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Hi gang, Not wanting to hijack another thread, I'm opening this to suggest that we all take a break from encouraging rank beginners at Nihonto to have their swords polished. These are well meaning new collectors who know almost nothing about their swords (nothing terrible about that; we were all there once) yet time after time they are told they need to spend $2,000 to $4,000 for a restoration they again know almost nothing about. Polish is serious business with many variables that need to be taken into account before a decision is made. Even with 40 years of learning under my belt, I go slow with having something polished. There is no way a beginner should rush into this. Polish isn't preservation; a light coat of machine oil takes care of that. No reason the sword can't wait for its owner to study and then make an informed decision. Grey

Mokume gane can be very attractive. I have a tanto with mokume gane fittings.

A tanto is interesting to shoot, and much easier than a katana or a tachi. The smaller size makes the camera placement and lighting more forgiving. A koshiare for this beautiful piece is currently under construction and should arrive sometime early in 2024. I'm looking forward to getting pictures of everything together!

Hi all, this is a tsuba i recently acquired, mei is Somin with Kao. No paper with it. The work is very remarkable to me. Katakiri bori technique presented impressively. I would like to share and happy to hear all of your opinions on it. Cheers 🥂!!

I just recently received an addition to my small collection. I thought the members here might enjoy seeing it. Katana in Shirasaya with Koshirae NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token (May 23, 2019) Inscription: Mumei (千代鶴守弘 Chiyotsuru-Morihiro) Sayagaki: Verso: Unsigned Son of Yamashiro Rai Kuniyasu, Chiyotsuru Morihiro, made this. Masterpiece (with) Jiba in excellent condition. Length of 2 shaku, 2 sun, 6 bu. Appraisal value of 200 gold “mai” (Kaō) Hon’a (possibly the 19th generation Hon’ami Chumei (忠明) or Kochu (光仲)? Recto: “Den” 8th Head of Numazu Domain Lord Mizuno Tadanori carried this sword Storehouse 1, (i) #3 An 1709 Origami from Hon’ami Kōchū attributes this sword to Chiyotsuru Morihiro’s father Rai Kunimitsu: Cover: Appraisal document of Rai Kunimitsu Contents: Rai Kunimitsu Genuine Length: 2 Shaku, 2 Sun, 6 Bu Shortened, unsigned Appraisal Value: 20 Gold “Mai” Hōei 6, year of the Ox (1709) January 3rd (Kaō) Hon’a (Hon’ami Kōchū 本阿弥光忠) Sword Details: Polished Habaki: double-layered gold habaki Nagasa: 2 shaku, 2 sun, 6 bu (68.5 centimetres or 26.97 inches) Sori: 1.2 centimetres or 0.47 inches Mekugi-ana: 2 holes with a third that has been plugged Width at Hamachi: 2.98 centimeters or 1.17 inches Width at the tip: 2.22 centimetres or 0.87 inches Thickness: 0.93 centimeters or 0.37 inches Weight: 780 grams Era: Nanbokucho period, from Bunna (1352) to the early Muromachi period, Ouei 1394 Blade Description: The blade is O-suriage (greatly shortened) and mumei (unsigned). The blade has a deep sori (curvature) with moderate width and thickness, and an elongated kissaki. The Jigane features a well-compact koitame hada (small wood grain pattern) with o-hada (mixed large grain) and clear nie (hardened steel granules). The Hamon is bright and refined ko-midare (small irregular) hamon with active ko-ashi (small feet), and the blade exhibits sunagashi (sand-like patterns) and fine lines of nie. The Boshi has a large notare (turnback) with a rounded tip. Information on the swordsmith: The name Chiyotsuru is derived from Chiyotsuru-maru. Chiyotsuru was the child of Echizen swordsmith Yamashiro Rai Kuniyuki. The first-generation Kuniyuki came from the Rai school and migrated to Echizen, residing in present-day Takefu City or Tsuruga City in Fukui Prefecture. The extant works are limited to the two generations of Kuniyuki, Morishige, Morohiro, and the contemporaries of Kuniyuki, Shigekuni and Yukiyuki. The name Chiyotsuru has long been popular for celebrations and ceremonies. Chiyotsuru-mori Hiro had four generations of smiths with their respective inscriptions. The first generation was active in the mid-Nanbokucho period from Bunna (1352) onwards, the second generation in the late Nanbokucho period from Shitoku (1384) onwards, the third generation in the Oei period of the Muromachi era from Oei (1394) onwards, and the fourth generation in the Kajō period of the Muromachi era from Kajō (1441) onwards. Their styles include those reminiscent of Mino swords and those incorporating the Soshu style. Koshirae: Tsuba: A red copper base with high relief carving of waves and a family crest on the mimi (ear) and chrysanthemum flowers on the surface, decorated with coloured enamel in gold. Fuchi kashira: A silver base with high relief carvings of Hidari-mitsudomoe (three comma) mon and waves. Saya: A pear skin-textured saya with black lacquer inlaid in a belt-like pattern. Menuki: Made of copper, featuring high relief carvings of three Hidari-mitsudomoe mon, decorated with coloured enamel in gold.

Hello Collectors! I am very excited to announce to the nihonto collecting community that myself and Eric Molinier have just recently relaunched the site www.owazamono.com!! We are starting with a nice selection of fine swords and tsuba culled from our personal collections. There is a little something for everyone. We hope you will drop in and take a look around the site and let us know what you think. Feel free to message us through the site or PM me, especially if you see something that might fit well in your own collection. Cheers, Matt www.owazamono.com

I would have thought my implication was obvious. Here we have two tsuba purporting to from the hands of the father of the machi-bori and his son. A pretty big deal. Yet they have no papers and have evidently been completely repatinated, or the patina is relatively fresh, hence the very clear nashiji. This ought to give cause for hesitation. This is a beautiful illustration of very clear nashiji. The appearance of a fine silver network surrounding the copper matrix. And while, yes, I do on occasion have to resort to a complete repolish and repatination it's really important to try and achieve a suitably aged and mellow appearance in the final result so that while the work is 'restored' it never the less retains a sense of its age. As for trying to understand the qualities of kata-kiri perhaps that's only truly possible if one practices it oneself. This is a little utsushi I did about 30 years ago, it's the same size as the original version, ie; much smaller than this image. The composition may be familiar to some, a bit ambitious for a first attempt perhaps. 😜 But in any case, I was asked for my opinion. I took the time to offer some very carefully considered observations. Do with it what you will. I honestly have no interest in what anyone choses to believe in these matters. After all, as the saying goes; "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". 😎

This is a really fine early Umetada iron sword guard. It presents with a floral motif (species of flower unidentified), with a single hitsu-ana for the kozuka. While at first glance a relatively unassuming tsuba, the color, patina, very subtle and deft hammerwork, together with its condition make it an excellent piece. I am moving this only because it doesn't fit in my collecting focus (Owari Province works), as the above features warrant its being a keeper. The color is a deep blue-black, which is not commonly encountered in iron tsuba, where more of a rust-colored iron is the norm. I have included a photo here of the tsuba next to an entry from Sasano's "Early Japanese Sword Guards: Sukashi Tsuba," where he identifies a very similar work (including the nakadaka shape, where the seppa-dai is thicker than the rim), as "Ko-Umetada," and locates that tsuba in the mid-Muromachi Period. I think his dating here is a bit ambitious, but have no problem putting the present piece in the Momoyama Period. This is an elegant, graceful swordguard that I am sorely tempted to keep, despite its not fitting in my collecting focus. Measurements are 7.8cm x 7.7 cm x 6mm at the seppadai, 4.5mm at the rim. $475.

Both mokume gane , left Tatsuta River tsuba with design of maple leaf floating in the Tatsuta River Tsuba signed by Takahashi Okitsugu + seal , Shakudo , Shibuichi Takahashi Okitsugu broughtThe Mokume Gane techniques to their higest levels.

It turns out that not only is photographing nihonto difficult, photographing Koshiare is also quite tricky. I've been slowly dialing in my photo setup, and figured tonight I would branch out into Koshiare. The setup I'm using here is: Shooting on Plexiglass, over a black background. This is essentially the Darcy Trick, that has been pretty well documented. Same basic setup as blades. 2x GVM Professional grade RBG light tubes. These things are simply fantastic. I cannot overstate this. Being able to tweak lighting for color, intensity, and other variables from an iPhone while shooting is almost like cheating. And these things put out flawless light. Big Tripod, with a boom arm. Added counterweights to hold it in place. The stability is fantastic. I've been shooting (mostly) with a 50mm lens, and with the swords about 12" from the floor, the camera is over my head. Using a wider lens means the camera is lower, but perspective starts to look weird at less than 40mm. Nikon Camera and various lenses. I'm shooting at ISO 200, and F8. Whitebalance is hard set at 5600 (matching the GVM lights), and shutter speed varies depending on lighting. Shooting tethered via Lightroom directly to a laptop. The hardest parts of this are twofold: Perfect focus is hard. The camera is up high enough that you can't see, and even shooting at F8, the focus is hard. Lightroom doesn't support zooming in on live view, so this means using a different tethering tool to get focus just right, then swapping over to Lightroom to shoot. Once things are set the camera is steady and it's just about adjusting lights. Lighting. Reflective surfaces. Glare. Ugh. Double Ugh. Koshi are as challenging as Nihonto. The angles are more challenging due to the curved surfaces. Post processing is also a bit of an adventure. With blades, there's no real point in doing HDR merges or exposure blending. With the Koshiare, it's a bit more flexible which is both a blessing and a curse! In the first shot below, I added in some of the NBTHK paperwork for artistic feel, and think it came out well. In the single shot of the wakizashi, I just left it on a black background which is nice, but a bit boring.

Sorry it took me so long to extend this thread. Since we last discussed it, it has gone to Japan and received Tokubetsu Hozon papers to Kanemitsu. It now has a nice Tanobe sayagaki as well.

Thank you for your comment! I'm not sure if there is a name for these tiny dots. It seems that they're quite popular in some katakiri bori practicing 👌 Below is a different photos from better daylight and angle!

DTI 2023 as promised.

During last DTI i had the chance to compare my tsuba with an Akasaka piece from Edo period with similar design, i was very pleased to see that mine wasn't inferior, despite with slightly different approach on size and design

I've hesitated to comment as I'm feeling a bit uneasy about these two pieces. There's a great deal to say that can be argued indefinitely but what I will say at this stage and that I feel is objectively correct is ; Given the apparent age of the works, referencing the lives of the alleged makers, the shibuichi is perfectly clean, with not even a trace of aged patina or other dirt, grime old oxidised wax etc. The 'nashiji' grain appears as clear as though it was patinated yesterday. There's a lighter halo around the seppa-dai. What this tells me is those lighter patches had suffered heavier oxidation/corrosion than the rest of the plate. The whole plate was then subsequently completely re-polished to redo the patina. Any area that had suffered excessive oxidation etc. and had not been adequately prepared will now patinate lighter because the alloy on the surface at those areas is now silver rich and copper depleted. It's always the less 'noble' metal that is sacrificed in these sort of corrosion effects. So in my opinion this is a new patina and the whole tsuba have been lightly re-surfaced/polished. It is possible that they have merely been a little heavy handidly over-cleaned but I see a few other blemishes that all point towards more towards a, less than expert, refinish rather then over-clean. I'm a little bothered by the excessive encroachment of the chiselling onto the seppa-dai areas. On the whole the designs are all fairly convincing and essentially straight out of the Yokoya design book, so to speak. You can easily find identical examples in the existing documented works. Looking closely at the actual cutting though I can't silence a niggling hesitation in my mind. Kata-kiri work is by it's very nature meant to be bold and expressive. A strained attention to super accuracy is not to be expected nor probably desired. But what we would expect is a degree of fluency and compositional integrity. It's a bit like a fine drawing by a noted artist compared to a careful traced copy of the same. Like a good drawing good kata-kiri ought to exhibit a sensitive and dynamic relationship and interplay between every single cut or mark. And in that vein each and every cut ought to be alive and expressive in terms of its shape. How does it being there add to the work? There's so much to say and discuss but it's late here so I'll leave it at that for now. It

Hi, One of my fields of interest is Asian trade relations and their effect on material culture. So naturally I am drawn to "nanban tsuba". I'm working on an ongoing article on rare signed pieces that help draw a picture of who produced what, when. https://www.mandarin.../signed-nanban-tsuba If you have any interesting signed nanban tsuba that you would like incorporated, let me know. I want to make it as comprehensive as I can. One thing that caught my attention was the incredible similarity between Hirado Kunishige and some works of the Ichinomiya school in Kyoto. I currently maintain two hypotheses on this: 1. Works from Hirado Kunishige made it to Kyoto on diplomatic and trade missions, and local workers copied their unusual style faithfully. 2. Kunishige was trained in Kyoto and maintained ties with his former school. In the 18th century, Kunishige was Hirado's only known maker. Who taught him the craft? Hypothesis 1 is the most straightforward but leaves the question of his training background unanswered. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the article. -Peter

This is called Mokume gane.

Dear NMB members, Time to drop a curtain on this thread at least for the time being - over two and a half years is quite a long time and more than 300 fittings being posted was in excess of my expectations when we started out. The number of views and replies have been most encouraging and I hope that there was something for everyone. A big Thank You to all viewers and to those who have taken the time to contribute. I am still active in the market and hope that in 6 - 12 months' time I will have a few more bits & pieces to post as an addendum. My thanks to Brian for putting up with me and helping out with board related queries. Many thanks are due to George Miller for his commentary and research both on and off the NMB - the postings would have been much the poorer without his input. I must also mention that without the friendship and advice of Ford Hallam over many years, the collection would not be anything like the quality that it is today - Thank you, Ford. We are researching as to whether the two parts of the thread can be merged and pinned, hopefully as a reference source ( or perhaps a dire warning ) for fittings collectors and enthusiasts. With Best Regards Bob Morrison

Hello yet again, posting this one also just for interest. It’s another one that I sold about 4 years ago but that I am now glad to reacquire. When I first bought it eons ago in an auction the auctioneers contacted me saying they had a Japanese man very keen to acquire it and would I name my price. I didn’t…..but sold it to a UK dealer eventually. I wonder why he was so keen to get it? It’s nice but nothing exceptional imo. Rich black shakudo with minuscule nanako. Inlay of sweetfish on bamboo. Old lacquer Japanese collection notation? it’s been mounted at some point but retained beautiful condition. 7.5 x 7.0 cm

Hello again from a chilly UK. Hope you’re all good. This tsuba turned up a few weeks ago in a Kyoto shrine market and has found its way to me. Apparently it was the “pride and joy” of a very old dealer gentleman and much haggling was involved. Rich black shakudo with exceptionally fine nanako. Delicate inlay of a kingfisher by a river. Looks in perfect original condition. Mei Ishiguro Masatoki (thanks for the help with the Mei @Shugyosha!) 7.8 x 7.0cm All the best. Colin

One of my mokume kozuka ....

高橋興次 Takahashi Okitsugu + kao

I think you have to consider also rusu-moyo for Raijin, the thunder god. 雷神 絵 - Bing images Raijin - Wikipedia

I don't think you're going to find photographic depiction of this difference, as the only difference is the steel type used and oil quench vs water quench. You won't be able to see that in a photo. I think these photos came from Ohmura's site, but a quick search there failed to find them. They come from the SMR factory production, and I'm pretty sure they were posted on NMB already, but again, not finding them:

Direct link: https://mailchi.mp/7...om-the-field-2023-23 Link to some of the past issues: https://us19.campaig...4a0c23&id=1891b1f9ee

To clarify, the pitch in question here is called matsu-yani (pine pitch) in Japanese workshops, as it was in the Edo period also. It's mentioned in the Soken Kishō for example. The typical recipe is: 750g Pine rosin ( that's the sticky resin sap with the terpentine etc. removed) , 1000g filler material, traditionally a finely ground fire clay, nowadays plaster of Paris of more frequently used, 50ml of vegetable oil and a teaspoon of carbon powder. I don't think a chemist would characterise matsu-yani or yani/rosin alone for that matter, as a type of plastic. Here's a link to a film I made some years ago showing how to make the stuff. As can be seen it is really quite runny when hot and remains quite pliable while warm. Once cold it can be broken almost like pottery. Worth noting that over time the material breaks down, probably due to a gradual loss of oils etc. leaving the yani more friable and grainy in appearance.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1112792566

That Ichimonji wakizashi and Tsugunao wakizashi were both really nice items. However I would advice being very cautious with the auction houses. For example the "premium" sword in upcoming Zacke auction seems to be extremely questionable tachi with attribution to Rai Kunimitsu and 15,000€ estimate (+ 30% buyers premium etc.): https://www.zacke.at...&sd=0&pp=96&pn=1&g=1 Well that same sword sold at Yahoo JP this february for 537,000 yen (3,500€): https://buyee.jp/ite...auction/j1081148557/ Seems like habaki was switched for possibly cheaper one too for the Zacke sale. When something passes at Yahoo JP at very cheap price it would be highly unlikely it would be hidden gem as there are many eyes with knowledge scouting there as well as multiple sword dealers probably keep checking items in there too.

And to clarify, assuming reasonably that I'm the "jeweller who also makes tsuba" in the dock, not sure why Jeweller is in quotes though. I've been a practicing goldsmith for over 43 years, 30 of those as a master goldsmith. 25 years additionally specialising in classical Japanese metal work. Advising The British museum, The V&A, The Ashmolean museum, The Boston Museum of Fine arts on matters pertaining to Japanese metalwork conservation and interpretation. Presently refining a paper I delivered in Turin in July at the behest of the Getty Foundation on the technical aspects of the 2000 year old Mensa Iasica and advising/guiding a program of analytical research on tosogu in Oxford to investigate specific issues with traditional metallurgy etc. (The Fitzwilliam Museum) Also the recipient of 7 gold prizes in the annual sword making competitions in Japan. There's obviously some more but this ought to be enough, Dan, to let you know that, despite your complete ignorance of my qualifications or academic standing in this field, I take my work seriously and apparently so do serious people, who matter.

Katana/Odachi Ubu Mumei NBTHK Hozon Muromachi-Edo Shirasaya 84CM Notare Flaws : None/ one small mune ware Sword Location : NYC Will ship to : worldwide Payment Methods Accepted : Check, Wire transfer, PayPal, Zelle Price and Currency : $8250 + PayPal Other Info and Full Description : This very large and healthy daito could qualify as an Odachi, being 84CM in nagasa. The large nakago is ubu with two ana. The sword is very healthy and weighs 1264G. The NBTHK certified this as being made by the Fuyuhiro smiths of Wakasa province (around 20 miles north of Kyoto). It is in an excellent polish that highlights the active nie deki hamon, consisting of rolling notare with a few instances of rising and crashing gunome. The jihada is very tight, and the kissaki is very healthy with plenty of "niku" or "meat" at the tip. This sword hasn't been polished many times, and has been cherished and cared for. If you are in the market for a very large sword I highly recommend this one for your collection. You will not be disappointed. It will come with a complimentary full length oshigata worthy of being framed, drawn by myself. You may have seen this at the 2022 SF Sword show. The original buyer wasn't able to finish the transaction and so it's available again for purchase. I'm happy to answer any questions- Thanks for looking, Jake

After a wait that seemed like eternity I just picked up my Aoe blade. Polished by Jimmy Hayashi and definitely worth the long wait. My baby is home!! Here are a few quick pictures. Will post better ones soon. Looks amazing in hand. Hard to capture the beauty in pics. The boshi is simply breath taking. Jimmy is a Gift from God. Highly recommended!! will post better pictures in the future.

I got bit caught up on researching as I also found out very interesting ōdachi by accident (that I didn't know about before) while searching correct info on Shinsoku (神息) blades I have info on. Here are the legitimate Shinsoku blades I am aware of, however none of these are by the ancient smith but more likely followers of the lineage. I am lucky to have collected amazing books that have a lot of info and doing research is so fun. Tachi signed Shinsoku (神息), Jūyō Bijutsuhin, Oita Prefecture Bunkazai, in the collection of Usa Jingū. I believe this one is seen as Early Kamakura period work. Tachi signed Shinsoku (神息), the origin of this one is bit of unclear to me but it was discussed by Honma Junji in Tōken Bijutsu 381 in his series. If I understood correctly this could be Aizu Matsudaira provenance but I believe it was said more research is needed. I believe this one is seen as Kamakura period work. Tanto signed Shinsoku (神息), Jūyō 14, in the collection of Sano Art Museum. This one is seen as Late Kamakura period work. Katana orikaeshi-mei Shinki (神気), Jūyō 52, Nagasaki Prefecture Bunkazai, Matsudaira Provenance, Owned by Shimabara City. I believe this one is seen as Middle Kamakura period work. Then there is Shinsoku tachi that was in the collection of Sumiyoshi Taisha, I have only found reference from an old book and I believe it's current location is unknown.

My opinion: shinsa for tōsōgu makes sense for high-value items, or better-than-average items. It costs around JPY 18,000 - 20,000, and takes a couple of months to send it off and then get it back. If you are sending an item to Japan from overseas, it adds a further cost and time and complexity, which might make sense if you were a dealer and and were looking to validate the authenticity of an item, and/or reduce resell friction. For an average piece, the expense and the hassle of shipping it off to Japan, isn't worth it. If the item is unsigned, you will get back an attribution, but its likely to be an attribution to a school or genre, so you won't find out anything specific about the item, but you might get a hint about where to direct your studies. So if you are just looking for an idea of the school or the age, you'd do just as well to post pictures here on NMB and see what feedback you get.

I noticed these last week - the seller describes them as "Menuki" which of course they are not. They are the 'mon' commonly found in Yoshiro tsuba - a part that often go missing and due to their size I would suggest often stay missing! How rare to find four? They sold very cheaply in my opinion https://www.jauce.com/auction/l1113707393 Interesting "spare parts" possibly suitable for a rebuild, provided the size of the holes match? one extreme to another

Hi Ford @Ford Hallam Methinks the famous Unno Shomin Juyo Kanzan and Jittoku tsuba with tiger on the reverse was your inspiration? Brilliant Utsushi All the best Colin

Thank you for your valuable input Ford. Myself and many others appreciate it and the time you take to give it.

Shown next to a "standard" 70CM katana

https://www.mokumeganeya.com/e/about/ http://www.mokume.com.au/ https://www.annevill...cherry-blossom-tsuba You can get the same effect in iron/steel but not as striking as the different coloured metals. Not a common item on the auctions, I think they get gobbled up pretty quickly

looks great. easy to navigate. great pictures. I have done a lot of business with Matt and Eric and have found them easy to deal with and fair with descriptions and terms mark

Hi. Another installation at the Japanese Consulate Melbourne. Free entry. Check their website for address and hours. This display will run for the next few months. We note that the katana koshirae is displayed with the 'tsuka up', but done this way so people can easily see details Regards Mark.

Hi, here some Tosogu for the Blade fans! I want to part with a very nice and historic pair of Menuki made by Bungo Taro Motoyuki. These menuki are in Nakago shape and are possibly the last work done by this former swordsmith, ending his career with these Menuki. A highly personal and interesting piece of tosogu that comes in a high quality, custom fitted box. More info below in the images. 1100 Euro for NMB member with worldwide shipping possible. If sold here, donation to the NMB will be made! Best, Marco

If the influence of Japanese art on the West interests you then I could not recommend more highly Siegfried Wichmann's 1981 publication 'Japonisme.'

Just returned home after a month in Japan, including the DTI. Attempted to post some photos over the weekend, but for whatever reason I could not log on while in Japan. I will post some photos in a day or two. I was able to post a few on FB, in any of you follow those groups.

Found these on-line.

mine even has the same katakiri as yours - that I marked with with red dots

I learned this recently for Somin - no papers, no Somin

I am so happy to see this tread up and live again. Archery theme too! Just a great balance of exhibition. As an archery aside: A favorite of my small collection are Goto Tokujo father and Goto Kenjo son pair of goto kozuka of arrow design. Poem is Taira no Tadanori's death waka.

昭和三十七年五月五日 – Showa 37th year, 5th month, 5th day 應加藤仁也氏需 – Responding to the order from Mr. Kato Jin’ya

Is there a name for this type of texture so I can do some research