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I'm proud to announce that my Kirishitan tsuba got awarded the 4th Effort Award in this year's NBTHK contest! This is an incredible reward for my hard work on improving my skills. To my knowledge i'm the only foreigner to win an award in this category for NBTHK competitions ( Ford Hallam only achieved Nyusen before moving to NBSK). My work will be featured in the catalogue and the exhibition, so please take a look if you have the chance. Following there are the pictures and a link to a video that shows the special feature of the mimi Link to the video https://drive.google.com/file/d/15HyBoEufhpyEx98n4Y9BETWOtrMtt5o6/view?usp=drive_link

Hi Laurent - like Mauro said . . Welcome! I think the first representation shows a tall handled bucket/vase like this one. Used to display flowers in "ikebana" a squat modern version. Ikebana also features on tsuba.

鉄地龍地透し長丸型 – Tetsu-ji, Dragon open work, oval shape 銘 江府住正栄 – Mei, Kofu/Gofu ju Masataka 江戸時代 – Edo period

* Provençal locution meaning “what is that?” My first message on this board, a kind of presentation, of myself and of two kozukas. I got a lot of information reading this forum so I thought I could contribute at my level with a post from the point of view of a new beginner, what has been my understanding when you’re completely fresh and don’t know anything. I deliberately commented some Japanese terms to verify what they mean but don’t hesitate to correct me if needed! It all started with these diminutive knife handles my eyes got attracted by at a local auction. Initially the theme on one knife reminded me of some artwork I just appreciated, from a Chinese painter, Qi Baishi (I’m by no means expert in any oriental art, just sometimes attracted by the style). The auctioneer was informed enough to indicate I was looking at some “kozukas” so I ended up quite rapidly on this forum. After an overwhelming phase where the terms shakudo, nanako, shishi, mei, etc. just mixed up in an exotic milkshake, I came to understand these small artifacts were representative of an impressive craftsmanship (at least at their level, itself correlated to my budget…), an expression of a dedication and patience I admire. As it appears nobody else was interested in bidding, I won them… And now I’m curious! I got two : the first one (on the left) is in the best condition, the second is really worn out and sadly has a crack where the blade should have been inserted (I knew it when buying). Both look like to be made of shakudo (an alloy of mainly copper and some gold that can take nice patina). I apologize for the poor pictures under, but I just have a mobile phone and some magnifying glass. It should nevertheless be enough to discern the motifs and understand what I used to base my analyse (I believed initially the silvery powder around the motifs was a kind of artistic effect but understood later it was… dust ). It seems the left one is depicting a flower arrangement (ikebana?) of some plum (ume) or cherry (sakura) twigs but I cannot identify the golden artifact. Does anyone know what it could be? Some kind of vase or container? Or maybe a quiver? The right one shows what I think is chrysanthemum (kiku) flowers in its plena form, with buds and leaves. I don’t know if there’s more to say to it… I understood there’s more than often a hidden message or legend back these representations so if you think there’s something here, just let me know! Now for the back side. The first one has a mei (signature) but I couldn’t decipher any kanji from the linked list on the forum. The second looked like “mumei” (without signature) but after closer inspection it had one at one point but I can only see remnants of a last kanji. I understood it’s probably nothing to extract from these, being often “gimei” (a kind of homage at best, fakery at worst?) but it would be nevertheless nice to know what’s written there. Apparently, the previous owner got them when working at the Japanese ambassade in Oslo. Regarding the quality, these are the first and only ones examples I’ve seen until now in my region, so I can just guess. Ironically, it seems a good indicator (at least for the newbie I’m) for evaluating the quality is the background (the nanako). Ironical but again representative of the attention given to small details. The fact that someone punches these minute dots one by one for hours justify nearly the buy (at least for me). Sadly again these are quite worn out but I would say there are decent, dense but showing some fluctuations on the horizontal lines and imperfections in vertical/diagonal alignment. I couldn’t identify any other kind of alignment pattern. Below some pictures under magnification, respectively for the plums and the chrysanthemums. For the rest, I think the ikebana theme is simple but well executed, with nice details in the branch. Difficult to say about the chrysanthemum as some details (on the leaves by example) have disappeared. After that, I’ve to admit I don’t know what to look after… I tried to brushed out the dust with a (dry) toothbrush, without success. What would be the next approved step for a more thorough cleaning? Just water with some soap? I would appreciate if some experts could eventually help on some of the interrogation above and of course correct me if I’ve written anything wrong. As said it’s my first introduction to the tosogu world so be indulgent. But don’t hesitate to say the truth neither, I can cope with that. At the end, I guess the main message to a new beginner like me will be “don’t buy junk, get informed before taking out the wallet” :).

Since last week, I have started to post the updated version of the "Study of Japanese Swords" one chapter at a time every Thursday. These updates will include slight revisions, refinements, and a couple of photo changes. Also, I will be hosting a live Zoom session each Tuesday (10:00 am, California time) to discuss the chapter of the week. Below is last week's Facebook notice. Please open my Facebook for a weekly new post.

Thank you everyone! The writing on the mimi wasn't actually engraved, but it was written in lacquer by a friend of mine, she's a calligrapher specialized in medieval writing, then etched. All the tsuba elements were studied to carry a meaning and to be plausible to find on a Momoyama period tsuba, so also the style of calligraphy is the one used in late 16th century.

some more pics

Comparison with standard General grade tassel.

Another example of this tassel:

Hi Laurent, welcome at NMB. The first kozuka show an unusual subject. I really don't know if the object depicted is a quiver, but if a quiver it surely recall a representation called ebira-no-ume (箙の梅) or Ikuta-no-mori (生田の森). It's a story of Genpei War: before going to the battle of Ikuda forest, Kajiwara Kagesue took a branch of a flowering plum and stuck it in his arrow quiver. The signature is compatible with 後藤光佐 - Gotō Mitsusuke + kaō (but I'm unsure if gimei or not...).

I used once a PVC tube, checked it in as extra size luggage, it arrived broken. PVC is fragile if hit too hard will broke. I switched to pipes used for underground electric lines. These kind of pipes are made of black plastic and are resistant to hits. This kind of pipes are able to even resist hits from a digger. You can find them in stores selling construction stuff. I have fitted it with a handle, hooks for a shoulder strap and a set of removable wheels to drag it around. Regards Luca

Mild hand soap and a soft toothbrush is the most I would do.

In case you missed the comments helping you to date it, here is what Ray said: “o-suriage mumei katana (Shinto or earlier”… What does that tell you? = Possibly earlier than c1600~1775(?) (My question is what kind of katana has such a long Nakago?)

丹波守藤原照門 – Tanba no kami Fujiwara Terukado 於桑名善定作之 – At Kuwana, Zenjo made this.

Finally received my sword. I tried to take some photo but still an amateur in this game. So far im still trying to learn the name for hamon and the hada. I think it would take sometime before I can identify them correctly. Nagasa : 71.7cm Sori : 2.2cm

Type (Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto, Naginata, Other) : Sunobi Tanto Mei : (Mumei, Signature) : None - attributed to Uda Kunihisa Papered or not and by whom? : NBTHK Hozon and NBTHK Tokubetsu Kicho Era/Age : Late Nanbokucho Shirasaya, Koshirae or Bare Blade? : Shirasaya + Koshirae Nagasa/Blade Length : 32.6 cm (12.83 in) Sori : 0.0 cm (0.0 in) Flaws : None Sword Location : New York, United States Will ship to : Open to anywhere that allows Payment Methods Accepted : Wire Price and Currency : $4250 USD Other Info and Full Description : Hi Fellow Collectors! I have a Sunobi tanto from the late Nanbokucho period up for sale. Comes with a full shirasaya and koshirae set, and has two NBTHK Papers. The more recent hozon papers attribute the blade to Uda Kunihisa, who is said to have been the son of Kunimune, and there were several generations of the same name from Oei to the end of the Muromachi period. The dragon and kanji horimono are intricate and well carved. Blade is in excellent condition with no flaws. You can find a full set of pictures and a verification picture with today's date and my name on it and HD images in the link here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m2Q2wJBbKIlF_5N3RHMRYZONAr5isCrP?usp=sharing Blade is located currently in the US but willing to ship anywhere that can clear customs. Send me a message with any questions or interest!, am open to any reasonable offers as well!

That could change soon...

D'ailleurs, Paris n'est pas en Belgique, c'est en France!

To my eyes, the chisel grooves in the MEI are shallow and show a rough surface. This can be indicative of a cast TSUBA (not from EDO JIDAI! ). The SEPPA DAI was heavily ground, so I would like to see the complete TSUBA to get an idea of what it might be.

Here's one, that to me, supports the idea that the Budo, or grape, tsuba is Gunzoku rather than just a mass-produced civilian tsuba. It's on a kaigunto that is completely standard, yes an upgraded saya coating. The blade is a showa-stamped Yoshinao. So, the Occum's Razor approach would be to say - Gunzoku - rather than - Maybe it was in civil fittings, then switched over to kaigunto - or Maybe the Naval officer just wanted a civil tsuba (which we have sometimes seen, admittedly). Not a conclusive piece of evidence, but one that I offer in consideration of the question. Found at this Militaryitems.com page. Mislabled by the owner. Showa, not Seki.

Hello, P... To oversimplify it: The age of Nihonto is determined by its general shape and form. When a sword has been shortened and the profile has been altered by buffing or sanding; the original shape and form has been lost. Therefore, we cannot imagine it's original shape and form from your photos. So the best you'll get on an age estimation is an educated guess. If that is not satisfying to you, that's really nobody else's fault. You will need to take it to an expert in-person who can identify more information from the steel itself. This is true for many nihonto, because photographs cannot capture all the subtleties. Hard to say if it's real or fake. The ruined kissaki makes it anyone's guess from the pictures provided; and is reminiscent of kissaki found on some fakes. Personally, I would take Ray's input to heart. -Sam

No worries. The point here of recommending a professional like Brian is that these pieces show significant age and quality. As such, repairs and restoration work as well should be undetectable. Some work (such as cleaning) can be accomplished at home, especially by someone with knowledge and experience.

Maybe “tsukuru”, like Piers suggested…

江州住信之 but that last kanji (?)造(?)

Chrysanthemums: ah, then- flower of death, funerals, and respect to the deceased. Something like that (says the gaijin)? The split of the ko-kinko kozuka is unfortunate, but it evidences an earlier construction technique. I would guess early 1600s. The condition wear of the early works is very appealing to me. Especially Ko-Goto work. Sometimes Ko-Kinko have shakudo nearly as good. I have two Ko-Goto kozuka (one of wild boars, another of arrows in a quiver) with half their 1000 year life worn away... yet the shakudo has such a luster at this point- ---any time I think of selling either, I put them out for a few days--- then back into the tansu and say I will sell them in another 1,3, 7, or 15 years.

I will be very clear, it's impossible to determine the age of a sword without having it in hands. To my eyes it's a fake...

Not saying it's Nara, but Nara also did the mei panel like that. I'd have said it is a Tanaka that has lived a very hard life at one point, if the plate background was anything to go by. The kuchi-beni have been highly deformed by multiple nakago fitments, and the extra sekigane added

That was my fear Curran! If even you do not know about the translation I have to resign myself. Thank you anyway. All the best Luca

Pretty sure they're chrysanthemums, yep. Specifically Chrysanthemum japonense (the long five-lobed leaves are a good indicator)

I've seen people use a large segment of PVC pipe as well (you can get endcaps used for sealing the pipes to use as covers for both ends)

Thank you Dale and Grev for your comments.....so we have one for the tanaka school with arguments...(the rim, the sekigane, the gold cartouche...ands i will add the negative sukashi (drumstick) that we find sometimes in this school (see the photo )....and one against without comments at this moment...so please Grev could you give us your comments By the way have you any idea when the practice to sign in a gold cartouche appeared ? i would guess late 19th?? Thanks to you both one for with arguments and one against without comments..

Nice ones, and as Piers said, the wear isn't a terrible thing on old ones like this. Also, unless you are the high end of quality and minty ones, even the small crack wouldn't be too serious. These are lovely depictions of the Japanese art, and both can be enjoyed. Hope you enjoy your studies in this hobby.

Nice work Nazar.

Ura mentions made in Kuwana, I believe (but I don't recognise all the Kanji). Ah, 善定 (Zenjo) 作 (saku - made/work of)

Mei is Tanba no Kami Fujiwara Terukado

You will need to have a proper case for the koshirae in your checked luggage. I use a hard plastic long weapons case with foam padding to protect the swords I transport out of Japan. You will need to take the measurements of the case into account for the airline's checked baggage rules. The case will likely be classified as oversized luggage as it is too long for the normal conveyor belt they use for luggage. You will need to bring it as oversized luggage when you check it in. This can be more expensive depending on the airline. I suggest either arranging to buy such a case in Japan or bringing it with you on your way to Japan, as they can be quite affordable. Greetings, Lex van der Jagt

It's 1 meter long, doesn't fit in any regular suitcase unfortunately even in diagonal.

Thought I’d bring this one back to life picked up this sword from a local antique shop , don’t normally bother with no swords but the leather hanger intrigues me , there is some writing that I assume is a name can any translate it for me please mark

And in september I'm going to V&A (in my opinion the best museum in London). Blue gloves, 1 dragon and 1 snake. Today I looked closely at a lobster, a work of art. I'll never reach such a level. I liked the dragon the most. It seems to be within my reach in a few years

Japan ART FAIR 2025 Enjoi the pictures. Tom

From these images it simply isn’t possible to tell you the age with any confidence. Read what Ray said…..that’s the opinion of a real expert and it’s the best you’ll get. Elsewhere you might get other opinions but that’s all they’ll be…opinions. The blade is in such rough shape that absolutely no detail is visible.

Not sure where or when it was started but people have a very twisted view when it comes to Bizen Koku / Bishu mei and Kazuuchi. There were a lot of Sukesada smiths ( 30+ ) producing a lot of blades of varying quality in the 1500s ( esp starting in the Tenbun era coinciding with larger sengoku armies ). At some point people decided to associate mei with quality and I think this is wrong. Based on availability , I do believe a lot more swords were signed Bishu instead of Bizen Koku so naturally there are a lot of lower quality swords bearing the Bishu mei and this warped peoples preception of the mei. I have seen many TokuHo Sukesada with Bishu and low quality blades with Bizen Koku. To make things more confusing , many Bizen smiths also strictly used the Bishu mei in the 1400s and early 1500s adding to the confusion People are also quick to label them Kazuuchi which I believe are a whole separate thing ( mumei/nijimei with rough masame hada ). Ironically these true Kazuuchi would be unlikely to be found 500 years later since it would mean someone took care of them through the muromachi, through the entire edo period , the sword ban , and then somehow be recovered and deemed worthy to preserve after WWII. I may be biased because of my love of sue bizen but I wish more research and literature was readily available to clear up the many misconceptions around

Thank you both, I too took this for granted. My wife has a way of asking such killer questions, friends of our who were police officers reckon that she missed her vocation and would have been great at interrogation! All the best.

Chemical trails, aliens at area 51, flat hearth, cast tsuba everywhere and now the dealers conspiracy... They sound the same to me.

Proving that some incredible swords can carry just the Bishu Osafune Sukesada signature. Here is mine in the same signature + date 1567 - some incredible utsuri in sashikomi polish Length: 71.5cm Curve: 2.5cm Width moto-haba: 3.22cm Thickness moto-kasane: 0.77cm Width saki-haba: 2.55cm Thickness saki-kasane: 0.60cm

I don't think this is a case of confusion, just that people place too much emphasis on the koto / Shinto grouping (labels). It's not like sword making changed over night - it's more of a 50-150 year range before the groups become more distinct, but even then...

Here’s a nice example of a ko-akasaka seppa-dai that shows the four layers on the outside edge of the sepa-dai. It even has a split along the middle layers like the tsuba that started this thread… but nowhere near the same level of separation. Regardless, the whole notion of a “three layered construction” needs to be tossed aside. i’m still leaning toward a few freeze thaw cycles affecting the “tokkei” one, but who knows.

FYI: A genuine Sukenao with the same date inscription (February 1693) －　津田近江守助直 元禄六歳二月日 Tsuda Ominokami Sukenao　－　日本刀の通信販売　明倫産業株式会社