Aoi Art Yamamura Wakizashi for Forum Review

[Barrett Hiebert]

Good day,

 

Just wondering what is anyones thoughts on this particular blade?

 

https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi：mumei-yamamura-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/

 

Aoi Art said they would give the blade and shirasaya for 400 000 yen because I prefer just the shirasaya.

 

Though Robert Hughes who I bought a Juyo Nakajima Rai and a Mukansa Minamoto Moriyoshi, which I ended up selling back to him because I realized I prefer blades without fullers, told me I shouldn't buy any blades from Aoi Art since they had "problems".

 

That statement has been agreed upon by one other forum member who I've talked to in private messaging. Though saying that my usual findings of Aoi Art online reviews and forum reviews are mostly favorable. Though I've been told that pictures and descriptions can be misleading and not correlate with in the hands experience after perusing such blades.

 

I really do like the extended tanto size making it a small wakizashi and hira zukuri profile giving it a flat fat lateral profile.

 

Though I'd love to find an earliest koto osoraku tanto though those are probably all taken as I've never been able to find one online for sale.

 

I absolutely love the variation of kissaki's on Japanese swords throughout history.

 

Totally iconic and instantly recognizable. Only culture in the world to have such tips.

 

So please give me your thoughts.

 

Thank you.

 

Best regards,

 

Barrett Hiebert

[Sebuh]

Nowhere near as experienced enough to give a full and thorough breakthrough on the blade, but from first glance it looks quite nice. Though that Is without zooming it, and looking for whatever may lay beneath the common eye, one that I have yet to break free from. 

 

Look forward to hearing others, I too love the over extended tanto look!

[Rawa]

@Barrett Hiebert I would like to encourage you to check @Jussi Ekholm list and compare other works of this atribution.

Great source.

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/53018-Japanese-old-sword-database/page/2/

[Brano]

The blade is very tired
Also, it's more of an early Muromachi than a Nanbokucho blade
You can buy also good blades at AOI if you understand what you're looking at

[Sukaira]

It would be pretty crazy to just dismiss everything at Aoi Art (re: the "problems" comment). The best way I have found to approach Aoi Art purchases are:

1. Evaluate the pictures like you are doing (agree the blade does also look very tired)
2. Ask for images and video. They will send you detailed images and video of both sides under lighting.
3. Ask for a full description of any flaws that you might be worried about or think you might see, or even just want to know about that you can't see. They - for a fact - do not usually put them in the listing.
4. Confine yourself to the "Masterpiece" section of their site  (joke, but not really)

[Sukaira]

Also, slightly off topic, but I would ask myself why a blade like this would even be mumei to begin with. After reading Nakahara's book, I can't help but be highly suspicious of mumei kantei in general...

[Rivkin]

Nihonto community is very cliquey, some groups don't like some dealers. Aoi Art is a big volume dealer and a lot of people use it, but all dealers are dangerous.

On the blade - this is classic Yamamura, alternative judgement would be like Etchu Kuniyuki. Its late Nambokucho. Very tired.

[Sebuh]

holy yeah, that’s tired. excuse my half distracted viewing of the blade without zooming in once, lectures and nihonto don’t connect well..

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Nothing shown here is anything to get excited about. 

[Barrett Hiebert]

Brano and other Forumites,

 

Seeing as it is echoed here by yourself and Sukaira, Rivkin, Sebuh while I know technically what "tired" means from research as being the condition of its skin showing coarse grain, openings, blisters, core steel I don't know necessarily if I can reecognize it definitively.

 

I asked for greater detailed pictures in better lighting from Aoi Art and a video of either side of the blade. What seems to be shown in the lateral both sided picture combination initially is also shown in those more detailed pictures and videos.

 

While I know PNSSHOGUN says there is nothing remarkable to be seen here as nothing to get excited about, I am wondering what exactly is unremarkably "tired" that this blade is showing?

 

Are the little grey openings in the jihada on one side more populated than the other showing coarse grain with openings to show the core steel? Is that what makes this blade very "tired" from many polishings ?

 

Or are these grey openings jihada characteristics of the combined mokume and itame hada forging process that are revealed after polishing (s) ?

 

While I know forging flaws such as lamination openings (kitae ware), don't necessarily make for a tired blade this blade still has a little bit of the ha-machi showing while still showing the hamon, (temper line) running off into the nakago so while it does look "tired" to a certain degree, the NBTHK still saw fit to give it a Tokubetsu Hozon certification.

 

From my inexperienced eyes I don't necessarily see any clusters of shintetsu (core steel), showing shigane with the pronounced grey lines more populated on one side more so than the other. To me that seems to be the jigane result of forging from mokume mixed with itame hada as the forging methods combined resulting in the jihada you see after clay is applied, quenched and tempered and then unveiled through polishing.

 

I only say such as I have a Nambokucho Omiya O-kissaki Nagamaki naoshi Katana and it has many lamination openings among one side and a few down the other side and the NBTHK still saw fit as well to award it Tokubetsu Hozon status. While such forging flaws detracts from the aesthetic beauty of it being valued as a purely art sword such kitae ware in no way compromise the structural integrity of the blade to my formative knowledge while its first and foremost function was a weapon. And while such forging flaws distracts the eyes from a perfectly mirror polish with the little black lines of openings, to me it goes hand in hand with the randomized results from the inherent forging process that the smith couldn't specifically control. To me they give a blade character so long as they aren't jarring to the eyes to such severity or compromise the structural integrity of the blade as to compromise its use in battle.

 

So in closing would I be able to get clarification from the more knowledgeable, experienced eyes here to give me some guidance, and / or correct me where and if I'm wrong on my postulating questions above on the Yamamura extended tanto wakizashi ?

 

Thank you of course for your time in reading and replying.

 

I of course am only wishing to learn and increase my knowledge.

 

While I know the Yamamura blade here is viewed collectively unanimously as being very "tired" and nothing to get excited about, remarkable in any way a part of me still really likes it.

 

Sometimes certain blades just hit you just a certain way dependant on the person of course.

 

Of course I've seen two videos and 18 other pictures that Aoi Art sent so I have that greater detail to give context.

 

Though I look forward to if any of the members who have already replied in this thread can answer my questions aforementioned.

 

Thank you again.

 

Best regards,

 

Barrett Hiebert

[Rivkin]

Yamamura is an underappreciated smith and can be a great value. He and Nobukuni and Etchu Kuniyuki are very similar; Etchu will be darker and more hitatsura-like, Yamamura will have lighter steel and more Nobukuni hamon. There are a few generations [?] and Oei one is at the same level as Nanbokucho. 

But this example is at its end.

Otherwise you should get something like this.

[Jussi Ekholm]

My opinion might not be popular one but I think often the bit rougher or plainer mumei blades just get an attribution thrown at them as they need to do it fast in shinsa session. I think Yamamura is an unfortunate attribution that for me personally feels that NBTHK sees the sword as lower quality in overall. I tend to think that even the school founder Masanobu is not seen as high quality smith, and very few signed works remain. One funny thing that supports the attribution bucket a bit is that I don't think I have ever seen a long sword with Yamamura attribution, they are always short swords.

 

Good thing about Yamamura attributed blades is that you can touch late Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi blades for relatively low price. Sure they don't win any beauty contests but like this particular one we are only talking about 400,000 yen. As the prices have gone up a bit, it is getting harder to find anything decent and that old for affordable price. It is getting difficult finding anything interesting under 500,000 yen nowdays. I understand the appeal for these hira-zukuri blades of relatively long length, as I too am liking them. 

[Sukaira]

Nothing inherently "wrong" with a blade being tired. Some might say it shows history and that the blade has been actually used and polished throughout time. It is really all about individual goals and likes, and of course if the blade chooses you . 

 

Without seeing the cell phone camera pics that Aoi Art sends, the scans just look to me as if the blade has been polished down quite a bit, judging by the contrast of jigane texture in some areas mixed with larger areas of dull, muddy "smooth" looking areas. That being said, these scanner pics can be highly deceptive. I don't know if Aoi Art edits these post-scan either.

 

The listing says jigane is "mixed mokume hada and itame hada" so since it is not ko-itame or ko-mokume you should, in theory, in a healthy blade be able to clearly discern those patterns as they are not "ko" (small), but to my eye (in the scans) I don't see that much of either. Now if it was listed as fine ko-itame/mokume then maybe I would say the scanner was not picking it up very well, and the cell phone pictures/video would clear that up for you.

 

I have seen scans of Tadayoshi 1 and Tsunatoshi with the steel looking light gray and almost completely smooth....BUT those are in konuka hada and muji hada respectively.

 

Check the image below, this is an Aoi Art scan from a relatively healthy blade from around 1346 in ko-itame/ko-mokume mix. Notice how you clearly see the pattern covering all areas in the picture? No smooth textureless areas.

[Barrett Hiebert]

Rivkin,

 

I can definitely see a world of difference as to what the blade should look like.

 

Thank you for presenting an example of such as to what a healthy Yamamura should look like.

 

The Yamamura in question is most assuredly nothing to get excited about as PNSSHOGUN says.

 

Upon seeing more pictures and video from cell phone by Aoi Art I can confirm that.

 

It is a very tired blade one that I decided even with it's Tokubetsu Hozon distinction is not worth purchasing.

 

Jussi,

 

Always good to hear your opinion and thank you for chiming in.

 

And yes I like my sunnobi tanto of hira zukuri shape that bridges the gap from tanto to wakizashi. I love how wide hira zukuri are laterally.

 

I think it would be a great tertiary weapon to add to my two current blades, that or a yoroi-dosho tanto.

 

Of course I would love a earliest koto osoraku tanto but those are near impossible to find and very expensive.

 

As well of course I intend to increase my knowledge in the mean time and save for at least one Juyo in my remaining lifetime.

 

Sukaira,

 

Yes, I can see what you mean.

 

Thank you though for the distinction for my education through the picture presented.

 

I can confirm though after seeing the 18 detailed pictures and 2 videos of both sides of the blade that the Yamamura is very tired and there isn't much jihada anymore only ware, more so on one side than the other. So as I said I won't be purchasing this blade. It does have the right shape and length that I was looking for but it is too tired.

 

Thank you for your assistance in helping me decide.

 

Best regards all,

 

Barrett Hiebert

[PNSSHOGUN]

Good decision Barrett, it may cost more but you'll no doubt find something you like in this Sugata without drawbacks. 

[Barrett Hiebert]

Thank you all for your input. It is greatly appreciated. This is an invaluable forum.