Geraint

Dear Alex. At first glance this looks like a sanmai awase tsuba, composed of three layers, a central core and two much thinner embossed faces. If this is the case then you should be able to see the layers on the inside of the nakago ana. Some information on this type here, http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tsuba/sanmai.htm If not then others will chime in with attributions. All the best.

Dear Oliver. Lovely find! Try Hiroshige. All the best.

Dear Aliaksandr. An approximate translation is, " Run far, run fast!" All the best.

By the by, Aoi Art site says that this item sold at auction................. All the best.

Dear Mark. Not sure how you viewed this sword but here is a link for a much more comprehensible version, https://www.aoijapan.com/tantokanefusanbthk-hozon-token/ There are some detailed arguements on the NMB about how collecting works but for most people buying is for rewards otherthan investment. If you are hoping to invest in Japanese swords then you need to put in some hard miles learning what is valued and why and then predict what is going to happen to the market over the longer term. Have fun with that! This particular blade is papered, by a well known smith and in quite nice koshirae, from my point of view, and that's a particular one, it doesn't do it for me. I'm sure many others would disagree with me and that you wil get several opinions. All the best.

Dear Alban. To answer your question about the tsukamai then yes indeed it might be lacquered leather, or lacquered fabric or even paper. Many different materials are used, personally I find the style on this sword attractive. If you are interested there is quite a bit of information on tsukamaki on this site, http://www.tsukamaki.net/ All the best.

Just for information the seller is up front about the fact that the tsuka has been added and says the metal is soft metal so copper is a good guess. All the best.

Dear All. I have seen this once before and from memory I don't think it was this sword in an earlier sale. It's a shame that the person who remounted this tsuka didn't do a better job. All the best.

Dear Geoffrey. Welcome to NMB. To answer your question they all appear to be genuine from these photos. Don't be tempted to clean them at all, see if you can get slightly better photos and post them here. Lots of folks will help. This has to go down as one of the best stories. All the best.

Dear David. What's not to like ? Your latest photographs confirm what I was wondering. Nice complete kaigunto with a mon, older blade signed tachi mei, certainly looks polishable if you decide it's worth it. Good find. All the best.

Dear Glen. Here's something to get you going. https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/nanban-kogai-and-kozuka-set-futakoromono All the best.

Dear Paz. This is Japanese swords! Nothing is simple! Have a look here, http://www.nihontocraft.com/Nihonto_Shinsa_Standards.html Basically old and special, flaws allowed. New, no flaws allowed. For myself a fatal flaw would be different from tiredness which is the result of too many polishes for the sword. Others will have much more to add to this, I'm sure. All the best.

Dear Eric. A couple of thoughts for you. First, to answer your question, Older papers are generally discounted these days. The bigger the name of the swordsmith the less value they have. (I note that swords for sale on Aoi Art sometimes have both old and new papers side by side affirming the same judgement but thats by the by). Certainly no one is going to accept them on a Yasutsugu coming out of Japan, or indeed anywhere. I understand your feelings about your sword. As a very new collector and well before the internet was even a thing, I bought a nice kaigunto with a wakizashi signed Kunihiro. Even then I knew not to get too excited. I still have the sword and still enjoy it for what it is. By the way, in your research did you come across this? http://www.sho-shin.com/edo-shimosaka.html If not then you might find it usefull. All the best.

Dear Claudio. If you don't know it already then this site is your friend, https://www.shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm#kaneiye Look up Kaneiye. (Oh, and Nobuiye) All the best.

Dear Claudio, Or maybe by the mastersmith Nobuie, look them up. (Jan beat me to it!) All the best.

Dear David. First of all two nice finds! Congratulations on putting in the research hours,that approach will stand you in good stead going forward. Any pictures of the blade of the Police sword? I can't see a mekugi so maybe not. All the best.

There are many things wrong with the tsuka, profile, section, alternating ito and diamonds. As my father would have said, "t's a bent as a dogs hindleg!" This part is not Japanese, most likely a post war repair attempt. Nothing to learn from that so back to the blade folks. Forgot to mention leather 'kashira'. All the best.

Like Bazza I have a memory of seeing a tachi reputed to have belonged to the Duke of Windsor, the only reference I have found so far is here, https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/01/arts/antiques-swords-with-the-spirit-of-the-samurai.html The Duke certainly visited Japan in the 1920s. Of course, stupid me, the sword was offered as Lot 305 in Haynes original sale. All the best.

Dear Keith. Well I'd be very happy if I had picked this one up. Nice sword in nice koshirae, Namban tsuba and from what I can see very nice menuki that might be two mon, really interesting habaki. I trust that you know how to care for this piece, basically do nothing to clean anything except to wipe a very thin coat of light oil on the blade. Some information here, http://sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p2060.html Look for examples of blades with NBTHK papers and compare the signature to yours. There are several smiths from this school and pinning down which one may not be possible even if you send it for papers. As you probably know the problem of faked signatures is an issue and many people are wary of a sword that is signed by a well known maker without the authentication that these papers provide. We would like some more pictures, one of the overall blade without any fittings if you can. Personally I think this is a very nice sword, congratulations! Feel free to ask any questions, happy to help. All the best.

Dear Jace. I coudn't find the emoji of wiping your hand across your face in relief but I think from all the responses you get the picture. All the best.

Lovely koshirae, Colin. All the best.

Dear All. Iwonder if the image of the jar is not a sake jar and the strange joiner not a gourd? If that is the case then perhaps the design references this. https://lordsofthedrinks.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/the-Japanese-folk-tale-of-the-sacred-white-sake/ Seems a pleasant fancy if not the right answer. All the best.

Dear Tlongnaws. Welcome to NMB. There is a thread here that might help. All the best.

Glen. That last one you posted is pretty much a dead ringer for mine; seppa dai, shape of the ryohitsu, tendril design and so forth. Also the first one, having signed examples is interesting and from what I gather rare. Thank you for posting these. All the best.

Dear Peter. In answer to your first point here is a tsuba that I believe to be of Japanese manufacture. There are slight asymmetrys to the design in that the dragon on one side seems to have a pearl in it's mouth and the tendril that forms the inner mimi turns into the body of the tsuba. The material is shinchu or sentoku, the seppa dai is the classic Namban design and the ryo hitsu are original to the tsuba. The stylistic features and the undercutting on the lower half of the tsuba are quite typical. All the best.