Shugyosha

I can’t tell - for me it doesn’t seem to fit easily with either Osaka or Kyoto styles of yakidashi.

Thanks Colin, I suspected as much. Yes, I find it very appealing but, put in the context of what else you can get for £1k, I can't quite bring myself to spend the money...for now.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for this motif. Ford Hallam did one that I nearly bought but talked myself out of and I have kicked myself ever after. Anyway, that's by the by but I came upon this one on Aoi that I quite like and nearly reached for the wallet, but then saw the price. It's a large tsuba and looks nicely done but is unsigned, unpapered and otherwise unattributed - is it only the motif (which I know is fairly rare) that creates the premium or is there something that I'm missing? https://www.aoijapan.jp/鍔：-無銘-20/

Yep. Don't feed the troll - just ignore. It's like the kids that don't play nice, they either fit in or play by themselves.

Hi Gareth, Did you buy the Naminohira blade? I don't mean to be patronising, but when you're starting out it can be quite dazzling to find the quantity of items available and which seem to be quite cheaply priced. I'm sure you've had a look around the market but if you're asking the question "is it a decent blade worth buying" can I tentatively suggest that you sit back and hang on to your money for a while? I'd suggest that you need to have a better feel for what it is you want to collect (the Naminohira blade looked like a koto blade from the tang and so is quite different to the Gunto above) and the kind of quality that is available and at what price point - if you can hold off for a while and do your homework you'll get off to a better start than many of us who jumped in before we knew enough. Once again, sorry if I'm talking down to you.

Hi Adam, From the photos, it might be shinshinto, but certainly not koto: I think I can see kesho yasurimei, there's itame hada and I think yakidashi (which might be just the pattern of the hamon) which would point to later than koto. The only potential issue I can see is that the hamon looks to grow a little "shimi" - unclear in one of the photos (6th down near the top of the picture) but that might just be the photo and lighting. Other than that it looks like a nice blade with some interesting activity in the hamon.

I see what you did there...

Perhaps, but I think it's just that once kanji start to get cursive they lose resemblance to what they look like when written in block script. I had the same issue with 正 - when it's written in it's more cursive form (to me) it looks very little like what it is derived from and there's a weird form of 国 that always catches me out. Anyway the world of Nihonto won't crumble into dust either way.

I guess we're going to have to beg to differ on this one, however, here's a link to the fish kanji on Jisho and you'll see that it lists the various readings for it. Kane isn't amongst them. https://jisho.org/search/魚 %23kanji If you can find me something to show me I'm wrong, please post it as this is one thing I've known or thought I've known for so long that I've forgotten where I got it from and took it that it was something that everyone else knew too. Happy to be convinced otherwise if you can do so or maybe someone else will chip in and straighten it out one way or another.

Sorry but yes, I'm absolutely sure and I remember that it took me a long while to work it out. Please excuse my flippancy, but in what way is 魚道 "fish street" an auspicious name for a swordsmith? Edit: Here's a Kanemitsu blade on Aoi with the same kanji as on the OP's blade on the tang and 兼 written above it.

Hi Alex, sorry to be blunt but it isn't. For some reason, when 兼 (this is the correct kanji) is chiselled on swords, it looks like it does above on the tang - maybe it's hard to chisel all of the strokes correctly when it needs to be relatively small. If you look at Markus Sesko's Compendium (it's a free download in the research secton of the Nihonto Info at the top of the page) it lists kanji used in sword inscriptions and there are progressively more cursive versions of this kanji and the final one is similar to the one above - it's near the top of the 10 stroke kanji list. Edit: sorry, here's the link. https://markussesko....ntocompendium-e1.pdf

Hi Raymond, Welcome to the forum. The signature reads: 横山上野大掾藤原祐定 - Yokoyama Kozuke Daijo Fujiwara Sukesada. Sukesada is the smith's art name, Fujiwara is one of the old Japanese noble families that smiths liked to use, Kozuke Daijo, is an honorific title and I'm not sure why this school of smiths adopted Yokoyama as part of their name but it's a place near Tokyo. 備州長船住人 - Bishu Osafune ju nin - A person residing in the village of Osafune in the province of Bishu (Bizen). Markus Sesko's compendium has him working around Kanbun, 1661 to 1673. It looks lie a genuine Japanese sword but I don't know if the signature is genuine. I hope that gives you something to go on and you'll get some more information shortly. Edit: sorry Geraint got in ahead of me.

I hope you can live with yourself knowing what you just did to an impoverished antiques dealer.

Brian, What Dan is doing is just trolling right? Showing something that’s perfectly obvious and then claiming it’s something it isn’t and then slagging off those who disagree with him? Just a thought.

Bon courage Eric!

Nice blade, congratulations!

Hi Dale, Kara = Chinese, so Chinese flower: https://jisho.org/search/唐 %23kanji And, yes, 6th generation.

Hi Grev, Are any of your Bushu school tsuba signed? The Ito group apparently have a recorded lineage and their names often have "Masa" (正) as one of the kanji. Some stuff on the Ito and Akao schools from the Ashmolean museum: http://jameelcentre....ection/7/10237/10355 http://jameelcentre....ection/7/10237/10364

Almost certainly: if genuine I think the fuchi and kashira alone would make up a significant proportion of the value of this package, if not exceed it. I don't think Komonjo would let that one slip past.

Hi Rawa, Looking at the shape of the blade, smallish point and koshi zori, I'd say it was pre 1600 and perhaps earlier than that if that helps.

Thanks Colin, I understand now. It’s the usual thing with phones flipping the photos. 👍👍

Alex, I could have made the koshirae yesterday and the Lanes Armoury would try to convince a buyer that it was Edo period and that Miyamoto Musashi had once owned it.

Sorry Jean, I'm not sure what you are saying?

Hi Grev, Have a search on the forum - there's a number of threads on this school.

Hi Charles, 山城大掾源国重 – Yamashiro daijo Minamoto Kunishige. One of these: Kunishige (国重), Shōhō (正保, 1644-1648), Bitchū Kunishige (国重), Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Bitchū Kunishige (国重), 2nd gen., Manji (万治, 1658-1661), Musashi Kunishige (国重), Tenpō (天保, 1830-1844), Settsu Edit: sorry, just saw that this is your first post - welcome to the forum!