Nobody

Hi, This is the original of the motif. http://www.tnm.jp/en/servlet/Con?proces ... d=A11189.1

Thank you. As I live in Tokyo, I am OK at least physically but financially................Stock prices are declining.

Imagine a doughnut. When its material expands uniformly in each dimension, the shape of the swelled doughnut must be similar in proportion with the original doughnut. So, you can see that the hole of it does not become smaller but larger, when it expands. The doughnut also circumferentially expands.

FYI; Mantetsu-to http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_114.htm

Hi, I think that it may be gimei. The Kikumon (菊紋 = chrysanthemum crest) on the nakago has only 14 petals while ordinary Kikumon of Nobuyoshi has 16 petals I berieve.

Terukane (照包) and Kanesada 2nd (包貞 2nd gen.) were the same smith in Settsu. He was a student of Kanesada 1st. He changed his smith name from Kanesada to Terukane in 1680, when he gave his name Kanesada to the real son of Kanesada 1st. Therukane is a big name of Osaka-Shinto smiths.

Hi, The name may be Tomotsugu (友嗣).

Stephen is basically correct. But the first part must be Sakakura (坂倉).

I do not know the actual procedures to register a Shinsakuto. This post is only my supposition. As for Shinsakuto (新作刀; newly made sword), a Seisaku-shoninsho (製作承認証; approval of making) is required instead of Hakken-todoke (発見届) when it is registered by the Prefectural Education Board. Seisaku-shoninsho is issued to the smith by the Cultural Agency (Bunka-chô 文化庁). Although I do not know its format, I think that the smith name may be written on the approval. If so, it seems to be almost impossible to register a gimei sword if it is a Shinsakuto. As a result, the mei on the issued Torokusho will be genuin in most cases, eventhough the Tôrokushô is not a certificate of authenticity.

It looks Sukefusa (助房) to me, though I am unsure.

Hi Rich, I do not think that the group has something to do with the Nihon Bijutsu Token Club (日本美術刀剣倶楽部). I have been aware of the group for several years. Main members of the group seem to be nihonto fans in Tokushima-ken (徳島県) and they seem to have some relationships with NBTHK.

The paper was issued by Nihon Bijutsu Token Club (日本美術刀剣倶楽部) which seems to be presided over by Miki Yoshikazu (三木義和) in Osaka. The paper says as follows (loosely); katana: unsigned (attributed to Naminohira) certified as an excellent work [notes] Jigane: O-itame naregeru Hamon: hoso-suguha, komidare Boshi: hakikake gokoro It seems to be a work of Naminohira School in early Muromachi as it has a good shape and an old-fashioned style.

I am not so sure about the mei. The first kanji looks Mune (宗) to me. I think that the mei could be Munehisa (宗久) or Munetsugu (宗次).

What bothers me is the date inscription. The characters are "昭和十三 青". The first part may be Showa 13th (year). But why the following kanji such as 年月日 were not chiselled? Moreover, what does the last 青 (ao = blue) really mean? Does it mean Aogami (青紙) which is a kind of steel???

Thanks for the photo. The mei on the nakago is identical with that on the registration paper except “十 (ju)†between 狭 and 冬. But it does not seem to be so important. Although I do not know its exact meaning, it might be intended to be “住 (ju)â€. Generally, 明徳 could be a person’s name “Akinori†or a name of era “Meitoku (1390-1394)â€. In either case, it is strange that the name was chiseled at that position of the mei, and moreover, it looks to have been added later to me. I also suspect the genuineness of the mei because it looks a little crude. Needless to say, I could be totally wrong.

I know one. http://www.sanmei.com/shop_e/en-us/dept_24.html

Fujiwara Hisayuki (藤原久幸) and Kawai Hisayuki (川井久幸) seem to be the same smith. At least they were same age. Fujiwara Hisayuki; He was 69 yr in 1854. http://sinogi.dee.cc/katarogu/1812/hisa ... 114382.htm Kawai Hisayuki; He was 78 yr in 1863. http://samurai-nippon.net/V-294/

I believe that Meitoku is a name of era. First, you should look at the mei on the nakago. The mei on the registration is usually identical with the mei on the nakago. But I think the description on the paper is rather strange. There might be omission.

The paper is a registration which was issued by Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education on April 28th of 1971. The features of the blade are described on it. Type: tanto Blade length: 22.9 cm Curvature: 0.4 cm Number of holes of mekugi: 1 (or NA?) Mei: Meitoku (明徳: era 1390-1394), Wakasa (若狭: province name), Fuyuhiro (冬広: smith name) note: regintration papers do not necessarily mean the authenticity of the mei.

Actually, I am wavering between Hiromitsu (廣光) and Nobumitsu (信光). :? My mind's eye says Hiromitsu, but I cannot see enough strokes to be Hiro (廣) on the photo.

Thanks Rich, but it is nothing. Every Japanese can read kanji.

Although I am unsure about its first 2 or 3 characters, the mei on the paper seems to be as follows; 刀 銘 (Katana, Mei): 村 x x 刀鍛錬道場 正永 (x x x katana tanren-dojo Masanaga), 昭和二十年一月日 (the 1st month of 1945). Other descriptions on the paper say that Masanaga was a Rikugun-jumei-toko (陸軍受命刀工) in Showa era and resided in Kobe (神戸). Blade lenght is "2 shaku 1 sun 6 bu".

That is a paper which was issued by Token Shibata (刀剣柴田) and sigened by late Shibata Mitsuo (柴田光男).

I am still unsure of the tanto. The shape and its nakago look OK to me. But the hada looks strange. The pattern looks regular Mokume rather than Ayasugi. I think that the bull's-eyes are too strong for Ayasugi-hada. That looks like a modern stainless damascus pattern (refer to the attached photo: sorry it is not a nihonto but my knife.). I knew the method to forge Ayasugi-hada as Guido explained. But I do not think that the bull's-eyes do appear with the method.

Although that may be a joke, there is a delicate problem. Actually, the registrations are not so easy in those cases. Because one shall report the nihonto to the police forthwith after its discovery, one must have reasonable explanatons of its discovery, possession, and transportation under illegal state of the blade (w/o registration) to be issued a hakken-todoke. If one does not have reasonable explanation, the blade might be confiscated by the police.