Geraint

Dear Jean. Are you concerned by the lack of imozura? All the best.

Dear Yuri. I can't work it all out but the smith is Yoshishige, so the last three kanji are Yoshishige saku. The one above could be da and there are some Shimada smiths with this name. It's a start and I am sure someone will ace it shortly. Whatever it is don't get too excited, mei on kogatana or often honorific rather than genuine though that is not always the case. All the best.

Dear All. A couple of things to add, one while browsing in Bushido, vol. 3, no. 1. A description of a yari by Nidai Kawachi no Kami Kunisuke. ""..in an old shirasaya that looks like it must be a tanto until the portion covering the head is removed. The shirasay is made in such a way that there is an inch and a quarter of wooden habaki behind the head making the nakago (tsuka) end shorter and the upper saya portion longer. At first glance one automatically thinks of a tanto until the saya is removed." In this case the unusual mounting allows for the yari nakago to remain unshortened, preserving the mei intact. I suspect that this might be the case with the example originally posted. It is quite common to find blades in koshirae where the blade is much shorter than the saya and this would easily allow the length of the saya to fit into an obi properly. Here is a more conventional yari tanto. The blade here. All the best.

Hi Dean. Well the blade looks like an older one, for best opinions take a photo at 90 degrees to the bare blade, habaki off. Obviously the saya and tsuba are civilian and pre WWII. The tsuka has had an odd re wrap but the saya could be improved by replacing the missing horn fittings. The next question will be, do you get it polished? All the best.

Sweet! Thanks for sharing these, that's a lovely koshirae. Just look at the shittodome on the kashira. I think the first step is some careful work with a fragment of bone to clean off the worst of the fresh rust. All the best.

Dear Leen. Here is some information for you. NOBUSADA, real name is Ganmaku Ichirōsaemon, located in Shimizu Ouno-gun (now Shimizu, Ibigawa-town, Ibi-gun, Gifu pref.) during Early Edo period in early 17th century. (Sanmei) “The Ganmaku school engaged in swordmaking in Kiyomitsu of Mino province, from the Daei era of the mid Muromachi period, to the early Edo period. It is said that the school originated from the Jumyo school, who were active in the same part of Mino province. The head of the family traditionally used the name “Ujinobu” as his artist’s name. Uninobu, (a different character), and Nobusada also belong to this school. They were favoured by many samurai because of the brave and daring name of the school. (This refers to the sound of the name when pronounced by Japanese). (Nihon-to, Issue No. 4, 1996) If yours is like the one I have then it will be quite a substantial sword, when I first got mine I was shocked when I compared it to another wakizashi. A nice find. All the best.

Dear Bob. I am sure that I am not the only one who would love to see some pictures of the rest of the koshirae. What you have posted so for looks really nice. All the best.

Dear Mark. I'm sure you have already done this but it is possible to track some of the ships that this man served on so definitely adds to the interest I would say. All the best.

Dear Mitch. Just one observation to add to what John has said. It's very tempting to think in terms of a single description for a hamon. Many swords require more than just one name to describe what is going on. For example you might see something like, " suguha becoming notare towards the monuchi", Or, "gunome midare with some togari". One rule for sure, nothing about this hobby is ever simple! All the best.

Dear Niall. Welcome to NMB! I'm afraid it's too late for you, once you have two swords to look at the bug will already have bitten and you are infected. The prognosis is that symptoms will manifest quickly, bleary eyes from staring at just one more sword on your screen, depleted bank balance as another book drops through your door, the need for extra shelf space and then the urge to start constructing some sort of display. Your speech will become incomprehensible to most as you begin to converse about swords in a strange mixture of English and obscure Japanese. Next will come an addiction to that smell of clove oil as you draw a sword from it's saya, you'll know this stage has arrived when you find yourself inhaling deeply as you start to withdraw the blade. I'm sorry but it's all over for you, you have Tokenitis. As to your sword, the length, nagasa, is measured from the tip, kissaki to the mune machi, notch at the habaki. (See what I mean?) Can you remove the habaki? At first glance this appears to be an ubu, unshortened, wakizashi from the Mino Seki school. Is the boshi intact? I can't easily tell from your pictures. Look forward to seeing more and your other sword. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Sean. You know about the backstrap, yes? All the best.

Dear All. As usual some useful information here, http://www.ksky.ne.jp./~sumie99/habaki.html All the best

Dear Jesper. I can't help you with the first few kanji but the smith is Choshu ju Kiyoshige. Might help in your search. Are the first few perhaps, "One wakizashi mei"? All the best.

Well, let's face it Joe, after that run you're owed a few weeks of nothing. Part of the fun is the looking and looking followed, at least in your case, by triumphs. Keep it up, there's more out there! All the best.

Dear Joe. I'm not sure it matters. You have a wakizashi with almost all the koshirae present, unusual sugata, all it need is a pair of menuki, some ito and a polish. Good find, provided you didn't pay an arm and a leg for it. Mei starts, "Bushu ju something Hiro," Still working on the rest, someone will jump in before i get to it. Provided there are no major flaws you are ahea dof the game. Well done, that man! All the best.

Gentlemen. The second and fourth of the images show the blade. It has seen better days. All the best.

Dear David. Certainly not common, there are numerous tsuba which are made in imitation of kabuto plates but this is the first I have ever seen of this form. A nice thing to own. All the best.

Great to see you back, site looks good. All the best.

Dear Chris. Sweet package! Thanks for sharing. All the best.

For similar see here, https://www.aoijapan.com/set-of-daisho-tsukamumei/ Gomask, please sign with a name so we know who we are addressing. What does the rest of the koshirae look like? All the best.

Dear Joe. Welcome to NMB. You can auto add your name to your post in your profile. I'm sure I won't be the only one wanting to see more of this sword. It is a shame that someone has knocked up some sort of hilt and drilled the extra hole in the tang but it could be worse. What sort of condition is the rest in? All the best.

Dear Ken. That's not a lot to go on, I'm assuming it's all one lot in which case I think it might well be worth a gamble. Worst that could happen is you get five fake tsuba. For what it's worth I don't think they are fake. Your call but let us know how it turns out. All the best.

Dear Randall. A hot stamp or kokuin is a mark that is stamped into the nakago when it's red hot, example here. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4239-kokuin/ You have a nice sword, if you can get some better pictures of the whole blade with the habaki removed and some detailed shots of the nakago that will help everyone make informed comments for you. All the best.

Dear All. Information about the group issuing the paper here on Ed's page, http://yakiba.com/papers.htm You will need to scroll towards the end of the page but there is a lot of useful information there. All the best.

Dear Neil. As you might imagine anything with a label on the bottom in English is not going to be good. The tea pot is export ware of the 20th Century. The tea cups have what are called lithophanes, interesting but in the UK pretty common. I think I heard it said that this is the commonest thing to be brought to an Antiques Roadshow, and needless to say, they never feature on the programme. Don't go booking that cruise on the strength of these now, will you. Keep looking! All the best. p.s. Bazza's hat is safe