Henry Wilson

Hi Moss From what I can understand you were pretty much bang on. Good job . It certainly is picking up. Yesterday it was 1,500 yen and I was tempted, but if other people want it so badly I must concur ... being the gentleman I am

You could contact Ted Tenold at Legacy Art Swords. He is doing a job for me and comes highly recommended from our elders and betters.... http://www.legacyswords.com/newindex.htm

I have a feeling it is either Owari or a Myochin. I doubt it being Katchushi or Kanayama. I think the period could well be early Edo or Momoyama max.

Can you answer? What school is the tsuba? And what period is it from? :D

Any thoughts on this? I think it is very nice. http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d111397180

Here is some tea ware that makes me think "bones"

Fascinating.

I find it hard to believe because: *silk is not very strong and wears out quite quickly. It is not that abrasive. Rubbing a tsuba with a cotton cloth is different to wear produced by wearing it. *Just because a tsuba is about 500 years old does not mean it has been worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on a sword and held against silk all the time and rubbed. Tsuba went in and out of fashion a lot and could have just of likely been stored for 200 years in a drawer as been worn. Just some armchair thoughts

I think that some effects (dare I say "activity" ) can be brought out on the surface of a tsuba from handling over a very very long period of time. A bit like acid etching in a way from the sweat etc on hands. I am not so sure about heavy bones being brought out though.... Also the idea of bones started in armour and were desirable as they are generally harder than the surrounding metal making the armour a little more robust. I think this technology was brought / carried into tsuba, probably with the idea of making them stronger against stray sword strikes. I have heard some people call bones ugly blisters, but I personally like a nice knobbly rim BTW the above information is what I have read somewhere and what I can recall of it. I am no specialist in this topic so please go easy.

I give half permission too :D

That tsuba is half mine, half David Stiles. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8936 Permission to use the image would have been thoughtful...

I would agree with you Brian. I think it is rubbish. If Jason Mazzy is looking for something worth owning to mount with his bird themed fuchi kashira, I would recommend that one that Martin H has on sale.

....which is here. That explanation sounds more convincing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimoku

Be my guest. I think it was you who asked the question.

I don't want to hijack Grey's thread so I will start a new thread. Could have something to do with North and South courts????? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanboku-ch%C5%8D_period

Can anyone tell me about the humidity and temperature appropriate for storing old Japanese urushi. I am thinking along the lines of koshirae.

Thanks Reinhard If you can, could you post some colour pictures of it. I would love to see what I missed out on...

Thank you Jean. It was a pleasure to finally meet you and Marc and chat. The DTI is a great yearly event that I always look forward to because I get to meet lots of like minded people and have a laugh as well as learn something new. Also I hope Reinhard got back safe with that lovely tsuba . Hope to see you all again next year.

So on the strength of what Jean and Chris have just said: Is this not a viable option, if you write down what you want to be written on the saya?

These are the homepages of the two main sites in Tokyo for antique markets. Check for up dates as you get closer to going to Tokyo.. http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/english/ http://www.bigsight.jp/english/general/ ... ender.html There are lots of smaller ones at the following places: *Araiyakushimae Temple near Araiyakushimae station (seibu Shinjuku line) on the first Sunday of every month *The shrine near Mozen Nakachuo station (Tozai line) on the second Sunday of each month (if i recall) *knock yourself out: http://int.kateigaho.com/mar04/antique-stores.html If you are in Tokyo, you should: *visit Kamakura (temple hopping) *the National museum in Ueno (compact display of lots of Japanese art including swords) *go to Kabuki. (Love it) http://unmissabletokyo.com/kabuki-za *Go to Nikko *Stay in ryokan (Kamakura area is nice for that) *Go to Kawagoe and see what Old Edo looked like. *Fukugawa Edo museum http://www.tokyo-cci.or.jp/sangyokanko/english/051.html http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=5 I have only been to Kyoto once and it managed to rain solid for the whole 4 days. Book a royal visit in Kyoto well in advance (and hope it doesn't rain) https://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/kyoto.html The usual places in Kyoto are worth the time in my opinion. *Sanjusangendo (my favourite) *Ninnaji *Ryoanji Etc etc The Kyoto museum was closed when we went, for refurbishing. I want to return to have a visit. I might be open by Christmas so check it out. Have a nice trip.

I'll do it for you if you like No seriously. There is a lady in Australia who apparently does sayagaki / hakogaki. I think this is her site: http://www.sumido.com.au/ If no one turns up in USA, you could post the saya only. Good luck

Despite the cold typhoon I made it to the DTI. I have come to realize that it is more of a social rather than a buying event for me. I have met lots of great people (new faces and old friends) today and chatted with and felt very happy spending the afternoon together. I saw at least 3 real Nobuie and a few nice Yamakichibei and also a stray Kanie at 5,0000,000 yen which is far too cheap me :lol:. Also I saw lovely Ko Mino fittings too. Yashima as always have a lovely spread of stuff, a nice Myochin there caught my eye. Saw, held and fondled lots of nice koshirae, kabuto and my current favourite, the Sasano Ko Tosho tsuba at Seikedo. You can't actually see how the sukashi has been cut in the photos which is bad luck for you : http://www.ginzaseikodo.com/sasanoE.html The "long hair peace guy" is in fact A great guy whom I hope to talk again to tomorrow if I am lucky. Might post more tomorrow I if have something to say and promise not to post endless pics of My new Gimei Nihonto.

Many thanks. Some good reading there.

How old are uma bari and are they pre-kogai? These are nice questions and to be honest I don't know anything about bashin / uma bari. I also have no extensive information on it either. I found this on a web page concerning uma bari: Acupuncture tool for horses? I found this too. http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... &sk=t&sd=a Can someone help me with these: *Post the kanji for "bashin" and "uma bari" * Post a picture of an uma bari. * Is "Kankyuto" 貫首 another name as well? * Do uma bari have holes at the end or are they a solid spike, or both. Very old kozuka are believed to have holes inserted at the end and some have metal rings. It was believed that they might have been used as a needle to thread tags to heads of defeated opponents. Could there be link? Maybe uma bari are kozuka prototypes? Just mulling some thoughts and speaking out loud as I wait to be enlightened.

I think I found it: http://thomaschen.freewebspace.com/custom.html