Shugyosha

On hold.

Bit of choji oil and she'll be apples.

Hi Dave, I think that whoever you get to look at it is going to be hampered by the condition - specifically in terms of how deep the rust is. If you can do a bit of work with oil and paper to maybe reduce that it might help with an opinion. Also, if you want to PM me an address I can send you an uchiko ball - basically a cloth bag on a small stick filled with stone dust used to clean swords. It will take some patience but it might have a positive effect on the less affected areas. Grev Cooke ("Grev" is his handle on here) is in Coventry and he might be able to look at the blade for you. Alternatively, I'm a fairly frequent visitor to south Leicestershire and so I might be able to arrange something but I don't believe I'm an expert and neither should you. I'm happy to trawl my reference material to see if I can come up with some sample signatures by this smith which might give an indicator of whether or not it is genuine but, like you didn't find much via Google. I'm fairly sure that Markus Sesko will have used most of the more respected references in compiling his work so I wouldn't expect too much on my shelves. That will be next week though as I'm heading away for a couple of days. Best, John

Hi Dave, I'd agree with what Steve says - if the signature is good, the most likely candidates are a couple of smiths whose working life was from the early to late 1500s. This is from Markus Sesko's eSwordsmiths of Japan: MASAKIYO (正清), 3rd gen., Tenbun (天文, 1532-1555), Bingo – “Bishū Mihara-jū Masakiyo” (備州三原住正清) MASAKIYO (正清), 4th gen., Tenshō (天正, 1573-1592), Bingo – “Bingo Mihara-jū Kai Masakiyo” (備後三原住貝 正清) The signatures quoted, however, aren't an exact match for the one on yours. That doesn't automatically mean that yours has been faked as Japanese sword smiths varied their signatures but my gut feeling is that the condition of the signature seems too fresh for a blade from this time frame. That's just a feeling though. I'm not an expert on the various flavours of rust but I wonder whether it might be worth trying to do something to limit the damage to the blade. What is often quoted is to wrap the blade in newspaper soaked in oil and leaving it for a week or two. When unwrapped some of the rust should come away and the detail in the blade may be revealed to some extent. Perhaps others can chip in with some advice on this. DON'T DO ANYTHING WITH THE TANG! Sorry to shout but cleaning the tang is a big no-no with Japanese swords as the patina is an indicator of the age and affects the potential value of the sword and should be left in place. Best, John

Hi Steve, I think with Goto artists, it's fairly common for the Goto part to be in grass script and the artists name to be less cursive. Here's a link to a papered Goto Mitsuyoshi kozuka: https://www.aoijapan.net/kozukagoto-mitsuyoshi-kao/ Best, John

In the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

I'm in the shinshinto camp too, maybe late shinto but lots newer than 1500s.

Sorry Guido, you're right in both cases.

Now it is... It's the hiragana "ha" and the number 3. So not a mei but perhaps they are assembly numbers for gunto fittings. Best, John

Hi Chris, There's no picture attached. John

Hi Oliver, Here's my best shot, the brackets indicate the bits I couldn't get: 黒石地[ ]鞘半太刀拵 Kuro (black) Ishiji [ ] saya handachi koshirae 縁頭山銅地 Fuchi kashira yamagane ji (yamagane ground). 目貫 雪片図[ ] Menuki snowflake theme [ ] 鐔 武兵図鉄地 Tsuba warrior theme tetsu ji (iron ground). Best, John

What he said. Fortune favours the brave!!

Thanks Alex. It's complicated this collecting lark isn't it?

Thanks for the comments and for posting that Dwain, yours is a really nice example. Best, John

Thank you gentlemen, shibuichi it is then. Kind regards, John

I currently have a kozuka for sale here, which I believe is ko kinko and done in shakudo. A board member kindly pointed out that, due to the brown colour, he thought that it was probably shibuichi. My understanding is that shakudo comes within a range of colours dependent on the recipe and I thought that dark brown, a little off black was a possible for shakudo. Does anyone have any comments? Here's a link to the listing, please let me have your thoughts. Best, John http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26873-ko-kinko-kozuka/

It has been mentioned that the "shakudo" may in fact be shibuichi: in normal lighting it has a brown rather than black hue. Please accept my apologies for any misdescription. Edit: Sorry can't edit the original post - it's shubuichi and not shakudo.

Bump!!

Bump!!!

It's the province where the pictures of signatures aren't rotated.

I really need some better eyes and a sh!t ton more knowledge. Thanks Uwe!!

Nice fittings Dwain!!

John beat me to the punch.

Hi John, Signature is (Seki Stamp) Ishihara Naotane: NAOTANE (直胤), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Naotane” (直胤), real name Ishihara Kan´ichi (石原鍳市), his first name is also listed with the characters (鑒市), born June 20th 1907, he worked as guntō smith and died December 1st 1964 Don't know about the tsuba - sometimes an older tsuba would be used rather than the standard issue - I've got a ko kinko tsuba which was converted to take the catch on a gunto scabbard but there are people who know lots more than me on this subject. Best, another John

Goto Chōjo plus kao. No idea whether it's a good signature or not. Chōjo worked late Muromachi to early Edo period.