40" Total Length Sword, Dragon Tsuba and Silver Fittings

[Tonkotsu]

I have a sword with a 28" Nagasa, total length of sword blade is 36 5/8", silver Habaki, silver dragon Fuchi, Kashira and Kojiri. Iron Tsuba with raised gold dragon and a wavy Hamon. The tang is unsigned. Total length of sword from Kashira to Kojiri is 40". I have no idea of the age of this sword and any information would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Dick B

[16k]

Length, sugata, kissaki, patina, all point towards Shinshinto.

[vajo]

Nice shinshinto sword. Looks light and fast. Cool fittings! I like the Tsuba too. You should oil the blade and give some choiji to the tsuba.

[Geraint]

Dear Dick.

 

I would agree with Jean Pierre and Chris.  Nice touch to have a shakudo foil habaki as well.  What do you make of the four seppa?

 

Are you going to bite the bullet and get it polished?

 

All the best.

[Tonkotsu]

Is this sword worth being polished since it is not signed? Since the shinshinto period seems to be the Renaissance of making Japanese blades why would the smith not sign his blade? What period is the tsuba?

Thank you for the information. Here are the menuki. I forgot to post them.

Dick B

[vajo]

In the US you have the possibility to go to shinsa with that blade to get hozon papers. With papers you have an idea what you have.

 

I would know what i would do with the sword. 😁

 

 

I like it.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Nakago-Jiri indicates Kaga school.

[16k]

Not by him of course, but I think the Hamon is trying to copy Kotetsu's.

[ROKUJURO]

40 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Nakago-Jiri indicates Kaga school.

The typical KAGA NAKAGO JIRI is more angular. See here:  

 

[Geraint]

Dear Dick.

 

What to say?  One argument would be that it's Shinshinto, mumei and therefore a waste of money to polish and paper because you will never add the value of the work to the value of the sword and what are you doing collecting this sort of thing anyway?.

 

My approach would be that it is a fine looking sword in very nice and complete koshirae that is probably the original for the sword. The smith, the koshirae artists and the samurai who commissioned this sword had no idea that their age was passing and this sword is representative of the culture that we all admire.  I would want to keep it and enjoy it as a complete sword and I would want to get it polished, fit a new kurikata and cherish it.  I should declare an interest, my best sword is a mumei Shinshinto piece in very nice koshirae.  A lot of collectors would dismiss both but I have enjoyed mine for forty years and it is probably the very last one I will pass on.

 

If you don't feel like that then I bet that there are quite a few others who would be happy to take on the problem. 

 

All the best