Reappraisal of a wakizashi: possibly Hizen in the style of Nidai Tadahiro?

[Yukihiro]

 

Hello,

 

I have been looking for information and, above all, for other swords that might match the style of my mumei wakizashi and have wondered whether there might be a remote possibility that this  sword be Hizen and made in the style of Nidai Tadahiro.

 

Didier

[Bazza]

Didier,

 

My head on the block first!!  I doubt very much that this is a Hizen sword.  Firstly, they are very high quality which your sword is not.  Why can I say this so assuredly?  Look at the polish near and adjacent to the machi (DSC_0066.JPG).  The lines visible are from a burnish polish, in my experience only done on lesser blades to be "done up" for quick sale.  Also the sugata is wrong for a Hizento and Hizento are (nearly??) always signed.  I doubt the Japanese would let a genuine Hizento slip through their fingers.  The only way you are going to get any headwind with this sword is to have a window polished in it and that can lead to an expensive slippery slope.  To add to this I have a nidai Tadahiro katana and I have seen two nidai Tadahiro wakizashi.  I can assure you that they at first sight have a "presence" - of course I cannot have your sword in my hand, so it is a tough call to make any kind of judgement on an out of polish sword...  I wish you Bon Chance with this wakizashi.

 

BaZZa.

[Yukihiro]

Thank you for your reply, Bazza

It looks like I will have to live with the idea that the maker of my wakizashi will never be identified...

[16k]

If I may ask, why were you thinking Hizen?

[vajo]

Looks like a Shinto sword. 

 

I tried to find the hada in you pictures but i faild on the scratches.

Hamon looks fine.

 

Nakago ana is punched?

[Yukihiro]

Well, I have tried to look for information using key words such as o-wakizashi, suguha, ko-maru, short kaeri and the like, all of which were, as far as I could judge, characteristics of this sword, and the results I got seemed to point to Hizen and Nidai Tadahiro. Of course, I am what you would call a noob, so you could say that this was some kind of desperate attempt to try and discover where the sword was possibly made and by whom.

[ROKUJURO]

Didier,

it is already a good thing to be able to relate a blade to a certain era/period. The polish of your blade (and the photos) do not allow to see the HADA, so to relate it to HIZEN, you should see some very tight MOKUME HADA (or even KONUKA HADA, which is typical for many HIZEN blades).

In contrast to what Barry wrote, there is of course a slim chance that a very good blade once received a very basical polish. On the other hand, HIZEN blades of the famous makers had a MEI in most cases.

MUMEI SHINTO WAKIZASHI are generally not in favour with collectors, as they are often not top of the line, but that should not be a reason not to like your blade.. 

[Yukihiro]

Looks like a Shinto sword. 

A gentleman with some knowledge of nihonto (he sells tsuba mostly, though) and who had the sword in hand did tell me it was Shin-shinto, but I am at a loss as to defining the school this wakizashi might be from.

[Yukihiro]

Didier,

 

it is already a good thing to be able to relate a blade to a certain era/period. The polish of your blade (and the photos) do not allow to see the HADA, so to relate it to HIZEN, you should see some very tight MOKUME HADA (or even KONUKA HADA, which is typical for many HIZEN blades).

 

In contrast to what Barry wrote, there is of course a slim chance that a very good blade once received a very basical polish. On the other hand, HIZEN blades of the famous makers had a MEI in most cases.

 

MUMEI SHINTO WAKIZASHI are generally not in favour with collectors, as they are often not top of the line, but that should not be a reason not to like your blade.. 

I daresay I like the blade for what it is - that is a rather basic though "antique" Japanese wakizashi - but I find it difficult to own an object whose origin I cannot determine with any degree of certainty.

[Yukihiro]

 

Nakago ana is punched?

Sorry, I have no idea.

 

Maybe this photo could help?  http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/30113-shinshinto-wakizashi/?p=306742

[vajo]

Didier i read at the thread that you have votes on shinto. For me it looks like a shinto sword too. Why you made a new thread on this? Nothing has changed 

[Yukihiro]

Didier i read at the thread that you have votes on shinto. For me it looks like a shinto sword too. Why you made a new thread on this? Nothing has changed 

I had hoped for a reappraisal of the sword in the light of what I thought I had found, hence the title of this new post, Chris

[Stefan]

Hm  Looks like an  very late Shinto or early Shinshintio blade. All the other things  I can not tell. I can see nor the hamon or the Jihada. There is  a hardend portion, but the real hamon, nie / nio , i can not see.

If You want to know what  Yo do have, madoake, openeing a window. Means  polishing a small section of the sword.

This way is much cheaper than a full polish for the whole sword.

Stefan

[Yukihiro]

Thank you Stefan.

My purpose is to get a clearer picture of the possible origin of this blade, but I do realise that a polish would by far exceed the intrinsic value of the sword and that opening a window would not be satisfactory as regards the overall aesthetics of the blade. I suppose my best bet would be to leave the blade as it is, but, nonetheless, my gut feeling is that there is still a possibility to determine albeit vaguely its origin.

[SAS]

Try looking at Izumo no Kami Kunisada school, Kanbun Shinto.

[Gunome]

Or Shinto Takada school

[Ken-Hawaii]

Didier, I think that we all want to know more about our blades - that's what makes us collectors. But, to get a (hopefully) definitive answer, you will need to send it to shinsa, & you've already agreed that your blade isn't in good enough shape, & really isn't worth a polish.

 

So, why not study this blade for what it is, & start researching what you want for your next acquisition, which should be a polished, papered blade?

[Ken-Hawaii]

By the way, if you haven't found https://markussesko.com/kantei/ which was written by one of our members, it's a university-level course on kantei that everyone should study.

[SAS]

I do not see any reason why it shouldn't be polished, other than the cost; what I see of it suggests it would come out decently, without fatal flaws.

[Yukihiro]

The study of Japanese swords is a vast and, I would say, seemingly almost endless subject - the deeper I am trying to get into it, the more I become aware of just how little I know. Maybe I am too impatient, but I keep on searching for an answer to the riddle this blade poses me.

Thank you very much indeed for all your replies!

[Ken-Hawaii]

Sugata determines jidai => Appears to be late Shinto/early Shinshinto

then

Jigane determines where made => You can't see the hada

then

Hamon determines the school => You can't see the hamon, just the hadori

then

Nakago & mei determine the tosho => You can see that, but nakago is generic, & blade is mumei

 

Just what are you planning to do to extract more info on your "riddle?"

 

Choosing random - not key - words, like "o-wakizashi, suguha, ko-maru, short kaeri and the like" will get you nowhere. You've listed no measurements, so "o-wakashi" doesn't apply. I don't want to hazard a guess on the hamon, but would bet it isn't suguha. I can see what might be an o-maru boshi, but I'm not sure, & the kaeri is indistinct. This isn't a riddle, it's a blindfolded guessing game, in the vast ocean of Nihonto possibilities!

 

Now, take a look at http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/30328-late-kamakura-yamato-taima-blade-tokubetsu-hozon/  Here is a blade that has been authenticated by the NBTHK, with easily-seen jigane & hamon, & although the blade is mumei, knowing the characteristics of the Yamato school, & cross-checking that against sugata, hada, & boshi, there's no question that the NBTHK got the identification correct.

 

Enough said?

[vajo]

I can see the hamon not only the hadori. 

 

Look at my picture ken above in the thread.

 

And the boshi looks not bad at all.