Henry Wilson

Actually, I have a kaiken with a flat (flushed to the same width as the koshirae) horn tsuba, a style I think called hamidashi. I intially thought it was aikuchi with a thick wedge between two seppa but just reading what I have written........ that means tsuba, doesn't it?LOL

Whether a sword is Kaiken or not depends on the kind of koshirae that the blade is fitted in. For a sword to be concealed in a kimono comfortably the tsuba would have to be very flat with respect to the profile of the koshirae or not present at all. IMHO I think the tanto in a shirasya that is linked is being slightly misrepresented as it appears to only come in a shirasaya which makes it just a boring old, (but none the less) very nice tanto. Also I think Kaiken were more for self-defense rather than suicide. I have heard people call them something like (please check my Japanese) 守り刀 or mamorigatana where 守る means to protect.

There is another example, a katana I think, pictured in the Yasukuni Book done by one of the Yasukuni smiths after the war.

I would have thought Katchushi too because of the amount of sukashi.

I attended the lecture on Friday evening. I was very pleased with it as it was very professionally presented, with great translators. It was primarily based on Edo period Tosogu with only a little time dedicated to Jizai Okimono. It started with a detailed run down of the development of tosogu frm the Heian period through to the end of Meiji and then onto the production of Jizai mono. There was a slide show that was used to illustrate main lecture points and then at the end there was a nice collection of tosogu, a nice koshirae and few Jizai mono to handle and hold. Their were no magor revelations or ground breaking dsicoveries announced and it was more a very thorough basic introdution to tosogu with a side line on Jizai mono. No handouts were avaiable but if you have read the classic texts on the subject you will have got most of what the lecture was on. Persoanlly I thought it was great as it drove home a a few points and it helped consolidate a lot of what I have read. I hope they have more such lectures and that I get an invite.

Thanks Guido. Email has been sent. Do you have a copy of the Japanese version? If so could you attach it?

Is the email address S900026@section.metro.tokyo.jp If it does not appear to work.

Silly me. Many thanks Nobody!

Is anyone familiar with ミタギ / mitagi? From what I have been told they were a hunting society found mainly in the Tohoko region of Honshu and had very spirtiual beliefs when it coming to hunting. Any info at all would be much appreciated as I only know what I have written above (which could very well not be true anyway)

Take a trip to Kappabashi if the sword stuff becomes boring (as if!! ) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8310560.stm Kappabashi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappabashi-dori http://www.bento.com/phgal-kappabashi.html

The box is nice.

Has anyone seen a tanto made by a Yasukuni shrine smith? Did they make them for the navy during WW2?

Thanks Pete. I did not know that Ishiguro is regarded as so good. Do you think that the kozuka could be GIMEI? Someone trying to pass the kozuka off as HAMANO SHOZUI? I just think the MEI so not SHOZUI that I am a bit confused and groping around in the dark

Sorry for being boring. Just putting up what I have found.

Found this on Ishiguru. While there are a lot of smiths with 政, there is no one listed as 政随. Also stylistically, the kanji of mine is not that similar with what is published. Any Ideas?

I found the kanji in the Koza. ISHI GURO / 石 黒 If anyone has any info on a tosogu shi who signed 石黒 政随 I would be very grateful and I am offering a bounty of a if you are coming to the DTI this autumn. Cheers

Many thanks Ford and Ludolf for your thoughts and comments. I was pretty sure it was not the BIG Shozui but wanted to check so I can get on with enjoying it!!! I like your idea Ford,　 Do you have the kanji for the school so I (or anyone else) can do some research and see if anything interesting can be found. Cheers all

I bought a very nice koshirae recently and this is the kozuka attached. It is solid silver as all the fittings are and depicts a dragon fly. The signature 政　随 or SHOZUI breaks up the irregualar lines on the back. By judging the workmanship, would anyone like to comment on whether they think it is GIMEI or not.

Nothing to add but I was thinking about the exact same style as it is on this sword. http://www.nihonto.com/rh441.html I too would love to know more about the style of habaki

I should be there too.

I think the "P" is 刀 which reads "katana". I was once told that these earlier registration papers can suggest that the sword is of relatively good quality.

Hi Chuck Do you have any pics to illustrate the kind of tsuba you mean? Are you talking about katchushi and tosho tsuba? If so check out the following links. http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/oldiron.htm http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/oldiron2.htm

The prices are clearly listed beside the items. 円 translate as YEN (the Japanese currency). You could always try sending an email in simple English and see how far that gets you.

Some one sent me this link: http://www2.saganet.ne.jp/hasuike-itou- ... kake2.html Many thanks

I am expecting to get a few very nice koshirae early September so in anticiaption for the big day, does anyone know where I can buy a nice tanto sword stand that can hold multiple swords? Cheers