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Excellent blogs by other people, first and foremost Markus, have inspired me to being releasing a newsletter. Three topics each issue, each something not well covered by books. In this one you can find articles about: Kyushu nihonto Saiha and yakinaoshi - same of different? The true meaning of NTHK scores https://www.historyswords.com/news1.pdf

Here is my very first Gendai katana in type 98 fittings made by the well known Mr. Emura Saku, head of the Okayama prison. I love this beautiful sword. Tassel and sarute are China reproductions. I’m a sucker for the little details on these swords lol.

Unfortunately this looks very much like a welded "umegane" (a modern repair to fill a flaw in the blade). We've discussed the same type of feature here previously in another sword that was sold online.

Hi all, I'm new to Tanegashima and have been exclusively collecting swords, this is my first purchase, most simply because i find them beautiful, so please excuse any ignorance i have on the subject. I wanted to post it up to see what people thought, any information they could share, I don't know enough to know if it is genuine or simply a souvenir so any info is good. I only have the sellers photos at the moment so haven't got it in hand to do a deep inspection but just wanted to get a general consensus and share it Thank you for any information you can share. Tony

Definitely looks like a repair of some kind. That is not natural.

Hello Ricky, Good on you for asking before 'restoring' As mentioned, I also believe in cleaning of dirt/grease but not patina. IMO there is nothing worse then seeing something genuine like yours that has been polished and buffed so much it looks more like a repro than something that's 'been there'. Having said that, these late war 95's are not suppose to be silver. The previous post on this thread will give you a good idea of the real finish/colour. These are a nice piece of history for sure. Sooo personally, I would be looking at removing the silver paint from the tsuka (handle). I would try Acetone using cotton buds on the grooves and a flattish piece of material etc on the 'raised' sections. As always, try it first on an inconspicuous section (if u can find one) and don't overdo the quantity of Acetone. Time and elbow grease often gives a better result. Oil later. N.B ....THERE IS ALSO MERIT IN CONSULTING SOMEONE IN THE FURNITURE RESTORATION BUSINESS FIRST. I don't know if the Saya (scabbard) has been painted...bit hard to see but if it has, I would have to do something about that too. Again, flat material, even strokes with not to much Acetone....if you go too hard you will remove silver plus any original coat that is under there. Hold off and have a think about this part of 'restoration ' and maybe others will chime in on this particular subject. The blade on Type 95's is just steel and, unlike traditionally made blades (Nihonto) yours doesn't require the same special attention. So clean it up a little and lightly oil but please don't buff it. Shine is ok but buffed blades look ridiculous. Again this is not Nihonto so you will never get that mirror finish and IMO 95's don't need it. The remains of the NCO leather knot is certainly looks genuine ...by the look of it, you may loose it if you try to remove...hard to see condition from photos. If it brittle, I'd leave it where it is....maybe just leather dressing applied gently and sparingly with cotton buds. Finally, not everyone is going to agree with the above so keep asking. Good luck and keep us informed. Rob

Habaki on recent purchase. 2 piece silver foil. Maybe clouds & rain?

This is a modern "Ninja" Shuriken - how are you going to throw it if it is on a sword? And just how much damage will a 5mm point do? Would this shape be considered "Itomaki"?

Left: Yasumitsu Middle: Yasuhiro Right: Yasuoki

Yasumitsu tachi from 1938 with early '98 pattern koshirae

Forumites, I really do love the Itomaki Gata, (Vertical Spindle Shape), style tsuba seen here in this diagram, bottom left. Though, as much as I've tried, I've never found any historical tsubas in such a style online. I've only found such a style ever with a circle surrounding the equidistant symmetrically sized spindle shape. Though, does anyone know of any historical examples that they can direct me to of this Itomaki Gata, (Vertical Spindle Shape), tsuba? If I can find an antique example I'd like to purchase it for study and replication. I really love it because it seems very uncommon, rare and the equidistant spindle shape that is symmetrical along its horizontal and vertical axis makes me think of a shorter style of crossguard on either axis. As if this were taking inspiration from traditonal cruciform medieval sword crossguards, though I know entirely such reason for development was not at all occuring. Thank you for your attention in reading my post. Best regards, Barrett Hiebert

Hello all, I received this Mumei Tanto today! It was listed as "old koto era" I want to believe it to be authentic BUT I don't know a lot about much, so ANY help identifying anything about the blade will be greatly appreciated! Taking photos were ALOT harder than i imagined they would be, so, my apologies for the lack of detail in the images. Thanks, Justin.

I just sent off a "new" book to the global distributors - Titled "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study II" It follows on "Early Articles for Tsuba Study 1880-1923 Enlarged Edition" & "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study" with more articles and catalogues/catalogs, this time mainly dealing with auction catalogues of some of the well known collections and many of the more obscure ones. I concentrated only on auctions with images available, nothing more frustrating than to have to imagine what the tsuba looked like in my opinion. The book is 322 pages with several hundred tsuba illustrated. With any luck the book should be listed within a month. The first book in the series [compact version] I just found listed on Catawiki, it is almost the same as the Enlarged Edition so you can check out the images https://www.catawiki...-period-1989-present [I don't recall giving anyone permission to show the pages, but that obviously doesn't stop Catawiki !! ]

Good morning/afternoon or evening; I have had a sword that I bought after I felt that it had spoken to me, it was cheap so I will continue to enjoy it regardless of what is discussed here. It has a few interesting features that leave me to wonder if the style matches the ichi or if it seems to be a bad signature. Also if anyone has a ballpark date for it I would appreciate that. Or really any thoughts about it. A few questions/thoughts 1. The tip is an odd shape but the Hamon does not run off, I’ve not heard of this tip type but it has been mentioned that it was made this way. 2. The Hamon from what I understand does not match the well known ichi style, but I could be wrong 3. There is some evidence of ware and some new rust on the blade from poor storage 4. The nagako is brown in color but I’m not sure what that means for age or preserving it 5. The nagako is .8cm at its widest and seems quite thick compared to some others I’ve handled. 6. It has been polished before but I’m not sure when. The polishers marks are visible in one of the photos. I can measure or take any additional photos, the kosharae is certainly not original to the blade, but I can photograph it if needed. The photos are on Imgur if links are bad I can upload them to this thread. https://imgur.com/a/dq7PKBZ

Greatly appreciated @Kiril, I read it with interest. Thank you for putting the time and effort to write this piece. I liked the part about Kyushu Nihonto. It's a much overlooked production center, with scarce attention in the literature available in English.

The Habaki appears to be silver- I would say that this in hand in my eyes is more than a tourist trade item I may try to remove handle just to see whats there-not sure if its pressed or mechanically fastened Thanks for the reply's a couple more pics

Maybe check ikkansai yoshihiro

I can't think of a single time anything was stopped in check in luggage for reasons of "national treasure" and that is the last thing I would worry about. It's not going to happen, and no-one is going to stop you to check for quality. At the most, they may ask about it, you say "it's under 15cm blade and doesn't require paperwork" and they will let you proceed. I left Japan with a small Jumonji Yari and a yari in shirasaya in my luggage and no-one said a word, even with X-Rays. They didn't even ask to look at them. Don't stress so much.

It’s difficult to correct you Brian, as the law is interpreted differently by prefecture. The rules as published in Tokyo are relatively clear, but if you try to register a less-than-fifteen cm blade (even with a Mekugi hole) in our local prefecture for example, they will refuse to do it, saying: “Too much trouble.” This I heard directly from the mouth of the chairman of the local NBTHK who tried to register such a blade. So there is some inconsistency. But I do not think it will affect the export of a blade. The trouble is if you ask the authorities for clarity on the matter, they will suddenly go straight-faced and quote the letter of the law. In this case you could find yourself unprotected, so you are back to square one, trying to register such a blade.

Looks like micro-welding to fill a FUKURE. Technically better and more durable than traditional UMEGANE, but the process uses high heat that will inevitably be introduced into the steel. If carefully executed, the affected area might remain small.

Hi Marcin, The blade is definitely old. Better pictures of the bare blade is necessary to tell you more about the blade. It looks like that the hamon runs off the edge of the blade. Also the kissaki is poorly shaped. The ko-shinogi does not run parallel with the fukura. Maybe it's just the low quality of the pictures. Just my observation en honest opinion. Regards, Ed

I've been searching and searching, and I cannot find information I need. It's a little off topic, but I was hoping maybe somebody here can help me out. I'm moving to Japan, and I'd love to ship an ornamental sword from the US. It's a replica of a Bulgarian sword and It's 95cm long. Maybe 1kg in weight. I've contacted Yamato and DHL, and they both flat out refused to ship it. I saw here that people recommend USPS, but I have no idea how to go about shipping the ornamental sword. I am nervous because two massive companies just told me it's not possible to ship a sword even if it's artificial. Does anybody here know how I might be able to ship this? Also, I do have two katanas, but the blade is sharp. I've given up on the idea of shipping these since I am struggling to even ship a ornamental sword. Is it possible to ship these too? I am worried of what may happen when it lands in Japan. Would customs allow these to go through? Please and thank you.

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that mekugi ana plays a part. A blade under 15cm, with no mekugi ana, doesn't need to be registered. Like a kogatana.

Thank you Piers, I'll be picking it up Friday and will do a deeper examination then, will remove the barrel to see if the Mei is underneath. It has a touch of damage here and there but is striking, I've rarely seen non damaged complete ones, especially in the UK. As soon as i've had it in hand and taken a closer look i'll post back findings. Thanks for the response!

Exactly, Tony, and a fine example you have there. (Just needing a pan cover/lid.) Somewhat similar to mine! The Masa 正 seal could be the first part of the owner’s name. You haven’t yet removed the barrel to see if there’s a Mei?

The good news is that it is real, and antique. DON'T clean up the rust yourself, or remove any of the patina from the tang.

Adding pictures of sugata and nakago

Where could I find an example of a Satsuma Soshu utsushi? Haha most likely. It is in great condition. Absolutely itame mixed with Mokume. I can see areas of o-itame with large mokume mixed in throughout the blade.

Tired in the sense that I would be concerned about the unexpected with a new polish. Especially depending upon how much foundation work is required. I'm not convinced by the uchizori of age at this point. Keep in mind that uchizori can be a function of polish. And this tanto looks to my eyes in desperate need of a polisher with excellent foundation skills. p.s. Upon further look, this steel does not look healthy to me. Hope I'm wrong.

Pretty significant chips and damage. Restoring this blade would be so major that remaining value might be limited. Unless it's very cheap and you're happy to live with it as is, I'd pass... and I'm someone who will buy pretty tired blades.

If you hold the sword in correct orientation (i.e. tip-upwards), it would be more like rain and puddles on the road.

To address the original question; and apologies if I am preaching to the choir here... I see areas of O-Mokume amongst a lot of Itame. It's my understanding that mokume is accompanied by itame. From Marcus Sesko's site: https://markussesko.com/2015/05/13/kantei-2-jigane-jihada-2/ "Again, I for my part say for the time being that a hada is itame unless there are some obvious burls and then it might be itame mixed with mokume. So please don’t get too much confused about when it is itame and when it is mokume as it is in many cases a mix anyway." And below, an excerpt from Facts and Fundamentals:

Hi Brian, it’s a standard Shōwa era naval dirk with a leather saya. You are correct about it being a machine made blade and acid etched hamon so there’s no reason for disassembly. Here in the US this would be priced about $700 USD. The same and shagreen scabbards usually sell for more. It looks like it’s in great shape with a lot of gilt remaining. Tom

Hello P We like to have a real name to talk to. NMB rules, actually. But honestly, the photos don't reveal much. Looks Japanese, but that's about all that can be said. You might ask the buyer for better photos. I'm moving this topic over to the Nihonto forum, as this looks like a civil sword, which they will know more about.

Perfectly genuine old Tanto exhibiting Uchi Sori where the mune curves towards the edge as it approaches the kissaki. A feature seen in Koto Tanto especially in Kamakura era but also in later Utsushi (copies made in an earlier style). There appears to be no reshaping to the kissaki (boshi looks OK) which would suggest it was deliberately made in this shape. Just an opinion.

obviously please correct me if i'm wrong but with the brass kabuto motif, poppy muzzle and the sail motif, it would point towards Sakai Osaka?

Lp

Hi Folks. Today we changed over the items on display with the exception of the suit of armour. Everything else, swords, fittings and kabuto are replaced. Regards Mark

Hi Hiebert, Indeed, I only encountered ones with a rim too. Tsuba Japanese antique iron Mumei (Shoami 正阿弥) Itomaki sukashi NBTHK kicho paper | eBay

Hi Justin, As you get deeper into the hobby you will find rats/mice are actually a fairly common design. I think the deep symbolism in this one has already been deciphered and I'm a bit late to the thread. What I will say is this is a decent pickup for a rookie collector! A nice cultural design, authentic piece from the Edo Period, the rat sticks out from the base which makes it "pop" which is a quality many collectors like. Hard to tell the school as others have said but if I was to hazard a guess, maybe Aizu-Shoami? Don't quote me on that though! I'm guessing mostly based on the 3 dimensional carving of the rat, the iron base and the contrast of metals in the carvings. Interested to see what Piers and Dale think, if they have any schools in mind.

Seki ju nin Takeyama Yoshinao saku. Sho stamp. YOSHINAO 義尚: real name Takeyama Tsutomu (武山勲). Born Meiji 39 (1906) August 17, older brother of Yoshitomi (義臣). Reg. Showa 14 (1939) October 27 (age 33). Rikugun-jumei-tōshō. Died Showa 57 (1982) July 11. Akihide 1942: Jōkō no retsu (5/7). Second Seat at 6th Shinsakuto 1941). Example mei: (“Seki Fujiwara Yoshinao”) (“Noshu Seki Takeyama Yoshinao saku” SHO), (“Seki Fujiwara Yoshinao saku” SHO), (“Seki Fujiwara Yoshinao saku kore”) (“Noshu ju Takeyama Yoshinao kin saku”) (“Noshu Seki ju nin Takeyama Yoshinao kin saku” SEKI).

Buy both. Worry about how you'll afford them later. You'll always find a way. Never regret buying something you want, otherwise what are you working your whole life for?

This is totally stupid. Here I am actually listening to you people, and frantically running those sums through my head! Grrrr…. You are right of course. That is the infuriating thing. Where there’s a will there’s a way. I’ll be seeing the second guy with the bronze example tomorrow. I can’t think of any reason to say ‘no’ now. I know he’ll give me time to sell matches on the street corner…

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a book I’ve written — Samurai and Shōguns. Some of you may know me as a long-time collector, especially of pre-Edo tsuba, and I’ve had the pleasure of corresponding with a number of fellow enthusiasts over the years. This book grew out of that lifelong interest. It’s not an academic monograph, and I don’t pretend it’s breaking new ground for specialists. But I’ve done my best to go beyond the usual pop-culture image of the samurai, and to bring out the complexity, contradictions, and lesser-known sides of their world — things I found fascinating and thought others might, too. The book is written for a general audience, but with care for accuracy and detail. It’s also richly illustrated with woodblock prints and historical photographs — something I personally value in a good history book. If you’re curious, I’d love for you to take a look. And if you do, I’d be grateful for your honest thoughts — whether you spot something insightful, or something that makes you wince. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHPD39RM?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_9Z7P2NDJ0ZK83R9E7RWX Thank you for looking PS: This dramatic layout of the book against the backdrop of a poem and scrolls is pure marketing, not to be taken seriously. I just thought it looks nice

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and would like to briefly introduce myself: I mainly collect German militaria, but recently I’ve developed a growing interest in Japanese military items. I recently added a Kai Gunto to my collection. Since Japanese swords are outside my usual area of expertise, I would really appreciate your help in determining whether this is a wartime-period Kai Gunto or not. About the sword: The Kai Gunto was sold to me as a late-war example and is in fairly rough condition: The saya is covered in ray skin , but it's quite battered and worn. The blade has multiple scratches. There is no signature or date on the nakago only the typical anchor stamp. The tsuba and all other fittings have matching serial numbers, which might indicate an original mount set. My question: Based on this information, do you think it’s an original wartime Kai Gunto, or possibly a postwar or reproduction piece? Thank you in advance for your time and any insights you can offer! Best regards, Jan

Thanks for the info! Here's another photo of the anchor stamp

Late war Kaigunto (Naval) Land Force Koshirae. Wood Saya with Black Leather Combat Cover and Single Ashi. Full length wood tsunagi. length of tsunagi including wood habaki is approx 69 cm with a sori of approx 16 mm Overall Nice Condition. Price $595US...includes Shipping Doug Gunto Art Swords

Hello All, I want to share a quick update with the forum that the book by John Plimpton showcasing all of the swords in his collection that have been for sale recently is now available for pre-order. The book is called Swords of the Emperor - A Guide to the Identification of Imperial Japanese Swords, 1873 – 1945. The pre-order information can be found here: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase/swords-of-the-emperor-standard-edition. I hope everyone who wants a copy can order one and enjoys it along with a sword from the collection!

Oh yeah, here's a youtube video from the publisher talking about the book: