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Hey Fellas- I finally finished my sword display and study space. Thought you might enjoy taking a peek into my little world. The swords displayed on the table usually live in the the bedroom/Livingroom, but I rotate them out in the display case from time to time. In total, I have acquired 18 pieces in 3 years of active collecting, 6 of them are "mystery nihonto" the rest are papered. I think that my next step should be to get a professional appraisal of the whole lot for insurance purposes. any suggestions for how to go about this? Thanks for helping me get this far! -- JT

The Car is the "Magnolia Special". I built her from scratch, and she now lives on the second floor of building that I also built from scratch. Check it out, thanks for asking! Brian - Apologies for getting off topic.-- JT

The pattern on this Kozuka comes from the Analects of Confucius. The Analects of Confucius is one of the most important classical books of ancient Chinese Confucianism. Its content records the words and deeds of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. In the chapter of gongyechang, there is a dialogue between Confucius and his student Zilu: The Master said, "My doctrines make no way. I will get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He that will accompany me will be You, I dare to say." Zi Lu hearing this was glad. I think it is the reproduction of this scene.

The little motorcycle hanging up in the front of the shop is a Simplex. I keep it as a wall hanger because in 1952 (when Indian went under) New Orleans was the home of the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the US. As a motorcycle designer working in NOLA, I find it equally as inspiring as the Japanese Sword collection. The first floor is dedicated to design and construction of prototype motorcycles, and a small assembly line. Thanks for all of the compliments, and if any member finds themselves in NOLA please let me know. -- JT

I think that the point of the question is the place of “ju” rather than Bishu or Bizen. As “Bizen (no) kuni Osafune (備前國長舩)” is a place name, it may be natural to write Bizen (no) kuni Osafune ju (備前國長舩住) before a smith name. Oei Bizen or before Oei Bizen blades usually have such a mei. And after shinto Bizen blades also have the mei style. However, Sue-Bizen blades have Bizen (no) kuni ju Osafune (備前國住長舩) style before a smith name. I do not know its exact reason. As Chris W said in this thread, the context might emphasize “I am from Bize Prov and the Osafune group or school”.

G'day Guys, So far I have identified 53 examples of Gassan Sadakatsu katana from the net. This looks like it may be about as far as I can go without more help. Here are a couple of extra things I have picked up. The average length of his blades is 68.0cm with the shortest being 64cm and longest 72.7cm. All, but a handful are signed with his kao. Of these with no kao, two are star stamped. As a general rule, those without a kao, don't seem to be quite as good as his kao'd blades. I have only found two star stamped examples, both made in 1943. I have found only six kogarasu examples. Of these, three were made with steel smelted by the Japan Iron Sand Steel Industry Company. It almost seems as if he set out to make a blade in every style he knew to see how they would turn out using this new steel. Or perhaps he was commissioned by the company to do this, although there is no mention of this in the company history. Cheers, Bryce

Listing a nice, early gendaito by Heianjo Masatsugu dated Showa 14 (a lucky day in February, 1939). The blade is a long gendaito measuring 69.4cm, with very nice workmanship. The jihada is ko-itame, and the hamon is suguha-based ko-choji. The sword is mounted in a rare example of an Iida latch gunto koshirae, which what I believe is a field replacement saya. The kabutogane of the gunto tsuka has a silver attachment with what appears to be the surname Kumatani (熊谷 - thank you for the correction SteveM). The blade is in Japanese polish with gold foil habaki, and shirasaya with a tsunagi for the koshirae. Mei: 百錬平安城正次作 - Hyakuren Heianjo Masatsugu saku (possibly this smith: https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/MAS1161) Nengo: 昭和十四七年二月吉日 - A lucky day in the 2nd month of 1939 Nagasa 69.4cm Moto-haba 30mm Saki-haba 19mm Kasane 6.5mm $5,500 (plus shipping & PayPal). Best regards, Ray

Big thank you to both of you! I really couldn't find those last few kanji - although I did have 子地 in my earlier tries, I switched to る地 because it seemed a better fit. As you both undoubtedly know - you're real credits to this forum! I'll make a small donation in your honor.

Hi, Did my homework, but wasn't quite able to finish it :-) Any help would be greatly appreciated! 六花形 赤銅 魚る地 Mutsu kikka-gata shakudo niru? ji (where the niru is confusing me, maybe I got the kanji wrong?) 高彫 色絵 x x 也 takabori iroe x x nari 無銘 古美濃 (中期室町) Mumei Ko-Mino (Chūki Muromachi) 昭和 x x 年 x x Showa year (can't really find the right sexagenary cycle, doubting between a few) 寒山誌 Kanzan shirusu + double seal

Looks like Myōchin Ōsumi (no) kami ki Nobuie (明珍大隅守紀信家)

Hello Bjorn , I think that your tsuba is a classy quality piece but that the fuchi kashira are far from being that . In my opinion you need something of comparable quality to go with that tsuba. Ian Brooks

I should have added that the sword is secured by a snap tab, and uses the fairly rare pierced tsuba/seppa set.

Hi, Katakura Masaharu is 片倉正晴 in Kanji. Ushu,Yonezawa Shinshinto smith.

Dear Bjorn, very nice tsuba - I really like it. I believe that most good koshirae were tied together in a meaningful theme that was important to the owner. If the sword is the “soul” of the Samurai and the single most important item to him, why would he just put together a bunch of random tosogu on his sword? I think that your tsuba is a stylized chrysanthemum which symbolizes Autumn, Purity, Longevity and Nobility, and is featured in many different legends and motifs like “the Chrysanthemum Boy,” "the Four Gentlemen," “Master of the Five Willows”, etc. So in addition to choosing other tosogu to go with your tsuba’s color and “solemn” style, you might want to choose a matching theme that is important to you too. For example, if you like the Four Gentlemen, then you would want to find tosogu that match your tsuba in color and style that have the other three flowers/plants of this grouping. Remember that the Japanese view of flowers was very different from most Western perspectives. The Four Gentlemen (Shikunshi) was a well known theme to Samurai that was adopted from Chinese philosophy and consisted of orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum and plum. The traits represented by these plants exemplified Bushido (the Warrior’s Way).

Do not disassemble them. There is nothing to be gained and everything to lose if you damage the sword, screws, handle or can't get it to refit. They are mass produced NCO swords, no 'craftmanship' as it were. The aluminium handle is a pretty okay Seki. I'd say you should get $1200 AUD easily enough. The second with the ring handles is very rare and should fetch an easy $4,000 AUD. Prices in Australia are often either highly inflated or much less than the US. We don't have many swords in the market and there is a false perception they cannot be imported or owned. Stupid bullshit about a license made up by idiots with no clue. Do some research on the swords or you will get fleeced. Oh, I'll add I collect NCO almost exclusively. I'm interested in acquiring both swords, but am in the unfortunate position of only being able to offer trades, not cash, which may not be your forte. I have a beautiful Mantetsu and a few other bits I can offer. PM me if you are interested. I'm happy to give you a hand if you need, regardless of what you decide, being a resident Aussie.

I'm home now after my first sword show at the San Francisco Token-Kai. I had an incredible time, learned so much, made a few purchases, met some great people, and can't wait to attend another show. For those that missed it, here's a few photos and a video I took of the event. My camera is just an older iPhone, so I imagine there are better photos out there, but here's what I've got. Me up and ready bright and early for the day. My wife tagged along for the morning, but I was left free rein for the afternoon I went back and looked at this BEAUTIFUL sword several times. A Hizento by the second generation, the owner had just completed a daisho by the first generation Tadayoshi and was selling this example from the same school: One of the best attendees was this little friend: A MASSIVE o-dachi: A Yoroi-dōshi (edited for spelling, thanks Piers D!). I had been hoping to see one! Ha ha ha, I'm not quite sure about the science here, but a great way to build community, and the dealer was incredibly nice! Very few kyu gunto present. I had been hoping to study more, but honestly, I think there were perhaps 3 total. Of course, I was foolish and didn't get a good photo of this display, which was several Juyo works, and the most expensive was $175,000. Beautiful!!

I’ve always wanted a nice Naval kyu Gunto but ones in mint condition are so few and far in between! thankfully last week I acquired this piece. Absolutely mint Koshaire, Shinto mumei blade in good polish, 25 inches

Hi, I've had this tsuba for a wee while now and was looking at it again recently to carry out some further research. My thoughts on it have come to think it may be Ko-Shoami. It has a couple of tekkotsu on the mimi, image below and dishes a little from the mimi to the seppa-dai. It's maru-gata with a kaku ko-niku mimi. Design is of bamboo in nikubori-ji-sukashi, quite rustic. Overall dimensions below: Height - 66mm Width - 66mm Mimi thk - 5mm Seppa-dai thk - 4.75mm Any thoughts from members would be welcome.

To anyone considering this purchase wanted to yet again say this is an awesome seller. Just bought an amazing blade from him that I would not trade for the world. He went above and beyond to make sure the sell went smoothly! Awesome fellow 👏 Favorite part of the sword changes daily but this is the one for today

Maybe 兼升 - Kanemasu.

Sad that you already have to sell it. I hope a fellow forumite will get it

I really like the academic atmosphere engendered by the build. Like an alchemist's laboratory. John

JT your collection and display is really quite amazing, absolutely beautiful and inspiring. Very cool car too. What was Leno like?

Just in Star stamp Hirokuni. In Rin Tin Tin mounts 😜 竹下宏國作之 - Takeshita Hirokuni saku kore (kore [w]o saku). Also reported to sign Takeshita Yasukuni. Enjoying new sword, no good photos of mei yet. Catching major flack on Chris Bowen's page saying over cleaned. Soon to come

G'day Stephen, I have a mumei shinshinto katana with what looks like similar hada and hamon. I have always thought I would love to find a gunto with a beautiful blade like that and guess what, you have beaten me to it! Look forward to some more photos of the blade. Cheers, Bryce

Normally used on old blades with a wood Saya, this full leather double hanger is typical.

In the USA this is something called collectors insurance. I was impressed with what I learned until I learned that it was only available in the USA. Perhaps others can suggest a specific company. You don't want to pay what your regular home insurance would ask.

JT, fantastic man cave ( all good things together ).. Please tell us more about your swords. BEST

I am also impressed and both I and the owner thank you so very much. My guess is that this was a special tsuba, possibly by request, to carry these proverbs. Whatever, this information will become part of this tsuba's file. I'll search through my book of Nobuiye oshigata to see if by chance these proverbs might be found. The Hidesai (alternate readings) used by Naotada have not been found elsewhere, to date. Seldom see much on these lesser smiths. Not sure if it means anything but notice Naotada used the final vertical stroke in Nao which is later dropped. Again, thanks for your fine explanation of this motif. Ron STL

For an appraisal I’d recommend working with someone like Mike Yamasaki. It needs to be a specialist. And likewise you’ll want specialized insurance (often for militaria). Mike can probably make recommendations there as well.

Good work so far, Dirk! 六花形 赤銅 魚子地 (Rikka-gata shakudo nanako-ji) *六花 is another term for snowflake (they supposedly have six points) 昭和丗九年初冬 (Showa sanju-kyu nen hatsufuyu) The first winter of 1964

A nice example owned by @MichaelSeeley. Darkened fittings and single haikan, but normal kabutogane.

Sayagaki is for evaluation and appraisal. I would not consider adding it as a "label" to be correct or appropriate. Plus, trying to do it yourself is going to look horrible, much like someone in Japan trying to write English. Unless you know how the strokes are formed, the directions and order, it is going to look like a Westerner writing gibberish. Rather label it another way. Get a sword bag, attach a wooden or ivory tag with the label on that. Just my 2c.

Mr Bowen has done a considerable amount of work for the research of Gendaito over the years, there is no need to call him petty names. This is a really great sword, why there is so much discussion on the condition of the Nakago as opposed to the blade is baffling.

Hi, The carving on the Tsuba is a famous maxim/Proverbs of TAKEDA Shingen. pic #1: 人は城、人は石垣、人は堀、 (Hito wa shiro,hito wa ishigaki,hito wa hori, ) People are castles, people are stone walls, people are moats, Mei is 秀斎(Shusai/Hidesai,gago) and 直忠(Naotada). pic #2: 情けは味方、仇は敵なり。 (nasake wa mikata,ada wa kataki nari.) Sympathy is needed to the peoples,and Don't be passionate.

I think there are at least 6 signed tachi by Sueyuki. I have 5 on record and I know about the 6th one in Jūyō session 39 but unfortunately I don't have that book yet. There is long one (83,2 cm) at Itsukushima Jinja, the Jūyō 58 one is 80,4 cm and I know 3 signed tachi (77 - 71 cm) with Tokubetsu Hozon papers. For Sadayoshi I have only found 1 signed tachi that is in the collection of Tokyo National Museum. However needless to say they are extremely rare as those are the ones I have found after years of searching. For comparison I have 27 signed pieces for Sadatoshi.

I now finally understand the misery other posters have written about regarding photographing the hamon...

I think you were bit too fast to pull the trigger Kirill. As we are spread among multiple time zones and countries it is different for others. I was actually just looking into this when you posted the answer. I can't claim that I would have guessed it. I would have guessed Senjuin. Based on my limited info I could gather from the OP. However as you posted the example by school founder that made my guess kinda impossible. I looked into Tanobes Yamashiro book and there is oshigata of Jūyō blade by Sadatoshi that has quite similar looking upper portion as your hint there. Ayanokōji is fascinating and not too commonly known school, I am puzzled how Sadatoshi is appreciated very highly but rest of the school almost falls into obscurity.

Very nice Ciro

Were there any Samurai families using this Sakura crest or is it just a 'nice' motif? This sword also has the Kaga Umebachi Mon.

This will be the first of two posts, since I purchased two swords. I recently attended the 2021 San Francisco Token Kai and had a marvelous time. You can see some of my photos/video here: As I'm a beginner, and this was my first show, I had several goals: First and foremost was to learn and handle Nihonto for the first time. Next was to come away with a sword to study if I found something within my budget ($3000) that caught my heart. This may seem a humble budget, but I have already invested in a solid library of books on Nihonto, we have our first baby on the way, and I am hesitant to spend more than this at the beginning of a hobby that isn't (yet ) an obsession. Since I lived there for a time, I wanted to accomplish #2 with a smith from Kyushu. I am very happy to say that I was able to accomplish all three goals for well below my budget! With my trusty set of books and the Kantei Sheet from the NMB documents, I set up shop in our living room and got to work on my first kantei. I started with sword given the fact that it is a papered blade, and I hoped to be confirming that paper as I refreshed myself/applied the myriad terms required in kantei. Yes, I know the warnings with green origami and knew them when I purchased the sword, but it's a minor smith (less chance/cause to forge the papers), was very reasonably priced, I liked the sword itself, and see Goals 2 and 3 above: So, without further ado, here's my first attempt at a Kantei. Rather than re-typing all the measurements/assessments out, please check out the kantei sheet. I absolutely welcome all comments, constructive criticism, or your thoughts. Thank you! ..

The late 95 is a beauty. I sesrch very long for this version. Congratulation!

They are worth more than that. The top one on its own is rare, and is worth more than that figure alone. You need to do your research on that one, they are very sought after. Both are arsenal mass produced types, but lots of militaria collectors around. Bottom is the regular machine made NCO Shin Gunto. They used to be around $300, but prices have climbed rapidly and average prices are around $800 or so if matching numbers. Gut feel is you have about double your estimate. If you do well, a donation is appreciated We have lots of Aussie collectors here, and I am sure some will be able to advise you. Those that aren't pissed at me for stopping them from picking up a steal I bet the pm's are flying.

Do not disassemble them.