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Hi my dear friends, First of all, I want to express my most sincere wishes and a Happy New Year to you all and your families. I know this should be in another section so Brian, please feel free to move it if you feel like it, but I posted it here because some members have contacted me and I want to reach most of them. Not sure they all go to the Izakaya. Then I guess I owe you guys an explanation and an apology for my silence those past few months. I’ve wanted to do that for quite some time but it isn’t always easy to expose your issues in front of everyone, and I know some of you may find those issues triffle or first world problems. Anyway, here’s what has happened to me since my absence. First of all, let me tell you that I’m an animal lover… maybe a little too much ! For years, I have been doing the job of a shelter for distressed cats without help or financing. At some point, I had more than 30 cats. Costly and tiring. That’s roughly three hours of work in addition to my full time job everyday. Those animals I recover are usually starving, some of them sick, all of them scared by very difficult beginnings. I’m used to have animals that don’t live long because of that. I loose some every year. Everytime, its a tragedy for me but I’ve developped some endurance to it. This year was special. I lost ten of them in a row over the space of two months. Causes of death were different but I think that the last straw was probably the last one who was litteraly and voluntarily crushed to pulp by a car and the driver purposefully drove over him with both wheels. I know it as I saw it happen. I guess it taxed me a lot and I entered some kind of a breakdown. I was starting to recover, in September, when the secong blow came. Now, here’s the second part of my life. Ten years ago, my elderly mother suffered a stroke that left her with paralysis on her left side. My father had a hard life working in construction and carrying loads so his back is ruined and he has to use a walker. Being an only child, I took them both in and care for them. Not a light job either, but one I feel I have a duty to accomplish. So, come September, my father has to be hospitalized because he had fallen in the middle of the night. His blood count was well below normal. Diagnosis : Mielodisplastic syndrome. To sum up, a bone marrow cancer that will turn into fatal leukemla in generally something like two years. That was the fatal and final blow to me. Now it’s been three months since that diagnosis and I am starting to digest it and recover. My father is responding to treatment and so far, he is neither better nor worse. There you have it ! All tis has made me depressed and apathetic, with no real interest for anything and some sort of self pitying. So I am sorry and apologize to all those who’ve contacted me and to whom I haven’t replied, I will reply to each and everyone of you. Please just give me some time as things have accumulated and I have some catching up to do. Know that I am feeling better and will do my best to stay around. Best wishes to you all, JP

I'm not really a Kinko fan, but these flew to me in the spring of 2021 and have taken up residence.

Or it is possible that this is a low grade fake; the file marks stop too low on the nakago. Pictures of the rest of the blade might help. Grey

Tom and Stephen, thats a beauty, yes May, 1945, thats late. This is a Nagoya, Aichi smith who name was Takeuchi Kinsaburo Kanemasa (his deshi Morita Kanefusa). It is tachi-mei : Bishu Takakura Ji ju Takeuchi Kanemasa saku. Takakura Ji or Tera is a temple in south Nagoya. Around May 1945 Nagoya was under massive bombing raids. He was a RJT, 1941 6th exhibition ranked level 5 of 5, in 1944 army exhibition ranked as Nyusen. he continued making swords post-war and then registered 10 July 1954. Would love to see the hamon. Looks a nice item.

I had so intended to win this even over my budget. Life seems to always throw me a curve ball when ....or maybe just saves my azz. Think ive seen this set up once before. Enjoy https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/k1029473242?

Gentle folk, Just stumbled upon this FYI: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/nunome-zogan.html BaZZa.

I posted a bit about this over in the military swords forum, because it had a Brass Mekugi. Apparently, those were used. The pin was removed, and it's definitely an interesting maker: HIDEKUNI, active at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/HID60 The blade is 27.5" / 70cm long, and has a fairly LONG Kissaki, probably the longest I have seen. The blade is also fairly wide compared to most, and there is barely any change to the taper of the edge at the Yokote. It's got some WARE and FUKURE, so it definitely looks to be correct. I've just never seen a kissaki as long as this. It has a TOURAN Hamon, and ITAME hada. The polish is definitely degraded, and there are some nicks and bends on the edge.

良重 Yoshishige

As says Stephen, JP, this to shall pass, time will soothen wounds, we have all suffered from «slings and arrows of outrageous fortune » but have overcome them. Take time for crying, it helps and come back to us any time you need help.

Hello all and Happy New Year, my name is John and I am based in the U.K. I have had a vague interest in Japanese swords for awhile but only very recently, after acquiring a couple of swords, have I started looking into the subject in more detail and realising what a huge subject it is. I have found this forum very educational and I have enjoyed reading the discussions, hence deciding it was time to create an account. I am very new to this subject so please excuse me if I am still getting to grips with some of the terminology. All the best, John

Hello JP, It's great to see you here again. There are some truly vile people out there and then there are some people like you who shoulder a great burden and, at great personal cost, work tirelessly to redress the balance. I had a French teacher many years ago who had emigrated to England after her third cat in a year had been killed by someone leaving out bait for it containing crushed glass. Please edit to remove any and all apologies. You've done nothing wrong and should take great pride in what you're doing. To apologise is to deny your own honour, virtue and agency. You didn't delay response because you were being inconsiderate; you delayed response because you didn't want to transfer any portion of your suffering to your friends. You are not acting in bad faith (mauvaise foi as Sartre would say), you are not a victim, you are not playing a role, refusing to make a choice or denying your own freedom. Quite the contrary; you made your choice; you chose to do your duty, and accept the pain that comes along with it, rather than seeking your own pleasure. You're not a victim, you're a hero. Kant argued that all morality must stem from duties: and that consequences such as pain or pleasure are irrelevant. You're living by the Kantian ideal. I went quite abstract there, I don't know how else to respond.

And now for something REALLY different - my TEPPOU acquisition for 2021. More photos and detail will appear in the TEPPOU thread by-and-by. BaZZa.

My Dear JP, I'm sure many of our fellows here know your life situation only too well and feel for you in your travail. It is good you have 'opened up' for that in itself is a part-healing process. The good members of this Board will support you in your troubled times, no apology necessary. For myself I am glad to see you back amongst this fine fellowship and sincerely hope that you will, indeed, 'stay around'. The best people I know in my life are my fellow collectors and so I have always realised that collecting is so much more than merely acquiring 'things', as beautiful as they are. The people are the great joy. Welcome home and come often. Best regards, BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas (Melbourne, Australia)

Greetings everyone, My name is Khalid and my username/gamer-tag is Cookie4Monstah. I'm from the Boston area in the United States where I currently reside. I can't wait to discuss the nature of the Japanese art sword with you. As a currator by hobby I come across a variety of militaria including nihonto and have decided to delve into the world of the Japanese sword. I have been fortunate enough to come across many edged weapons yet nothing compares to the masterful forgings and polishings of Japan. I do like Damascus steel too but not as much! Please feel free to reach out at anytime, especially if I can be of assistance to you. Take care, Khalid

A week has passed since this was posted, so I have to ask....what happened to this thread? Not another peep out of anyone. I thought this would be an interesting topic...the FIRST? pre-gendaito/showato blade seen in RS mounts (look how straight it is!). I thought this would get members digging through their collections to show us other examples of undated, one hole, pre-WWII blades. I know this is the first one I have seen in RS...but I could be wrong...I thought this would be something we would discuss? Regards

Yep, congrats on that one; the yasurime looks nice, signature looks nice, and the late date is great. I often wonder with dates like that what the maker was thinking. The handwriting was pretty clearly on the wall when that one was made. I suspect he might have wondered if it would be the last sword he'd ever make.

Wak in type 98 mounts are less common than standard length Katanas, however not horrible uncommon in my experience. I have found that shorter Wak, that measure less than 60cm to be "rare". I think this has to do with the measurement regulations for acceptable lengths. I believe it is discussed in another thread, but I am not sure what one. As for the Waks in non military mounts, but still had a combat saya on them, these were used mostly by non military personal that were contracted to work for the military, and if their contract position was similar to an officer rank, they would be permitted to carry. I have found many Waks in full type 98 mounts often are fancier than their full length counterparts, however this might just be due to fewer examples of waks than full length. Here are some pictures of Waks in my collection. The general tassel is not original to the sword, I have 2 more Wak gunto, however, they are just mounts, no blades.

I was fortunate to have this guard offered to me recently, and am supremely honored to be the next in a long line of caretakers. Its heavy rim encircles a typically abstract design, which is affectionately described as "Fumei" in the 2016 KTK catalog where it makes an appearance. I was enamored with the dynamic presentation of this unknown motif and excited to see if I could discover more about it. I'm never one to leave well enough alone, but hey that's part of the fun right?? Many Kanayama tsuba feature motifs derived from various religions - the iconic temple bell, daruma dolls, gourds... Even some of the not so obvious ones can be twisted in that direction. A gunbai design has been interpreted as the ears of the Buddha/Ebisu, and another well known piece has possible ties to the concept of "Mu" (emptiness) along with some serious Enso vibes. The circles on this guard are featured in the same manner on other Kanayama works, and are usually described as Sun and Moon (see also: Mind and Body, Heaven and Earth). The forms making up the hitsu ana are especially peculiar, the KTK write up notes them as possibly a "matsu pine bark kamon" or simply a "pleasant geometric abstraction" in addition to the fumei call. Whether I'm on to something or have just been starting at it for too long, I'd like to humbly suggest that they could be a depiction of a seated Buddha, and perhaps more specifically, him as an ascetic. The statue below is of this form, located at the Kita-in shrine in Saitama. If you squint just a little bit, there's a pretty striking resemblance - legs crossed, a prominent halo and the angular section emphasizing his emaciated state. While not necessarily to the Buddha's extreme (the ascetic lifestyle was abandoned in favor of the "Middle Way"), this discipline has a strong relationship with Zen, and I imagine a Bushi relating well to these teachings. The mid Momoyama period, which I believe this to be a product of, is also the source of many other similarly influenced works from Owari province in the form of ji sukashi, Yamakichibei, Hoan, and the famous inscribed tsuba of Nobuie. To those few that are still with me, it sounds crazy right? Yeah maybe a little 😅. But with the similar silhouette and circles tying into the theme, it's been a fun possibly to consider at the very least. I'd love to know if anyone has seen a design like this used on another occasion or anything juicy that might add to the speculation. I've had a blast with this piece so far and wanted to share my thoughts, and would happily open this up to any other similarly abstract guards out there that our members may have some ideas about. 👺🙏⛩️

I've been hijacking @Shamsy's Type 95 Black Saya thread for too long, so I'm starting a Gold-painted gunto thread to track the gold ones. I considered labeling it "Painted Gunto" to gather all the colors, but the discussions of each can get quite lengthy, so I'll keep this one just on the gold. But for reference, Steve's thread also has several examples of officer gunto painted black as well. And we have the thread on Mottled Green paint on Type 95s. I've had examples of all 3 colors and regret stripping the 2 gold-painted 95s and the mottled-green 95. I still have one black-painted 95. But back to the gold! My interest started with the acquisition of 2 Type 95s, one totally painted gold (even the blade) and a late-war 95 painted black and gold: I believe this one might have been post war as the paint come off relatively easy using acetone, and the blade, once cleaned, had lots of scratches and marks as if used plenty prior to painting. Also, there was no original paint underneath. It had been completely stripped before re-painting with gold. The late war 95: In hindsight, I now believe this one to be a wartime personalization. The paint was hard to get off with acetone, and the original color was underneath. The following are other examples that I've filed, beginning with a primo one just posted by @Arty A on this thread HERE. The paint is old and abused from use, and is covered with patina inline with the rest of the gunto: (out of time for now. Will update and continue later)

Dear All I am a new member to the community and not an expert in Japanese blades and certificates but willing to improve my knowledge and collection. Reading a lot mostly in the internet space, since the translated books in my country regarding the subject are scares. Received information that this community is dealing with similar issues I am looking forward to your advise. Please find attached a pictures of Japanese Wakizashi, I am planning to buy. The seller claims it is original and present the certification provided bellow, bought from Ebay, Austria made in Japan. Since the money requested are not a small amount and I am planning to buy not only as collectable item, but also with investment purposes, I am looking for answer is the wakizashi real and are the papers legitimate? What might be the real market price for the blade? Thank you for your kind understanding and looking forward to your advise

Taking care of your parents can be the toughest job in the world and don't get me started on Cats! Just know you have a family here and we're happy to do what little we can for you... -t

If we could all share a little piece of your heartache be sure we would brighten your life. I am impressed by your spirit, something I am often by some board members time after time and by the compassion shown. Bravo Jean Pierre and people. John

https://blog.yuhindo.com/daisho/ If you want truly matched swords, go for Shinto, or more likely - ShinShinto or Gendaito. If it is the koshirae only - it has been discussed in the referenced links.

A pristine Type 98 example found by @Stephen on a Yahoo auction:

I think the question of gold paint can be answered in the same manner as to why some car guys "chrome out" their rides -- "Why not?!".

JP, Sometimes it is easier for us to offer grace, peace, and kindness to others as opposed to giving it to ourselves. We carry things around… our burdens, and the burdens of others. We are not good at asking others to help with our burdens though. Please know that this group is here for you and I am sure there are others. As your burdens lighten, come back as you can… there are open arms waiting for you.

Sorry for the thread from the dead, but at work I've been going back over older listings that we never got around to translating, as "practice." We have had two 1945 dated late pattern "Special Contingency" Shin-gunto that are apparently signed 義忠 - YOSHITADA. At first we thought one was YOSHIMUNE 義宗, but going back, they are both definitely YOSHITADA.

Here's my thoughts on it, Trystan - When SMR started, according to Ohmura, they were making 400 blades per month, or 4,800 per year. The chart found by Nick Komiya for 1944 production showed that SMR made 6,000 blades that year. If they were just numbering the blades from 1 to 6,000 there would be numbered blades found each year in that full range. But they were breaking them up with the Iroha lettering series, and each year had anywhere from 6 to 14 "series". Let's just say a year used 10 katakana. With 6,000 blades, divided evenly (we don't know that they were), we wouldn't see any numbers over 600. 1942 only used 6 katakana, so it would be normal to see a number over 1,000, and we do have a couple. 1943 used 15 katakana, so I'm surprised to see some over 1,000 (this may mean the numbers for each kanji weren't uniform in distribution). 1944 only used 5 kanji, so I'd expect to see numbers over 1,000, and we have plenty. What is surprising is to see numbers that year over 2,000 (again suggesting the distribution of numbers wasn't uniform). And finally, 1945 used only 1 kanji. With fiscal year beginning April 14, there were only 4 months of production, but at 550 per month, that still should put numbers over 2,000 and we have 1 in the 1,000 range.

JP, Nothing to apologize for. I feel your pain. There isn't much I can say to make things better. So instead I can just tell you that you are free to vent here anytime, and I can guarantee an audience that will listen and support you. I feel more for animals than people, so I know how you feel. You are helping both humans and animals, and that takes a lot out of a person. Just continue what you are doing, take time when you need it, and take heart in the fact that I am sure ALL those cats are/were MUCH better off with you in their lives. Let us know if you need any sort of support when it comes to that, I am sure some of us would be glad to help. I do think this should be in the Izakaya, and will move it there a bit later. Stay strong, you are making a difference

Victorian by name, Victorian by nature.

Seen a few, own one or 2. I don't think they are rare at all. Remember all those stories of how dealers sold blades at dept stores etc, to people going off to war, and then would have it mounted to your specifications? And how the govt appealed for cheap swords and wakizashi for the war effort? Most of those would have gone into regular military fittings. The ones I have seen, the saya is regular length but the blade is short.

Once upon a time I had a Tamba no kami Kanemichi with Type 98 mounting. I think it was about 50cm. Wish I still had it. Got a photo of it somewhere. If I ever run across it, I'll see if I can digitize it.

Here you go Bruce. Tom

Jan, A Happy New Year to you and other Vikings. I now have three teppo - a Saki one covered in fancy brass ornament, the Satsuma gun and now this. Thanks to Piers I also have a primer and a powder flask. All I need now is a bullet mould and I have the complete outfit. I have shot the Sakai gun with powder and a wad only. Great fun Ian

I didn't pick up anything in 2021, and not for lack of trying. I had more time on my hands this year and spent more time seeking than usual. I've averaged only 1 acquisition every 2 years since starting in this hobby, and 2021 was one of the dry years. Edit: I thought it best to add that I'm not unhappy with this, and it's entirely my own fault as I'm very picky. Most of the pieces I'm interested in have already found their way into museums, so my acquisitions tend to be newly made utsushi at the point where I lose patience with seeking antiques.

Hi Kiipu, the machi is actually level, it’s just distorted in the picture. I have attached another picture to show this. It’s definitely an unusual habaki. Yes Mike, I’ll bring it next time we meet up. Tom

Try a read of Darcy’s explanation of daisho to see if that helps. https://blog.yuhindo.com/daisho-and-daishoisnt/

Item No. 178 Iron Tsuba 8.73 cm x 8.65 cm x 0.29 cm Subject of - Signal Boards ? or Monkey Toys ? or Temple Bells ? ' Hozon Katchushi ( unban ) ' Any opinions ? Thin Plate almost circular with carved sunbursts and nicely forged rim. Apparently mounted several times , also featuring good ' face of stone ' texturing together with deep brown consistent patina. Item No. 179 Kozuka in shakudo , gold , silver and copper Subject of decorative present wrap cords and holder ? Unsigned , acquired as part of an auction lot about twelve years ago.

Not many additions for me. But a few that are worth sharing: Iron Khorin tsuba, which in itself is rare, seeing he usually worked in soft metal. Ingenious way to depict grasses in combination with the gold inlay. A Muromachi Ko-Mino tsuba (TH), these are hard to come by, so pounced when I had the chance. Very nice early nanako, nice floral theme, nice detailing in the ana, what's not to like?

Muromachi period Ezo menuki. Note the human heads. Mark

It was a busy year with not much time for Tosogu, but I came away with 3 or 4 things that I will enjoy for a while. I do not currently have photos of the ko-goto kogai, but it came from a friend... as most of my pieces seem to do these days.

and just for grins two more that seem to be crowd pleasers: 11. pretty generic mei, but... 12 and last but not least, an oh-no: Happy Holidays, rkg (Richard George)

Just a quick post to send Season's Greetings to all contributors to and viewers of this thread. Can't believe it's been ten months since we started . Lots more to come ! Best Regards to all. Bob

Item No. 176 Kozuka in Copper with gold and shakudo details. Subject of two immortals - the Taoist sage Laozi ( Roshi ) and Tekkai Sennin . Signed on reverse Hamano Naoyuki and kao. Roshi is reading a scroll and wearing a robe. Both characters have teeth and eyes detailed in gold , while Tekkai Sennin has a staff shown in shakudo. Some fine work on this piece. Item No. 177 Tsuba in Iron with lead plugs 8.82 cm x 8.37 cm x 0.40 cm Tsuba with morning glory, wheel, and hexagonal patterns engraved . Myochin Nobuie ? Early to Mid 19th cent. ? Heavy piece showing some evidence of mounting and wear - could this be earlier than 19th cent. ?

Thanks @Dave R, I really think these black-painted items are period legit and were done intentionally for some reason.

Very nice Copper handled type 95 you got there Neil! In the early stages of production, and a carry over issue from the type 32's, was the problem of corrosion with scabbards. Some very few had a grey primer below the top coat, while others had what appears to be a 'gold wash' applied. The application has the appearance of being an electroplating style and not sprayed on type. This has been mentioned in F&G and has been found only on the very first patterns. I have a similar 'gold/brass' one in the 4000 range. These are very desirable in my opinion. I have actually seen this sword in hand some years back,( before you snapped it up!) and it has good provenance and a real beautiful patina on the copper handle..... very nice!!

Brian's post #7 finally puts the last nail in the coffin of the so called "crew or tanker or pilot" sword. If a short crew sword was required, then they would have been made by an arsenal for standard issue or sale to officers during the war. They are all old blades remounted when the standard length for family blades sold to the war effort was reduced to 21 inches. And yes, you will find short blades in full size koshirae as well .

I would second Steves thoughts. Even though I do not know the climate of Hawaii that well (I have a basic understanding) having oshigata framed under glass is a long lasting option and it is not affected by elements. I had small bunch of them framed and I really like the results. The art gallery made passepartout cut outs and I think the end result looks really classy. Can't wait to see that big oshigata.

Teimei tsuba have a very strong kaku mimi, fine granular surface (probably remnant of the Nobuiye influence) and a slight "flattish" shape for the faces. They are very consistant in these points. The NBTHK article states how they are under appreciated, even though they were working for the Kii Tokugawa directly, and from the Nobuiye School.

Thank you very much for the translation, John! May I ask you to also give another look to the Token Bijutsu issues? I have attached pictures of another Teimei tsuba in my own collection. It shows a Kaji (rudder) design. Regarding kantei I would summarize the following criteria (for a start): 1) the sukashi is broader than those done in other schools 2) basically almost all Kishu tsuba are signed 3) the diameter is allways around 8cm; the thickness varies between about 0.45 and 0.55 cm 4) the iron has a slightly "greyish" touch 5) the design is simple and based on geometrical figures, stellar constellations, grops or everyday items; it can also be inspired by earlier Owari, Ko-Shoami or Kyo Sukashi designs.