Geraint

I think that Chris is referring to the practice of inlaying a design element, a piece of iron to form the body of a tiger for example, inlayed into an iron ground. If this is the case then the ground is cut away to the shape of the inlay, the edges slightly undercut, the inlay piece inserted and the edges punched down to secure the inlay. Or not Chris? All the best.

Dear Michael. (Please add your name to your posts) John has supplied you with the translation, now comes the rest. Big names are often faked but this looks worrying from a number of viewpoints. More pictures of the overall shape of the nakago, (tang) would help as would more pictures of the sword. As Gordon suggests there is something not good about the surface of the nakago and the style in which the mei is cut is a worry. Have a look at this one to compare and do post more pictures if you have them. http://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2016/16208-2.jpg All the best.

Hi Ken. If you can get a good overall shot of the whole blade, tang included that would help. First impressions would be that it's probably late Muromachi. Swords signed as this one starts are very common from Bizen smiths of this period. Most of them are regarded as mass produced blades and do not rate very highly, as almost all the details of your blade are obscured it will be very hard to tell a great deal more about who made it. Have a look here for a good example, https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-bishu-osafune-sukesada There are some members in Ireland who might chime in, that way you might get to show it to someone in hand for more help. I also suggest you post photographs of the tsuba in the Tosogu section of the board for some informed opinions. All the best.

Dear Ken. It's late but I think I see Bishu and the start of Osafune on the sword. This would suggest a Bizen blade. Read up on care of this. The tsuba is interesting and appears to be signed Kamiyoshi. Out of my comfort zone but go slow on this and careful, that's a good name. Higo tsuba ko which goes well with the Higo style mounts on the tsuka. Better pictures of the rest if you can please. If nothing else this is an interesting find, I think you did well here. All the best.

Dear Randy, What a fascinating thing, it would certainly repay some study for someone who was interested in the process of creation. Thanks for sharing this. All the best.

Dear Cameron. None, just practice this phrase, "Hello, my names Cameron and I'm a nihontophile." It's a fascinating journey, all the more so because you never reach the end. All the best.

Dear Cameron. Welcome. (Please add your name to your posts as we all do.) If your translation agrees with John then congratulations on your efforts. If not then don't worry, at least you gave it a go and will get better as you go along. Hoshu is a shortened form of the province name which is Bungo and there is a wealth of information about Bungo Takada swords available. Don't get depressed by the general ranking they are given, it's the sword in hand that counts. I'm sure I am not alone in wanting to see pictures please. And now the health warning. Two swords with precious family history have started you on something which might grow into a serious condition involving much learning, a bewildering variety of obscure Japanese terms, travel to far flung places to look at swords, hours in museums and online and numerous other symptoms. We all have it and few of us would willingly give it up! Enjoy. All the best.

Dear Michael. You ask about quality. Compare the workmanship of the fuchi with the tsuba. What would you conclude? All the best.

Dear Peter. Thanks for sharing this one, I can see why the koshirae caught your eye! All that and an in interesting blade to boot. Well done that man! All the best.

Dear Peter. Stop teasing, if you bought this blade for the fittings we want to see. All the best.

Or more complicated. Markus Sesko lists another smith signing with this mei as second generation Kanbun shinto. Also here, https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?page=157&order=title&sort=desc&field_smith_signature_value_op=contains&field_smith_signature_value= The balance of probability would suggest the later smith but you will need to satisfy yourself about which one it is, or send it to shinsa. Either way it's a nice piece to own. All the best.

Welcome Geoff. Keep trying with that first sword, it's an Efu no tachi mount and while the photograph is not great and it might be quite late it would be a very nice thing to have. It seems to be all complete and in good condition. I don't suppose you have any pictures of the blade out of the mounts? The Gunto is in late war mounts and appears to be in pretty good shape, signed and dated. No doubt a translation will be forthcoming soon. All the best.

Well that is certainly a first for me. I don't envy the guy who had to make shirasaya for that sugata! Thanks for sharing Hamfish. All the best.

Dear Steve, Grey is quick and spot on as usual. Just to add the ornament on the scabbard is quite alright where it is, called a saya kanemono. As Grey said pretty much everything else you were told on the posts with your photographs is off beam to say the least. Worth getting to see Grey if you can. All the best. (Oh and please add your name to your posts)

Dear Kirk. Please add your name to your posts as we all do. Grey was quick off the mark but his translation works out to be, "Tadayoshi, (smiths name), with the honorary clan name of Fujiwara, made this in Kashu province, (shortened from of Kaga)." I'm sure we would all like to see the rest of the sword. All the best.

If they have then I have not heard about it and perhaps some of our members resident in Japan can enlighten us. I have noted that Aoi sometimes get around the regs by saying that a blade is a metal tsunagi, I'm sure that some others simply do not know or bother about the rules. I have seen quite a lot of rule bending here in the UK when it comes to selling swords, I suppose that the same is possible in Japan. All the best.

And for Kanemoto read Kanenao, the seller confirms this at the very bottom of the listing. Perhaps the Kanemoto in inverted commas is meant to suggest an association or just that it is Seki school. Actually, it looks much more like Asano Kanesane so have a look here, https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanezane.htm All the best.

Dear Luis. I have to say that your comment does indeed sound grumpy and harsh. Part of our aim as a community surely is to encourage those who are starting to express an interest in the subject we all love. Andras asked a question in another thread and you have no way of knowing what his intentions were, perhaps he was seeking to understand the differences between the two swords. Almost every thread advising beginners starts with the mantra, "Buy books", and it's a good one which we say because many of us did not and regret it. Most responses to Andras have been helpful in directing him to books that are accessible and affordable, I'm sure he will follow up on those. The fact that you get impatient with those who want to use the internet as a learning tool is your problem, not his. I have to say that if I were in Andras' shoes and had asked a question with the specific plea that I was just getting started and that I didn't want to be called an idiot or to get out of the hobby because I couldn't afford it then your post we make me want to have nothing more to do with NMB. Telling someone that they are getting this so wrong that they might as well go and collect stickers is hard to see as anything other than offensive. I am sure that was not your intention but I at least would read it that way. None of the points you make about books are anything other than correct but by and large people develop an interest in the object and then find the need to study it via the written word. By the sound of it Andras is just starting out and could do with some advice. All the best.

Dear Andras, If at all possible find a group near you and join. You will get a chance to share knowledge and to ask questions as well as to see swords and fittings. The other tip is to go to auctions if possible, a good auction will allow you hands on viewing of some great items and you can take your time. Another tip would be to keep an eye on sites such as Aoi Art. Read what the description says and then study the images until you can see what is being described. Be encouraged, when I started collecting there was only really one book in my language and no internet, I spent a long time with my nose pressed against the glass of the showcases in the V and A museum in London, (the marks are still there.) Enjoy! All the best.

Just to add to what Martin has said, the peg you need to remove is the one nearest the tsuba, (guard), it may be threaded and it may have a left hand thread. Not sure how that idea will come across so to explain, a normal thread unscrews anticlockwise, this may unscrew clockwise. Once you have unscrewed the first part you will need to carefully push out the second part. Go gently and we look forward to seeing what you find. All the best.

So as Ray and Stephen point out the mei can be read as either, "Bishu Osafune Nagayoshi", or "Bishu Osafune Chogi". As to date you have to work at recognising the sugata and other features in the blade to arrive at a period and then start consulting the lists to see who was working at that time and signing in this way. Or of course you could send it to shinsa. Just to whet your appetite, http://www.sho-shin.com/chogi.htm bearing in mind the more famous a smith the more likely to be gime. All the best.

Dear Ed, Soritsuno is the name you are looking for, the purpose you already know. They usually indicate a bit of extra care and attention, Can we see the rest of the sword, please? All the best.

Dear Matthew. At £750 probably not something you would want, time to shop around a bit. (It's always tempting when they are on your doorstep isn't it?) All the best.

Hi Denis. Good to hear from you. You are correct, it does have a shirasaya. My point was that while we all know that the cost of the restoration is way beyond what you might recoup in the market if this was my first sword I would probably go ahead anyway. The present shirasaya has nothing that commends it to my eye, rather the reverse and while in theory it might make economic sense to open it, clean it and reassemble you would still be left with something that would upset me to look at. I suppose my attitude to collecting is at the root of this idea, I have always thought that this is a hobby whose value to me is in the experience. It is possible that when the time comes and all my swords go back into the wild then I might make some profit but as I have owned some of them since the early 70s most of that would get eaten up by inflation. For me that doesn't matter. I have had so much pleasure from studying, enjoying and in some cases restoring them that I feel I have had more than value for money. A recent post about never selling a sword at a loss made me think. It turns out that the poster was able to do this himself by relying on two or three other people who did make a financial loss. If someone is in this for the money then good for them, a sword like this would change hands a few times and probably pass into the hands of someone who would do something regrettable to it. For my money, (quite literally), the romance and enjoyment trumps the expenditure. We all know that the cost of a shinsakuto like this would be far in excess of what any of us would dream of paying for this sword, the care and craftsmanship that went into making this wakizashi is incredible even if the market doesn't recognise that. OK, end of rant and of course the whole thing is up to Danny but I don't think I could live with that shirasaya. All the best.

Dear Ed, Thank you for sharing both your sword and your excitement. I'd be pleased with that one. All the best.