Owner and manufacturer of katana sought
- Thread starter Sire
- Start date
- 12 Oct 2013
- 4,071
- 5,023
Forget about trying to reunite it with its owner unless it comes with some kind of provenance. Without any provenance or documentation, there is no way to find the last owner. I respect the intention, but its impossible, even with a forensic examination of the sword and quantum computing.
If you want to find out if the sword is genuine or not, the best place to go is the Nihonto Message Board. Those guys there look at swords every day. You will need pictures of the sword, not just of the tang. The mountings are not so interesting, as they don't tell us anything about the sword blade inside. If you want to know if the mountings are genuine WW2 mountings, you can photograph them as well and post them if you like, but the real value/interest is in the sword inside, especially if its an old sword. Often people post a picture of the scabbard, and say "tell me about my sword", which is like taking a picture of a frame and saying, "tell me about my painting".
Inoue Shinkai is one of the masters of the latter sword period (shintō - or "new sword" period). Since his swords are very valuable, many people try to fake them. If you look on the internet for Inoue Shinkai, you will get a lot of hits.
You are of course welcome to post pictures of the blade here as well, and I can give my own, amateur, opinion.
If you want to find out if the sword is genuine or not, the best place to go is the Nihonto Message Board. Those guys there look at swords every day. You will need pictures of the sword, not just of the tang. The mountings are not so interesting, as they don't tell us anything about the sword blade inside. If you want to know if the mountings are genuine WW2 mountings, you can photograph them as well and post them if you like, but the real value/interest is in the sword inside, especially if its an old sword. Often people post a picture of the scabbard, and say "tell me about my sword", which is like taking a picture of a frame and saying, "tell me about my painting".
Inoue Shinkai is one of the masters of the latter sword period (shintō - or "new sword" period). Since his swords are very valuable, many people try to fake them. If you look on the internet for Inoue Shinkai, you will get a lot of hits.
You are of course welcome to post pictures of the blade here as well, and I can give my own, amateur, opinion.
- 12 Oct 2013
- 4,071
- 5,023
Need to focus on the sword. Forget about the fittings for now. This means take the sword out of the handle, and put it on a flat surface. A monochrome surface would be good. Black is usually best, but the trick is to get your camera to focus on the sword. Need close-ups of the tip and the steel so we can see the grain and what kind of steel structures there are. Important not to touch your sword with your bare hands because you will leave fingerprints on the sword which will rust amazingly quickly. Microfiber cloths are the best, but really a handkerchief or even kleenex will do.
To see the kind of photography that is the best, look at the link here. I wouldn't expect you to get this level of quality, but I'm just showing what kind of photos most sword collectors like to see.
Scroll to the middle of the page to see the individual photos of the sword. Zoom in on the photos to see close-ups of the steel, etc. The sword on that site is a genuine Inoue Shinkai sword, so in order to judge your sword properly we'd need to see a lot more detail.
www.touken-world.jp
To see the kind of photography that is the best, look at the link here. I wouldn't expect you to get this level of quality, but I'm just showing what kind of photos most sword collectors like to see.
Scroll to the middle of the page to see the individual photos of the sword. Zoom in on the photos to see close-ups of the steel, etc. The sword on that site is a genuine Inoue Shinkai sword, so in order to judge your sword properly we'd need to see a lot more detail.
刀 銘 井上真改
「大坂新刀」の代表刀工であり、「大坂正宗」とも称される名工「井上真改」の日本刀は、刀と太刀がそれぞれ1振ずつ重要文化財に指定されています。この「刀 銘 井上真改」を鍛錬するにあたり、身を清めて最高級の素材を用いたと伝えられる真改。本刀は、そんな彼の本領が十分に発揮された、最高傑作の美しい名刀です。
www.touken-world.jp
