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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/13/2020 in all areas

  1. Hi John, As you say...so many variables, but maybe this will help. 2 old blades in Type 98 mounts (mon = 2) 9 gendai 1926-1945 blades as follows: 4 in Type 98 mounts (mon = 2,, both missing) 5 in Type Rinji mounts (mon = nil). 1 Type 98 'spare part' kabuto gane with mon. It is a strange thing but I have seen MANY Meiji-Taisho arsenal type brass hilted sabres with mon but very few 1940-1945 showato with mon...maybe the lack of mon shows that 1937-1945 officers were mostly 'called-up' for service and were not "traditional" army-alligned young men whereas back in Maiji-Taisho it was a "profession/brotherhood" one went in to and absorbed all the pride and thus needed to show one's family/clan etc to like-minded colleagues? Maybe in WWII those officers who had the money to have a blade hand-made and mounted would be more likely to add a mon. Regards,
    3 points
  2. Thought it may be of interest to see how Mon are distributed among different types of swords, I know it will be difficult to ascertain any reliable data but I'm sure there will be a trend or something interesting discovered(?). I would have attempted to collect data from the Identify our Mon thread but many examples don't have the types of blade listed. Obviously this can be skewed by the nature of how everyone collects but please indulge me for now. One thing I have come to recognize is they are most regularly found on Shin Gunto of all types with old blades, followed by Gendaito, quite rarely on Kai Gunto and very rarely on Showato. An observation on swords from Yasukuni & Minatogawa Jinja is that they rarely seem to carry Mon, however that could very well be a matter of smaller sample size and this was based off swords listed for sale over the years. For simplicity Showato can encompass all non traditional blades such as Koa Isshin Mantetsu, Zohei-To & Murata-To, special steel swords, stainless and any bearing the usual Seki/Showa stamps. So please, if you like, list your swords with Mon here as such. Of mine: Old blades: 6 (two are only Koshirae) Gendaito: 2 (one a Yasukuni) Kai Gunto: 0 Showato: 0 Kyu Gunto: 0
    2 points
  3. Interesting you tube.. Best
    2 points
  4. Thank you Mauro i knew i could count on your experience. Not that rair of theme see FB post
    2 points
  5. Hi Stephen, actually it's a toad. The theme is referred as Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也). It'a about the hero of the the folktale reported in Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari, who was able to morph into a gigantic toad. See Numata Kenji, Tsuba - Kodōgu Gadai Jiten, vol. 1 p. 120.
    2 points
  6. Mostly old blades, a Yasukuni, and Gendai. Will dig out more later.
    2 points
  7. The problem with these "Koshirae" is that without the blade you can only guess how long they have been together. I used an old tsunagi I had knocking around to mount the pieces up and from the alterations I had to do and proportions resulting I think the saya and tsuka match up. It was an old blade (short nakago) mounted up late in the war, and the leather cover and haikan lost to time. The tsuba I am not so sure, it's very nice under the paint, and is gilded brass with burnishing, so you get both matt and bright areas. Those 94 - 98 tsuba are very handsome when it good condition as opposed to the sad plain brass that we usually see after 70 years of wear and polishing, late war they tended to be plated cast iron. No matter though, it's what it is. Regarding the same, I did think it might be sandpaper as seen on some late war stuff, but inspection under a lens confirms it to be shark of one sort or another. I have an Edo period tsuka with similar, but smoothed down and lacquered over all. Good quality same is and was an import to Japan from further South.
    2 points
  8. Speaking of the Umetada school, there was a person who won the Tsuba for over $ 10,000 in June. It shows the high evaluation of Sumie-zogan.
    2 points
  9. There's also a whitish colour in the same area Neil, i had one a while back. Let's not forget that Commissioned Officers could choose the fittings and schemes that they liked, personally tailored, so to speak. If the officer liked the 'look', then why couldn't he get black? as long as the overall finished product meets the basic Army requirements. Remember that fittings come in all sorts, from shiny brass, painted and even darkened/silvered styles, we don't get too excited and immediately say that its been tampered with post war, (unless it's blatantly obvious) like we seem to do with black. It's your call on what to do Dave, but i've always been of the 'leave it as found' thought when i come across these things. If i wanted the general 'text' book example, then i'd get one. Interesting Same by the way, i haven't seen one quite like that before.
    2 points
  10. Hi everyone, I have decided to let one of the swords within my collection go in order to fund another piece into my collection. Here is a beautiful Tachi made by the late Mukansa smith Hiroki Hirokuni made in 2013 just before his passing. It is one of his last works. The Tachi is a Long and wide blade at the bottom and tapers towards the top. It has a Deep Koshii-sori (curve is deepest at the bottom of the blade) The hamon is a thick and wide suguha. The Tachi is aimed at the Aoe school. The blade is in flawless condition. The Specs are: Blade Length: 78.1cm (2 Shaku 5sun 7bu) Motohaba: 3.2cm Tip Width: 2.2cm Motoshige: 1.7cm Sakikasane: 1.4cm Sori: 2.9cm 13,500 Aud Negotiable. Sincerely, Nicholas P.S. Here is a video of Hiroki Hirokuni -
    1 point
  11. For you kind comments please.... I have a tsuba which shows at least two specific characteristics: 1- Original Histsu Ana have a very funny shape looking similar to a "chinese hat" (Kantei point ?) 2- Then, they have been plugged with a very high quality shakudo (strong bkack one) which should have been expensive 3- Finnaly, one of the hitsu ana as been cut to become a kogai ana As a natural conclusion this tsuba has been used in different koshirae styles but any other explanation are more than welcome.
    1 point
  12. I asked the person who proposed the rusu moyo (absent motif) interpretation as gama sennin what they think of Mauro’s theory. I’m curious to see how this ends.
    1 point
  13. Hi John, Interesting indeed! I have only one Gunto(98) with a mon and it is a showa seki blade! Atleast on the higher end of the Showa scale I think. You might have seen it before but i'll post it anyway Oh, sorry for the photo spam 🙃
    1 point
  14. Yes beautiful piece Francois. I'm glad you are enjoying it.
    1 point
  15. 津尋芳(1721-1762)江戸時代中期の装剣金工。 享保(kiyou-ho)6年生まれ。阿波徳島(阿波徳島)藩の抱え工野村正道(野村政道)の門人。野村一派でもっともすぐれた工人といわれる。花鳥、植物図の縁頭、小柄、鱗などを製作した。宝暦(hou-reki)12年6月死去。42歳。江戸出身。通称は八左衛門(Hachizaemon) 。 研究書:梶村茂著 『津尋后』 1966、自費出版
    1 point
  16. Hi Nio school early Edo Kanei era also signed Choshu ju Fujiwara Hirotaro
    1 point
  17. Dale, good point about the gold flower not matching the box impression and not matching the color of the gold on the other menuki. In addition, the two menuki are significantly different in size. All of those factors point to these not being a set, but if we can see the backs, we will probably know for sure.
    1 point
  18. Mike Generally painted numbers opposite side of mei are just assembly numbers so the women doing to final assembly can keep the proper pieces together. Rich
    1 point
  19. Boy, There are some great tosogu here. I am an iron lover, and so the Owari, Myochin, Akasaka, and Kyo all look especially fine for me. Here is an Akasaka (yondai) Tadatoki NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu. A standout in my Akasaka collection.
    1 point
  20. My guess is type of shark skin https://images.app.goo.gl/omwo7hFy7FZrEnkK7
    1 point
  21. I rather doubt it's a yoroi-doshi, George, as those were made mostly during Muromachi Period for armor-piercing. Yours looks much newer than that.
    1 point
  22. I've spoken to Louis, he is indeed in a far better place now he is out of the nihonto grip and getting stuck into wonderful projects . I think it always stays with you the bug... but better it doesn't control your life as it can for some.
    1 point
  23. Morita san is the pilar of NMB mei transcription and I have learned so much during these last years. Thank you so much.
    1 point
  24. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt". Adam has not only spoken, he is yelling through a megaphone at this point.
    1 point
  25. In my opinion we are custodians so we should try to conserve. Generally, you shouldn't remove a mei unless you have several authorities all agreeing that it is gimei (and even then, you should only have it removed in rare cases).
    1 point
  26. Thanks Jp, appreciated, very much Just had an unbelievably kind offer from a gentleman offering just that, without conditions. I gratefully declined as it is not his field of collecting, but shows what wonderful people are out there in this niche community. Im sure it will sell eventually, thanks for the kind words.
    1 point
  27. Thanks Greg and Mal, appreciate your kind and positive comments. Will add dimensions soon, its a good sized tanto
    1 point
  28. Yes, as you say Bruce, too early to tell. I have to say that since I put that Yamagami numbers list together, I have seen numbers on other tangs, and am now wondering if they really are smith numbers. I say this as my Tsukamoto Masakazu tang dated 17/4 (Apr. 1942) is numbered 1129 (and all parts)...so the question arises, how can Masakazu (later in 1942 a RJT smith) who only "graduated" from his brother Okimasa's sword training forge in Setagaya, Tokyo, in about mid-1941, have moved to Fukushima, set up his own forge, and produced his 1129th sword in April 1942? (that would be close to 100 swords/month). An excellent Japanese source on RJT smiths I got from Morita sama and Chris Bowen sensei says that in the 6 months 14 Aug. 1944 - 26 Feb 1945 Masakazu made 97 RJT swords (about 16/month), so the number 1129 (100/month when he was a private smith) must be "just a number"?. Maybe it is a contract number between smith and mounting shop (just a number in amongst all their other customer numbers?)...maybe it is just mounting shop number to keep all the parts from getting mixed up with other swords? I just am not sure. Again, with the Yamagami brothers, that MATSU in a circle stamp is local to Niigata (so far only them)...but is it (and the number) theirs or their local mounting shop? So, I hope I haven't confused everyone...I know you like mysteries Bruce...this is a beauty!...hope I don't read about a Japanese Sword Collector going crazy in the US in the near future!!!! Regards,
    1 point
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