And there is a great deal of fine information available. The rules of collecting are also more orderly than they were. Now, the collectors' market wants authentic swords. And in Japan it is easy to submit blades for origami so telling "good" swords from "bad" ones is easy

Maybe my anthropological view of Japanese society is a bit dated, but I see Japan as a well integrated community. I suppose that it is possible that an "old family" might find themselves with some old swords that out in the kura. And I suppose that it is concieveable that they would put those swords on eBay. Realistically, tho, I am sure that they would bring this problems to a some one who would use his network to either sell the swords in an auction  or move them on up the hierarchy of specialized dealers, In this way, I  think normal Japanese processes will sort the swords and that that normal process would parse out "good stuff" long before it could ever come to the attention of foreign collectors. Due to this normal sorting, there are lots of swords in Japan that are unlikely to find buyers in Japan. Their orderly market is IMHO likely to be offering those swords to the international market.

We all own gimei stuff (I collect Sendai Kunikane, for goodness sake). And we all know that we should judge swords not signatures. My point is simply to suggest that in the modern sword market we should not expect too many positive surprises.

 

Peter

[Kronos]

I think it might surprise just how many unpapered/old papered swords there are in Japan and i'd imagine there's a few dealers who specialize in finding good swords out of the woodwork.

[FletchSan]

Thanks all - I think I'll have a go at comparing the yasurime and mei with a few papered Terukane examples just for fun. Part of the appeal for me anyway with collecting the few non papered blades I have so far is not only the difference in cost (expensive hobby!) though the learning and research about an unknown sword and small chance that you may stumble upon something decent. What's more fun than paying a few hundred for a gunto to discover it's a nihonto after all

[seattle1]

Hello:

I think you should reread my post Peter as I said nothing about buying swords on eBay or buying from unknown persons. I said your rule of thumb isn't a bad one but with respect to swords coming from Japan one's hesitation can be reduced if the blade is offered by a well known and responsible dealer. I then mentioned Tsuruta san and him only. If it is unpapered he offers a guarantee, and if it is signed and gimei, he says so. A high volume merchant, as he is, needs turnover and the long wait for a paper on an unpapered blade going through the NBTHK process, is money foregone. As I suggested and James mentioned, there are many unpapered blades in Japan.

Ben, the yasurime comment doesn't directly say your blade is gimei, however it is easy to forget that mei analysis starts with the yasurime and Terukane's is invariably sujikai as far as I can tell.

Arnold F.

[Ed]

"Any sword that has been in Japan and doesn't have papers is a gimei."

 

No offense meant personally Peter, but I have heard that statement for over twenty years and experience has proven to me that it is totally and completely incorrect !  

 

When I still had my partner in Japan and was importing a lot of swords, I can't tell you how many of them did in fact go on to receive papers.  Much like the example of Tsuruta San above, I did not have time to endure the shinsa process but for the best of them.  But many, many customers have written after a purchase to say their sword had received papers.

 

One example which stands out was purchased by a member here, who is also on the board of directors of the NBTHK/AB, a Kunisada wakizashi.  I had held on to this particular sword, studying it for quite some time. The mei seemed spot on, but the work just did not match what he was known for and your statement was nagging me.  The buyer called and we talked about it several times and we both held the same opinion of the sword.  Eventually, I sent it to him to study in hand.  He bought it, sent it back to Japan where it was found to be Shoshin, received Tokuho papers.  Tanobe did a sayagaki stating that it was indeed the work of Kunisada, only outside his norm.  It was prepped with solid gold Daisuke habaki, new shirasaya and polished for Juyo Shinsa.  Sadly, during polish it developed a fukure and Juyo Shinsa was scratched.  It is a nice example, and remains in a US collection.

 

​It served as two important lessons for myself, first it joined other examples to dispell the concept of your statement, and secondly and maybe the most important, is that the rules are not set in stone.  They may be good guidelines but there are always exceptions.  

[manfrommagnum]

I would offer one non expert piece of advice. Whether or not to get a sword restored depends on many things. Not just return on investment. If you do get it restored, do you have a proper place to preserve it. Each sword is a piece of history that can be sharpened only so many times. Also, what will you do with it?

 

Michael

[SteveM]

Regarding how family-owned antiques enter the wholesale (and then retail) market here in Japan, the link below is an interesting description from someone who has first-hand experience.

 

https://softypapa.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/becoming-an-antique-dealer-in-Japan/

[Peter Bleed]

All generalizations – including this one – are false.

It may be ADHD or something, but I never learned to sit on my hands. The clarifications offered by Arnold and Ed and now Steve are fair and useful. Still, I still find utility in my lawlike statement about papers and gimei.  It is worth remembering, too, that many NMB participants are sorting out the differences between Modern Chinese swords, Showato, and Nippon-to.

I think Japanese society is 1) wonderful, 2) well organized, and 3) very regular. I certainly understand that there may be some irregularity, but I still think that there is very little disorder to swords in Japan. Advanced collectors – with well-formed tastes and networks – might be able to discover swords in Japan that are less than fully appreciated quality.

Still, I think the best advice that we can give to “new collectors” is to assume that easily available swords offered by dealers in Japan have been examined by very knowledgeable people. Furthermore, there are lots of experts in Japan so that shinsa results –below the Juyo level of - are rarely surprising. Tsuruta-san is an expert and quite able to predict shinsa results. For that reason his guarantee is quite good enough for lots of his customers . There are also many dealers who don’t bother with shinsa since  they are quite able to decide that a particular sword “ain’t gonna bring home the paper.”

So, in addition to skill building, I think the best advice NMB can give to “new collector” is to 1) find expert and honest dealers, 2) work with them, and 3) decide what you like and want. Toward #3, we could also recommend getting to know other collectors and looking at all their stuff.

Peter

[MAXBLISS888]

Find expert and honest dealers & work with them is key!

 

However, basing on my new experiences, many dealers (even English speaking dealers) are so busy trying to close sales quick that many don't border to teach (in the sense of helping new collector find direction in how to form a nice collection) or entertain new comers... perhaps they think that the budget from the new comers are too small and would prefer to deal with experience  collectors. 

[Ken-Hawaii]

 

Toward #3, we could also recommend getting to know other collectors and looking at all their stuff.

Peter hit this one out of the park! And perhaps even more important is to find a collector who is farther down the path than you are, & get him/her to be a mentor. I had been studying Nihonto for many years, but had no idea how little I really knew, but found a fellow collector who had been studying for more than 50 years to help me learn.

 

Perhaps his mantra sould be, "What do you SEE?!" as he has asked me that damn near every day for the past two years! And now I finally realize how little I really know! But I'm sure enjoying the learning!

 

Ken