Hi to all and greetings from Northern Ireland
I am completely new to this so please bear with me. I am a collector of antique firearms with a few swords but recently I have been fortunate enough to obtain my first Japanese blade. It is not in the best condition but it is what it is and I am happy enough to own this important piece of history. A friend in England suggested that I join this website to increase my knowledge, which I look forward to doing.
I believe my sword to be a Satsuma Rebellion Samurai Sword, from the school of Sukehisa in the Province of Bizen. With 'rebellion' mounts from 1877 (blade is considerably older than that).
Hilt fittings (i.e. tsuba, fchi and kashira) are plain blackened iron, while the menuki consists of plain iron washers.
The most noticeable feature is the hilt binding which is rough braid or canvas wound to give almost triangular openings of exposed same instead of the traditional diamond shape.
Blade length 66cm, tang length 16cm, with clear signature which relates to the Sukehisa School of 1865 to 1868.
