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Hamish, ever considered to makle them yourself in the quality you need? There is a good video by Ford Hallam to teach you.

As others have noted, the fittings seem incorrect for a standard wartime blade. The shininess of the copper parts concerns me, as does the odd coating of white mould/powder? in places you wouldn't normally expect. It is odd it seems to have ray skin on the tsuka though, which is unusual for fakes, and the leather on the saya seems to have shrunk as you would expect of a period piece too. The blade is more interesting, because the rust suggests a bit more age, it has what looks to be a hamon-like pattern, as well as a yokote. However the hamachi and munemachi don't line up as expected, and the end of the nakago seems too angular. The ana also looks to be rather small? So on balance I'd agree with others and say this wasn't made in a traditional manner. However, I wouldn't like to guess its age. Currently thinking its a 50/50 chance of it being a period island sword vs a more recent fake. (I'm not an expert though, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt)

its not what im after, quality level of the koshirae is to high for that.

Maybe broken in a fight, or maybe because a noble samurai guy tried to whack a dog with the backside of the sword, or perhaps because a young samurai thought it a good idea to test his sword out on a stone garden ornament.

This book arrived today and has already been the source of value and enjoyment. Thank you Mal for getting this book to me, and for the considerable effort involved in researching this very useful source of information on Mino-to. Swords of this school pop up often at shows. I should have acquired this book long ago!

Now SOLD

I indeed would have dumped 1.2m on that. Kissaki geometry is really interesting.

🙂

Quick answer, I hope, yes Colin, all those miniatures I found in Japan. Actually a couple of them I had wanted for many years, always on display at the same stall, but the dealer would not yield on the price and I could not justify the cost. They continued to appeal, however, and I even told some of my collecting friends about them. Imagine my horror when I got back to Japan one autumn and a friend handed them over. "I did a deal with him, and now you can have them for only XYZ!" he said. Although he is a friend, he is not really that close, and I got angry with him. "Never do that again!" I said, "buying stuff without asking me first." I paid him a wedge of cash somewhat reluctantly, but secretly I was quite chuffed; he looked miffed. Today I am happy to have them and there is no pain. I never met Sydney Moss, not consciously, but I became aquainted with Max R through visiting their shop in Mayfair, taken there by collector friends. I sold a coiled ivory dragon there which did exceptionally well. Start collecting again.... ???

Ah, yes. Good to see you have the book. His calligraphy becomes more concentrated and focused after enlightenment. Most of my pieces are dated to 1885-1887, within a few years before his death. I will do a separate post on his classic depiction of an elderly couple with poem from the famous Noh play Takasago that I just acquired (hard to find these). I think it was done close to death with a sense of his failing health. I have suffered from chronic pain for the past decade and take great comfort in how he faced physical suffering. His manuscript book for the poem Eight Immortals is found on this Rinzai Zen site and continues to be practiced by the Chosai Zen folks there. I'm hoping to do a fall keishin with them on-line to get an introduction to Shodo: https://www.choseizen.org/calligraphy

Yeah brand new golden one.

It's Chinese - look at the one way twisted tsukaito.

Never seen any miniature inro before. You found all those in Japan Piers? Never crossed paths with Sydney Moss &Co…..bit strange looking back, they had a reputation for being a bit “exclusive” I think so I never ventured in!!! Wood has a different appeal to ivory and I think is wonderfully suited to subjects like monkeys and rats and tigers. Antler if used cleverly can yield some really lovely “off the wall” works again with a totally different vibe. To me that’s the magic of netsuke….wide range of materials and subjects….and subtleties. They express, more than anything else, the intangible/undefinable Japanese aesthetic. (Imo🙂) Maybe I should start collecting again?🙂?

Random assembly? Tsuba have room for chuso. Fuchi have kinda chuso release button. But rest? Some kind of gunzoku/island sword made quick?