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Shugyosha

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Everything posted by Shugyosha

  1. 章孝 Aki taka + Kao There's only one in Haynes: "H00073.0. Died 1854; NTS: iron tsuba carved and inlaid with blooming lotus plants".
  2. There's also a programme on immediately before it (9.00pm) called The Art of Japanese Life which explores connections between Japanese culture and the natural environment.
  3. Isn't it a fairly common ploy to make a false statement (traditional, hand-forged), provide the information that contradicts it (Sho stamp) and then leave it to potential buyers to draw a conclusion? Those who know would assume that in most cases the armoury stamp would point to a gunto whereas the more naive will focus on the buyer's description, thinking that they are getting something better than is actually being sold. When a dissatisfied buyer cries fraud, the seller merely points to his disclosure of a material fact that ought to have put the buyer on notice. For me this is dishonesty but I'm not sure it amounts to fraud...I'd leave that to the more legally minded to decide.
  4. Doesn't the "Sho" stamp imply that it is a Gunto and not a traditional hand-forged blade?
  5. Hi John, I'd second what John and John are saying. Some measurements would be useful also, particularly length. Best, John
  6. Hi Piers, I'm a bit late to this one but I remember that Darcy had a very nice example of a kama blade for sale a few years ago. I don't recall whether it was signed but I think it did have an attribution at least. You might want to drop him a line in case he can help with your research - unfortunately it's not up on his website now. Kind regards, John
  7. Ichihara Kiyotada Saku KIYOTADA (清忠), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989). Gifu – “Kiyotada” (清忠), real name Ichihara Tomiharu (市原富治), born April 9th 1878, he worked as guntō smith and died May 14th 1961 Best, John
  8. 肥前国住遠江守藤原兼広 (兼広 一 代) 作 Hizen kuni ju Totomi Kami Fujiwara Kane Hiro (Kane Hiro ichi dai) saku 刃長一尺七寸六分 八厘 Hachō (length of cutting edge) one shaku seven sun six bu eight rin 時代 享保の頃 Jidai Kyōhō (1716 to 1736) no goro: around the Kyōhō period. Sorry some of the characters have come out with underlining which I can't remove. A couple of issues: the Totomi [no] kami title was given to the second generation of this line whose period of work is significantly earlier according to Markus Sesko: KANEHIRO (兼広), 2nd gen., Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Hizen – “Hizen no Kuni-jū Tōtomi no Kami Fujiwara Kanehiro” (肥前国住遠江守藤原兼広), he also signed with the supplement “hyōtan-tetsu o motte tsukuru” (以瓢箪鉄造, “made by using hyōtan-tetsu,” hyōtan-tetsu was another term for nanban-tetsu), real name Hashimoto Heijibei (橋本平次兵衛), he signed in early years with Kanewaka (兼若), son of the 1st gen. Kanehiro, his younger brother Hashimoto Sō´emon (橋本相右衛門) succeeded as 2nd gen. Hirosada (広貞), dense ko-itame which appears as konuka-hada, suguha, gunome-midare, notare, chūjō-saku There was an Omi (近江) [no] kami working in the period referenced on the sayagak but signing Echizen Kuni etc: KANEHIRO (兼広), Kyōhō (享保, 1716-1736), Echizen – “Echizen no Kuni Shimosaka Kanehiro” (越前国下坂兼広), after receiving the honorary title Ōmi no Kami, he changed the characters of his name Kanehiro to (包広), see also “KANEHIRO (包広)” Now it's possible that I've made an error but I would be taking the sayagaki (and the corresponding signature on the blade if there is one) with a pound or two of salt as it is not likely that the two would be confused by someone who knew what they were doing either in terms of language (confusing Echizen with Hizen and Omi with Totomi) or with regard to Nihonto.
  9. Hi Piers, I believe the missing kanji is 剱- tsurugi/ sword. I had a look but, whilst I got some parts of the script I couldn't make it into a sensible whole. Best, John
  10. What Patrick said. 東武 於 [ ] 鳥?? 藤原国住作之 Tobu oite [ ] tori?? Fujiwara Kuni sumi saku kore I've added a little more but I can't get one character and I'm not sure of another.
  11. Shugyosha

    Ko-Mihara

    I understand that Aoi scan all their swords - they add on a standard miune with no detail. No idea what they use.
  12. To add to Jussi's contribution, I have: F&K: 薄秋虫図 Japanese pampas grass and autumn insect theme. Kodzuka: 蘇東坡 A Google of these kanji came back with "Sun Dong Po" - apparently a Chinese poet and statesman. Not sure that this is correct but it seems a possibility given the tsuba theme.
  13. My inclination would be to use English to define what is meant by the Japanese word and then use that. I think that most people would accept that not everything is capable of a direct translation that succinctly and accurately captures what is meant.
  14. Thanks Steve, I had a look at this and made no progress, but thought that it was me. I'm feeling less discouraged now. Best, John
  15. Hi Neil, It's hard to give anything concrete based on the photographs. My feeling is that the sugata suggests kanbun shinto (around 1660) - it looks to be a fairly straight blade with a smallish kissaki. That said, the curvature is hard to gauge accurately because the picture of the whole sugata is taken from above the level of the blade and the suriage might be leading me astray. Another factor that might suggest a shinto blade is that the hi ends before the yokote. It's not a very firm indicator but kissaki that have been substantially remodelled may have the hi running past the yokote and this is less likely to have happened with a shinto blade. The problem with a suguba hamon is that they were used in most schools and in most periods so it's hard to add anything based on that and I can't see any activity that might give a clue. I can't make out the jigane, and that might indicate a more tightly forged blade which may also be a pointer towards shinto or later, but there were koto schools that used this also, so again nothing conclusive there. So lots of ifs, buts and maybes and I really wouldn't stake my life on anything I've just written, but hopefully it might trigger a discussion. Kind regards, John
  16. Hi Klaus, This sword is by 貞勝 - Sadakatsu. Hi Steve, A fantastic blade. I hope I can afford one of those one day. Best, John
  17. As I had a look, I'll throw this one in. Maybe: KANEFUMI (兼文), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Seki-jū Fukuda Kanefumi saku” (関住福田兼文作), “Kanefumi” (兼文), real name Fukuda Bunkichi (福田文吉), born September 25th 1898, he worked as a guntō smith But I wouldn't argue with Steve. Best, John
  18. Does this happen in other fields of collecting? It never ceases to amaze me how in the case of nihonto, when having lucked on to a potentially rare and old piece, people are overcome by the temptation to dick with it. Julian, do you really think that what you did has improved this sword?
  19. It's the smith's art name or a work name - the name he uses professionally to sign his work. It might be linked to his family name but more usually to that of his teacher - assuming gunto smiths use the same formula as more traditional smiths.
  20. Hi Franco, Nice is a longer than usual, juyo blade by a highly ranked smith. The detractors for me are the machiokuri, what looks like some o hada, or at least inconsistent hada, in the first third of the ura and what might be a fukure in the mono uchi area of the omote but is probably just a slight kitae ware that follows the grain in an oval shape. Other than that, as Axel says, it's hard to argue with the paper, though if I were about to drop this kind of money I would probably be looking elsewhere as the blade doesn't really make me go wow!, but that's a personal thing. So what am I missing? Best, John
  21. Hi Greg, Last two kanji are 金高 Kanetaka. There were smiths working in Mino from around 1590 to around 1680 signing with this combination for Kanetaka but I can't find a link to these smiths in Markus Sesko's book for the first two kanji. Being honest, I can't work out the first kanji as I can't find a suitable match and I think the second (之), in this context, is read "yuki" but they don't show up in any of the listed smiths signatures. Hope that gives you something to go on. Kind regards, John
  22. Hi Bob, I did have a look at this but it's some way beyond me. The first line of the first panel contains the kanji for Sendai and the last four kanji are (I think) the name you mention: Kunigaro Wada. Sorry but I wasn't able to glean much more than that that made sense. I'm not able point out the kanji in this post as I'm in my phone. John
  23. Sorry, forgot to say that there may be the addition of a couple of kanji in seal script - the squiggles at 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock in this picture. They look to be not an accidental part of the ground. Unfortunately I'm away from my books and can't tell you what they say, if anything.
  24. Hi David, Thanks for posting. Unfortunately the answer is not a lot. I think it's a genuine antique tsuba from the Edo period. It looks to be a fairly generic design - a hammered iron plate with the addition of a theme in soft metals - in this case sea shells and more than likely made for stock as opposed to being made to order. Beyond that, in the absence of a signature, there's not a lot to say. There are sharper eyes and brains on here and you may well get better answers from others.
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