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I think what Jacques and Hamfish said above is fitting to traditional Japanese appreciation. It is much too complex for me to really understand and as I personally am not oriented on quality (and I cannot fully see and understand it) but items that personally speak to me. I actually wrote a post to this yesterday but ended up scrapping it as it is really punching above my weight class. In overall I think books tend to be focused on the highly appreciated schools so reading common references will give more and more exposure to high ranked schools. Aoe school has many very highly ranked smiths, and it does span for a long time from late Heian period into Muromachi. In general I do think Aoe is very highly respected in overall but I think the very late Aoe smiths of early Muromachi get pretty much no respect in sword appreciation. I do think sometimes following rankings might leave some amazing smiths and swords unchecked. Futarasan-jinja has for example amazing tachi by Aoe smith Yukitsugu (行次), amazing 87,2 cm ubu tachi from early Kamakura in great polish. Yet the sword is "only" prefecture Bunkazai, not national level. Also I think my favorite sword I saw at Tokyo National Museum was 86,0 cm tachi by Moritsugu (守次) that is dated 1356. The sword is Jūyō Bunkazai (of course extremely high rank) but I much preferred it over the 2 National treasures they had on display. I just cannot yet understand either the Yukimitsu Kokuhō tantō nor the Kikkō Sadamune Kokuhō. I saw several Sadamune that I preferred personally over the Kikkō Sadamune, still it is just my lack of understanding the fine details. Likewise I absolutely loved the unranked Ōmiya Morikage naginata that Tokyo National Museum had on display this year, I was so thrilled to see it as it has been very difficult to dig info of it. Crazy to say but I would prefer it over National treasures too... Awataguchi school has produced some amazing items and it is held in super high regard. I still remember seeing the Nakigitsune wakizashi by Awataguchi Kuniyoshi many years ago as it is super item. However now I've seen the Awataguchi Kuniyasu JūBi tachi of NBTHK two years in a row, and the worksmanship of it is to my eye not what usually is expected from Awataguchi. Similarily I remember seeing another signed Awataguchi that did not feature the super fine quality usually associated with the school. However as my memory is slightly fuzzy on this as years have passed I cannot say confidently which tantō it was. For Yamato tradition Taima is also often very highly valued. However with Taima the lack of signed items is to be noted. However there are many very fine mumei swords attributed as Taima. Personally I like Bizen a lot as there are so many schools within the tradition and so many of the items are signed making studying the works much easier than many others. However has Bizen is such a huge amount of items remaining you will have to slice it to much smaller pieces as there are just so many branches within. This summer I saw several amazing signed works by "lower ranked" Bizen smiths that without signature I believe would be attributed to much higher ranking smiths. That is for me exactly why I value the signatures so much as they give us reference points for the smith. I do agree with some of the things what I wrote 7 years ago to that thread but on some things my view on things has evolved a bit, perhaps I could say I know more stuff now than I did in 2017 and I think that is a good thing. Still I think I have 0 interest on the financial side of things as I cannot ever collect at that level, and I want to focus on the swords not the money.

I was just going through my book covers - not all are included. The things you can waste your time on in retirement!

I just sent off a "new" book to the global distributors - Titled "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study II" It follows on "Early Articles for Tsuba Study 1880-1923 Enlarged Edition" & "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study" with more articles and catalogues/catalogs, this time mainly dealing with auction catalogues of some of the well known collections and many of the more obscure ones. I concentrated only on auctions with images available, nothing more frustrating than to have to imagine what the tsuba looked like in my opinion. The book is 322 pages with several hundred tsuba illustrated. With any luck the book should be listed within a month. The first book in the series [compact version] I just found listed on Catawiki, it is almost the same as the Enlarged Edition so you can check out the images https://www.catawiki...-period-1989-present [I don't recall giving anyone permission to show the pages, but that obviously doesn't stop Catawiki !! ]

Thought these may be of some interest to collectors: New Guinea: regarding distribution of swords to soldiers Dutch Borneo: brief summary of the Japanese sword from RAAF intelligence. Interesting they note "jeepspring sinister" swords in 1945.

Hello all. Please see the pictures of the Same Army that I recently acquired. This is the way I received and even though it came with a Generals tassel that looks like it’s been together it’s whole life, I am not calling this a Generals Sword as I have no documentation. It does have a nice MON AND THE SAYA is in great shape. I am looking for some help on the blade and I will also post it in the translation section if I need to. Thank you in advance and hope you enjoy MikeR

Touched back down home in Montreal after having spent some time in Europe and wanted to take a moment to recap the show after having exhibited. Just want to give a shout out to Eddy and Henk for organizing such an event. It ran very smoothly from my point of view, we had amazing dealers there, several from Japan and Europe, as well as the Samurai Museum in Berlin with a nice setup. I was the only one to attend from North America. Great attendance and lectures and most of all thank you to those who popped in to say hello! The last time I was there was at the very first event pre-covid so was nice to see so many familiar faces. Was unfortunate to not be able to see a few faces (Jussi, Francesco and a few others). My wife was there to help out and a big thank you to her for helping with my setup and entertaining some of the guests questions. And thanks to her sister who kept our children at bay for the weekend. A very important event for Europe I think, already successful but it also has the potential to be even bigger with everyones support so hopefully we see you there next year!

Here is footage of this sword being presented to the town.

I have had a few paid translation requests come in these past few months, thanks to the forum. So I'm sharing the wealth with a donation to NMB, who makes such connections possible.

I just wanted to share this quick photo of a new tsuba I picked up for my birthday. I haven't had a chance to photograph it and this photo was taken by the previous owner. The iron feels very nice in hand and design motif a classic one with an interesting variation. I will take some of my own photos later. Feel free to discuss it politely.

Gentleman, I just got my copy of Owari To Mikawa No Tanko. Plate #240 is actually my tsuba. The groove in the nakago-ana really clinches the identification. Incredible luck to have blindly purchased a $175 tsuba 25 years ago in Singapore, only to come full circle to its provenance. Thanks so much, one and all for urging me not to take a blow torch to "fix" this tsuba .

After spending the better part of the last year learning and studying, (and getting a ton of help, advice and insight from members here) I finally figured out what I wanted and acquired my first blade. I had it narrowed down to two schools, with Naoe Shizu being the winner. For my budget, this one stood out in particular for its Soe-hi (I think that's the term) and jigane. It is certainly not flawless, but the polish is decent and what really drew me to it was the period, and sheer physicality of it. TH Naoe Shizu Nagasa 70.3 cm Motohaba 3.1 cm Kasane 6.5-5.6 cm Shinogi .87 cm Weight 785g Despite the typical 70.3 cm and slightly wide 3.1cm motohaba, it feels absolutely massive in hand; like I could split a vehicle in half. That might be a poor thing to judge a blade on, but it sure feels good. I don't have a macro lens so had to do the best I could with a wide angle. Some day I will pick up a Sigma 105 and do this justice. PS: that's not a hagire in the boshi; just struggled with even lighting and didn't notice until I took my setup down Hopefully it is a worthy first acquisition!

Hi all, especially those posting "wanted ads" Like Facebook and other places, the scammers are moving into forums. Please beware of ANY person telling you they have what you are looking for, especially if they are a relatively unknown member. Sometimes they say they have what you want, but often they tell you "Contact xxx, he has what you need" These are outright scams. A recent member, vcat, was sending people to someone with the email jtxpolt@outlook.com Total scam, and he's banned now. Beware of that email address and any others offering you stuff. One of the ways of verifying that the person at least has the item is to request a video (NOT just photo, they are easily altered) showing him holding the item and a piece of paper with your name on it. Or even facetiming you with the item. A genuine seller won't mind you using due diligence. Please notify me if you have any odd replies or offers.

http://tsubaryuken.com/sinsaku.html - call me naive but when I was looking through this site I thought all the sukashi tsuba were genuine - until the very last section where they show them being made! I found the 'translate to English' and it does state they are "NEW" from 2014 and that they have several hundred of them. But then I got to thinking, once these "tsuba" were out in circulation how would you know they weren't the real thing? They have been out now ten years so how many have found their way into collectors hands and the time span is long enough to change hands several times - these are not some clumsy Chinese rip offs or laser cut paperweights which are easy to spot - these are going to make serious collecting very hard especially for the novice.

Hi Stefano, Looks like a nice saya. The mon is upside down. Its a Gohei Mon (crossed scepters used by Shinto Priests) - a variant of the one shown here.

G'day Guys, Some better photos of the 1920 dated 67cm katana by Gassan Sadakatsu done in ayasugi. Cheers, Bryce

Yoshihara Kuniie was born in 1894 in Ibaraki prefecture. He was the seventh son of a toolmaker. Grandfather and teacher of Mukansa swordsmith's Yoshihara Yoshido and Yoshihara Kuniie 2nd Shoji. He became a teacher at Kyushu University Kingakubu Nihonto Kenkyujo in 1937. In 1938, he opened his own forge at his home in Setagaya, Tokyo. He was a contract smith for the Japanese Imperial army. He became an instructor at the forge of Toyama Mitsuru's estate, Tokiwamatsu Tenren Kenkyu Jo in Tokyo after Shigetsugu moved to a different area. In 1941, Kuniie became the chief instructor of the Japanese Sword Institute (Nihonto Gakuin) in Sagamihara-cho, Zama Kangawa Prefecture. This sword was commissioned by his great-grandmother Kinko, to celebrate an achievement, not sure which one. It is dated Mid Autumn Day, Showa 17 (1942). The same year he was listed as top swordsmith of Eastern Japan. The sword is in shirasaya. The hamon is choji with a maru boshi, hada is a tight itame. Nakago is signed on the omote 吉原國家作　昭和十七年仲秋日 and on the ura 為水書功二　曽祖母きん子贈之. This sword has a NBTHK hozon certificate. There is a small area with superficial rust. This sword is currently in Japan. Nagasa is 62.8 cm Sori is 1.6 cm Motohaba is 33 mm Sakihaba is 23 mm Motokasane is 7 mm Price $6000

Not to spoil the fun, but I think your tsuba design is plum blossoms. Usually many buds/flowers on spindly, upturned branches represent plum tree blossoms. Kind of a quintessential design (late winter, looking forward to spring which is just around the corner). from https://wakeidou.com/pages/412/

関正行 - Seki, Masayuki

Hello from the UK, hope you are all well all around the planet. The help and advice that you kindly gave Howard has prompted me to get the camera out and likewise seek your assistance. I know virtually nothing about Kabuto so please excuse my use of incorrect terminology. I bought this a while ago (together with a menpo) mostly for display because I liked its visual impact. The bowl is iron and it is in fairly rough shape. I have gently wiped and waxed it - hoping I’ve not committed any serious sin! I’d love to get your opinions on age…..and anything else you can tell me. Is the neck guard original to it? I assume it is nothing special as it was relatively inexpensive. Grateful thanks in advance. Best. Colin

I have always operated under the assumption (right or wrong) that the polisher gave me the blade in exactly the condition they meant for it to be in… and there is nothing I can do to make it better and a hell of a lot I can do to make it worse. I’ve never understood the concept that the polisher expected me to ‘finish’ his polish with uchiko? I thought that’s what I paid him to do. Kind of like going to Nobu and asking for extra dipping sauces for a piece of sushi the chef just handed to you. Nope… he gave it to you EXACTLY the way he wanted you to enjoy it.

Hello all. Just wanted to post some pictures of a Type 98 Gunto Wakizashi that I acquired recently. It very closely resembles one that I already own that was recently papered at the Orlando Shinsa. Hope you enjoy. Also a translation of the smith would be greatly appreciated. MikeR

here is my Shigemasa Sword, with what I think are two very nice Horimono

Looking through a fittings book on a completely unrelated topic, and I found the following; OK, two buckets and a bamboo pole... not a super close match, but not too far away either. The title of the theme is Suma-no-Ura (Bay of Suma), a story which is the basis for the Noh play "Matsukaze". Court poet, Ariwara no Yukihira, was exiled to the seaside village of Suma, where he was treated kindly by two "salt maidens" (ladies who extracted salt from seawater by boiling it). Anyway, the salt buckets symbolize this story, which was later turned into a Noh play. Sometimes the ladies are depicted with this kind of bucket and bamboo pole. Other times they are depicted with woven baskets for carrying fish. Thought it was close enough to merit a mention.

You HAVE to stay in the show hotel. The rooms were amazing, and just walking out of your room and down a few corridors into the show was incredible. The hotel is gorgeous, not a thing to complain about. I wish I could do it again. It was incredible.

This is just a shot in the dark. 畚 (mokko) – a straw basket [for carrying earth]

丹波守藤原照門 = Tanba no Kami Fujiwara Terukado 武州於江戸以南蛮鐵作之 = made this using Nanban steel in Edo, Bushū province

I hope these photos show well, it's all black. It's 13 inches tall by 8 inches at the circular base. Comments?

Hello everyone, I would like to share some pictures of my first nihonto because I always enjoyed photos others posted here and I have also one question about it. Mumei (attributed to Enju Kunifusa) O-ei era (1394 - 1428) nagasa 61,9 cm sori 1,36 cm weight 467 g Moto-haba cca 27 mm Saki-haba cca 16 mm It is one of the smallest katanas and definitely the lightest I have heard about, but I really like it. I am sure I could buy a more valuable sword for the same amount of money, but I absolutely don't regret it. It also came with a beautiful koshirae, although not originally made for this particular sword. I will post some photos later. I am sorry for the quality of photos, I used my cellphone. Best regards Jan L.

PS - I own a Juyo To-ken Morisuke with a serious chip - some cannot look at it, I love it!

Masanori August, 1944

Hello, koshirae as i promised... Signature on tsuba is Seiryuken Eiju cca 1780 - 1800. That's all I know. And I really like decoration on saya (beside the fact I like the whole koshirae). Anyone has some idea about the technique?

Samurai and lower-ranked warriors who could not afford armour were loaned it. In the case of Hatamoto samurai, armour might also have been loaned to reflect their rank and ensure uniform appearance. These okashi could range from the highest level of craftsmanship to the most basic. During the Warring States period, and especially from the late Muromachi to the Edo period, armour was designed for practical use. It was constructed to be identifiable from a distance. However, after the Tokugawa unified Japan and war became rare, armour became more decorative, with details meant to be appreciated up close. Armour continued to be used for ceremonial purposes until the late Edo period, when concerns about an American invasion again led to the production of battle-ready armour. During the Warring States period and up to the siege of Osaka, armour needed to be maintained and produced quickly. Consequently, the urushi layers were often thinner. This type of lacquering was sufficient when maintained properly. However, after the samurai class was abolished, there was no longer a need to own armour or pay for its high maintenance costs. Armour was stored away, often repurposed, merged with other pieces, turned into tourist items, or exported. The term ubu is often misused to describe badly damaged items. While an item's condition might be "as found," it does not reflect its original state. The main issue with the lower layers of urushi is that they are not waterproof. As a result, moisture enters through the odoshi-no-ana (the holes for lacing), the joints between plates on the inside, and from chips. This moisture spreads, causing rust, which eventually delaminates the upper urushi layers. Cracks appear, and pieces fall off. The silk also degrades and turns to dust after 80-100 years. So, the bad condition is caused by poor storage and handling and lack of maintenance.

Great history, wonderful newsreel. The late Basil Robinson gave a talk to the To Ken many years ago and detailed how he was tasked together with a Japanese Officer to sort through and grade surrendered swords. Mountbatten returned to the UK with a very large number of these and made many presentations. I have some more details somewhere and will try and find my notes.

Some years ago we had the annual national meeting of the NKBKHK Japan Society for the Study and Preservation of Armours and Weapons in our local city. The prefectural museum had a grand display of armours ranging all the way from very early, to late Edo gorgeous. I saw a board member that I knew and approached him with a polite: "Which piece do you like best here?" He took me over to a small and poorly-lit cabinet. "This one", he said, pointing to a single rusty Momonari bowl with large holes in it. He waved his hand dismissively at the other room, full of splendid displays from the Edo period. That was one man's opinion, but it left an impression on me.

Cox, Malcolm E. Showa Period Swordsmiths of Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, and the Kokura Arsenal. 2024. A4 size, 149 pages, B&W & color illustrations. Besides gendai Fukuoka swordsmiths, this study also covers the arsenal markings used on RJT blades made under the supervision of Kokura Army Arsenal. For this reason, it covers some of the surrounding prefectures under the jurisdiction of Kokura Army Arsenal. This is the first serious English language study of this aspect of wartime blade production.

About the “quality thing”. Last year I bought a very old Momonari-kabuto in bad condition (not that cheap as you probably might think 🥲). It is sloppily rivited together from thin scrap metal parts disguised by black lacquer. Of course low level workmanship and no artistic value. On the other hand an contemporary witness of the late Sengoku /Momoyama period and of great historical importance. A reference piece to understand the development of armor from the warring states onwards until the “peaceful” Edo period! And most important….I love it 😊

Send him/her the bill for a polish, and collect payment first, before killing them.

Shoami tsuba 7.5x7.1x0.3cm £100 plus postage (box not included) Many thanks Rob m

Hi Paul, This is Gordon Robson, the shinsa team member who mistranslated this signature. We could not find this signature in the Meikan and believed he was an unlisted smith. I will contact our shinsa team members in Japan and have the period of activity changed from Kanbun to Kanei. The signature on the worksheet is correct, just the translation was an error. Sorry for the confusion and thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Hello! My name is Jan, I am from Prague and I would like to introduce myself a bit before making some posts. I'm new to the world of nihonto and till now I have no specific preferences except one - I started with koto. I have felt an affinity to Japanese culture for a long time. As a hobby I do pottery and for some reason it often appears to be in Japanese style... For my first nihonto I started from what I liked visually, what I could afford, I picked a shop I could trust, a sword with certification and I bought it. I am 47 and I already, more or less, know my taste (The sword that arrived even overcome my expectations. It's so nice!) And than I started to looking up information about the smith, the school and the origin of its style and tradition. I found many useful websites about nihonto, among them this site. I learned a lot from here, thanks! I know that what I did is the absolute opposite from what is recommended, but I am really glad I did it this way. After a few months of learning more and more about the complicated world of nihonto I am sure I would be much more confused about what to buy... ... but anyway, I bought one more sword, now it's on the way and I am researching about new school and smith. I am already caught in the trap! Thank you all for this great source of information and help. Have a nice day! Jan L

As promised a pic of my three Sami covered sayer swords together one Navy and two Army both the Navy and one Army have been posted before but never the three together .. Thanks Gareth

Here’s one from my collection

Brian: You will hear that Ebay is a minefield and to stay away, however it's worth noting that many of our trusted sellers also sell on Ebay! So, on any site, be patient and look at every aspect of the sword without reading the description first (it's probably salesman crap anyway). For example, many listings will say "samurai" when describing a WW1 or WW2 sword or use the term "pilot tanto" or "suicide knife", all of which are used to attract buyers but are wholly inaccurate. Study condition issues and know what to look for (kizu, higare, etc.) then study the blade carefully. Look for recent NTHK or NBTHK papers. Don't necessarily shy away from mumei blades; they are often cheaper because they don't have a name, gimei or otherwise, associated with them. Are there dealers to avoid? Yes. You can find many of them discussed on this site. Lastly, as others have said, there are no diamonds in the rough. Sword sellers know what they have and know what they are worth. If a sword seller is giving an amazing deal, there's a reason for it. You just need to understand 1) why is it so cheap, and 2) is it acceptable to me. John C.

Posting photos for when the link goes dead

An addendum to the maker of General Imamura's sword, it is in reality an un-tempered piece. Last year an identical blade appeared for sale from Japan, in rather poor, but original condition. There was a letter on Pages 255-257 of the large Fuller & Gregory book from the 17th Army's Chief of Staff Major General Makata, to Brigadier Garret. In it he notes some officers having service dress swords (Seito), full dress swords (Fukuto), and their real swords. He goes on to mention the swords initially surrendered were their Seito, and one might imagine that the sword in the AWM is General Imamura's Seito.

The more I look the more I wonder if that round bronze base is original? The way his anvil overhangs the edge is somewhat awkward. It would look really much better (imo) on a wooden stand as used by Gyokko/Miyao Does it look as,if the rivets would come out? I’m guessing the anvil and the figure are separate castings? Is the signature on the figure or stand? This is what it reminds me of …..I think it’s aesthetics could be hugely enhanced…. but just my opinion. The wood stands do sometimes crop up even on eBay!

There's really no danger in sharing your first name. If it were, i'd be in some serious peril having social media accounts and a Linkedin. The Nihonto community is smaller than most "collector communities". On this website people buy and sell items, join local clubs, chat and meet up at regional events. It's a personable hobby, and it will benefit you in the long run to be yourself and not just "anonymous crusader" Just my two cents, and with all due respect. All the best, and welcome to the forum! -Sam

A tansu i made to keep my tsuba in order, the tsuba-shaped plates roughly depict what's inside each drawer