Modern forgeries of NBTHK papers

[Toki]

Good Day everyone,

I think we all are well aware of the scandal regarding NTBHK Origami in the 1970s and it´s consequences.
Today, I stumbled upon a tweet on X ( https://x.com/tukimaru1967/status/2050541246490533952) warning others to be careful with Nihonto being sold at an auction. In the tweet, they point out some suspicious activity with the papers of some of the swords which could be hints at a forgery . From what I understand the "easiest" Method to forge such a certificate is to simply swap the Picture/Oshigata on the Origami with one of the Nihonto you want to sell them with.

However, it got me thinking. How common are forgeries these days, and probably even more important, what is the chance of encountering one? Is this a real risk, or a niche issue?

In any way, if someone with more insight wants to share their thoughts,I would be super grateful

All the best

Erik
 

 

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

Hi, Mr. Erik, thank you for your warning.

 

In fact I just recently (last week I think?) helped a friend I met online a few years back,

 

to identify a tampered NTBNK paper with a swapped photo.

 

It's even got a stamp on, so a little more sophisticated than the ones shown here,

 

understandable since that sword cost him more than 10 grand.

 

A phone call to NTBHK's 台帳照会 line ( https://www.touken.or.jp/shinsa/syousyo.html, the one we use to confirm the authenticity of paper) confirmed my suspicion,

 

and on the phone, the NTBHK staff and I talked about the Yasurime, the position of Mekugi-Ana, Mei itself, and many other things, all mismatching from their records.

 

Although it's not very secure just talking over the phone to say the photo is swapped, so the staff suggested a mail address to me.

 

I sent an email to them with photos of Nakago and paper, they replied in two hours to confirm that "it's very likely a paper with swapped photo",

 

since the safest way is to physically mail them that paper, or bring them the sword with it, not very practical here in PRC.

 

Anyway, he has to deal with that person sold him this counterfeit sword now, and hopefully he can get his money back.

 

Buying straight from reputable Japanese stores could save one from these troubles,

 

but apparently here in PRC shady scamy independent semi-illegal dealers trading over WeChat

 

(and scamy "official" large-scale local stores I might add) are all the rage now, so all bets are off.

 

Hard to sue someone scamed you if you are buying somewhat illegal? stuff from them, naturally.

[Julien]

Personally, when I see a photo of a kanteisho with the left side obscured (online auctions), I tend to be very cautious.

The second key point is whether the torokusho details (Prefecture, number, era, and date) match with what is written on the kanteisho, and whether that section shows any signs of alteration (corrections, strike-throughs, etc.).

Third, the nagasa listed on the kanteisho should match both the blade and the torokusho. I have seen cases where the torokusho and blade matched, but the kanteisho differed by as much as 8 cm.

Finally, if something feels off, it is best to walk away.

[eternal_newbie]

1 hour ago, Julien said:

Third, the nagasa listed on the kanteisho should match both the blade and the torokusho. I have seen cases where the torokusho and blade matched, but the kanteisho differed by as much as 8 cm.

 

This point also applies to sayagaki. Just because a sayagaki might be legitimate, doesn't mean it was written for the blade currently inside the shirasaya.

[Geraint]

Dear Erik.

 

I am not sure if this article will add to your understanding but here it is.  https://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html

 

Information relating to fake papers is near the end of the article.

 

All the best.

[Toki]

Thank you all for your contributions

First of all,  @YourBabyBjornBorg I hope your friend gets his money refunded. Especially at this price point it would be a major loss, depending what sword he actually got. While this is really unfortunate, it's a relief to hear that the NTBHK is open to help in such cases, especially so quickly. I don't know the legal situation in the PRC regarding that, but getting caught forging documents (Urkundenfälschung) over here can land you in serious trouble, even more so if you have monetary intent when doing so. All the best to you and your friend!

Julien, that seems like a pretty fine checklist to follow, I will keep that in mind for future purchases. Buying from reputable sellers should minimize the risk in my opinion, but as I learnt from other collection hobbies (Rocks) even they can have something slip through once in a while.

Geraint, thank you for the article. It's super interesting to read about their new security features and I´m glad to see that they put serious effort into it. The sheer amount of them should make it harder to forge one, though obviously not impossible.


I wonder how the NTHK (both branches) fares in this regard. I can only speak for the NTHK NPO, but their papers seem less secure, with the only notable feature I can see being the "stamp" above the picture/oshigata. Maybe they are not as focused since most prefer NTBHK papers?

All the best!

Erik
 

[John C]

On the plus side of NTHK is that they provide much more information about the item being papered. In that sense, there is more to compare than just an oshigata.

 

John C.