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Thanks, let me explain more about the design I chose. Maybe it's hard to see from the pictures, but the plate is concave, that and the shape of the cross with the amida yasuri makes it feel like the cross is embracing the viewer when seeing it in hand. The raised mimi gives a more powerful look overall. On the back the bold "INRI" (traditionally found in representations of the crucifixion) engraving is meant to be seen mainly by the wearer. The hitsu ana are filled with brass and shaped as the globus cruciger (cross-bearing orb) which represents the power of Christianity over the world. The etching on the mimi has the sentence "in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti" (In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) and the placement of the cross on the mimi Is exactly where the wearer would rest his thumb when ready to unsheat the blade. I hope this explanation will make you appreciate it a little more 😄

The information available for later smiths.

I think it has good looking shape and size. If the motohaba is indeed 3,5 cm it is impressive. I am on my personal quest to see as many ōdachi as I can in Japan. They are however very rare. Visting shrines, museums etc. I have come to realize that many of the big wide Nanbokuchō blades have been tachi of c. 80 - 90 cm. These are also amazing swords and I am blessed to see so many of them. The tricky question then arises when you see that there are lots and lots of supposedly ō-suriage mumei blades that are 70+cm. Were they originally ōdachi of 90+cm or were they very large tachi of 80 - 90 cm. Of course the Japanese experts know so much more than me. The real thing is that learning possibilities in Japan for sword study are just so much beyond anywhere else. I understand it more clearly every year, and I would be quite cautious about challenging the views of Japanese experts. I would instead try to learn how they arrive to their conclusion. Unfortunately all of this is just personal speculation of mine that I am basing to the surving ubu signed and signed suriage tachi examples. This summer in Japan I have also learnt bit more about the rarity of ōdachi and discussed one of those swords more in length with museum staff. Which was amazing but difficult with my weak overall language skill.

Hi Brian, Welcome to the fun! Sorry to say that the first piece is a very common cast "replica" - Samurai crossing the river on horseback. There are two versions of this pattern. I would disregard any signature on it as it will be false. Your second one is more promising and would appear genuine if a little worn - not unexpected when you consider its possible age - 200 yrs? This is the other version to yours, the horses head is further under the seppa-dai This one is more like yours from the following thread. This one also has a cast in "tagane-ato" or punch mark at the bottom of the nakago-ana - both versions also can feature this little addition that was meant to "prove" it had been mounted. So two sizes, two versions.

I brought a full-length Tensho koshirae back from Tokyo. Got a heavy-duty cardboard cylinder from HANDS (fabulous hardware store in Shinjuku area, they have different lengths and diameters) packed it with popcorn (they have this too) and newspaper, checked it in with the luggage. Arrived safe.

As noted Ido Hidetoshi, a competent Seki smith in the Amahide workshop. Examples and his background in this NMB Download:

特殊鋼以井戸秀俊作 – From special steel, Ido Hidetoshi made.

23rd Gen. Kanefusa.

I am not a believer in attribution being strictly reflective of quality, in the very least I have not seen people with such philosophy winning kantei competitions. There are blades which are borderline Shizu/Yamato Shizu, but the majority of contested Yamato Shizu attributions go mainline Yamato as an alternative. Yamato Shizu attribution presumes strong masame below shinogi and relatively calm notare-gunome hamon with kinsuji, but few to no distinctive togari. Accordingly if gunome is quite periodic and the same size an alternative attribution is Shikkakke. If there is something strange (say, strong midare utsuri) an alternative attribution is Senjuin since Senjuin accumulates all unusual options, but also because there are verifiable Senjuin smiths who worked in such diverse styles. The best Kaneuji would be much more itame dominated below shinogi, with nice bright jigane and very powerful and stylistically varied nie activity. The best Yamato Shizu would have, for example, very uniform masame mixed with thick chikei and uniform, consistent nie deki hamon. So Kaneuji and Yamato Shizu's very best can be going into two rather different directions. Yamato Shizu Kaneuji is a rare attribution which can presume this is an early school's (i.e. late Kamakura) blade which supposedly was made by Kaneuji before his switch to Soshu style. There is one challenge is that oshigata signed [Yamato Shizu] Kaneuji show later (1360s) examples,so the notion Kaneuji was first Yamato style and then Soshu is reasonable in theory but might not be very useful in practice. A lot of top class Yamato Shizu works are from 1360s - and so are the ones attributed as "Shizu Kaneuji". Another example of sort of dealer speak when one tries to push the idea of "the earliest, the best, the famous, and the Masamune student" while in fact it is simply a very good blade and the rest is a conjecture upon conjecture.

Now I remember why I stopped posting here years ago. All I was trying to do was wish a fellow traveler good luck and approve of their taste. Guess I'll see if people have become less defensive and unpleasant in another 5-10 years.

Remains of a 三五桐紋 3/5 paulownia crest mon top right, but heavily filed with rough rasp. Fairly generic tsuba, imho. Can it be narrowed down at all? I wonder…

The nakago for such a young blade is also heavily compromised. He made both gendaito and showato so unless you get a window done, it may difficult to make the call of which it is. Condition is everything, so the value will suffer due to the poor state of preservation of the nakago and the blade itself Kanefusa is a 1st seat rikugen, and his blades are prized, so that is the upside. Value is hard to call due to the condition but good gendaito is decent old polish start around $2500. Showato in decent shape are about $1500. You won't see either of those values without restoration. You're unfortunately looking at not a lot past $500-600 as it sits. This blade might be worth putting in front of a trained Japanese sword polisher (togishi) for evaluation. But the nakago would probably put this in the "passion project" category. If its important to your family, see about restoration, keep it and treasure it. Regardless, do not do anything to the blade yourself except keeping the edge gently oiled with a light mineral oil or choji oil.

Hello, My name is Brian and I have just gotten into tsuba collecting. I recently picked up two pieces from a flea market in Japan and would greatly appreciate help identifying and verifying the tsuba. The first tsuba has a mei, does anyone recognize it? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly welcomed. Thanks,

The connections to real people, real places and real events...

So you worry about the ramblings of one single person who is known to be that way? You must live a very cloistered life if you worry about what a solitary clump of pixels says on the internet. Suggest never leaving the house. C'mon man. Ignore him like the rest of us do.

I doubt anyone can tell who made a mumei one anyway. To me, if the condition is great, the era sound about right and the blade speaks to me then yes.

His browser wasn't loading the "capcha" below that question. Probably hasn't updated it in a while. That's why I always recommend trying a different browser. Since they are free, on my own pc's I always have Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Opera installed. You'd be surprised how often I have to use different browsers for different reasons. Glad he came right.

I will stay away from answering that question - but if you enjoy a day reading then see this thread - https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/38416-tsuba-casting-molds/ Let's just say these cast pieces do turn up from collections at the beginning of the 20th century and that they are "antiques". But we think they were rarely used on swords other than tourist pieces or swapped over onto older blades. Your other guard I can't be sure of a school or date, but looks genuine to me. There is a solitary Kiri flower amongst the tendrils/branches [paulownia tree?] 1 o'clock position. Piers beat me to it.

Citation required.

Munechika Most likely a reference to the famous smith Sanjo Munechika (but this is not an authentic example of his mei).

Hello my name is gracjan, I have a huge request for help regarding a gunto katana. Could I ask for help in finding the blacksmith who forged it? How much might it be worth? And its history. Thank you very much in advance for your help and have a nice day.(:

Gracja, this is probably a very early war sword made in Seki. The nakago (hilt) is badly rusted, and there are probably some extra kanji further up. It is likely to be: 濃州関住二十三代藤原兼房作之　　　Noshu Seki ju Nijusan Dai Fujiwara Kanefusa saku kore "Fujiwara Kanefusa 23rd generation of Seki, Mino (Noshu) made this. His family name was Kato and given name Koichi. A good quality smith. Maybe hidden up under the tsuba is a stamp (maybe a sakura flower?).

Curran, what a wonderful threat!

If that's what you're saying, Shirasaya originated in the mid-Edo period when the Honami family of appraisers were employed to evaluate, authenticate, and index the sword collections of important families. So what was done in the past to protect and preserve the sword? How were swords preserved from the Kamakura period onwards?

I think the dude's name is HIDETOSHI, but I'm not sure about the rest of what he wanted us to know. P

Gendaito, in the collecting sphere are blades that are between 1880ish and 1945. Anything after that is a Shinsakuto, aka modern. These blades are not gendaito and probably Chinese made. Boshi looks too awkward to be proper Japanese also.

"Arrampicar(si)" . New verb to me. I'd say "arguing with yourself in the mirror". [or beating yourself up in the mirror?] I've long been tired of this thread. I'll consult with Brian about locking it. For now, posts stay up. I don't want to be censuring any more than I must. --- Everyone go back to their corners and sit down ---. Don't make me power up the cattle-prod.

Hi all, just recieved 3 lovely new gunto to add to the collection. Very exciting! Top to bottom:- Hoshu Takeda Taira Sadamori Amahide Kumazawa Kanetoshi Will do more photos of each later.

Before making an uncertain purchase, here are a few sites worth checking out first. They have good examples of what to look for, and show some of the common fakes. https://geishasblade.com/beware-of-fake-japanese-swords/ https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/repro.htm https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/realold.htm https://www.japannakama.co.uk/lifestyle/how-to-spot-fakes-and-replicas-when-buying-samurai-swords/

You can own a sword that is pretty much the size and shape the smith intended rather than what is left after age and use. Obviously age and the patina of use have their charm too, but I think there are fewer trade-offs with younger blades.

Dear Brian. Hard to see from these pictures but I think you are right. Bear in mind that tsuba are often made by folding and fire welding steel so that sometimes a weld line is visible in the nakago ana or ryo hitsu, the distinguishing characteristic is that seam lines caused by casting are raised from the surface, weld lines tend to dip into the surface. All the best.

The best shinshinto is typically imitation of Soshu - can be Naotane, Naokatsu, Kiyomaro. I personally would consider Naokatsu to be most affordable of the three, with quality often superior to Naotane. Kiyomaro's best works are shinshinto's very best, but he also made some rather coarse stuff where the goal was basically make it as koto as possible and there are a few simply failing to reach the top grade.

Not sure if i can post these so feel free to delete. My brothers friend is in Tokyo and saw these. Asked my brov send them on to me. A bit grainy.

Daihannya is an amazing sword 🤩 However I must admit I didn't really understand the Nakatsukasa Masamune 😅

Sorry Brian, can you show the other side of the Kiri one? The side we see is the back or "ura" and best guesses would be from the front or "omote" view which is usually the more elaborate design side.

I’m newbie too. I don’t focus on which era but I’m trying to learn the foundation all the basics. I’m more on the condition of any blade, if it’s healthy, no dmg I buy to study. Easier than focusing on specific era.

I'm suggesting that buyers buy things which they will like regardless of what other people say. That way they won't be disappointed and feel like they've wasted their money when the experts change their mind or there turns out to have been a mistranslation of what the experts originally said. OP seems to be doing just that, so I wish them well.

Google chrome worked for him. Good hint for future problems.

This one https://sword-auction.com/en/product/27099/as24845-katana-mumeichiyozurunbthk-hozon-token/

@Rawa relocating this to “forum technical details and maintenance” section and tagging @Brian. He should be able to assist when he’s online

Looks like "Kanenao saku". There was a productive Seki gunto smith Ishihara Kanenao, but this mei is very different, but is very roughly cut.

I have created this section (on a trial basis) to archive all swords (we will look at fittings at a later date) that turn out to be fakes, from the worst kind of junk to the more modern and clever fakes. This is NOT a place for people to ask about their swords. Swords that are posted elsewhere that turn out to be verified fakes/clones/reproductions will be moved here. This accomplishes 2 things. 1) Fakes won't take up discussion space in the Nihonto/Military sections, and 2) People who are newcomers to this will have a place to learn from by browsing the posts, and seeing pictures of what to look out for. People may post external links and discuss fakes from elsewhere here, but only for educational purposes, advising what to look out for and the pitfalls. There are a few pages on the net briefly discussing fakes, but with such a wide variety of things to look out for, a comprehensive section advising on the things to watch out for is needed, and would be valuable to those who are starting out. I would like this section to only contain verified fake swords that are not disputed. This can range across the board, from "Damascus" serial numbered junk that is blindly obvious, to the suspected modern made Thai or Chinese swords with gimei signatures intended to deceive. It is NOT intended for gimei or poor condition Nihonto, or anything that may have fake mounts but a genuine blade. It is purely for swords crafted to fool buyers at any level. As mentioned, I am trialing this section to see if it is useful. Please follow the usual rules and remain respectful. If people purchase fake swords, after verifying they are fake, they will be moved here to assist others in future. As always, buyer beware and it is far better to ask before purchasing than find out you made a mistake after. - admin -

I'm posting a link to a thead of the same name I've created over on Warrelics combining a few posts made by Akira Komiya on the topic. We have several of these posted here and there at NMB, but this one gathers the three into one discussion. The essence is that the top graduates of Army and Navy schools were given swords, dirks, and watches inscribed with "Imperial Gift". Akira-san explains the practice and examples are posted. Imperial GIft Swords, Dirks, and Watches - Akira Komiya

As requested!

Wanted to bring this one back from the dead just for kicks as the original bowl in this thread is now with me. It's traveled quite a bit to get here! Thanks Philip for plucking this from wherever you happened to find it. A wonderful piece with some serious age that I'm honored to look after.

was just reading this old post, very interesting. I bought a tsuba simular to the above papered umetada I assumed this tsuba was tosho from the mid Edo but they share similarities

Hi gents! I require a little bit of help from some people who are far more knowledgable than myself. I recently purchased this tsuba in an estate sale and wanted to know your views on it. The box it came in had yagyu written on the bottom but I didn't know this till after I purchased it. I really liked the tsuba and it does seem to have that molten yakite finish. I have looked in sasano's book and there are two very similar tsuba in there on pages 221 and 234 But they both have sukashi of pine trees. The dimensions of the tsuba I purchased and the ones in sasano's book are almost identical but, having never seen a genuine yagyu tsuba up close I can only go by pictures. I'd like to get some of your thoughts on this one. I know that it is pretty plain in design and there are quite a few schools it could be but I'm hoping to narrow it down a bit on school and time period. I apologise in advance for the pictures as my camera is playing up but it looks a lot better in the hand than the pictures make out. Thanks again for any help you can give. Gethin