http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2018/03/500-year-old-katana-found-shrines-attic/

“The sword appears to be in very good condition, showing little evidence of use and remains close to its original state. After repolishing and appraisal, it has been attributed to the Ko-Hoki School. The accompanying Kuro-urushi- yamagane (black lacquered mountain iron) tachi mountings are thought to date from the fourteenth century. The sword is believed to have been dedicated to the shrine sometime during the Nanboku-cho (1336-1392) and early Muromachi (1336-1573) periods.

The blade is unsigned, but as it bears a close resemblance to the famous Doji-giri sword in the Tokyo National Museum by the Ko-Hoki mastersmith Yasutsuna, and it is thought that it could be his work as well. The Doji-giri is known historically as one of the Five Greatest Swords Under Heaven. Motoki Sakai of the Tokyo National Museum said that the sword discovered at Kasuga Taisha “is a very important example of work of the period in excellent condition.”

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Read the rest at the link.

It seems hard to believe that no one bothered to look in the shrines attic for 500 years.  In any case, that’s one hell of a barn find.

Wow.

Bring it to that Knife or Death show...

Make sure a fat out of shape white guy weebo gets to use it.

Cool!

I'm amazed that a shrine would overlook a sword that's been in its own attic for somewhere between 500 and 800 years.

I'd really like to see its condition BEFORE it was restored.   How well did it fare, being in good storage but untended, for centuries?

Clearly it must have survived pretty well to still be that nice after polishing.

that is pretty sweet.