Geraint

Dear All. The tsuba in the original post was brought up in an earlier discussion when an identical one was for sale on Ebay. One might wish to assume that a major auction house, offering specialist sales might have access to sufficient expertise to be able to spot these things, however a lot do slip through the net and of course it is in the auctioneers interest to sell items for as much as possible so the natural tendency will be to believe the object. Smaller and provincial auction houses are in my experience even worse though sometimes when you have built a client relationship with them a porter might tip you the wink at a viewing. That is not an option online. As regards stirring up a hornet's nest, the auction conditions of sale make it well nigh impossible to pin anything down, to quote from one small section of Bonham's conditions as an example, though all are very similar. "It is for you to satisfy yourself as to each and every aspect of a Lot, including its authorship, attribution, condition, provenance, history, background, authenticity, style, period, age, suitability, quality, roadworthiness (if relevant), origin, value and Estimated selling price (including the Hammer Price)" Returning an item is hedged around with difficulties as well so I think what the paragraph and our experience tells us is caveat emptor. I would love to say that I have never fallen for anything false but that wouldn't be true. I read somewhere a long time ago that you always pay for knowledge, you can pay cash, you can pay in time studying, you can pay in travel to see things in hand. I can certainty look back to things I bought and should have left alone, and the ones that really hurt, the things I should have bought like a shot and didn't. Part of why this hobby is so compelling is that you never get to the end of it, there is always more to learn. Enough of this, I must pay for my Ebay lots which I probably shouldn't have bought. All the best.

Dear Gwyn. I think your tsuba has a much more pastoral theme, the crane and minogame symbolising longevity. John, fans not withstanding I like your tsuba. As for the example that Malcolm posted, well two people with a lot of money must have liked it but I wouldn't want it in the house. Pictorially ok but..... All the best.

On one front the seller can be defended, the link to the sale leads to his other items which include two such tsuba of different designs. Both are papered and in the photo that Adam posted he has got the wrong paper though in a later photograph he has the right one. There are some good close ups which don't make me feel any happier about them. Check it out here, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Japanese-antique-Kirishitan-Christian-Edo-Katana-Tsuba-Virgin-Mary-NTKK-NBTHK/133610863100?hash=item1f1bd3f9fc:g:YpQAAOSwpxNf3egI The closeups reveal a 'halo', (sorry, couldn't resist it), of fresh rust around the nunome zogan which is a concern. All the best.

What is now clear is that this is a genuine sword, made around WWII and in nice mounts. All the best with your bidding!

There are a few good starting point. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/connoisseurs-book-Japanese-swords/author/kokan-nagayama/ and https://www.waterstones.com/book/facts-and-fundamentals-of-Japanese-swords-a-collectors-guide/nobuo-nakahara/9781568365831 If you are just starting a library then something like this one is a fun read and has some good illustrations, https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780804847346/Cutting-Edge-Japanese-Swords-British-0804847347/plp I am sorry that I have no recommendations in languages other than English, perhaps other members might help here. Trust me, this is the start of something big! Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Aliaksandr. When measuring Japanese blades the nagasa is the distance from the kissaki, tip, to the machi, notches at the ha and mune. With me so far? At a rough guess your 43cms minus 11.5cms = 31.5cms. If you think the nakago has been shortened as Bob suggests then try to work out from the position of the mekugi ana what length this would have been when originally made. This is assuming the lower mekugi ana, the one nearest the end, is original. Just for arguments sake lets say another 5cms. If all this is the case then you have a sword that was originally a hira zukuri wakizashi of about 36.5cms. Do you have references such as "Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords"? If not then you need this and one or two other books. They will tell you when hira zukuri wakizashi were made and as you get your eye trained other things will help you get to the period. All the best.

Nagasa at more than 60 cms suggests katana but I have to agree about the neglect part! All the best.

Well, that seems very reasonable to me but if it is an auction I would expect it to go for more than that. Let us know how this works out. All the best.

Dear Aliaksandr. With an out of polish mumei blade and no measurements not a lot of information is going to be forthcoming. Suggestion: You have the blade in hand as it is now, looking at it, what do you think has happened to it? What size is it now and what size would it have been when originally made? Are there any indications of yasurime and if so what are they? How about the thickness? Some of these things might lead you to a period but without hada and hamon information that is about all you can get. Let us know what you work out. All the best.

Dear Robert. As Chris points out it is very difficult to say anything about the sword from these images. It appears to be a nice Shinshinto sword in koshirae, it seems ubu, signed and dated. The smith is not famous as far as I can see but the work looks good from what you have sent us. Is this a sword you are thinking of buying? Happy Christmas.

Dear Russell. Welcome to NMB. From these pictures this one looks genuine. You could really do with pictures of the nakago, tang, to confirm this. Any Available? All the best.

C'mon Guys, no one has mentioned Shoami! I like the copper detailing. All the best.

Dear Julius. Welcome to NMB! Your sword is indeed a wakizashi, the pictures of the nakago, tang, indicate that it has been shortened at some time in it's life. The mounts are complete, though I cannot see the kashira clearly and that may be a replacement put together when the hilt was re wrapped and that by someone who did not know what they were doing. In the sword's present condition it is going to be hard to say much more about it with any degree of certainty except that it is an original Japanese sword, it will be at least as early as the 19th century though the shortening may suggest earlier. The tsuba, guard, may be an early one. You have resisted the urge to clean anything, stick with that idea, just a little light oil on the blade while you work out what to do. If it were mine I would probably arrange to have the hilt re bound by an expert and keep it the way it is now. As to value, well not a great deal. In the UK a few hundred pounds, probably the same in the US. As a family piece brought back by your grandfather, of course it's a treasure. Hope this helps, much more to come from others I am sure. All the best.

Kodzuka looks nice, Peter. All the best.

Dear Tom. A nice hira sankaku yari. If you have just bought it then you are very brave. It will be good to see it when it has been properly restored. All the best.

Dear Tony. Koshirae is the term that refers to the mounts of a sword, or in this case a naginata. Because Japanese swords are essentially held together by a simple bamboo peg it is relatively easy to remove the blade from it's mounts. For most collectors the ideal is th have the blade mounted in shirasaya, plain wood mounts to protect it, and the koshirae mounted on a tsunagi, plain wood replica of the blade. In this case koshirae refers to the pole for your naginata. As Jean suggests most functional naginata have a tang as long as the blade to secure them in the shaft. The short nakago and the fact that it fits well in the koshirae is what lead me to suggest a parade piece. It may also have been made at the end of the 19th century specifically for export to European collectors. All the best.

Welcome Tony! Congratulations, nice thing to have. As Brian says it does not appear to be top of the range but it is mounted. Might be missing a tsuba. This would look good as part of a display. My feeling is that it is probably a late Edo piece made for parade purposes. All the best.

Dear....? Please add your name to your posts here. From what little you say you seem to think that the marks on the kogatana, the small knife in the scabbard, are what counts. Sorry to be the bearere of bad news but the signature on these pieces, while sometimes genuine, are often nothing to do with the smith who actually made them. A bit like a Ferrari branded wristwatch. As Shinkai is a particularly well known maker and widely forged the chances of this being by him are slim to none at all even before we start looking at the signature in detail. As Hoanh says this seems to be a nice little unsigned tanto in quite good condition so the value is what it is. I do hope that you have not been mislead by the person who sold you this one and that what we have shared does not come as bad news. Slip off that habaki and take a shot or two of the bare blade as Hoanh suggests and let's see what others have to say. All the best.

Well I'm sticking with Tenbun but it hardly matters. What you have Andrew is a lovely package in this sword. Good Shingunto mounts in nice condition with a family mon, the silver badge on the hilt fitting. An earlier blade signed and dated. There were an awful lot of Bizen Sukesada smiths in this time and pinning it down to one will be almost impossible. The time frame is fascinating because in most people's eyes it's very early however it corresponds to a time when a lot of swords were being made and not all of great quality. If all this is getting to you then a look here will give you a bit more to go on. https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-bishu-osafune-sukesada/ If one of our members in your area could look at the sword in hand they could tell you bit more but this is a nice sword. Congratulations! Is this your first Japanese sword? If so most of us would wish that out first sword was as good a find. All the best.

Dear Andrew. Nick is right about the koshirae, the mounting, it is a Shingunto mount from WWII. It looks as though the tsuba, the guard, is pierced and the whole thing is above average. The blade is interesting and seemingly much older than the rest. This happens but is not all that common. The inscription that you show is a date and looks at first glance like it might be Tenbun period. I can't be sure from these images but that would place it around 1532. If you can get a shot of the bare blade, minus all mounts and a shot of the other side of the nakago, the tang, that might help us further. This is a nice thing, don't try to clean anything as anything you do is likely to devalue it, just a little light oil on the blade. Looking forward to seeing more. All the best.

Dear Christian. You can take a horse to water.............. Sounds like you are past the point of rationality. All the best.

Dear Dick. What to say? One argument would be that it's Shinshinto, mumei and therefore a waste of money to polish and paper because you will never add the value of the work to the value of the sword and what are you doing collecting this sort of thing anyway?. My approach would be that it is a fine looking sword in very nice and complete koshirae that is probably the original for the sword. The smith, the koshirae artists and the samurai who commissioned this sword had no idea that their age was passing and this sword is representative of the culture that we all admire. I would want to keep it and enjoy it as a complete sword and I would want to get it polished, fit a new kurikata and cherish it. I should declare an interest, my best sword is a mumei Shinshinto piece in very nice koshirae. A lot of collectors would dismiss both but I have enjoyed mine for forty years and it is probably the very last one I will pass on. If you don't feel like that then I bet that there are quite a few others who would be happy to take on the problem. All the best

Dear Jonathan. So you have a mounted wakizashi with god foil seppa and possibly habaki, nice Namban tsuba and that killer o kissaki. Saya is a little worn but has saya mono. Tadayoshi school hamon are not always suguha so this is not definitive. Whatever we think this is not going to be Tadayoshi until it has had a polish and papers. Do you feel that you would like this sword? If so put in a bid and see where it takes you. Let us know what happens. All the best.

Better yet a bit of copper wire. Coinage is never copper as it is too soft, whereas the sekigane almost certainly are. All the best.

Dear Dick. I would agree with Jean Pierre and Chris. Nice touch to have a shakudo foil habaki as well. What do you make of the four seppa? Are you going to bite the bullet and get it polished? All the best.