Opinions about lost nenki on Gassan katana

[Gerry]

I'm considering purchasing this Gassan Sadakatsu katana from Aoi Art:

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-osaka-ju-gassan-sadakatsu-kinsaku-written-seal-marknbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/

 

What bothers me is that even though this blade has TH papers, the ura side of the nakago looks suspicious. Pretty much all Sadakatsu blades I've seen are dated, and this one isn't.

 

However, if you zoom in on the ura side of the nakago, you can see faint chisel marks where the nenki used to be. Most of the Sadakatsu blades I've seen have very little to no corrosion on the nakago, whereas this sword seems to have rather pronounced corrosion only on the ura side. 

 

I'd like to know if anyone has opinions on why someone who purposely remove a nenki inscription from a perfectly good Sadakatsu blade.

[Ray Singer]

It may have been that someone removed the special order / dedication inscription, and the loss of the nengo (if it was there) was consequential to the special order column removal. You do see that in gendaito ocassionally, more so with commissioned shinsakuto. 

[Lewis B]

Could be the lighting making the nakago darker than in real life. Looks a little different in this image. Ask Tsurata san for a photo in natural light.

 

[Gerry]

Hi Ray,

 

Thanks for sharing this excellent point, and it's really a shame that however originally owned the sword chose to remove the provenance and damage the nakago.

 

I'll just have to wait for a cleaner example to show up in the market. 

[Bryce]

G'day Gerry,

Just to back up what Ray said, I have seen this several times with Gassan Sadakatsu blades. I imagine it would have looked something like this.

Cheers,

Bryce

 

[Alex A]

Seems weird that someone would remove a special order inscription.

 

To me it makes a sword more interesting.

 

Doing so, obviously becomes a negative for some.

 

Interesting though.

 

 

 

 

[lonely panet]

15 hours ago, Gerry said:

I'm considering purchasing this Gassan Sadakatsu katana from Aoi Art:

https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-osaka-ju-gassan-sadakatsu-kinsaku-written-seal-marknbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/

 

What bothers me is that even though this blade has TH papers, the ura side of the nakago looks suspicious. Pretty much all Sadakatsu blades I've seen are dated, and this one isn't.

 

However, if you zoom in on the ura side of the nakago, you can see faint chisel marks where the nenki used to be. Most of the Sadakatsu blades I've seen have very little to no corrosion on the nakago, whereas this sword seems to have rather pronounced corrosion only on the ura side. 

 

I'd like to know if anyone has opinions on why someone who purposely remove a nenki inscription from a perfectly good Sadakatsu blade.

its aoi art,  treat everything as suspect

[Sutraken]

I once read that letting remove special order notes from a nakago is a common practice for Japanese collectors. This appears to be very strange for western collectors, because we mainly want to preserve the blades as authentic as possible, so the name of the original commissioner is valued as part of the provenance. Japanese collectors prefer to erase these names, because off their belief in discretion.

[Sutraken]

I think this kind of removal is only done on gendaito or shinsakuto. When someone alters nakago on older swords, there are other reasons.

[Rivkin]

It is typically altered just like the old format papers with submitter's name when the family in question pawns or sells a sword. Many things, avoiding feeling like something personal that was left to you by parents is now someone else's property and people know this, avoiding advertising you are selling your inheritance etc..

For the same reason sayagaki can be buffed off or have only very basic information to begin with.

The consequence is that probably 1% of Daimyo swords today are still identifiable as such. Masamune and Tomonari did not come out from thin air but we have usually even at this level no idea who owned them.

[Hector]

I just obtained this shinsakuto. It's not by anyone special but the dedication to its original owner was part of what drove me to get it (that and the gorgeous choji hamon).

 

Each to their own I suppose.

[TimthewanderingBelgian]

On 8/20/2026 at 9:44 AM, lonely panet said:

its aoi art,  treat everything as suspect

Can you elaborate somewhat? It may help potential buyer to understand your experiences?

Thanks!

Tim VB

[Shugyosha]

Hi Tim,

This thread is running elsewhere: