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Shinshinto wakizashi


Yukihiro

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Here is my very first nihonto : a (presumably) Shinshinto wakizashi (mumei) with a nagasa of 54.5 cm (21"1/2) :

 

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The hamon is suguha, but I don't see a lot of activity in it (if at all!).

As far as I can tell, the sword is ubu.

Could anybody on here tell me more? Is it possible to ascribe this wakizashi to a particular school or style?

I have read that merchants were forbidden to wear long swords, so, as this wakizashi is rather on the long side, do you think it could have been worn by one such person?

 

Thank you in advance for your replies!

 

Regards,

 

Didier

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Félicitations, Didier!

Looks like an honest blade! The pronounced SORI does not say KANBUN to me, but the NAKAGO could probably indeed be early EDO and not SHIN-SHINTO. The MENUKI seem to be very nice, but although the TSUKA has seen much handling and age, the TSUKA-ITO seems to have been made in a wrong way. Surprising!

The whole sword might have an interesting history, but it may be too young to be classified as UCHIGATANA or KATATE UCHI. I would like to see the blade polished for many more revelations.

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Merci, Jean !

 

I am surprised that this blade can be THAT old - it does not seem to have been polished a lot, judging by its thickness and the fact that both the ha-machi and the mune-machi are well preserved. Well, at least that was what I had gathered from my readings. The blade is ubu, too.

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Dear Didier.

 

Almost every rule or guide for kantei should include the word "usually".  The narrowing above the nakago and the worn machi are a sign of the number of times a sword has been polished but a well used sword might acquire these in quite a short time, or a neglected one that has been rescued.  A treasured piece might survive for many years with few if any polishes. (I once convinced myself that a Nambokucho Aoe daito was Shinshinto for the same reasons.)

 

Similarly katateuchi is a specific type of sword from a specific period and not simply a matter of length.  There are numerous guides to the lengths of swords relative to time periods but once again there are exceptions and variations galore.  All these things make it frustratingly difficult to identify a sword when it is mumei and ubu but I always console myself with the thought that this is what makes this study so fascinating.  I suppose it is also why kantei sessions are generally run with blades that are typical of the smith and period.

 

Enjoy your sword.

 

All the best.

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Starting from scratch as far as "nihonto knowledge" is concerned, I am at a loss when it comes to ascertaining the origin and possible date of manufacture of this wakizashi, that is the reason why I am most thankful for your contributions.

I imagine the task is made all the more so difficult by the fact that the blade is mumei.

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Didier,

in KANTEI you will avoid to look at the MEI immediately; that is the last thing to look at. In an ideal case, the signature confirms the features of a blade. The KANTEI of a MUMEI blade will always reflect the expertise of a SHINSA panel, but it has to be considered an educated opinion with no 100% guarantee. 
 

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Its hard for me to estimate sori by photographs which are taken slightly off-center with uncorrected lens, but it appears to me quite shallow - no earlier than Keian.

There is pronounced fumbari, which for most schools I think did not start to appear in any reasonable quantity before Meireki or maybe Joo.

Can be later than Kanbun, and there I personally don't know where to put the latest possible boundary.

 

Thick very straight suguha - a few options, most attractive is probably Hizen.

 

Kirill R.

 

Erroneous and personal opinion.

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