Hi i have avery nice gendai tanto signed ENJYU TAROH NOBUSHIGE. i have some scetchy information about him ,i beleve he made a sword for the emporer in 1949 and was expert in making JYUMONJI-YARI other that that i know very little,if any one can add to this i would be grateful
thanks Anthony

Sorry to say,but looks like a kitchen knife

does it look like a Kitchen knife????

is a good one. I think many folk jump to the "it's a fake" conclusion too quickly these day's without taking the time needed to make a case for one opinion or another. I think part of the reason for this is probably Ebay, Yahoo and the likes, where we expect to see fakes en mass, on a daily basis and we start to become a little jaded. Another reason could well be laziness. We just do not take the time to look closely enough before passing judgement.

Take the time to smell the roses says I

Sorry I cannot tell you much about Nobushige Anthony, other than it looks like a nice tanto.

Cheers

Rich

How did you know that it was signed "ENJYU TAROH NOBUSHIGE"?
The smith's name on the nakago is only Nobuyoshi (延嘉).

It has a very lovely & interesting hamon, Anthony. I hope that someone can make a positive identification of the smith, because I'd love to find a tanto just like it! If that's a kitchen knife, I want a whole set!!

Can you please tell me where you found &/or bought it? And the approximate price? Thanks!

One query, I thought that all sword making was banned up to the early 1950's (1953 ish). If so, was it possible that a smith could make a sword for the emporer in 1949?

The smith's name on the nakago is Nobuyoshi (延嘉).

Thanks to ToShoW, I found who Nobuyoshi (延嘉) is.
He is late Keith Austin. His another mei was Nobuhira (延平).
http://www.ncjsc.org/article_keith_austin.htm

(He came to Japan in 1961. Its year of the database for Nobuyoshi saying 1938 must be a typo.)

a big hand to Moriyama sama for once more giving us great background on a smith and correct reading.

I'm sorry for being a bit snide in my first post on this, I do think this is a fine tanto and one to be proud of, it may have have been Nobuyoshi-san's tribute to a blade such as the Muramasa that I posted. I'll get in line with Ken if you find any more KITCHEN KNIFES like this.

Ok...I'm confused now
So the OP (original poster) thinks this is by Nobushige, but it appears to be a Keith Austin blade instead?
What is the full translation of the nakago, both sides?

Btw..if it is a Nobuyoshi by Mr Austin, then that to me is a bonus. I think his works are fairly sought after in the West, and nice to own one.

Good words from Rich about not jumping to confusions too easily when it comes to fakes. Easy for a real blade in bad condition to look like a fake, but not so easy for a fake to look like a real sword. (None of which applies in this case anyways, as there is nothing fake looking about this tanto )

Regards,
Brian

Omote:
Ryusen sensei horu kore (龍泉先生彫之) = Ryusen sensei carved this.

Ura:
Showa san-ju hachi nen (昭和丗八年) = 1963
Oite Matsuyama (於松山) = at Matsuyama
Nobuyoshi (延嘉)

Not trying to put words into Andreas' mouth, but I think he was joking about this Tanto looking somehow like a hocho ("kitchen knife") Masamune Utsushimono - at least that was my ininitial impression.

It appears that Enju Taro Nobushige (延寿太郎宣繁) presented his sword to the Emperor of Showa in 1928 for the Emperor's enthronement ceremony. However, any sword smith could present his sword for the ceremony if he wished, and the Imperial Household Agency at that time would not refuse the offer.

I remember seeing this tanto on ebay, it didn't sell for much more than $1000 I think.

Well done Anthony you got a good bargain

i would like to thank al the members for their input i could never have imagined t would have turned out so interesting.i paid $1500 for the tanto ,it was on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1 it was in fact a post by Peter in which he highligted 3or 4 tantos that maybe of interest so i have him to thank ,i have posted afew more photos.Thanks again
Anthony