Ed

Ah, yes, sorry I misunderstood. Thanks for clearing that up. Ed

I was only replying to the statement, "US customs forced our national post agency to have the sender pay the tariff". Perhaps I misunderstood your meaning of having the sender pay tariff. ?

Had a couple of shipments recently from Japan. Not swords, but I did pay UPS the tariff before they would ship.

I have a sword shipped from the US currently in customs in the Netherlands. Haven't received any notification regarding tariff payment.......yet.

Looking for some Crepe Chirimen fabric in both green and purple for restoration of some Tosogu boxes. If you have any you would sell contact via PM or email shown below. Thanks, Ed

Bruce, Can't say about any other NMB members. I can tell you that Douglas Louie and Wayne Shijo the two main guys, are as nice as you will ever meet. Tell them I said hello. Ed

The top one depicting the Ginko leaves is signed Edo Kanda Ju Ito Jinemon Masakata (Bushu Ito School) The kinzogan mei is Tadahisa. Always liked this style of ginko leaf.

Yes, the second one is Aritsune. I owned this tsuba at one time..

I understand your sentiment and am not outraged by it. I will say it sounds a little selfish. Perhaps you could have your executor sell off your swords and use the money to help others, like orphans, victims of abuse, veterans or wildlife. At least some good would come from your collection opposed to dumping historical artifacts to the bottom of the sea. I have a friend sending me his collection to sell and donate the money to St. Judes Hospital for pediatric cancer research. BTW: Once I have them I will post them here if anyone would like to help.

Robert does a great job setting up these events. The boat cruise is a great time, don't miss it.

No bother to me at all. I am happy to help if I can. Glad to see you did some research on your own. Research is fulfilling on its own, especially if the item is yours. Great lesson for all newbies to do the research before purchasing, it pays off.

Easy to spot scam, and never mind it is gimei. The sword is signed Bitch no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro. The papers say Echizen Shimosaka. This is a prime example of why newbies should study more before they make a purchase. Fortunately, there are resources online today.

Ishikawa 石川

One look at that blade is all you need to see. Clearly an etched or ground hamon, meaning it is not a Nihonto but a toy or reproduction.

If you want to play on YHJP, be prepared for that kind of crap. Pulling auctions, phishing and shill bidding are rampant and go unchecked there. Then, if you do win the item must run the gauntlet of thieves within the customs and carriers systems. Be sure the seller insures the item for the full amount as most ship with no insurance.

It is signed Masanaga with Kao.

Cool. Let us know what you find.

Air tags do add a bit more security. I have sent a few and had a few sent to me with an included envelope with paid post to return the tag.

Why don't you show a photo of the "paper". It might help.

Sorry to hear this. Many of us are victims of theft worldwide. It is a problem which seems to be getting worse opposed to better.

Piers, I think you are correct in that the Japanese preference for the sun is red, much as the moon is generally seen in silver. It seems as with so many things in this hobby nothing is set in stone. Obviously there were additional colors seen in their representations of the sun, such as gold and others. Likely a variety of reasons. It is a very precise and time consuming process to produce that deep red seen on some kodogu. Viewing your tsuba, do you think the insert was once plated with gold or silver or do you think the copper was the original look? Looking at it enlarged I can't tell for certain, but it seems to show traces of a light color (silver?) at the top and bottom. Perhaps it was originally depicting the moon. ??? I think the gold plug on my kozuka was to give it a little bling. I would have preferred something a bit more subtle, but......

Yes, I know. Spell Check. I should have double checked that.

Sei La Vie, so is the nature of the beast. You can not predict what the public may or may not want at any given time. Today's market is quite fickle with so many "collectors" (and I use that term lightly) looking only for "cheap". If it is cheap, it doesn't matter if the blades are tired, acid etched, showing shintetsu, etc. These wanna be collectors have no idea what any of these flaws are. They do not care, they do not study. The swords are cheap, that is all that matters. Akihide was a 1.5 million¥ smith. He was an excellent smith listed in most major reference books, who made only High to Superior grade Gendaito. I have one that is around the same price with NBTHK Hozon papers, but it hasn't sold. My plan these days is not to buy anything I can not live without.

Bruce, He seems to be a somewhat obscure smith. Sesko's and Hawley's only list Kurihara. No Akiyuki listed in the Gendai Toko Meikan, Gendaito Meisaku Zuikan, or any of the other references I checked. No examples of his mei found other than the one you posted. Did you ask Alf?

You will love it. It is freaking HUGE!