Looking for a papered nihonto katana inside EU, gendaito or older

[LastSamurai]

Hi folks,

Due to a recent turnaround, I am looking to acquire a papered nihonto katana from inside the EU, gendaito or older era, with mint to pristine condition blade, and with mint to pristine functional koshirae, suitable for practice as it is, without interventions.
My budget tops at around 3K euro - I know it is not much, but I've seen such examples sold here in the forum for more or less similar sums, so why not ask.
I might be interested in a gunto with the same criteria described above.

If you find my listing interesting and you have something as described to offer, feel free to send me a message.

Thank you in advance!

[nihon]

This is the wrong place for this post, it should be in the 'wanted to buy' section

[Scogg]

28 minutes ago, nihon said:

This is the wrong place for this post, it should be in the 'wanted to buy' section

@LastSamurai 

 

Relocating to “wanted to buy” 

Best of luck,

-Sam 

[LastSamurai]

Sorry, missed that. Thanks for the assistance!

[O koumori]

Just for clarification - you want to 'practice' with a papered Nihonto?

[LastSamurai]

Yes, why not? I would occasionally practice kata with it. To each his own.
And I do wish for the nihonto to be papered as an appraisal of a respectable organization, such as NBTHK or NTHK.

[Scogg]

I've seen people use papered blades for practice, but I do not condone it. There's plenty of showato out there, and modern swords that are better suited for practice. 

NBTHK hozon papers are not only/exactly an appraisal. HOZON basically means "worthy of preservation" whereas Tokubetsu Hozon means "especially worthy of preservation". 

So, a blade that the Japanese experts at the NBTHK deem is worthy of preservation, should not be swung around or used. 

That’s my view,

-Sam

[Jacques]

Quote

I've seen people use papered blades for practice, but I do not condone it.

In Japan, this is commonplace, and many kazu-uchi mono have a hozon.

[LastSamurai]

14 hours ago, Scogg said:

I've seen people use papered blades for practice, but I do not condone it. There's plenty of showato out there, and modern swords that are better suited for practice. 

NBTHK hozon papers are not only/exactly an appraisal. HOZON basically means "worthy of preservation" whereas Tokubetsu Hozon means "especially worthy of preservation". 

So, a blade that the Japanese experts at the NBTHK deem is worthy of preservation, should not be swung around or used. 

That’s my view,

-Sam

Thanks for expressing your opinion on the matter, Sam! Frankly, I have my own opinion which differs from yours, so please do not impose on me, as I do not feel obliged to follow. Whether or not I use an antique for any reason whatsoever is my business alone.

Regarding the NBTHK or NTHK origami - I am aware what they are and what the different levels of appraisal mean. There is plenty of useful information on the topic here at the NMB. I suppose I could get a mint Hozon nihonto, either a uchigatana or gunto, in my current price range - it had happened before. hence this listing.

I humbly ask not to discuss my intentions further. I have given an insight just to be more precise about the sword I am looking to buy and not because I want to hold a public discussion about that. If anything, feel free to PM me if you have such a nihonto for sale. If not, well, no need to do it then. Let this listing remain strickly for its purpose.

Best wishes to everyone!

[Jacques]

Quote

NBTHK hozon papers are not only/exactly an appraisal. HOZON basically means "worthy of preservation"

 In fact, the hozon only means that the sword has been made in the traditional way and that the signature, if it has one, is good, that's all. 

[Scogg]

On 7/24/2025 at 1:30 AM, LastSamurai said:

Yes, why not? 

 

5 hours ago, LastSamurai said:

Thanks for expressing your opinion on the matter, Sam!

 

Fair enough, it is just my opinion and I know it’s not shared by all. The nihonto message board is also dedicated to the study and preservation of genuine Japanese swords and fittings. 
 

@Jacques, that’s why I said not only/exactly. Does the translation of a hozon paper not state that the sword is worthy of preservation? I always understood the word HOZON itself to translate to keep or preserve.
 

@LastSamurai, in an effort to clean up this post, maybe @Brian can delete some of our discussion to get your post back on topic. 
 

Best of luck, 

-Sam 

 

[Jacques]

Quote

Does the translation of a hozon paper not state that the sword is worthy of preservation?

NBTHK is not going to say that a sword is good to throw away...

[Scogg]

8 minutes ago, Jacques said:

NBTHK is not going to say that a sword is good to throw away...

Of course not, that would be silly

[2devnul]

On 7/25/2025 at 7:43 PM, Scogg said:

So, a blade that the Japanese experts at the NBTHK deem is worthy of preservation, should not be swung around or used. 

I fully agree! 

 

On 7/26/2025 at 11:42 AM, Jacques said:

In fact, the hozon only means that the sword has been made in the traditional way and that the signature, if it has one, is good, that's all. 

No, it means "worthy of preservation". Your opinion "that's all" is just your opinion. Don't change the meaning of what is stated (and can be translated) in Japanese language. 

 

On 7/26/2025 at 9:32 AM, Jacques said:

In Japan, this is commonplace,

So if in Japan Karoshi & suicide is common that means we should do the same? 

 

On 7/26/2025 at 4:34 PM, Jacques said:

NBTHK is not going to say that a sword is good to throw away...

Another stupid comment of yours. No, they won't paper a blade which is not "worthy preservation". 

 

On 7/20/2025 at 12:54 AM, LastSamurai said:

papered nihonto katana

Do you really need papers for practice sword? I assume it is for Iaido, not Tameshigiri, right? Anyway, I will send you a PM, please check it. 

[LastSamurai]

As I asked above, let us please stay on topic and not dilute it. I am sure there are other, more suitable places in the forum to comment and share opinions on whether or not one would use a nihonto for practice, the value and meaning of NBTHK and all that. Thank you everyone!

[Rayhan]

Why not use something like so:

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-sakuyo-tsuyama-ju-hirokiyo-saku1989/

 

Or

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/tachiunshu-ju-tadayoshi-zo-kore-2ndmukansa-swordsmithnbthk-hozon-token/

 

Generally if you find modern shinsakuto in Japan you can ask for the dealer to get you papers before shipping (if the smith has passed away, if still alive it is not possible) 

[LastSamurai]

Thanks for the suggestion, Rayhan! Yes, shinsakuto is fine, but at the present moment I do not feel like ordering a sword straight from Japan. And then there is the price to be considered as well - usually a shinsakuto tends to be more expensive than a papered gendaito, at least from what I've seen.

I'm certain I will find what I'm looking for in my listed price range, eventually. Already had received some offers... Certainly no hurry on my part. When I see the sword, I will know that's the one.

[LastSamurai]

No longer looking - a great person from this forum (I can share who he is if he so decides) helped me with the purchase of a wonderful gunto. Thanks and good luck to everyone!

[Lewis B]

Would love to hear (see) what you got.

[2devnul]

+1

[2devnul]

3 hours ago, Lewis B said:

Would love to hear (see) what you got.

+1

[LastSamurai]

Once I receive and inspect it, I would definitely drop in some pictures here for you. Thanks everyone for the interest!

[LastSamurai]

What I got is an Ishido Teruhide blade, made in 1940, sitting in a fresh Japanese polish. Has an original gunto koshirae with junior officer's tassel. Everything is in pristine condition, in fact I have rarely seen, let alone held such a preserved gunto. Huge thanks to the person who made the purchase possible!

I have yet to take some proper photos, in order to provide the admiration this nihonto requires. But I will now share two quick close-up pictures which try to capture the beauty of the blade in polish. I believe it has a very tight ko-itame hada, at least in person it looks like ko-itame to me (in the proper light). What do you guys think?
I will definitely share more photos once I find the time to take them, probably in a week or so. But I am a very, very happy person right now.
 

[Rawa]

Maybe it will be helpfull

https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/gendai.htm

Especially Showa Tosho

[LastSamurai]

Thanks, Marcin! I will definitely check that source.

In the meantime, some more pictures of that Ishido Teruhide. It was cloudy and I was unable to catch direct sunlight, which helps a bit in these situations. 

I was also not prepared to make a proper photo session, so I did not take a katana-kake with me. It also rained a lot, thus for now I am not able to share pictures of the koshirae and of the whole nihonto. But will do eventually.
To me, nagasa looks even better in person, and the koshirae is very tight and well-made, pristine I would think. For the glory of Japan, as they say.
Blade is signed "Ishido Teruhide saku", which according to this article: https://japaneseswordindex.com/teruhide.htm is the mei Ishido Teruhide used when creating blades of tamahagane in the traditional way.