Geraint

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.

And for No. 3 compare, http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/1044-identify-gold-sealkao/ All the best.

Hi Matt. This does look like a very nice package. I wouldn't worry about the comment regarding it's sharpness, think of it a s a marketing slogan. It is not the same as a cutting test inscription by the Yamada or anyone else so on that point you need have no concerns. I don't know this seller but the description of hada and hamon suggest this would be very nice, sharkskin saya to boot. You might be able to find other examples of this smiths mei to compare but I don't think there is anything wrong with it from what we can see in the photographs. The down side is that it is out in front of a very wide audience and the starting bid is close to 2K CD. I would not be at all surprised to see it go a great deal higher than that. All the best with your quest

Hi Brett. Of course it is worth getting someone to look at it and hopefully one of our Canadian members in the Toronto area will chip in. Let us know how this works out. All the best.

Hi Brett, Please sign your posts as we all do. Your question is hard to answer without some more information. At the very least you have a nice wakizashi in shirasaya and in polish. Does it have Japanese papers to confirm the signature? If it does then you might like to compare here, http://www.ricecracker.com/japanese_swords/wakizashi/sw6.htm Now don't get too excited, this sword has a very up market habaki and shirasaya and papers, albeit not the best ones. There are many false signatures out there and without the confirmation that papers would provide your sword would be worth a fraction of this one. As I'm not in Canada it would be more useful for some of our members there to give you a ball park figure for insurance but I do hope you enjoy your sword. All the best.

Dear Wade. The story attached to this blade is, of course, fascinating however it has no bearing on the value. So far what we have is a blade which is not in good condition and should anyone chose to restore just a polish is going to cost hundreds of dollars. Whatever it had as mounts it is now just a blade. The key points are that while we all wish it had a star stamp it doesn't. It does have a Seki stamp and for almost everyone this means it is not a gendaito. Hamfish points out that the tip is very badly damaged which will almost certainly have removed the tempered edge which renders the blade valueless as a collectible. I can tell that the story and the fact that it is a real blade have ignited some real interest in you and perhaps that will be the real value here. All the best and keep saving for your next sword.

Dear Jamie. Your summary is spot on. This is a wakizashi, probably from the Edo period but to narrow that down would be hard without better pictures. It is out of polish so most of the details of the hamon and hada will be impossible to spot. I am assuming that it is not signed on the tang? Now, time to go carefully. Whatever you do do not attempt to clean this yourself. Step one might be to buy some good quality uchiko and spend some time working with that but then comes decision time. To make this look like it really should you need to give it to a properly trained polisher who can bring out the best in the blade, then you need a shirasaya made for it. All this is going to cost quite a bit and added to the cost of the blade is not ever likely to make financial sense as you won't recoup those costs if you decide to sell it. There are several threads here about what you "should" collect, all of them will tell you that unsigned wakizashi from the Edo period are to be avoided as there are so many of them around. That's quite true but you might feel that as this is your first sword you really want to see what it looks like in polish, I know I would. If the bug has bitten you then start slow, have a good look around the sites in the Links section of the NMB, start to get a feel for what this hobby is all about, buy a few books to help with the terminology but above all, have fun! All the best.

Gentlemen. I suggest that this is a perfectly genuine wakizashi, albeit in poor shape. The nakago jiri is not uncommon in some schools and the geometry of the nakago, machi etc are all fine. The koshirae is, I think, one of those late Meiji ones covered in stamped brass plates and smothered in Tokugawa mon, the plates have become detahced and so we are left with the wood saya and some of the fittings. Perhaps Morishige saku? (Got the last one wrong so don't bank on it.) All the best.

Dear Dan. I am sure you know the stories about Muramasa blades and their use by families opposed to the Tokugawa, It would be possible that what you see is the place where the mei once was before it was erased. (I suppose that it is also possible that someone has made it seem that way), In any event you have a nice sword but Matt is right, it's mumei now. Enjoy. All the best.

Dear Danny. Please sign your posts with your name as per the rules. If it's 19" then it is probably a pre WWII wakizashi. I'd love to tell you more but wading through the endless popupson Photobucket is a pain, if you upload the images directly here then it would be much easier. If you go the the bottom right of your post and click on, More reply options then an option to attach files will be at the bottom left of your post. All the best.

Dear Matthew. So what you have is a nice example of a shingunto with a Showa blade, signed and of some interest, (There were at least three Kanetaka so some research here but it's not Matsuda Kanetaka). The koshirae is in good condition, it has a rank tassel and a silver mon on the kabuto gane. All in all a very nice package. Enjoy.

Jean. If you go to the top tool bar and click on "Research", then "Swordsmith Database", you can try entering Kanemoto, Kanetomo and Kanemitsu and see what you get. With three character mei it is very hard to verify unless it is a well known smith whose work appears in one of the many books. All three names are used by many smiths and so identifying the one who made your sword and confirming that it is genuine is likely impossible. The nakago seems to have takanoha yasurime which points to a Mino smith. Forgive me if these terms are new to you, please let me know if you would like an explanation. All the best.

Dear Jean. Kanemoto or Kanemitsu? All the best.

Dear Brad. No need to make this one difficult, Stephen has given you your man. Nothing about the nakago suggest other than that this is a Showa blade. Not all Showa swords have stamps and sometimes this is a good thing. More pictures of the blade might bring some more, informed comment. Enjoy! All the best.