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Modern generation...instant gratification and everything handed on a plate. You get used to it. Many of the people are innocent though...some sign up and forget their details to come back and say thanks. Some just assume it's implied. I try give them the benefit of the doubt. But yeah...it's common everywhere online nowadays.

Thank you very much! I'll be doing a ton of research and I fear that I may have found another expensive hobby.

Welcome to NMB Zack! A relatively common Kinai school tsuba. Some are cast but as yours has tagane-ato [punch marks aroumd the tang hole] I would think it is carved. If you look on-line and find another with the same punch marks in the identical spots - then you can worry. These dragons appear as Kawari-gata [irregular outline] or within a maru [round ] rim. Check this thread: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/46711-a-tsuba-with-ryu-design-kinai-school-signed-edo-period-for-your-comment-and-appreciation/ Also check the free download on Kinai tsuba:

Hi @Nazar, very shiny! Yes, unfortunately this is a fake. The biggest tell aside from the brass tsuka; is the bohi terminating early. Also the stamps are oversized and incorrect. Among other incorrect fetures. I have personally never seen a genuine Type 95 with anything carved on the habaki. If one does exist, it would have been done after manufacture. All the best, -Sam

Sorry, I've been kind of guilty of this recently. I posted about an old sword magazine I found and also asked advice on a wakizashi which I ended up buying. Unfortunately, I haven't posted updates or photos of either yet because the end of year vacation has seen me on the move between various friends and relatives. As soon as I'm back home, I'll update those two threads with pictures.

Tks Rohan...understand what yr saying.... sadly, more often these days it appears manners are a thing of the past.

Hey guys....I notice this a lot. Newbies with one or two posts, publish something with questions....they get a whole lot of opinion and discussion (mostly correct) but there is a distinct absence of acknowledgement let alone comment by the OP ???? Is it just me?

@Fusilier David, as noted smith signed Nobumitsu 信光 on tachi-mei, and date is Showa ju kyu nen ju ichi gatsu 昭和十九年十一月 Showa 19 (1944) November. Late war mounts as noted. Rather quick/rough signature, maybe was left-handed. But an arsenal product and Gi in sakura shows he was from Seki (Gifu) but could be working in Nagoya Arsenal. Its likely the suguha hamon is artificial. There was a Seki smith Sako Shinichi Nobumitsu, born Meiji 38 (1905) June 24, living in Seki, and registered as a WW2 Seki smith on Showa 14 (1939) October 26. He produced some quite good work ,, not sure if him. but towards end of war they were mass producing in arsenals. The painted numbers are 541 which are assembly numbers for the different parts.

Thanks for your help Mal, I have got all that information on the name possibly being Nobushiro or Shinshiro...I myself leant towards Shinshiro until this latest query by me brought the majority of responses for it being Nobushiro. The "clincher" was that I also found a Japanese sword site that recently sold a sword by Masakazu (NBTHK papered) and gave tang pics showing the date 11/17 and his mei including the personal name which they definitely translated as being NOBUSHIRO. I thought that if a professional Tokyo sword shop like Ginza Seiyudo translates his name as Nobushiro then it is correc, considering that they must have sources for personal smith information that are better than most collectors. At the moment I am leaning towards Nobushige, but I will change if some good evidence 'correcting' this comes along. Regards, George.

@george trotter George, these questions are interesting, and yes you need to ask the tosho himself. I note you followed up Masakazu in March, 2022 and where he died. I also asked my wife (Showa vintage) about 信四郎 and she read NOBUSHIRO. However, several examples I found where translated as SHIN (but thats auto translate). So I dont know! I note that Sesko list for Tsukamoto Masakazu uses SHIN: MASAKAZU (正和), Fukushima – real name Tsukamoto Shinshirō (塚本 信四 郎), born Meiji 33 (1900), he worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō. 1941: 5th Seat 6th Shinsakuto Denrankai. Missed 1942 Banzuke list. He died Showa 44 (1969) February 5. For interest, there are also other Tsukamoto smiths of the period: KIYOKAZU (清和), Fukushima – family name Tsukamoto (塚本), he is also listed with the family name Kasama (笠間). Said to be the older brother of Tsukamoto Okimasa (塚本 起正), 1942: jōkō no retsu (Akihide), 1941: 4th Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai. OKIMASA (起正), Tōkyō (ex-Fukushima) – “Okimasa saku” (起正 作), “Tsukamoto Okimasa saku” (塚本 起正 作), “Tsukamoto Ikkansai Okimasa saku” (塚本一貫斎 起正 作), real name Tsukamoto Shinpachi (塚本 新八), said to be descendant from the lineage of Yamamura Masanobu (山村 正信). Studied under Kasama Shigetsugu (笠間 繁継), later married his daughter. Worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō and got several prices. Died young in Showa 35 (1960) May at the age 43 (or 46). Lived in Tōkyō´s Setagaya district (世田谷), 1942: kihin-jōi (Akihide banzuke), 1941 2nd Seat & Cutting Test at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai. [Slough, p. 139] MASAZUMI (正澄), Fukushima – “Tsukamoto Masazumi saku” (塚本 正澄 作), “Ōshū Iwashiro-jū Tsukamoto Masazumi saku” (奥州 岩代 住 塚本 正澄 作), real name Tsukamoto Jūjirō (塚本 十次郎). Born Taisho 6 (1917) December 14, younger brother of Tsukamoto Okimasa (塚本 起正). Studied under Kasama Shigetsugu (笠間 繁継) and learned also from his brother. Later changed his name to Yoshimasa (?yoshi). MASAMITSU (正光), Tōkyō – “Masamitsu” (正光), family name Tsukamoto (塚本), he worked as guntō smith. 1942 ryōkō no retsu (Akihide banzuke). YOSHIAKI (喜昭), Tōkyō – “Yoshiaki saku” (喜昭 作), “Tsukamoto Yoshiaki saku” (塚本 喜昭 作), “Minamoto Yoshiaki saku” (源 喜昭 作), “Tsukamoto Ikkansai Yoshiaki saku” (塚本 一貫斎 喜昭 作), “Tōto-jūnin Yoshisaki” (東都 住人 喜昭). Real name Tsukamoto Shōtarō (塚本 小太郎), gō Ikkansai (一貫斎). Studied from 1939 under Kasama Shigetsugu (笠間繁継) and from 1940 under his uncle Ikkansai Okimasa (起正). Said to be from the lineage of Yamamura Masanobu (山村正信). Born 1926, early he signed Masamitsu (正光). He died Showa 43 (1968) September 18 at the young age of 42.

Should be Nobumitsu 信光 dated November 1944.

Hello Zack...and welcome. Yes,tsuba collecting, as opposed to sword collecting, is quite easy to get into IMO. They are small and easy to care for, easy to pack away...not dangerous. As far as Kinai pieces go, I would definitely recommend doing that research you mentioned as you quite often do find cast or even fake signature pieces floating around. There are also pieces made during periods of exctremely high production, and as a result, many of those pieces are of a lower quality. There are also extremely fine pieces and quite a variety of different motifs...though dragons and plants are probably the most common. You will find that in even authenticated Kinai signature pieces (accompanied by authentication papers), there are quite a few different signature styles used over the nearly 300 years the school produced tsuba...so this is an area to do some of that research. Markus Sesko's translation of one of the few Japanese printed books on this school is an invaluable resource. I would suggest reaching out to him to see if any copies exist. One final word (of warning?), there are a number of members who collect Kinai, myself included, so you may likely have competition for any nice pieces that come up. But...that's all part of the fun. Good luck to you. Damon

And for some reason, the tsuba on these fakes do not have the flat mimi around the middle; they are peaked. You would think that would be easy to do. John C.

Its Katana mei and not really Aoe looking, so Kamakura is probably off the bet. The signature is written confidently, without pretense and without hesitation. Can it still be fake - sure, but such a rare name anyway... The style looks Bizen. In principle at the time Kaga and Bungo also did Bizen styled pieces. Bungo works are quite rare and many are center signed, nakago finish is a bit... different. In case of Kaga in particular such nijimei looks viable, as is nakago. So it could be unlisted smith - either Bizen, most likely not from "mitsu" mainstream, but one of the last Kozori or Omiya lineages which tend to be less understood, or it could be an unlisted Kaga smith, which might overall be a better match. Regarding the date I would not focus on Oei specifically.

Hi @Bendy, Unfortunately this sword is a fake, and not made in Japan. https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html Thanks to @Bugyotsuji's translation in the other thread before it was split, he stated: "Ishii Tarō 石井太郎 A random name added for decoration I would guess." When I split the thread, many of the comments did not carry over unfortunately, but this basically sums it up. Apologies for the bad news, -Sam In an attempt to clean things up for now, i've hidden the posts on the Mantetsu thread. Apologies @Hector @Bruce Pennington . Maybe Brian can merge them here in time.

Technically, they can get away with calling any of them Gendaito, since that just means they were made in the Gendai period. It's us collectors that decided that Gendaito are traditionally made. So they can get away with it. One of the tricks to watch out for.

And bronze. It looks really good when polished up.

Thanks Guys, I really appreciate that, I was finding it particularly hard to make out the signature and only confused myself further when I had the brilliant idea of asking Microsofts CoPilot AI. It told me the smith was Kanesune which just goes to show that it may be 'Artificial' but its not necessarily 'Inteligent' Mal, really appreciate the detail. I'll get the rest of the swords photographed and posted as soon as I get some time. Happy New Year Every one

I know that this may not seem like a satisfactory response… but they just look “wrong” for that sword in a couple of ways. Firstly the bohi terminates midblade before the monouchi with a nagashi (tapering away) style. Unusual, and often an indication of atobori in and of itself. What does not indicate atobori is the nagashi style termination at the machi, this is / would be normal. However, on the ura side I find my eye to be anxiously checking alignment of the carving of the futatsuji-hi, which appears ever so slightly misaligned. With strong futasuji-hi, the eye will relax and everything will feel right to the trained observer. The spacing here however feels functionally parallel but aesthetically unresolved (seems to be some slight divergence). Meanwhile, a sword of this style is seldom seen with this kind of carving, that is to say, a utilitarian sword from the muromachi period, which this seems to be, basically does not originally have soe-hi. I don’t want to come across as elitist but the “eye training” one gets from looking at hundreds / thousands of “correct examples” over decades solidifies an aesthetic expectation which is very difficult to describe but this sword falls short of. Call it a gut feeling if you will, but I’m far from an expert.

I received this mounted to a cheap sword and it has sparked an interest in tsubas. I'd very much appreciate any information about it that can be gleaned from the attached photos.

Have made a change to bring that up one level. Subscriptions is a software forced description, but maybe it is a bit more useful/visible now? Will see how I can fine tune it more. Thanks.

Hello Brian, Absolutely! Make it one of the first things a newcomer would see to get them on track. Also, I would suggest using Subscribe instead of Donate since the younger generations are more tuned into that for obvious reasons. Just a suggestion. I apologize for posting in the wrong forum. Please move my post if you can or delete it if that is easier. Best wishes Kevin

The flags are an immediate give-away. The flags are a red flag?

https://www.etsy.com/jp/listing/1811177643/tsuba-samurai-sword-sword-guard-wave Just an image from a dodgy site. From Grev Cooke https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26622-tsuba-theme/#comment-268542 Could this be a variant?: Jinsoo was yours from Yahoo or Jauce?

Thank you sir. It's nice to be here!

dont listen to him, DONT strip that apart. the tsuka is deformed and the wood liner is most likey damaged. meaning re-assemble maybe troublesome, you dont need to see the nakago its a machine made blade. you dont need to run the risk of devaluing it evan more. the photos are good enough for this type of sword. i have sold plenty of type 95s on the NMB including the copper handles. you can see everything needed to sell

Thanks Hector (and wife) and members...I have done some more thinking and have decided that the name NOBUSHIRO is the most likely. After all the feedback from you all and some more studying by me I am sure this must be correct....so, NOBUSHIRO it is. Please make a comment if any of you find some written facts in the future...all the best, and thanks! Happy new year to all, George.

That is very interesting. I don't know that much about details of Hokke and don't know the kantei features of the school so well. But it was nice I got close with Ko-Mihara guess. I actually have blade that has old papers to Hokke Ichijō and it has portions that have nice fine looking hada. Unfortunately my photography is awful...

The blade is proposing to be by Chikuzen Daijo Taikei Naotane and dated Tenpo 8. This is a very famous late Edo period swordsmith and there are many gimei (fake inscriptions) purporting to be his work. Compare with authenticated examples.

It might be this ka-mon.

Sure, currently exhibited in the Tokyo National Museum and purportedly once owned by Matsudaira lenori (1575-1614), a Samurai lord from Central Japan https://www.instagram.com/p/C0TZLMDpUss/?hl=en&img_index=3 And you're correct it's the gapping gap to the sides and rear that caught my attention. Looking at other high level suits it's not uncommon. Perhaps because these leaders were unlikely to see combat so maybe its a case of comfort over protection.

Just human nature I'm afraid, especially if the response isn't the one they were hoping for (as was the case here). This is a single purpose forum so they wouldn't have much of a reason to remain active here, unlike e.g. Reddit or Facebook.

Hello G, Firstly, it's nice that you have made the effort to try and conserve these swords. The advice given so far is pretty solid but if you wish to discuss further, I'm on the Sth Coast NSW and would be happy to give you my mob number if you care to PM me. I'm also heading through country Vic next weekend for a couple of weeks with family (Geelong area) and if you were close to my route, if at all possible, I would love to visit and help out first hand. Rob

The hi appear to me to be atobori / ato-bi.

Hello Joshua, not really a Japanese sword in the context of this forum but, a nice package with good leather frog. I'm no expert but I have a couple of these. It's made by Toyoda Jidou Shokki or Toyoda Automatic Loomworks for the Arisaka rifle. Officers didn't normally carry these .... but all OR's (other ranks) did. The hooked quillion was dispensed with after the 1942 ish due to production costs/time, so yours is after that time but it has a ball scabbard so it would be early in the production change. Just google Japanese Type 30 bayonets and you will find a wealth of information.

Trouble would be shipping a sword in and out of Australia just for a habaki, and the hassle that would involve. Surely there must be a competent person in Australia? Maybe @Andrew Ickeringill has some advice?

Thank you for the advice! I've definitely caught the bug and am diving in head first. I'd say my dad did pretty good by paying $75 for the 3 cheap Chinese swords that this tsuba came off of.

Mine was originally from Mercari. https://jp.mercari.com/item/m87850016058

Welcome Kevin, and thank you very much for the support. It helps a lot, as we are about to consider upgrading to the new software (A major upgrade) and the quote for that alone is over $500. Do you mean finding where to look at the Gold membership options? Yeah, currently by default it is under the STORE tab at the top. If you are saying that is too hidden, I'll look tomorrow if I can make it more obvious and findable. The link is here for anyone who wants to see the benefits: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/subscriptions/ I'll see if I can make it more intuitive. Thanks, Brian

Kevin, to be blunt: I don't see it as pretty, and the SHIRASAYA looks clumsy and amateurish, at least on these phptos. If you compare this sword to authentic others in good condition, you will probably come to the same conclusion. Still, this discussion should not be posted here but under NIHONTO.

Look for "Echizen ju Kinai" tsuba. Paul

Good question Jean. This pattern of the Type 95 is secured with a barrel nut where the sarute is located. On later patterns, they added a mekugi in the more traditional location. Nice looking Pattern1 Copper hilt type 95. For those who may not know, they made less than 7000 of this pattern, making them pretty rare. Best of luck with the sale, -Sam

Thank you, Bruce. The museum (run by non-professionals more interested in Australian memorabilia) is not going to sell the 2 swords, so in a sense the oiling of the blades and rust limitation will not diminish the value. I will try to talk them into leaving the blades out of the saya as it can't help with their preservation to have them enclosed. Again, thank you, from countryside Victoria in Australia. PS this is the sword that would have been used everyday.

An immediate give-away (there are plenty others) is the angle of the blade tip. The Chinese do this with blades, the Japanese don't I THINK I saw a tanto, years ago, with this shape, but it's the only time I've seen one in all my years. On the other hand, 90% of the fakes that come through here have this shape.

A curious example on a Fujiwara Kanenaga sword where a Mon has been engraved on the blade, authenticity unknown:

ChatGPT should be a member here and study the subject!

Brian, I think you can forget about worrying about us. We're here because we love doing this. It's a hobby, not a profession. The guys that like making money at this are already running their own businesses. Do whatever you need to do to Make NMB Great Again, and don't spend another second worrying about compensating us. Complimentary Gold memberships are an honor to receive and quite sufficient. Warrelics does the same thing. Don't know about other sites.

I am always hesitant to make changes that affect others that aren't so..."oblivious" But seems something may need to be done in this case. Hmmm. A membership would at least have been appropriate a while ago. Especially considering the hosts just advised me now we are almost up to our 125 GIG allocation, and I'm going to have to buy more server space. Sigh. Still....125 Gigs of images here is quite something. Try publish THAT as a book

Hey Bruce, Thanks for the article. Here is a better image. Looks like 144? Sword is in relatively good shape. Tsuka is intact with only a small crack in the ray skin. I’m missing the mekugi. Only thing broken is the (chuso) the lock for the saya. Not sure there is a lot of resources in Ohio but happy I found this forum. Trying to decide if I want to try to repair myself or see if there is someone close to me to help restore.