Nihonto Club

Hi, No idea if it's gimei or not, but it doesn't seem so bad to me.
The "Bitchu" is a single "word", as is "kami", as is "Yasuhiro". The spacing and font size would actually make sense in English.
But I agree that it's extremely common for things to be more evenly-spaced and sized. And traditional (or modern) Japanese is simply not written with spacing that we would consider 'normal'. When trying to read even simple modern Japanese, it's always frustrated me, because I don't get the 'clues' of spacing between words.

A thought: Perhaps the "Bitchu (no) kami" was added later?? Don't know if that's likely...

Comparing to some high-quality examples of Bitchu Yasuhiro online, I'd have to agree that yours is not a match.

Pete

Hi Pete,

I am only really now accepting of the fact that there are a huge percentage of gimei blades out there. Can it really be around 90%?
This subject alone is worthy of a dedicated tome - you could probably create a mammoth project over a number of years and still only scratch the surface.
I also wonder how much more of value is added to a blade when it is accompanied by a recognised certificate of authenticity?
Is there somewhere online or in writing that lists all the recognised/accepted certification? There seems to be a lot of blades with 'bits of paper' associated with them and various 'stamps.' But how many of those are fake or honest documents but not accepted by the authorities?
As I think you've said before, there is no substitute for viewing and handling a blade, even with the best photography.

Cheers

Andy

Hi, Those are good questions; I for one don't have any clear answers.

>I am only really now accepting of the fact that there are a huge percentage of gimei blades out there. Can it really be around 90%?
I think it's only a high number like that for certain famous smiths. An example is (allegedly) Bizen Yasumitsu (said to be 80% gimei or so).
Although I have no real evidence, my suspicion is that there can be "politics" involved with organizations like NBTHK and NTHK that are issuing many of the papers/rejections. If you are an important collector that is known to the organization, you are more likely to get a 'good' result, in my opinion. Papers from some organizations during certain time periods have a less-certain reputation. I think many Western collectors value NTHK above NBTHK. There are also papers issued outside of Japan, such as at sword shows. My feeling (no real data) is that these kantei are more generous, because it is good for business, a wish to create good feelings, limited reputation risk for the judge(s), etc.
Speaking as an engineer/scientist, the whole process of kantei is NOT very deterministic. It leaves a bad smell. I would like a paper to include a detailed list of observations that support the conclusions, but that will never happen.

>I also wonder how much more of value is added to a blade when it is accompanied by a recognised certificate of authenticity?
I don't know. A "rejection" is certainly harmful, but generally when a blade is for sale, the seller won't tell you that it was rejected.

>Is there somewhere online or in writing that lists all the recognised/accepted certification?
I'm not aware that the data is published anywhere.

>There seems to be a lot of blades with 'bits of paper' associated with them and various 'stamps.' But how many of those are fake or honest documents but not accepted by the authorities?
The list of 'widely-accepted papers' is fairly short, I think. The list includes NBTHK and NTHK; followed by a few other minor organizations over the years, some of which are questionable. Other paperwork, such as bring-back papers and Japanese prefectural registrations, aren't helpful to a collector.
There are people with real expertise that do not issue "papers" - the best example is an experienced polisher in Japan. Any remarks made by a polisher would likely be very valuable and reliable info, but they aren't likely to sign their name to it. Similarly, the comments of a high-level collector are also very valuable, without the politics and money of "papers".

Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks - the deeper I dig and the more complex it gets.
So many nihonto for sale at any one time in the UK. Virtually all that come up on provincial and specialist auctions have no paperwork. And though some mention 'signed tang' they don't generally quote the signature and leave that to the buyer to make judgement. Usually auction descriptions are very general and non-committal, I suppose for fear of having an item returned as a gimei or indeed a fake. I do know that some auction houses have had to return money to buyers when he/she has proved their description to be wrong.
Safer to list with a basic description unless official paperwork is present, which appears to be very rarely.

Andy