Brian Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Quite entertaining, especially for novices who don't know much about Nihonto. 6 1 1 Quote
Lewis B Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 We always remember our first. I was fortunate to be invited to visit the home of a German collector in May 2024, where I was given the opportunity to study 3 Juyo blades in hand. I held the nakago of the first blade so tightly and so intensely, the owner even commented on the heat transfer. He was probably hoping I wasn't related to Uri Geller. 4 6 Quote
Sukaira Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 don't breath around the sword, but let me show how bendy it is 1 1 1 2 Quote
Brian Posted January 9 Author Report Posted January 9 Bizen Osafune ju nin... Rest will be on the other side 3 Quote
nulldevice Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 3 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said: Looked like, maybe, Nagamitsu? Bishu Osafune Junin - 備州國長船住人 1 Quote
Brian Posted January 9 Author Report Posted January 9 Sorry, yip...Bishu. I think this is likely Sukesada? 1 Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Should be this item https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24617 8 Quote
nulldevice Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 15 minutes ago, Brian said: Sorry, yip...Bishu. I think this is likely Sukesada? That's what I saw on the paper tag on the shirasaya bag. it might be the later Shinto Sukesada Quote
atm Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Great video and explanation for those unfamiliar with nihonto. But as I watched the curator bend the blade, I doubted that the strict prior Japanese curator would have approved. 1 1 Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 Looked to be classic Bizen Yokoyama Sukesada. Quote
ChrisW Posted January 11 Report Posted January 11 I saw that video too! Cringed a bit when the curator demonstrated the blade's flexibility as if it were a European spring steel. I had a feeling it was Shinto Sukesada... Quote
klee Posted January 11 Report Posted January 11 I know people have all different taste but gosh that hamon looks dreadful lol i couldnt handle it Quote
Hokke Posted January 11 Report Posted January 11 26 minutes ago, klee said: I know people have all different taste but gosh that hamon looks dreadful lol i couldnt handle it Dreadful? Soooo.....youre a suguha guy? Not judging, just curious in your choice of adjective. Quote
klee Posted January 11 Report Posted January 11 Lol yes im definitely biased towards suguha and notare most but for that particular sword the way to togari being so high and pointing towards the tip of the blade just breaks the flow for me personally. Of course it s just personal preference and im sure there s plenty out there who cant stand suguha. I think part of it stems from when I was a kid. I used to have a lot of imitation katanas growing up and whenever I see hamons with a lot of togari it reminds me of those fake hamons lol. Esp some of the mino blades 1 Quote
Sukaira Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 (edited) I agree that hamon was a bit...different..but I am not really familiar with that smith. Maybe his style is off beat skinny vertical spikes with tobiyaki? Maybe they didn't want to bring out the good good stuff. Edited January 13 by Sukaira 1 Quote
klee Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 Yea for sure. I ve looked at works from shinto sukesada here and there and they were definitely not this extreme Quote
Robert S Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 On 1/9/2026 at 12:18 PM, Jussi Ekholm said: Should be this item https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24617 It's interesting that it turns out to be the katana from a daisho - curious he didn't show the pair. Also interesting that the Met included no photos of the blades, just the koshirae. Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted January 14 Report Posted January 14 I don't know that much about koshirae as I focus on the blades. However to me in this case the sword blade is pretty uninspiring and the fittings are very high quality. I would dare to think that there would be extremely few daishō sets with full Miboku fittings, so I would think they are very precious. Yokoyama Sukesada blades in this case would not be that interesting considering the fittings. The interesting part to me is that it seems they were given to museum in 1936 so they were in the US before WWII. I am not sure who this Howard Mansfield was but he seems to have had a huge collection of extraordinary Japanese Fittings, including another daishō set this time full Konkan fittings, several Natsuo work etc. top tier artists. Just write his name into MET search and enjoy some spectacular sword fittings. 4 Quote
Lewis B Posted January 14 Report Posted January 14 42 minutes ago, Jussi Ekholm said: The interesting part to me is that it seems they were given to museum in 1936 so they were in the US before WWII. I am not sure who this Howard Mansfield was but he seems to have had a huge collection of extraordinary Japanese Fittings, including another daishō set this time full Konkan fittings, several Natsuo work etc. top tier artists. Just write his name into MET search and enjoy some spectacular sword fittings. The kozuka and tsuba are exceptional quality. Mr Mansfield had a very good eye for the aesthetic. Quote
Gerry Posted January 14 Report Posted January 14 Does anyone here find it odd that, for the high quality of koshirae shown in this video, that the slots in the saya for the kogai and kozuka aren't cut properly near the koiguchi? You can see that the kogai and kozuka sit at an angle in the saya. Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted January 14 Report Posted January 14 If memory serves me right these were purposefully cut at that angle to allow a slight tension to avoid falling out. It would also allow easier removal as the handles sit further away from the Fuchi. You will find this detail on many good quality Koshirae with Kozuka. 4 Quote
Hokke Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 (edited) 2 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said: If memory serves me right these were purposefully cut at that angle to allow a slight tension to avoid falling out. It would also allow easier removal as the handles sit further away from the Fuchi. You will find this detail on many good quality Koshirae with Kozuka. Seems logical that the angle would also allow for more clearance of the hitsu to make sure there was no rubbing on the tsuba Edited January 15 by Hokke 2 Quote
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