Geraint

Sounds OK to me Chad, enjoy All the best.

Dear Ken. I can't recall seeing one either so given that jumonji are fairly rare to start with I would say yes it is. All the best.

Dear Chad. Nice little yari, shape would be called hira sankaku, three sided The kerakubi, the bit at the base just above the tang, is not long so I agree with Ken that it is probably Edo period. No signature on the tang? To have a look at a few more try here, https://www.aoijapan.com/japaneseswords/kenyarihinawaju/ All the best.

Dear John. If you go to your profile you can auto add your name to your posts as we all do. I really like the sword, sweet koshirae (Mountings) as well. These smiths started in the Koto period but I agree this looks Shinto so probably your best guess is the Hiroyoshi whose work period is around 1684. This lockdown is a pain but when it passes there are members here who would be happy to look at it for you and tell you what they can, depending on where in the UK you are. If you are not already a member of the Token Society of Great Britain and/or the Northern Token Society then look them up. Cornwall is closed to holiday makers at the moment but if you ever get down this far let me know. All the best.

Dear John. As Moriyama san said, the name of the smith is Hiroyoshi, followed by saku which means made. Hakushu is the place where he made it, so roughly, "Hakushu resident Hiroyoshi made this." Stick with it, it gets easier gradually! There were several generations so a date would be approximate, and of course there is always the possibility of the signature being a fake or gimei. Some more photographs of the whole blade at right angles to it would help as the shape can indicate age. There were smiths of this name working from about 1500 to 1600s. Fascinating, isn't it? All the best.

Dear Ron. Nice set! You are correct in that often deep relief carving is done by pushing some of the metal forward from the back, the punch marks that you show. However there is a difference between punching into a mould and repousse work. With the former the mould provides the shaping of the piece, with he latter all it gives is raised surfaces to work on. I have seen images of menuki being worked, if I can find them I will add them. A scroll through some of Ford's videos will add all that is needed, I'm sure. All the best.

Dear All. Just for the sake of clearing up some ideas, this smith is Tamura Masayuki, Shinshinto, see here, https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.1090.html/2007/Japanese-works-of-art-prints-paintings-l07680 Shinobi ana is a feature seen on swords in periods other than Showa. All the best.

Dear Steven. Have a look in your other thread about this sword. Markus has him listed as 1854 - 1860, Tamura family. All the best.

Dear Steven. For a comparison see here, https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.1090.html/2007/Japanese-works-of-art-prints-paintings-l07680 Not all swords are dated and it is quite common to find a mei without a date. All the best.

Dear Unattractive dog or Steven as we would prefer to call you. Have a look here, https://www.aoijapan.com/tanto-saku-you-baku-kashi-hosokawa-masamori-kokuin/ We would all like to see more images of the blade and dimensions please. As you may be aware there are a lot of faked signature in this world so some careful comparison is in order. However so far it looks good. All the best.

Dear Adam, With the greatest respect I do not think you have got your eye in yet as regards tsuba. Look at the chipped mimi, the surface of the seppa dai, the quality of the carving of the mei and the general quality of the design. Look inside the edges for evidence of a casting seam. I do not think it matters what the mei says, it matters what the tsuba says. Keep looking. All the best.

Dear Steff. Another question with lots of answers. The squiggles you refer to are probably bonji, carvings are usually called horimono, some schools do tend to use certain horimono but it's not always consistent, one school Kaifu, often sign on the hira ji of the blade. Some smiths are well known for their horimono, one here for example by Tadatsuna who often signed with the addition of the phrase, "Hori do saku." This basically means ,"and I carved the horimono too." https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-awataguchi-ikkanshi-tadatsuna-hori-dosaku%E3%80%80/ All the best.

Dear Sam. I am loath to contradict Chris but I think this is genuine, though I would want to see more images before buying, especially the kissaki. The soft metal fittings are a mass produced type that do occur around the war time. It is not in great condition, I hope you have some more detailed shots of the blade. All the best.

Blinding powders, Ken, blinding, not black Another is illustraed though not in much detail, on page 90 of the Kyoto Arashima Museum catalogue. Never seen one in hand. All the best.

Dear Stephen. I like the way that the wing of the bird,(or top of the kanji?) blends into the kogai hitsu. All the best.

Dear Adam.. Your supposition is correct, there are many Norimitsu. However, just to be clear, Norimitsu is the mans's name while Osafune is a place where many smiths worked. Some more information here, https://nihontoantiques.com/project/bizen-norimitsu-fss-775/ With just a photograph of the mei to go on there is not a lot we can tell you, if you have more images of the whole blade that might give a clue as to the time of manufacture. All the best.

Dear Alexsandr. This sort of koshirae turns up from time to time, the mounts are usually made up of pressed brass plates, embossed with mon. They are very late production, largely made to make swords suitable to sell to the foreign market at the end of the 19th century. It looks as if someone has had fun silver plating the parts. Certainly not a premium koshirae. Hope this helps. All the best.

Dear Colin. Perhaps a chozubachi and dipper? http://www.zen-garden.org/html/page_obj_tsukubai.htm All the best.

Hi Steff. I really like this one! According to the first pdf that Jussi supplied above this is kawahosomaki byotsuka I think. What ever it is I love it. Menuki maybe sea shells? All the best.

Yes, quite common for this group to sign Echizen ju on one side and then the rest of the mei in the usual place. Not sure why but by the time you have got, "Harima no daijo Fujiwara Shigetaka", on the nakago you do tend to run a bit short of space. All the best.

Dear Connie. I like it! Is it ryoshinogi or sankaku? All the best.

Dear Jiri. I think Pietro was making the point that a tsuba such as this was not made to be used. There is a saying, "If it hasn't got a seppa dai it was never meant to be used on a sword." Like every rule in our world there are exceptions but the point remains that these are fundamentally examples of metal art, almost always late in date and many made for the export market at the end of the Meiji period and through the first part of the 20th century. Nothing wrong with that and yours is very pleasing, also these do sometimes command quite high prices, just usually from collectors of Meiji metalwork rather than tsuba collectors. All the best.

Dear All. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/30770-tsukamaki/ An earlier thread on this subject including some detailed PDFs from Jussi, it includes some detail on musubidama and this mock up, However I do not think that is what Hector illustrates in hi OP. That looks more like the end knot from a tsuka. Haven't worked it out yet......... All the best.

Dear Stephen. A ken with horimono? So far it would suggest that the name on the right of the nakago is the name of the smith who also carved the horimono, is there anything on the other side of the nakago? I think we would also like to see photos of the whole thing. By the way, please add your name to your posts, you can do it in your profile. All the best.

Dear Bruce. One more for the list,29.5" blade but single handed. All the best.