Looking To Buy First Nihonto

[Rhizosphere]

11 minutes ago, ChrisW said:

My humble opinion would be to talk to several dealers (especially any that might be close to you -- moreso if it can be within driving distance) and find a piece that you like a lot. Then appreciate it in person, and finally work towards a price that you can live with. Setting out with a price in mind first is good for the wallet, but may not be as good for satisfaction with what you might end up with.
 

A signed and papered Muromachi katana in old polish is a possibility. But a new polish alone with most polishers these days runs for a lot more than just 2k. The little to no flaws part is also a big factor in this case; as most lower condition blades of that eras will have flaws from being polished down. For example, I have an attributed Den Oshu Hoju katana in shirasaya in old polish for $2200 but if someone asked me for what you're looking for at that price level, I would politely decline even an effort to search for them. There is just nothing left at that price point to make the search worth the effort.

At the price level you're looking at, you're probably going to have to accept a less than optimal polish or a blade with a fair few flaws or both. Its nothing personal to you, it is just how the market is. I would also probably be acceptive that it is almost certainly going to be in shirasaya, rather than koshirae. Since even minimally appropriate koshirae adds more than 1k value to a blade.

My best advice would be to try to approach I suggested at the start of my post. You should end up with something that you'll enjoy a lot more and have a more solid resale value when you decide to move it on!

I would be ok with an older polish. And am still open to a wakizashi as well. Shirasaya is exceptable. But I am also considering saving more and paying more. But then again. It may be helpful to just buy something at my current price range. Study it. Then consider selling it and moving up kate. Should i be too hurt by the fact the blade mentioned above mat be modifed? The koshirae is almost selling it for me. Waiting on my photos from seller. They may be out for the holiday.

[Rhizosphere]

9 minutes ago, Rhizosphere said:

I would be ok with an older polish. And am still open to a wakizashi as well. Shirasaya is exceptable. But I am also considering saving more and paying more. But then again. It may be helpful to just buy something at my current price range. Study it. Then consider selling it and moving up kate. Should i be too hurt by the fact the blade mentioned above mat be modifed? The koshirae is almost selling it for me. Waiting on my photos from seller. They may be out for the holiday.

Honestly. I just want to own a nihonto that is not ugly and is longer than a tanto. It being cerrtified is really my main qualifier. 

[ChrisW]

I think that accepting something that is a wakizashi would greatly increase your chances of finding something within budget then. There are plenty of longer Muromachi wakizashi in acceptable polish with papers that come in shirasaya.

[Curran]

On 1/1/2026 at 8:44 AM, Lewis B said:

I really like the fittings on this koshirae. The signed tsuba, fuchi, kashira and menuki would not look out of place on a much higher priced blade. The quality of the workmanship is very clear. 

 You made me look.

Nice fittings. The same could use a small discrete lacquer repair in a spot or two, and the kurikata needs something (repair or replace).

Otherwise, looks like it would be a nice little package could be dressed up with a sageo and basic kozuka-replacement.

 

 

[Rhizosphere]

On 12/30/2025 at 7:17 PM, klee said:

https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A030925.html

 

Here is another good one that is slightlly cheaper ( also shorter ) and mounting  . Has a brand new NBTHK from May 2025 . The NBTHK attributed it to the Kai Mihara school . I would disregard the Kurashiki museum paper.

 

Kai mihara is a very good school in my opinion but check with Tsukada san ( owner ) and ask for more photos of the kissaki/Boshi. It could be just the angle of the photograph but looks like it could have been reshaped. This is not an issue at all most of the time as swords were repaired often but you want to make sure there is no problem with the boshi 

I got videos of the kissaki. What do you think? I can only share photos. They said its just hard to see but looks good. 

[Lewis B]

Kissaki has been slightly reshaped. Still a nice sword in a very nice koshirae. The price reflects the condition so you would be getting a fair deal. 

[Rhizosphere]

10 minutes ago, Lewis B said:

Kissaki has been slightly reshaped. Still a nice sword in a very nice koshirae. The price reflects the condition so you would be getting a fair deal. 

I think for an intro blade it is a fair imperfection. Especially with the Koshirae.

[klee]

I agree with @Lewis B. lookslike some slight repair was made but I dont think it s an issue at all.

 

It s a very pretty Mihara blade at a very good price. Their swords tends to have a thin boshi by default so I thought it was a great idea to check it out closely. 

 

If you love the blade, you can send it to a polisher at a later time and fix the geometry if it bothers you. 

 

The ko shinogi needs to be pulled back slightly to match the width of the mitzukado line. This does not affect the boshi or the overall length 

 

 

[Rhizosphere]

1 hour ago, klee said:

I agree with @Lewis B. lookslike some slight repair was made but I dont think it s an issue at all.

 

It s a very pretty Mihara blade at a very good price. Their swords tends to have a thin boshi by default so I thought it was a great idea to check it out closely. 

 

If you love the blade, you can send it to a polisher at a later time and fix the geometry if it bothers you. 

 

The ko shinogi needs to be pulled back slightly to match the width of the mitzukado line. This does not affect the boshi or the overall length 

 

 

That would cost a brother, what? Another $1500?

[klee]

Believe it or not it s not a major procedure. I thought the same when I inquired about having one of my sword adjusted and was quoted $300 plus shipping. Im sure it varies case by case but your situation isnt much different than mine

[ChrisW]

I think it also depends on the polisher, their workload, and the anticipated amount of rework required. I only used one polisher, but I've never inquired about kissaki reshaping.

You could find one, show the picture, and ask for a quote perhaps?

[Rhizosphere]

1 hour ago, klee said:

Believe it or not it s not a major procedure. I thought the same when I inquired about having one of my sword adjusted and was quoted $300 plus shipping. Im sure it varies case by case but your situation isnt much different than mine

The saya would also have a sageo, correct? The silk wrapping? I see the kurigata needs repair. Already found a similar one for sale if i wanted to repair it.

Edited Monday at 09:46 PM by Rhizosphere

[Tensho]

Jist pointing this out. Maybe its just the photos, but the samegawa seems to have issues on both sides of the tsuka as well. Also appears to have a mekugi-ana plugged?

[klee]

It most likely was a repurposed tsuka which happens all the time since the wood , ito ,and samegawa will degrade over time. It is very very rare to find a sword with old custom made fittings.

 

When it was replaced might be next impossible determine. Might have been done recently by a dealer/previous owner or over 100+ years ago.

 

Samegawa issues are also very common in old fittings since they are organic and degrade much faster than other fitting materials 

[Rhizosphere]

Just now, klee said:

It most likely was a repurposed tsuka which happens all the time since the wood , ito ,and samegawa will degrade over time. It is very very rare to find a sword with old custom made fittings.

 

When it was replaced might be next impossible determine. Might have been done recently by a dealer/previous owner or over 100+ years ago.

 

Samegawa issues are also very common in old fittings since they are organic and degrade much faster than other fitting materials 

So. Should this be a concern? Are you able to tell the period the Tsuba is from?

[Rhizosphere]

21 minutes ago, Tensho said:

Jist pointing this out. Maybe its just the photos, but the samegawa seems to have issues on both sides of the tsuka as well. Also appears to have a mekugi-ana plugged?

Should this be of high concern? And are you able to tell the period in which the Tsuba was made?

[Rhizosphere]

2 minutes ago, klee said:

It most likely was a repurposed tsuka which happens all the time since the wood , ito ,and samegawa will degrade over time. It is very very rare to find a sword with old custom made fittings.

 

When it was replaced might be next impossible determine. Might have been done recently by a dealer/previous owner or over 100+ years ago.

 

Samegawa issues are also very common in old fittings since they are organic and degrade much faster than other fitting materials 

I am also confused because the certification says Ki-Mihara which operated in the mid 1300s but lists tje blade as early Edo.

[klee]

Kai Mihara is an off shoot of the Mihara school and the smiths were active during the later muromachi period 1500s not 1300s.

 

The original edo listing is based off the kurashiki papers which should be disregarded.

 

Always go with NBTHK attributions

 

Edited Monday at 10:45 PM by klee

[Rhizosphere]

23 minutes ago, klee said:

Kai Mihara is an off shoot of the Mihara school and the smiths were active during the later muromachi period 1500s not 1300s.

 

The original edo listing is based off the kurashiki papers which should be disregarded.

 

Always go with NBTHK attributions

 

And the repaired Koshirae isn't a big issue? You said it is common? The Tsuba is probably original, correct? Or period correct at least?

[klee]

Most certainly not. Tsubas were swaped based on personal taste of the owner so it s been swapped many many times over time. You sometimes find a koshirae with matching tsuba, fuchi, kashira and menuki but that will cost a lot.

 

People find great joy collecting tsubas even nowdays 

 

 

[klee]

All that aside,

 

Kai Mihara would be great place to start collecting if you want to focus on Koto ( pre 1600 )

 

If you love their work, you can delve deeper and expand ur collection to the main Mihara line or explore their other offshoot the Hokke School ( my favorite )

 

Ko Mihara ( pre 1392 Mihara work ) are very elegant streamlined and generally high quality swords whenever they tend to come on the market. Mihara ( Muromachi ) will carry some of it s Ko predecessors features but will tend to be lower quality . Still very solid swords that can be had for a good price

 

Hokke swords will lose some elegance but their atmosphere is more grand, stout and powerful in my opinion. This is my favorite Mihara branch

[ChrisW]

My personal preference is Bizen, Bungo, and Soshu in that order. Soshu tends to be the favorite of a lot of people for many reasons. 

I've sold a Mihara blade before. They're pretty good for study.

[atm]

@Rhizosphere Depending on your location in the United States, you may want to attend one of the four sword shows around the country to see if you can find something in person. This helps immensely compared to shopping only from photos. The Las Vegas show is coming up in a couple of weeks. 

[Rawa]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gm5pL6K4Z/?mibextid=wwXIfr
grab this 465$ in USA with shipping to You. Nice fittings. Buy this as first sword and then pause until more money and knowledge.

Edited Thursday at 05:50 PM by Rawa

[Rhizosphere]

15 minutes ago, Rawa said:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gm5pL6K4Z/?mibextid=wwXIfr
grab this 465$ in USA with shipping to You. Nice fittings. Buy this as first sword and then pause until more money and knowledge.

Looks like he has 3 buyers in the comments and I no longer have Facebook unfortunately. 

[Rawa]

Then maybe ask him directly for similar item. 

[eternal_newbie]

20 minutes ago, Rawa said:

grab this 465$ in USA with shipping to You. Nice fittings. Buy this as first sword and then pause until more money and knowledge.

 

Slightly off-topic but that guy had something else that might be of interest to the various polearm data gatherers in here: https://www.facebook.com/raymond.yan.950241/posts/pfbid0UicaokdPan3LXQAGrdZnFEmmb5cWgaqdmBc6JJubhLxHwdFp33VxudWtyuQWt2gBl

 

It's a sankaku-yari (sold now, sadly) in which the entire blade, aside from a small section near the base, is hardened (more pictures in the link).

 

[Scogg]

Raymond Yan sells a lot of affordable nihonto, and related items. He's a good seller, in my opinion.

Beware though... He has very little patience for questions. He puts a great deal of effort into his descriptions, and he recommends you study his photos and writing. At these prices, he has no issue offloading items, and has little time to discuss each individual piece. 

I've followed him for some time, and I've gathered that he must like polearms. Lots of yari go through him.

He also knows what he has; so you're not going to find a forgotten treasure or anything .
You will find reasonable and fair deals.
And as always, you get what you pay for. 
-Sam

 

[Brian]

Agree 100% with what Sam said, also been following his stuff for a while now.