Shugyosha

Hi Dan, Welcome to the Board. I think that the advice that you got regarding the potential armour purchase is good: wait a while. The reason that you haven't seen a katana with this kind of tsuka or tsuba is that this is a tachi koshirae. I wouldn't read anything into saya having a chrysanthemum crest - it almost certainly has nothing to do with the imperial family and the fittings may be more modern than the blade - see below. My feeling about the package is that it is a piece to attract tourists, whether tourists from the 1880's or modern day in this shop. The blade is a mixture of steels which creates the grain that stands out and gives the appearance somewhat like Damascus steel. This is a pointer to its age being as advertised but (for me anyway) isn't particularly easy on the eye and the whole thing is a bit "bling". The blade is unsigned and is quite short (not things that enhance value in this time period) - the paperwork says 64.6cm. The tang is crudely finished with a second mekugi ana over the first one. This might be an indicator that the koshirae isn't original to the blade or may have been done to create a semblance of age. For the price being asked, you can get a very nice package with a genuine samurai period sword (this blade is dated to after the law banning the wearing of Japanese swords) in a good Edo period katana koshirae, signed and with authentication papers. What's in the picture is the Torokusho which is just the registration document required by the Japanese authorities and you shouldn't receive this with the blade as it has to be surrendered when it is exported. Have a look here and compare prices to see what you could get for this kind of money: https://www.aoijapan.com/ Again, there are European dealers - have a look at the links section at the top of the page and some very good deals can be had in the sales section on the Board. Best, John

Hi Geraint, Maybe Tomomich saku: 友道作?? I'm guessing though. I can't do anything with the first one. Best, John

You're right: Bishu Osa... So it's one of the Bizen Osafune smiths.

There might be a clue in the listing: 逆刃刀 - sakaba to - reverse/ opposite edge sword. My feeling is that it's genuine but whether made to be like this or has undergone a creative repair I've no idea.

Thanks to everyone for the interesting replies and particular thanks to Jussi for the detailed analysis. I had overlooked Paul's idea that the sword was simply overpriced: I see comparatively few mainline Rai blades on the market and had assumed that the rarity value alone would add a premium. The other Rai katana that I had seen available currently (both Kuniyuki, one at Seiyudo and one with Darcy - who I see now has a Kuninaga available) both require the buyer to ask for the price and so Aoi's price didn't seem beyond the pale. That said, I agree with the observations that you can get a lot of sword at this price point and many are better swords than the Kunizane, though perhaps without the added rarity value. As Jussi says, it would be interesting to see if Kunizane has ever had a sword go above TH. The Iidakoendo blade looks to me to be a very likely candidate given the exceptional length and, what looks like, tighter jigane. Thanks once more to everyone and kind regards, John

Gentlemen, Never being one to shy away from an opportunity to demonstrate my ignorance, I'm wondering why this sword at Aoi Art isn't selling: https://www.aoijapan.com/katanared-signature-rai-kunizane-honami-kaomistutada It has been in their auction twice now and is currently back sitting on the shelf looking lonesome and waiting for that Mr Right to open his wallet. I suspect that there is a deeper reason than my analysis is capable of revealing: the sword appears to be healthy, is unsigned but has a shumei done by Hon'ami Mitsutada attributing the blade to Rai Kunizane and this is backed up by Tokubetsu Hozon papers but, there is the telling remark "we think that this blade is comparable to NBTHK juyo blade"...which I take to mean "this blade won't receive juyo papers". If I am correct, does anyone have any thoughts as to why not as it seems, at face value anyway, a pretty good candidate to me and it may be educational to indulge in a bit of speculation. Has the shumei attribution prejudiced its chances of progressing further perhaps or am I just overestimating the quality??? Any views gratefully received. Kind regards, John

I would guess Yamato Hosho school which is famous for its masame hada. I think he's gone a stage further and mixed two kinds of steel as the layers really jump out on this one. A lovely sword.

I think it's one that Peter Yorke attends regularly, but you would have to check the list of exhibitors. Garth Vincent sometimes has Japanese blades as does Michael D Long and I've encountered them at the London Arms Fair so they may do Birmingham as it is nearer for them and may well be for you too. If you are going to London you could try to drop in on Don Bayney at Grays Antique Centre, though I understand that it pays to contact him first as he isn't there every day.

Hi John, The top floor of the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford is given over to weaponry and there are some Japanese blades there. Best, John

One of the other things I do is archery and they ain't arrows. Not if they are expected to fly anyway.

Sorry Jean and all the other members, I was hoping that the irony would come through, but French is my second language... Perhaps if Gerald were to contact one of the Francophone members by PM he might get more information? Mes meillieurs sentiments, John

Vous avez raison. Tous les membres qui parlent Anglais sont nuls. :laughing:

My first thoughts were shinshinto Gassan and I haven't had any better ones so that's my bid.

Hi Al, The signature is on the side that would be visible when the sword is worn with the edge upward so, it's a katana if it's long enough. The inscription on the other side is the date...unfortunately neither are very clear to me but I can make out "Bishu Osafune" on the signature side. I'd guess sue bizen so pre 1600 but probably not pre 1500 if the date tallies . It looks like it's machi okuri and probably started life as a katana for single handed use (katate uchi) but the cutting edge was shortened so that it could take a longer grip for two handed use later on. Maybe someone with better eyes can help with filling in the blanks on the date and signature. Best, John

Hi Jeremiah, Thanks for posting a very thought-provoking thread. As soon as I've worked out the answer I'll let you know. This is something I'm having real difficulty with lately: tying money up in what I think of as an art collection but what is in fact stuff that I don't display and so don't enjoy on a daily basis. Furthermore, I'm not sure that I need to own more swords in order to continue to learn about them and I know that the ones I can afford aren't likely to be of sufficient quality to satisfy me as my tastes have moved on. And this in the context of struggling for an overall purpose or direction to my collecting...so a bit of a conundrum. In the meantime, I'll keep thinking about it as I don't want to just drop the whole Nihonto thing and hopefully by the time the question resolves itself I'll have saved sufficient money to take things on. Best, John

Sorry, forgot to add the relevant smiley to indicate that I wasn't being serious.

Hi Ed, How does the tsuba fit? There's always a chance that some enterprising person swapped out the tsuba if the original was a good piece that would turn a profit. Any luck with the habaki? I'd use some kind of penetrating oil - do you get WD40 in the Netherlands? Give the area a good soak and try to work the oil in under the habaki, wrap it in kitchen towel and find something to do for a couple of days. Hopefully that will sort it out, but it might come to attacking it with tin snips or the like and replacing the habaki. Best, John

Hi Timur, I think you should perhaps take a step back. What Ray is saying is that there is a strong possibility that this is gimei due to the placement of the mei. Also, IMHO it does look rather fresh for a group of smiths working around or pre-1300. Some examples of signatures here: http://www.sho-shin.com/hatakeda.htm More examples and some prices here: https://www.aoijapan.net/?s=hatakeda&x=31&y=18 Best, John

It's an interesting idea - do you think there's a market for owning antiques on a "time share" basis?

Dear all, I opted for the paperback version and my copy arrived this morning so here goes with my first impressions - apologies if it's a bit rambling. As regards the size of the book, it is actually a little shorter and a little wider than A4 size. This isn't a gripe as the size enables (in most cases) four good-sized photographs and a description of each tsuba to fit on each page (though some contain two or three where where Grev has picked out particular tsuba for a particular attention). The tsuba are not to scale, but dimensions are provided and photographs are all in colour and are very clear and detailed. In most cases they are of the omote of the tsuba alone, though some of the more interesting tsuba are shown both front and back, though I suspect also that this may be linked to the number of examples of a particular school in the museum's collection - for example there are lots of Namban tsuba (omote only) but only six Tanaka tsuba (ura and omote). The book is well indexed: schools are shown in alphabetical order from Akao to Yanagawa and in ascending date order within each school. Grev has included some commentary on the history and style of each school at the start of the relevant section. There are additional sections that deal with tsuba in the museum's collection that do not fit into the headings of a particular school such as those that are utsushi, shiiremono, modern tsuba (the sharp-eyed among you will spot a couple of shodai Hallam ryu examples) or tsuba "in the style of" certain schools or artists. In the case of signed tsuba, (with the exception of those that are gimei), the artists are linked to the index in Haynes and there is a useful section with enlarged photographs of the mei and this is cross-referenced to the full pictures of the tsuba. All in all I feel that it is a very well thought out and presented book with sufficient breadth to appeal to those who are at the start of their tsuba collecting, or who dabble occasionally like myself, but also some depth to attract the more experienced collector in terms of good pictures of tsuba from well-respected schools that have been hidden away until now and sample signatures of their makers. Again, congratulations to Grev on bringing this work to fruition and for bringing the museum's collection to light, which I do feel is a very worthy endeavour. :clap: :beer:

左近将監 Sakon Shōgen is an honorary title according to Markus Sesko's book so Matt nailed it. Apparently it was a court rank: "Lieutenant of the Left Division of Inner Palace Guards".

Hi Matt, This is as far as I got. I'm not sure it makes any sense and I'm not looking to contradict you, but I'll post it in case there is anything you can do with it... 金房化近將? 正重

Hi Ed, Maybe Kanabo Masashige. The first two characters may be Kanabo (金房), but I'm not convinced that I've identified the first one correctly. I can't make anything sensible from the remainder, though some clearer photographs might take things further. Being honest, I think you're going to have to wait for the heavy hitters to contribute. Best, John

I think it's a typo - whoever put the web page together missed a digit in the price, probably a "2" from the front...it'll be an interesting one to watch.

Hi Robert, Sorry, I somehow missed that it was a wakizashi... In other news, there's a Sengo Masashige here: http://nihonto.com/1.4.15.html And Aoi sold one within the last six months (I think): https://www.aoijapan.net/tanto-masashige-saku-sengo/ I'm not sure if the logic stacks up, but to my thinking a Muramasa tanto should go for more than one by his student so the Masashige prices might start to point you towards a low-end price for the Muramasa. But I might be talking crap... Best, John