Please help me get educated about Nihonto (One in particular)

Infi-del

Infi-del

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So I am talking with a fellow that might have a sword to sell. But some of the terms he used are a little confusing to me as I've only a beginners knowledge. Here is his initial description...

"i have a sword made by Saya-Gaki by tanobe sansei of the N.B.T.H.K.
He is one of the top ten makers of the Shinto period.
sword maker of the nabeshima family circa 1610ad
the certification is by Juyo token."

I thought Saya-Gaki meant an attestation to the blade written on Shira-Saya by an attestor for the NBTHK. Am I wrong?

And a maker for the Nabeshima family wouldn't necessarily go by the Nabeshima name right. The family were simply the end receivers of the blades from their smiths? And Juyo Token is a type of certification not a person right?

I'm just trying to understand the lingo. I will have pictures to follow soon I hope.
 
Saya-gaki is simply an attribution by someone NOT usually by the NBTHK. Anyone can write a
saya-gaki. It could just be the family that last owned the blade, not who made it. Can't tell
without seeing the saya-gaki.
If it is Juyo-Token, you MUST see the papers and have them verified by the NBTHK.
They have a number on them the the NBTHK can compare if they are genuine.
IF it is a true Juyo blade, expect to pay upwards of $10K for it or more.
Without a lot more information, I'd be very suspicious.

Better to get your questions answered here:
http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/index.php
The major forum devoted to antique Japanese swords with
lots of very knowledgeable people on it.

Rich S
-------------------------------------------------------
Richard Stein, PhD

Japanese Sword Guide
http://japaneseswordindex.com/nihonto.htm

"Never go anywhere without a knife"
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs
-------------------------------------------------------
 
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Tanobe Sensei is a well respected former member of the NBTHK. He no longer works for them and writes his sayagaki on his own merits.
A collector friend of mine uses him and actually prefers his sayagaki to NBTHK Hozon papers.
For NBTHK papers, there are three grades - Hozon, Tokubetsu Hozon and Juyo. Tanobe's sayagaki is approaching Tokubetsu Hozon level, according to the opinions of a couple of collectors I've spoken to.
That said, the NBTHK are better known and a sword with their papers will probably sell better than Tanobe's sayagaki.
Your sword, with Juyo certificate and Tanobe sayagaki, is well covered.

The seller's decsription is confusing. He doesn't actually say the smith's name.
The Nabeshima family were a large, wealthy clan who owned a large chunk of the south western coast of Japan, modern day Kyushu.
They controlled the local economy and had control of the harbour. They controlled, not sure if they owned, one of the better smith schools of the early Shinto era, the Hizen Tadayoshi line. From your date of 1610, that would be the Shodai(1st generation)Tadayoshi. High quality smith and some of his blades have made Juyo status.

As Dr.Stein points out, Juyo command big dollars so do your checks.
IF you buy, I'd recommend reading Roger Robertshaw's site and books on the Hizen school - http://www.hizento.com/index.php
 
Lee Bray said:
Tanobe Sensei is a well respected former member of the NBTHK. He no longer works for them and writes his sayagaki on his own merits.
A collector friend of mine uses him and actually prefers his sayagaki to NBTHK Hozon papers.
For NBTHK papers, there are three grades - Hozon, Tokubetsu Hozon and Juyo. Tanobe's sayagaki is approaching Tokubetsu Hozon level, according to the opinions of a couple of collectors I've spoken to.
That said, the NBTHK are better known and a sword with their papers will probably sell better than Tanobe's sayagaki.
Your sword, with Juyo certificate and Tanobe sayagaki, is well covered.

The seller's decsription is confusing. He doesn't actually say the smith's name.
The Nabeshima family were a large, wealthy clan who owned a large chunk of the south western coast of Japan, modern day Kyushu.
They controlled the local economy and had control of the harbour. They controlled, not sure if they owned, one of the better smith schools of the early Shinto era, the Hizen Tadayoshi line. From your date of 1610, that would be the Shodai(1st generation)Tadayoshi. High quality smith and some of his blades have made Juyo status.

As Dr.Stein points out, Juyo command big dollars so do your checks.
IF you buy, I'd recommend reading Roger Robertshaw's site and books on the Hizen school - http://www.hizento.com/index.php
Click to expand...

I second the Robertshaw book, aside from being a friend of mine he is a very well studied student of Hizen-to and collects all Tadayoshi. My Shodai Tadakuni (signed Hiro-Nori which was one of his first blades ca 1615) is in the book as well.

It if is a Juyo blade then it can be worth tens of thousands depending on the maker etc. Definitely do your homework!
 
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