The most Mekugi-ana I have ever seen…and other interesting aspects of my new Nihontō…

[DocTheRoc]

Good day! 
 

Sharing some pictures of my last acquisition for quite some time I think! This interesting Koto(?) blade has the most Mekugi-ana I have ever seen, personally. 
 

Also, it has a Koshi-hi(?) on one side with a Gomabashi horimono on the other; which I think is interesting, though might be more common than I am anticipating.

 

According to the seller, as the tale goes, the blade had been passed down for some time in the same family, before it was finally sold when the family did not find a need for it any longer.
 

I suspect it is likely not going to be a candidate for polishing, as there are several openings in the steel, and it is very likely too tired at this point. (The suguha hamon cuts off at the kissaki, so I think it’s probably just been polished too many times at this point) That said, I still really enjoy this blade, and I am hoping it can be attributed to a koto-era Yamato-school smith, given the lovely suguha hamon. My other two Nihontō are likely-Yamato blades, and I would love to finish off with a third. 

 

I would love your thoughts! 
 

(More pictures in the comments)
 

 

[DocTheRoc]

The Nakago!

[DocTheRoc]

The horimono  

[DocTheRoc]

Close ups of some of the activities, and the hamon. 

[DocTheRoc]

The aspects of why I think perhaps this may not be a great candidate for polishing, though I still really enjoy the blade despite this! 

[eternal_newbie]

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this blade is one that I previously used to own. It was examined by a polisher, who determined that it has been damaged in a fire and most of the hamon is gone; what you're seeing is a cosmetic hadori applied by a polisher to hide it. I ended up refunding it and selling it to someone who understood the condition and was willing to accept it as such.

 

I would contact the previous owner seeking a refund if it was sold to you as being without any fatal flaws; however since you noticed that the hamon does not continue into the kissaki it sounds like you knew what you were doing, and hopefully obtained it at a reasonable price.

 

Previous discussion here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22108-ji-nie-question

[eternal_newbie]

As for the history of the blade; when I bought it, it had previously been used by an elderly sensei as a practice blade for iaijutsu and was sold on eBay to me when he became wheelchair-bound and was no longer able to continue pursuing the martial arts (and I have no way of verifying even that story).

[DocTheRoc]

 

13 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this blade is one that I previously used to own. It was examined by a polisher, who determined that it has been damaged in a fire and most of the hamon is gone; what you're seeing is a cosmetic hadori applied by a polisher to hide it. I ended up refunding it and selling it to someone who understood the condition and was willing to accept it as such.

 

I would contact the previous owner seeking a refund if it was sold to you as being without any fatal flaws; however since you noticed that the hamon does not continue into the kissaki it sounds like you knew what you were doing, and hopefully obtained it at a reasonable price.

 

Previous discussion here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22108-ji-nie-question

 

Good afternoon/evening! 
 

See, things like this is why I adore the Nihontō community - it’s such a small group of honest people! You were under no obligation to point any of this out, and yet you felt compelled to be open and honest - I wish more communities had this level of integrity. 
 

because…
 

The seller 100% notified me of the concerns/previous issues with this blade, but he could not completely remember what was originally told to him. He was absolutely open on the “risks” of the purchase, and had provided a more than reasonable price (in my opinion). 
 

I was indeed wondering, although it wasn’t stated at the time, if this was an artificially applied hamon. That said, I noticed some aspects of the blade (like the hamon not extending into the kissaki, exactly), and figured something like this was going on. The fact that the suguha hamon is not original, while sad, doesn’t bother me too much to be honest. 
 

Ultimately, I ended up purchasing the blade based entirely on the fact that it (appears to have been) mounted so many different times, and has some aspects like the asymmetrical horimono that I enjoy as well. I set out to purchase a koto blade that was used throughout its life, and despite its issues and although it may never see a kantei due to those concerns, I *think* I still accomplished that at least (though I’m still very much a novice in this!). 
 

The other amusing thing is that, I am a student of iaido of about a decade now, and I did also hear that note about the sensei - while that story may or may not be true, I found it enjoyable nevertheless. 
 

Out of curiosity, being mounted so many times and based on the profile of the blade, I had imagined this was somewhere in the ballpark of 1400-1500. Did you ever place the blade in a particular time (understanding the school/tradition may be impossible now) when you owned it?

 

Thank you! 
 

Very Respectfully,

 

Vincent

[eternal_newbie]

1 hour ago, DocTheRoc said:

Out of curiosity, being mounted so many times and based on the profile of the blade, I had imagined this was somewhere in the ballpark of 1400-1500. Did you ever place the blade in a particular time (understanding the school/tradition may be impossible now) when you owned it?

 

Not while I owned it, but as per the linked thread, the general consensus seems to be Yamato or Yamashiro, late Kamakura to Nanbokucho (1320 ~ 1390). Personally I lean towards Yamashiro because of the lack of masame and the relatively flat shinogi, which would make Rai or Enju the most likely candidates (and indeed these are the most common guesses from the people who've examined it or seen photos of it). Unfortunately the main kantei difference between Rai and high-level Enju is ko-maru vs. o-maru boshi, and we no longer have a boshi to examine here.

[DocTheRoc]

28 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

 

Not while I owned it, but as per the linked thread, the general consensus seems to be Yamato or Yamashiro, late Kamakura to Nanbokucho (1320 ~ 1390). Personally I lean towards Yamashiro because of the lack of masame and the relatively flat shinogi, which would make Rai or Enju the most likely candidates (and indeed these are the most common guesses from the people who've examined it or seen photos of it). Unfortunately the main kantei difference between Rai and high-level Enju is ko-maru vs. o-maru boshi, and we no longer have a boshi to examine here.

Very much appreciated, and again, thank you for your candor! 

V/R,

 

Vincent

[eternal_newbie]

6 hours ago, DocTheRoc said:

The other amusing thing is that, I am a student of iaido of about a decade now, and I did also hear that note about the sensei - while that story may or may not be true, I found it enjoyable nevertheless. 

 

Funnily enough, that's also how I found the sword initially; I had been searching for an iaito online for my own practice, and because the story about the iaido sensei was in the seller's description, the listing showed up in my search results. The koshirae is very nice for a fatally flawed blade, albeit rather low-key, which lends some credence to this story (as does the blade being extremely thin and light due to having taken so many polishes - suitable indeed for an elderly practitioner). I was particularly fond of the tsuba, which has some subtle detailing reminiscent of Kagamishi school work.

 

At any rate, I am pleased that both you and the previous owner were both upfront and well-informed about the blade's condition, and that it has found its way to someone who can appreciate it for what it is and the centuries of history behind it.

[eternal_newbie]

@DocTheRoc this got me thinking about where I'd seen a sword with a large collection of nakago-ana, and today I finally remembered. Check out this long Ayanokoji blade that was featured at last year's Japan Art Fair in Utrecht:

 

[Lewis B]

I know an Ichimonji with 8 mekugi-ana. Thats the most I've seen on a blade.

[DocTheRoc]

5 hours ago, eternal_newbie said:

@DocTheRoc this got me thinking about where I'd seen a sword with a large collection of nakago-ana, and today I finally remembered. Check out this long Ayanokoji blade that was featured at last year's Japan Art Fair in Utrecht:

 

That’s unbelievable!! What an amazing history of many owners (or one that really liked switching up mounting, haha) that blade must have had! 
 

Thank you so much for sharing! 

[Rivkin]

Its in relatively good polish. Dense itame hada which does not seem to have a lot of ji ne, suguha with clearly defined nioiguchi but without much activity.

Blades looks kind of heavy-bulky with some taper, with little bit of koshizori which however at original length could have been torizori.

Shinto, circa 1640 comes to mind.

[atm]

@DocTheRoc @eternal_newbie Several of the mekugi ana on the Ayanokoji odachi seem to be paired based on their size and relative placement. As the nagasa is 100 cm and the blade weighs about 1750g, it was possibly mounted with two mekugi at a time. 

[DocTheRoc]

4 hours ago, Rivkin said:

Its in relatively good polish. Dense itame hada which does not seem to have a lot of ji ne, suguha with clearly defined nioiguchi but without much activity.

Blades looks kind of heavy-bulky with some taper, with little bit of koshizori which however at original length could have been torizori.

Shinto, circa 1640 comes to mind.

Appreciate it, Rivkin!
 

I wonder if the possible re-tempering and possible polish-applied hamon (based on the previous owner’s thread linked above) could have anything to do with the lack of activity. 

[DocTheRoc]

5 minutes ago, atm said:

@DocTheRoc @eternal_newbie Several of the mekugi ana on the Ayanokoji odachi seem to be paired based on their size and relative placement. As the nagasa is 100 cm and the blade weighs about 1750g, it was possibly mounted with two mekugi at a time. 

Thats a great point, I’d imagine a blade of that length and weight would have benefitted from two mekugi. 

[Jussi Ekholm]

Unfortunately I have never seen the Ayanokōji ōdachi in person, and I know that Tanobe sensei wrote the sayagaki for it, and his expertise in undeniable. However as an ōdachi researcher I cannot understand that particular sword at all. It is just too different to all other historical ōdachi I have seen, and I have seen fairly large number of them in various shrines in Japan. The huge number of holes makes 0 sense to me. I know that Tanobe sensei wrote that it is slightly shortened, that further makes it more puzzling why it would have 8 holes (yes I count the partial hole at bottom too). 

[Rivkin]

11 hours ago, DocTheRoc said:

Appreciate it, Rivkin!
 

I wonder if the possible re-tempering and possible polish-applied hamon (based on the previous owner’s thread linked above) could have anything to do with the lack of activity. 

 

It does not look retempered at all, nor is the hamon polish applied. If one is optimistic it can be Mihara, though I am personally pretty sure its shinto work in such style.

[Scogg]

I think it's worth mentioning for the sake of broader discussion the possibility that additional mekugi-ana can, in some instances, be added later with the intent of making a nakago appear older or mounted more over time.
 

I’m not suggesting that’s what’s happening here, only that it’s an idea I’ve come across in conversations with more knowledgable collectors than myself; and it may be another angle to keep in mind when looking at unusual examples like this.

-Sam

[Lewis B]

17 minutes ago, Scogg said:

I think it's worth mentioning for the sake of broader discussion the possibility that additional mekugi-ana can, in some instances, be added later with the intent of making a nakago appear older or mounted more over time.
 

I’m not suggesting that’s what’s happening here, only that it’s an idea I’ve come across in conversations with more knowledgable collectors than myself; and it may be another angle to keep in mind when looking at unusual examples like this.

-Sam

I was going to say exactly the same thing Sam. Another telltale is that all the mekugi-ana appear to be the same size on the odachi, made by the same punch and thus more likely they are all contemporary to one another. The same suspicion applies to the OP's blade image. 

 

The kuro-sabi on the odachi also looks too evenly toned and gives the impression of being an application of colour. 

Edited April 28 by Lewis B

[eternal_newbie]

42 minutes ago, Rivkin said:

It does not look retempered at all, nor is the hamon polish applied. If one is optimistic it can be Mihara, though I am personally pretty sure its shinto work in such style.

 

It was examined by a professional togishi, who agreed with the assessment that the hadori is mostly cosmetic, with patches of nioi remaining here and there to give an idea of the rough dimensions of the original hamon. However for the most part there is no nioiguchi left, with the longest remaining segment being a few inches at the end of the monouchi that runs out of the kissaki. Based on the condition of the steel and hamon, the conclusion was that it likely suffered fire damage rather than being retempered.

[Rivkin]

42 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

 

It was examined by a professional togishi, who agreed with the assessment that the hadori is mostly cosmetic, with patches of nioi remaining here and there to give an idea of the rough dimensions of the original hamon. However for the most part there is no nioiguchi left, with the longest remaining segment being a few inches at the end of the monouchi that runs out of the kissaki. Based on the condition of the steel and hamon, the conclusion was that it likely suffered fire damage rather than being retempered.

 

Everything is possible and it might be that the photographs show just the only area which looks natural... but in the photographs shown there is no indication of saiha. 

I've had a blade which NTHK NPO branded as saiha, which NBTHK papered and which later earned some well deserved praise... 

[eternal_newbie]

Saiha I believe refers to re-hardening, i.e. a (properly hardened) hamon that was reintroduced, likely by a trained blacksmith, after the original was lost due to heat damage. From having looked at the blade in hand, I believe that this blade is not saiha but rather nioi-gire: it has been heated to the point where most of the hamon is simply gone (because the rest of the blade was heated up to become homogeneous with the hardened area within the hamon). Instead, a polisher has overlaid a hadori on the remnants of the hamon for what is sometimes euphemistically called "preserving the sword's dignity". Given the sword's repurposing as a blade for iai, I don't hold any ill will against whichever polisher did this; after all, the same thing is done on most iaito, albeit using cruder means.

 

I looked at it under every lighting source I could get my hands on - incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, even natural sunlight - and all I could see under the hadori were small blobs of nie and nioi, almost like yubashiri, along where the hadori boundary has been "painted". The exception as mentioned before is a couple of inches of contiguous nioiguchi that remain near the end of the monouchi, and that runs off the edge of the kissaki instead of following the hadori along the fukura.

 

I believe what the photographs are displaying is those underlying remnants, which admittedly were sufficient to fool me into believing the entire hamon was real when I first got the blade.

[Lewis B]

27 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

 "preserving the sword's dignity"

Made me smile. I wouldn't be surprised that happens more than we know or like to admit. 

 

Some schools/smiths had very weak nioi-guchi activity (early Soshu and Yamashiro Rai for example)

Edited April 28 by Lewis B