Mumei Shinto nihonto show and tell *PIC HEAVY*
Dec 29, 2015 20:09:26 GMT
Post by LG Martial Arts on Dec 29, 2015 20:09:26 GMT
Well folks, this is a long overdue show and tell of my mumei Shinto katana I bought back in 2014.
I got really lucky with this mumei Shinto nihonto - the guy I bought it from (Jeremy Hagop) had it listed as a mumei Shin-Shinto katana from the 1800's with only slight blemishes and missing the original tsuka (he had sold the tsuka separately to a koshirae collector, but was able to get it back and sold it to me as well). He had originally listed the katana for over $3,000 w/o the original tsuka on one of the online sword collecting sites. I bought the katana with most of its original koshirae AND the original tsuka from him (NOT from Moses Becerra - the professional pics at the end of the post are from his site) for $1700 ($1500 for the sword with most of the original koshirae except for a modern tsuka with leather ito, $200 for the original tsuka and its koshirae). I ended up paying a couple hundred more to send it off to the 2014 NHTK-NPO Shinsa in Florida - great investment! From the shinsa, I found out it was actually a Shinto katana attributed to a pretty famous smith, Kodzuko No Kami Yoshikuni from Tosa province, and made in the Kanbun era (1661-1673).
When I first bought it, I had been anxiously waiting for the sword to arrive for more than a week. It took over 8 days just to clear customs at USORDA (Chicago).
The sword arrived while I was at Iaido practice, and my wife graciously signed for it so I wouldn't have to pick it up the next day at the PO... thanks honey!
Unpacking
Shipped via EMS from down under
Nicely wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap
Nice, huh?
Another pic of it sheathed
Unsheathed for the first time
Nice activity on the blade
Different angle
Hada 1
Hada 2
Hada 3 with small kuchikomi
Hada 4
Hada 5
Tiny kuchikomi on the omote side of the katana
Kissaki 1
Kissaki 2
New(ish) Tsuka wrapped in lacquered leather
New(ish) Tsuka pic 2
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 1
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 2
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 3
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 4
Saya/koiguchi
Saya/koiguchi 2
Kojiri
Kojiri 2
Saya/Kurikata
Original Pic from Moses' site
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
2014 NHTK-NPO Shinsa Judging Sheet
2014 NHTK -NPO Origami
2014 NHTK -NPO Origami 2
Sword attributions according to NHTK-NPO shinsa judges:
Katana Specs:
Smith: Den: Tosa Kodzuko Daijo Yoshikuni
Signature: mumei
Nagasa: 27-7/8” or 2.3 Shaku
Sori: 18mm
Width at the ha-machi: 31.1mm
Width at the yokote: 23.1 mm
Thickness at the mune-machi: 8.2 mm
Blade style: shinogi-zukuri
Mune: iori
Nakago: ubu
Kitae: ko-itame
Hamon: suguba (hataraki found on hamon)
Boshi: maru
Koshirae: original tsuba, tsuka, saya, and silver foil habaki
Origami: NTHK-NPO kanteisho paper
The blade does need to be polished at some point having some light stains on it, and a couple of chips on the kissaki. I use it once in a while for Iaido practice, but did use it once for tameshigiri before I knew it was a much older Shinto katana - I cut a single roll of tatami omote before sending it out to the 2014 NHTK-NPO shinsa in Florida... I'll never do that again, will reserve it for Iaido kata only.
Hope you enjoyed my show and tell, thanks for looking!
I got really lucky with this mumei Shinto nihonto - the guy I bought it from (Jeremy Hagop) had it listed as a mumei Shin-Shinto katana from the 1800's with only slight blemishes and missing the original tsuka (he had sold the tsuka separately to a koshirae collector, but was able to get it back and sold it to me as well). He had originally listed the katana for over $3,000 w/o the original tsuka on one of the online sword collecting sites. I bought the katana with most of its original koshirae AND the original tsuka from him (NOT from Moses Becerra - the professional pics at the end of the post are from his site) for $1700 ($1500 for the sword with most of the original koshirae except for a modern tsuka with leather ito, $200 for the original tsuka and its koshirae). I ended up paying a couple hundred more to send it off to the 2014 NHTK-NPO Shinsa in Florida - great investment! From the shinsa, I found out it was actually a Shinto katana attributed to a pretty famous smith, Kodzuko No Kami Yoshikuni from Tosa province, and made in the Kanbun era (1661-1673).
When I first bought it, I had been anxiously waiting for the sword to arrive for more than a week. It took over 8 days just to clear customs at USORDA (Chicago).
The sword arrived while I was at Iaido practice, and my wife graciously signed for it so I wouldn't have to pick it up the next day at the PO... thanks honey!
Unpacking
Shipped via EMS from down under
Nicely wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap
Nice, huh?
Another pic of it sheathed
Unsheathed for the first time
Nice activity on the blade
Different angle
Hada 1
Hada 2
Hada 3 with small kuchikomi
Hada 4
Hada 5
Tiny kuchikomi on the omote side of the katana
Kissaki 1
Kissaki 2
New(ish) Tsuka wrapped in lacquered leather
New(ish) Tsuka pic 2
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 1
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 2
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 3
Original (cracked) Tsuka pic 4
Saya/koiguchi
Saya/koiguchi 2
Kojiri
Kojiri 2
Saya/Kurikata
Original Pic from Moses' site
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
2014 NHTK-NPO Shinsa Judging Sheet
2014 NHTK -NPO Origami
2014 NHTK -NPO Origami 2
Sword attributions according to NHTK-NPO shinsa judges:
Katana Specs:
Smith: Den: Tosa Kodzuko Daijo Yoshikuni
Signature: mumei
Nagasa: 27-7/8” or 2.3 Shaku
Sori: 18mm
Width at the ha-machi: 31.1mm
Width at the yokote: 23.1 mm
Thickness at the mune-machi: 8.2 mm
Blade style: shinogi-zukuri
Mune: iori
Nakago: ubu
Kitae: ko-itame
Hamon: suguba (hataraki found on hamon)
Boshi: maru
Koshirae: original tsuba, tsuka, saya, and silver foil habaki
Origami: NTHK-NPO kanteisho paper
The blade does need to be polished at some point having some light stains on it, and a couple of chips on the kissaki. I use it once in a while for Iaido practice, but did use it once for tameshigiri before I knew it was a much older Shinto katana - I cut a single roll of tatami omote before sending it out to the 2014 NHTK-NPO shinsa in Florida... I'll never do that again, will reserve it for Iaido kata only.
Hope you enjoyed my show and tell, thanks for looking!