Go Yoshihiro

[Schneeds]

That last composite image in the middle stack of the AOI Masamune photographs is very well done; I wish they had done that for the full blade and not just the kissaki and nakago, it probably would help sell the blade. 

 

Or maybe it wouldn't...

Edited Tuesday at 09:36 PM by Schneeds

[Hoshi]

Hi, 

 

I am bothered by this blade and I am not too keen comment, but I will do it to honor Darcy's memory. 

 

A newcomer to this hobby will inevitably have his perception shaped by Aoi's offerings, which as one comes to learn, are arbitrage opportunities for blades that do not make it in Japan, with few exceptions. One must learn from great blades first and foremost, and such a sword is an experience that teaches the wrong things. 

 

Some context:

 

I find it irresponsible of Shinsa to make a call to "Den Masamune" on such a sword. One could argue that they've hedged it with "Den" - and unfortunately this is a misrepresentation. All Masamune without Kinzogan or Kiwame by the best Hon'ami judges or featured as Meibutsu are "Den" with only very few calls diverging from this pattern historically. Some of the Masamune blades without "Den" are shakier than the ones with Den, and so forth. It is not a simple attribution, and calls for deep contextualization. 

 

Then inevitably comes the unorthodox positions that Masamune doesn't exist, that he's unneeded, that this is evidence that his work is not that great, and so on, and so forth. I don't want to go there, I find it silly. 

 

Then there is the absurd claim by Aoi that "Choshiki was one of the most respected judges..." - Darcy used to say that an attribution by Choshiki means anything but. Since Tanobe sensei's departure from the Shinsa panel, the NBHTK is more swayed by Choshiki judgements than in the past. If you are really deep into this field, you know that since 2022, it is a good time to target blades with Choshiki attributions for Shinsa. There is only one "Den Masamune" in the Juyo record with a Choshiki attribution, and the setsumei states that this is the work of Shizu. Now, when faced with such a TH blade, there is no context on the attribution, and this absence of context is damaging. This absence of context is why Den Yukimitsu, Den Norishige, or Den Shizu are much safer harbors at TH and have been traditionally preferred before going so far as to calling it Masamune. 

 

Back to the blade in question.

 

It is tired and has been extensively repaired. This sword has suffered a tragic accident in the past: it was twisted. Someone repaired it, and by untwisting it created a plethora of shinae, or bend marks. These shinae appear as ware/fukure along the ji. Some of these ugly openings have been filled with umegane. Choshiki calls attention to this fact in his Sayagaki, which has conveniently been left untranslated. 

 

While it is true that the extensive jinie of the blade, and the angular chickei and inazuma are characteristics of Masamune, this is all there is to it. And before people bring up "Ogiba" and other arcane Hon'ami things, just don't bother, no, this is not relevant anymore since the mid-20th century and the great cleanup of inflated Edo attribution.  

 

The sword is missing Masamune's defining trait: the highest class of nie executed in a nie kuzure that leaves no visible nioiguchi demarcation line. Masamune's nie unfolds in layer to the light, with different nie sizes reflecting light at different angles, leading to a kaleidoscopic effect which can only truly be experienced in hand. Unaffected Yubashiri emerge from the interplay at the hamon, fading in and out of existence when swiveling the blade. The deposits of nie form clouds of diamond dust. The contrast between ji and the ha is the brightest amongst all the Soshu Joko. The hamon is formed out of overlapping clouds of nie. It's unlike anything else. 

 

What "Masamune" means

 

We don't have a time machine. At the end of the day, "who made it" remains an open question. While we know that Masamune existed historically (it is proven by pre-edo sources), we can never be sure that a particular hand made a particular swords, especially when the corpus of blades contains such a paucity of signed examples. Are the best works of Yukimitsu, Norishige, and others, likely to be absorbed in the Masamune attribution? Certainly, but this is true elsewhere as well. Within the Masamune attribution group, there is indeed great variety. Some have a distinct Ko-Bizen flair, others are veritable storms of inazuma crossing in and out of the ji with violent angular formations, and the last group are masterworks of such virtuosity that they truly defy understanding and fit absolutely nowhere else in the Soshu corpus due to the quality of their nie. All these blades have in common nie kuzure, unaffected yubashiri, and the feeling that the nie diffuses out into the ji as china ink spreading on paper. 

 

Masamune is a snowstorm over the ocean painted in sumi-e ink.

 

Blades that leave you wondering if a human could have made it. 

 

Swords that stand in pure defiance to the laws of metallurgy. 

 

Masamune means perfection of nie-deki.

 

 

Best,

 

Hoshi

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:07 AM by Hoshi

[Lewis B]

Beautiful work by Shozo Sato, encapsulating the imagery of a Masamune hamon in full energetic flow. Very powerful.

[nulldevice]

I find this explanation of a Tokubetsu Juyo (Den Masamune) appropriate and fitting with the explanation by Hoshi and images above:

 

Quote

Explanation:

The foundation of the Sōshū tradition was laid by Shintōgo Kunimitsu. From his school emerged 
outstanding students including Yukimitsu, Norishige, and Masamune, who developed their master's style 
further and brought the Sōshū tradition to completion. Among them, Masamune's ji and ha are the most 
refined, representing the pinnacle of the tradition.
His style includes works that appear to follow Ko-Hōki and Ko-Bizen as models (like Norishige), as well 
as midare-ba based on notare with intensely developed nie that breaks and coalesces, frequently forming 
kinsuji, with nie spilling into the ji to form yubashiri—showing varied character that can be called 
uniquely Masamune's. The latter evokes the feeling of viewing a haboku sansui (splashed-ink landscape 
painting).
This wakizashi belongs to the latter category. The ko-nie is thick and bright, showing free variation in the 
nie with abundant kinsuji, sunagashi, and yubashiri—displaying outstanding workmanship. The 
attribution to Masamune is accepted.
The form with wide mihaba and greatly extended chū-kissaki is somewhat unusual compared to his 
typical works, but the meibutsu "Tarōsaku Masamune" (National Treasure) and meibutsu "Ikeda 
Masamune" (Important Cultural Property) are of this type.

 

[Sukaira]

I am not sure if that Masamune tanto is actually for sale from @Ray Singer though is it? I always thought this: https://swordsofjapan.com/product-category/swords/?orderby=date was his list of swords. Maybe he can clarify but some of the swords listed on the Nihonart.com page are from other people, like this Rai: https://nihonart.com/portfolio/juyo-rai-kunimitsu-katana/ is (or was) actually Bob Benson's: http://www.togishi.com/store/p506/Rai_Kunimitsu_Juyo_Token.html

[Ray Singer]

Sky, all of the swords on my website are (or were) for sale including the tokuju Masamune. In the case of the Rai Kunimitsu, it is no longer available and I have removed the link, however I have worked with the Bensons in the past (to explain the replicated content). If there is a specific question on the swords I have posted on my website, please let me know.

 

Best regards,

Ray

[Ray Singer]

10 minutes ago, Sukaira said:

I always thought this: https://swordsofjapan.com/product-category/swords/?orderby=date was his list of swords. 

 

I have two websites.

[Sukaira]

1 minute ago, Ray Singer said:

Sky, all of the swords on my website are (or were) for sale including the tokuju Masamune. In the case of the Rai Kunimitsu, it is no longer available and I have removed the link, however I have worked with the Bensons in the past (to explain the replicated content). If there is a specific question on the swords I have posted on my website, please let me know.

 

Best regards,

Ray

Thanks for the clarification! It is slightly confusing since the Nihonart page doesn't have any strong indication of "for sale" like the Swords of Japan does, so I was thinking it might just be showcasing various things.