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  1. Looks like Satsuma Rebellion wrap. Fairly nondescript but genuine wakizashi. Lots of oiling and wiping in your future. Nothing abrasive.
    3 points
  2. I just got notified that my second Nihonto in in transit from Japan. It will hopefully be here by Thursday. It is another sunnobi tanto. Photos from Aoi Art are attached. When I have it in hand I will post some more pictures. This blade passed Hozon in June.
    2 points
  3. Ah, that's better Andy, Yes that is Kanetomo (must say his handwriting is very 'Seki' in style). So, going by quality and 'handwriting style' we can rule out Kiribuchi Kanemoto, so that leaves only? MIWA (SHIZUO) KANETOMO. Jinsoo Kim records show he started as a Seki swordsmith on Showa 14.10.20 (20th Oct. 1939). Nihonto Meikan Homma/Ishii 1975 p.160 lists him as MIWA Shizuo of Seki town. In Showa 18 (1943) he was 28 years old. He became RJT. He is classed as a Showa Smith, Gifu, Army swordsmith. Not much info I know, but about all I can find. My more modern books don't show him working after the war. Regards,
    2 points
  4. Yes Jean I got what you were saying - it still gives me a kick every time an ad says 'found in an old trunk' in Japanese - but google translates it as 'found in an old elephant'
    2 points
  5. Item No. 159 Iron Tsuba with brass inlay 7.65 cm x 7.38 cm x 0.45 cm at centre , 0.22 cm at rim. An intricate mesh pattern in brass , with a couple of small sukashi of chidori ? Unknown age , guess at mid to late 18th cent. The patient workmaship shown in this piece testifies to the Japanese spirit and will of the skilled craftsman to produce the best that he can. As with many Japanese works , there is a ' hidden ' treasure that in this case , shows in sunshine or bright light , when flashes of a multi coloured iridescence are seen. The plate has been shaped to show this by thinning down at both the rim and the Seppa Dai. Purchased direct from a Japanese dealer in mid 2007.
    2 points
  6. If he was not good, he would not have a backlog.
    2 points
  7. Yes Dale, I think so, too! But I was mainly referring to the very optimistic description of the condition of that TSUBA. Indeed, they could not translate SUKASHI, but there are so many other sales ads they could have looked at to see what terms to use!
    2 points
  8. On the lid: Ichijō (一乗) Snowflake design tsuba (雪華文鐔) Inside the lid: Cut-corner mokkō-shaped shakudō (隅切木瓜形赤銅) Snowflake design thick-rim (雪華文土手耳) Signature: Gotō Hokkyō (銘後藤法橋) Ichijō [kao] (一乗花押) Summer 1969 (昭和己酉夏) Recorded by Kanzan [kao] (寒山誌) [花押]
    2 points
  9. I have written this post as an aid to tsuba newbies, like myself, who may buy Nagoya-mono tsuba while mistaking them for Mino Goto shakudo tsuba. Examples of Nagoya-mono tsuba have been discussed many times on the NMB and I offer this post as a collation of examples from what I believe is a single workshop. Nagoya-mono (alternatives Nagoyamono or Nagaoya mono) literally means ‘Nagoya object or thing’, i.e. something from Nagoya. Sometimes they are called ‘shiiri-mono’; literally ‘thing off the self, or stock item’. There are various types of Nagoya-mono and this post is a collation of the wakizashi size, mokko shaped soft metal tsuba that superficially resemble Goto workmanship that I believe were produced in the same workshop. I must declare at the outset that I am not an expert on the subject and the notes below are based upon my observations and what little information I have been able to glean from the literature. So please feel free to correct and comment. I first came across these tsuba two years ago when two were offered for sale at a large London auction house and catalogued as ‘Mino Goto shakudo’. Fortunately, a slow internet failed to register my over the top winning bid. A couple of months later I purchased two (a lot cheaper) as part of a mixed lot and others keep popping up in online auctions both in the UK and abroad, including Japan. This prompted an interest (though not a love) in these tsuba and a concern that they were being (possibly inadvertently) advertised as more desirable Mino Goto tsuba. For example, there is a tsuba of this type to which has been added a ‘Soten’ signature on Ebay for over £2000! The general features of these particular Nagoya-mono are: 1 Mokko shape and wakizashi or small katana size size (my two are 6.8 x 6.1 cm). 2. Although looking like shakudo, the metal is probably nigurome, an alloy of katashirome (tin and lead) and copper, which only becomes shakudo after gold (3-7%) has been added (Christies Compton collection description). Whether this is true nigurome, i.e. the base alloy for shakudo, or a similar alloy better suited to casting and patination I cannot say. 3. The colour of the body (ji) of the tsuba resembles the blue black of shakudo but lacks the depth of colour and often has a brown tinge to it. The seppa-dai is always chocolate brown in the ones that I have seen. 4. The ji is not perfectly flat, as in Goto works, but often shows shallow undulations caused by uneven casting. 5. The nanako finish is not great. I thought that it was probably cast rather than made with a punch. However, comparing the nanako on one of my tsuba with that of a photo (on-line) of an identical tsuba showed differences. This may indicate the nanako was applied by hand (using a punch), or from using different moulds when casting the tsuba. 6. The mimi and hitsu ana are usually surrounded by a gold gilt finish that initially looks like regular nanako, but on closer examination looks like a lizard skin, i.e. shallow and with bigger oval spots (see pic). 7. Most have a single kodzuka hitsu ana, but some have both kogai and kodzuka hitsu ana. 8. Silver and gold gilding looks as if it has been applied by painting with a mercury amalgam and then heating to vaporise the mercury. I have not seen any evidence of gold foil peeling off the tsuba. I conclude that although cast, individual tsuba are finished and decorated by hand. I have not seen seams from the mould either, unlike cast iron tsuba. 9. Lastly, these Nagoya-mono tsuba have a characteristic pattern of ten punch marks around the nakago ana, viz: three at the top, two on each side at the bottom and three along the bottom. These differ slightly in position, so were evidently made individually and some have been altered. I think that these were quality control marks to indicate they were deemed good enough to sell. As soon as I see these I want to shout ‘Ah, another tsuba from Mr Suzuki’s workshop.’ Note: I don’t actually know the name of the workshop owner. So, who originally bought these tsuba? I don’t think it was tourists (Japanese or European) as has been suggested. There were few in the Edo period. Poverty and starvation were rife in the 17th and 18thC, so they may have been bought by poor samurai or by wealthier wannabe merchants, who were allowed to wear short swords. A bit of bling to wear on Saturday nights maybe. Many men throughout history and throughout the world have woken up after a night on the town only to find that they had ‘mislaid’ their money, valuables and sometimes their clothes. A wise man would leave his valuables at home. Although dismissed by many on the NMB, I see no reason why a collector should not specialise in Nagoya-mono, especially if they are not wealthy enough to buy genuine Goto works and have no interest in ‘bits of old iron’. However, some of the ones I have seen for sale have gone for over £300/$400, which I think is way too much! There are plenty to study in addition to those from Mr Suzuki’s workshop. So here is my collection of 16 designs (there are others) that I have come across in the last few months, all apparently from ‘Mr Suzuki’s workshop’. Two of them are mine (they were just included in job lots, honest!). I have also included a picture of the ‘lizard skin’ nanako on the mimi of one of mine for reference. 1. Takarabune (treasure ship) with the character Hoo (treasure) on the sail. This tsuba is mine 2. Chrysanthemum, birds and fence. This tsuba is also mine 3. Flowers in basket on wheelbarrow 4. Tadamori catching the oil thief 5. Man chasing snake 6. Pagoda and water wheel 7. Shishi 8. Ho-o bird on branch 9. Chrysanthemums 10. Meadow flowers 11. Five Chinese sages 12. Thatched hut scene 13. Two deer and flowers 14. Dragon 15. Lady Murasaki Shikibu writing 16. Peacock Regards, John (just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)
    1 point
  10. Hello, I share with you an interesting historical armor from my collection, this object belonged to HORI HIDEMASA a Daimyo of the momoyama era. This armor is from the early Momoyama period (around 1575), probably donated by Nobunaga. Indeed on the "Kote" is found the Mon of Oda and an impressive Kashiradate in the shape of a nail which is a reminder of the Mon of HORI (Mon in the shape of a nail puller): The armor dates from the period when Hidemasa was in campaign in the service of ODA Nobunaga between 1572 and 1582. Mon from HORI clan : In 1566 at the age of 13 he entered as a page in the service of Oda Nobunaga, in 1572 he was present during the campaign against the Azai and the Asakura (The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga / by Ota Gyuichi; translated and edited by JSA Elisonas and JP Lamers). In 1575, he took part in Nobunaga's assaults against the Ikkō-ikki of Echizen province and fought the saika-ikki two years later, commanding Nobunaga's army in the company of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Sakuma Nobumori. He is also at the head of a corps of arquebusiers in several battles including that of Komaki and Nagakute which opposed him to TOKUGAWA IYEASU. On the death of Nobunaga he became one of the closest Daimyo to HIDEYOSHI until his death in 1590 at the siege of ODAWARA Castle, he participated in many campaigns with this armor. Détails from front and behind the Do : This armor comes from the collections of the LII ARMOR Museum in Kyoto and exhibited at the LIDA City Museum during a retrospective on the HORI family : The original bitsu :
    1 point
  11. Had an easy transaction with our own Bullet Sprinkler (Jay) this past week. Made a deal on a kogai and shipping was ultra fast and the kogai was packed in such a way a truck could have driven over it and it would have been fine. Easy to work with. Item is way better in had than the pictures I saw, which is always nice. Recommended to buy from.
    1 point
  12. Hi, Rare yari, i think. 酒蔵正吉作 (Sakakura Masayoshi)
    1 point
  13. Not exactly a "flashy" gunto, but a nice one nonetheless. I mentioned in the "Manchurian eye Candy" thread that I was thinking of bidding on those high class mounts which celebrated 25 years of service to the SMR, however, this early Mantetsu blade in combat mounts took precedent! Hope you enjoy the pictures I took, I know @Bruce Penningtonwill.
    1 point
  14. That’s great information a lot more than what I started with so I am very appreciative....... Thank you all. It’s amazing the wealth of information found within this forum. 👍👍
    1 point
  15. Tsuba is signed 江府住序之 Kōfu-jū Tsuneyuki Made by Tsuneyuki of Edo.
    1 point
  16. I was able to submit the contact form by disabling javascript (and received a success message). We'll see if I get a response! Thank you, Brandon
    1 point
  17. Thanks , everyone for your kind comments. Re Item No. 159 George , my understanding of the galvanic corrosion effect is that in this case , the brass would tend to cause corrosion in the iron . This would be very limited and slow if the piece is kept dry , much accelerated in the case of damp conditions . There is actually some evidence , in the form of rough spots , on the tsuba rim of minor iron corrosion . Years ago , when I was working for a company installing infrastructure pipelines in the middle east , we used to use large sacrificial anodes of Magnesium on the steel fittings ( tees , bends , reducers etc. ). These would help to give many years of protection to a pipeline especially where there was also the inherent risk of corrosion due to cavitation .
    1 point
  18. The kind of tsuba like the second one has already been discussed previously in this forum. Please see: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14025-next-best-thing-to-having-nbthk-papers/#comment-147138
    1 point
  19. It looks like an older wakizashi that your grandfather, or someone, decided to clean improperly by 'cleaning' the nakago (the tang) and removed all what should have been black rust. This makes telling how old the blade is much more difficult and impacts its value as a whole, while allowing for newer harmful red rust to form. But judging from the crispness of the filemarks on the tang and the overall shape, I'd guess its no older than the mid-1700's. Value is going to be on the lower end due to condition. One nice thing is that the tsuba, although fairly plain, is signed, which is a big plus for that part! Disregarding all that, as for care, the best thing you can do is lightly oil just the blade itself (Choji oil is traditional and works best), but any non-abrasive oil will work too. Don't touch the nakago with anything yet. I will let more knowledgeable folk instruct you on what else you can do with it in regards to care!
    1 point
  20. It rather looks “…祐定” (Sukesada) to me, Bill!
    1 point
  21. Brian is correct. If you buy a legally registered blade or a gun, you see written on the back of the registration card a set of conditions among which it states clearly that you must send off notice of ownership to the Education Authority in your area ‘within 20 days’. (Just checked) PS It is true that many do not follow this rule, but the penalties are there in principle and under the invisible threat most people feel slightly pressured to comply.
    1 point
  22. I'm under the belief that when ownership changes, the relevant authorities have to be notified to do change of ownership. I'm not saying it happens that way often, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. The law states you have to register the owner and change of ownership? I think you have X amount of days to do this when you purchase.
    1 point
  23. Dug around and found other examples. First one is the middle part of a triptych by an artist called Ginkō (c.1887) https://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=59177 2nd and 3rd are, as Chris says, by an artist named Kōgyō. https://www.harashobo.com/ukiyoe/ukiyoe_detail.php?print_id=24027 https://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=60732 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kōgyo_Tsukioka
    1 point
  24. Thanks for all the replies it was very helpful. unfortunately I cannot get any better photos as the sword is not in my hands. I was thinking of making an offer to buy, however I may hold off in search of something a little better. I did like the blade but the Mei is messy and didn’t like the new wrap on handle. I’m in no hurry so will keep looking and pestering you all for info on future swords.
    1 point
  25. From the link that grey posted " Most problems caused by contact can be solved by using interleaves" In my Impression dry wood does not really react much with the air and the blade in the dansu should be fine in its shirasaya no matter what wood your dansu is made of. Ph is the potential of hydrogen and dry wood will not have much hydrogen left in my opinion. Just take something that is not full of resin and looks good. If im wrong i would love to learn something EDIT: I think cleaning the room where your nihonto are with something (cleanser) else then water is much more dangerous.
    1 point
  26. Jean it is an obvious Google translate error, it should read "invisible inlay" not transparent!
    1 point
  27. movie Japan's longest day Toshiro Mifune and others Japanese actor All Stars August 15, 1945 Accept the Potsdam Declaration, a secret story on the eve of the end of the war
    1 point
  28. Try poplar or linden wood for least acidic. Light compared to maple which is OK. John
    1 point
  29. I would say cherry wood, but take that advice with a grain of salt.
    1 point
  30. Hi Charles, It is easy to find tables of wood pH levels online; here is one: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Acidity-of-different-wood-species_tbl1_281295854 Looks like maple and poplar are possibilities. Grey
    1 point
  31. Sooo we have a pattern here....or we both have good taste. I had planned a hard run on this....one day bids arr over $350...in five days im sure it will be over my meager budget.
    1 point
  32. G'day Guys, I have a database of 53 of his long blades that I have found on the net. His most common hada is ayasugi, followed by masame, followed by soshu in the ratio of 4:2:1. Then there is the odd example of other styles such as koitame. Cheers, Bryce
    1 point
  33. Dear All. My apologies, I was just trailing my coat with that remark. It was in response to the post by Sunny. Of course it's not the same blade, that was really what I was trying to point out. All the best.
    1 point
  34. I am adding these two examples of Nagoya-mono style tsuba to my post separately as I don’t want them mixed up with examples from Mr Suzuki’s workshop. They are also from my collection. The first is a really awful example of a cast tsuba that appears to be identical to my example #9 in my original post. The casting is bad and the black patina looks like paint. In addition the punch marks are missing from the nakago ana, so maybe its one of Mr Suzuki’s rejects that someone else finished! The second example is similar to example number #3, flowers in a basket on a wheelbarrow, but there are significant differences in the design that show it not to be cast from the same mould. This represents one of the superior examples of Nagoya-mono. Unlike the typical examples from ‘Mr Suzuki’s workshop’, the punch marks around the nakago ana are different. In addition the patina of the metal looks a bit more like shakudo, so perhaps there is some gold in the mix. There were good examples Nagoya-mono tsuba in the Compton Collection. So, if they are good enough for him to have collected….. I hope that this shows that not all Nagoya-mono tsuba were cheap Goto knock offs, some were quite good but others were awful. Regards, John (just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)
    1 point
  35. he he, well I'm quite proud of my friend and student, Marcus, calling it spot on. Obviously his eye has benefitted from superior tosogu appreciation training. 😂
    1 point
  36. Hi Roger ! Your tsuba is made in the style of soten, These tsuba were very popular and most works in the style are imitation , often poor quality made by shiiremono makers in late Edo . Examples - tsuba Soten I / II generation and two later works in the style.
    1 point
  37. I thought that I would revive the discussion on shiirimono as I became interested in Mino Goto lookalike shiirimono tsuba recently after I purchased two in a job lot of tsuba at a local auction. Not knowing about shiirimono knockoffs I thought that they were just poor quality Goto tsuba. Having studied my examples and finding further info on the NMB etc., I now share my observations, thoughts and questions. Probably a timely revival as several examples have come up for sale recently, one being described as ‘rare’, ‘Mino school’, ‘shakudo’ and sold for $360. Searching the Internet, NMB, auction sites and dealers’ sites I have found at least duplicate examples of five different designs, all mokko shaped, namely; Treasure ship (see my first example) in which the kanji ‘hoo’ for treasure is displayed on the sail. Four chrysanthemums (see my second example, which looks like it has been painted black in imitation shakudo) Pagoda Lady calligraphy writer (described by one Japanese dealer as the 7thC poet Ono no Komachi. See screen shots of two examples from on-line auctions last week) Dragon in waves Anyone got other examples? At first sight the duplicates of each design look identical, but on closer examination differences in the finish can be seen. The gilding pattern and kanji on the sail of the treasure ship is different on my tsuba from another published example. The pattern of nanako punch marks show differences in other duplicates, indicating that they were applied by hand. Thus rough cast tsuba were subjected to finishing by individual craftsmen, who while not the best Goto craftsmen, nonetheless took some care when working (I’d hate to have made my living as the ‘nanako guy’). This has been suggested before (Junichi) and the two pics of Ono no Komachi tsuba that have been on sale at recent on-line auctions shows the differences in quality of the finish. The seppa dai on these tsuba is often a chocolate brown, indicating that the tsuba were cast in bronze, an ideal metal for casting, and not the shakudo of the Goto school (as sometimes stated on adverts for tsuba for sale). Another observation that intrigues me is the seppa dai and nagako ana: they usually show no sign of being mounted on a sword, the seppa dai is unblemished and the nagako ana shows no sign of wear or filing (I did see one with sekigane). However, most show a distinct pattern of punch marks, three at the bottom (mune), two either side at the bottom and three at the top. As pointed out before (Mauro) these appear to be a signature (tagane mei) of the factory(?) rather than an indication that they were used to modify the nagako ana when fitting to a blade. The ten punch marks show some variation in the exact placement and so were not stamped by a machine. These observations prompt me to ask several questions, the obvious ones being who made them and when were they made. Opinions have already been given on these. The other question I have is ‘Who were they made for? Poor samurai, Japanese tourists, Western tourists, export market?’ My initial thought as to the purchasers of these tsuba were poor samurai and others who could not afford quality Goto fittings. However the majority of examples that I have seen do not appear to have been mounted on blades. I don’t get the impression that middle class Japanese in the pre-Meiji period were collectors of souvenirs, or were great tourists, but my knowledge here is lacking. There was no significant influx of Western tourists until the Meiji era and these were few and moneyed people. After the haitorei I imagine that the price of sword fittings collapsed and those few western collectors buying tsuba were presented with a vast array of good quality items and would not have been interested in shiirimono. Skilled kinko tsuba makers were turning out good quality bronze figures at this time and I doubt if they were making cheap tsuba as a sideline, e.g. Miyao Eisuke workshop in Yokohama. However smaller workshops were probably churning them out and throwing them in with job lots of genuine and fake Japanese antiques being exported to the west at the end of the 19thC. Japanese stuff was all the rage in Europe at this time. Although I have no specific interest in collecting cast tsuba, that makes two ‘Mino’ tsuba and three cast iron sukashi tsuba that I have bought without realising what they were at the time. But, from published examples of shiirimono in the collections of experienced collectors, I guess that I am not the only one who has acquired examples by accident. Ah well, its all part of the learning process.
    1 point
  38. Ko-kinkō tsuba usually have the nanako applied in parallel lines, not circles, IIRC; I therefore concur with Curran in giving it a Mino attribution, also regarding the overall quality (as opposed to ko-Mino).
    1 point
  39. Jim the Age newspaper of the 27th of January 1893 contains a reference to these swords the guts of which is that the Victorian Defence department purchased 50 swords from the Japanese "for use of the officers of the cadet corps ". The cost was one pound each as opposed to 3 pounds for 'those of English manufacture " Ian Brooks
    1 point
  40. Ahhhh, blast from the past... Time for some trumpet blowing - the photos are mine, as are some number in that book. I remember that sword very well. I think the camera I had at the time was a Pentax Spotmatic, now using a Canon 18-megapixel box. Gotta say Darcy and rkg make me feel like a Kindergarten Kid! The joy continues, still taking photos all these years later. I'll have some more to put up in the near future. Bestests, BaZZa.
    1 point
  41. I bet against it and vote for 'Cavalry'.
    0 points
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