Grey Doffin

Hi Rob, What you see is what is called in the West (don't know the Japanese term), tsuba ware. This is where a tsuba sat for a long time and wore a rut in the nakago. Grey

Masayasu Grey

Hi Klaus, No shame; just a learning experience. Grey

I believe this is a rare tanto from the Chinese fake period. Grey

Klaus, Showa Ju Shichi Nen. 1942. Grey

Hi Ted, The lady I spoke with, Naomi Takafuchi, said something that gave me the impression that it would be cloth items that would be rotated (to cut down on light exposure maybe?) and not the blades, koshirae, and kodogu. If this is so I don't know where this leaves armor, which is half iron and half cloth and leather. Sorry, this is all the information I have. Grey

Hi guys, I've spoken with someone in the communications department at The Met; I'm writing a notice for the JSS/US Newsletter. She tells me that item #3: 3. Yoroi armor with red-leather lacing Heian period, 12th century Iron, copper, gold, leather, and silk H. of helmet bowl, 12.6 cm (5 in.); H. of neck guard, 27 cm (10⅝ in.); H. of cuirass 37 cm (14⅝ in.); H. of skirt, 24.5 cm (9⅝ in.) Okayama Prefectural Museum National Treasure "can only be exhibited for 2 wks, every 5 years. And this piece will be on view at the Met during the first 2 wks." Nice that they let us in The States have the 2 weeks this time around. If you want to see this set of armor you have to be there by Nov. 8th. I will be there either the 6th or the 7th (lucky me). She also says that the 34 National Treasures in the show are more than twice as many Kokuho as have ever before been allowed out of Japan for a show. If there is any way at all you can make it, whatever it takes, you don't want to miss this one. Grey

Yes, definitely Shinryo. I find only 4 character signatures (Dohi Shinryo) in my references. If this signature is 2 character it may be gimei. Grey

This smith isn't included in any of the 60 or so references in my "Index of Japanese Sword Literature". Not likely you'll be able to learn much about the man. Grey

You could also try John Tirado or Brian tschernega, if you can find contact information; I bet at least one of them can do this and would do a great job. Do not try to fix the cracks yourself with glue and clamps; leave it to the pros. In the mean time here's a temp repair that will do no damage. Wrap a strip of paper around the top of the saya and then tightly wrap the paper with tape. Masking tape works well for this. The paper will keep all adhesive away from the lacquer. Grey

Stefan, My recommendation would be to let the Sadamune alone; enjoy it for what it is and learn what you can from it. Rather than spend a bunch of money on having a saya and tsuka made and acquiring other parts and paying to have them put together, and ending up with something that, while nice to look at, has no historical relevance to the sword, and costs much more than you could ever hope to regain, I would expend $s and energy elsewhere. If you want koshirae, you could make your next purchase a sword with koshirae, or you could purchase an older set of koshirae without a blade, which often sell for less than would the constituent parts if separated and sold individually. Of all your options, what you're proposing probably makes the least economic sense. At least that's my take. Grey

Hi, 1st, dry anything that's still wet. Then take pictures of the tang from both sides, the point, an overall of the blade, and the fittings, and post them here (see picture posting directions in the Forum Guidelines section. I'm sure you'll get some help. Remember to sign with a name. Grey

Hi Eric, Notice that distressed spot on the nakago above the mei? Right where an arsenal stamp would be if this were a Gunto?. I've seen a few Gunto from WWII that have had their stamps peened down and their nakagos treated to make them look older. Don't know if the ha-machi was ever ground back to fit the supposed old age. Any case, I'm not saying that this is what you have; just giving you one more possibility to consider. Grey

Hi Joe, Hawleys lists 5 smiths with the signature "Mino no Kami masatsune" One worked in Mino about 1662. The other 4 all worked in Owari between 1607 and 1673: 4 generations with the same name. 3 or 4 of these smiths have made it into various references in my Index of Japanese Sword Literature. Go to jssus.org, click on JSL Index, swordsmiths, type Masatsune in the search field, and scroll down till you find them. If you own any of the cited references you can see what they tell you about the smith. Grey

Hi Joe, You haven't given us enough information from which to base an opinion. Closeups of the nakago, hada and hamon, and the kissaki would help. Or how about a link to the thread with the papers so we can see what they say? Grey

Actually, it is possible for a perfectly hardened kissaki to bend at the tip. I've seen quite a few blades that had their original boshi and a bend in the tip. I've been told that Koto were more likely than Shinto or later to survive without cracking (don't know if that's true). And, as I mentioned before, if the boshi leaves sufficient room at the tip to allow for reshaping the kissaki behind a crack, once the repair is done the sword won't have suffered severe decrease in value. This could be more valuable than a mint NCO (or maybe not). It needs to be seen in hand by someone with experience. Grey

Some might say Boy's Day sword, but because of a strange curve in the nakago and lack of ornamentation on the kodogu, my guess is some sort of tourist trinket or out right fake. Doesn't look like Nihonto to me. Grey

Hi Bruno, If the kissaki is just bent it may be possible for a properly trained polisher to straighten it (don't dare try this yourself!). It looks in the picture like there might be a crack at the base of the bend. If there is a crack your only option is to have the kissaki reshaped, again by a proper polisher, and this can be done only if there is sufficient room in the boshi. You need to have a polisher look at this. Grey

Hi Peter, I alerted Barry Hennick, our esteemed web guy, to your problem. I hope he can help. If not get back to me and I can help in a slightly more complicated manner. Grey

Hi guys, The next issue of the JSS/US "Newsletter", our 4th of the year, will be special. I'm giving you a heads up in case you would like to receive a copy. Roger Bobertshaw, noted collector and authority of the swords of Hizen (Tadahiro/Tadayoshi lineage) was presented with a long forgotten document, which he has had translated into English and given to the JSS/US for publication. In Roger's words, "The document was written on 7 January 1884 by Hashimoto Kin’ichi, 10th Generation Tadayoshi, and it details the ancestry of the Tadayoshi and the Hizen Kaji itself, back some 700 years from the date it was written; that is back to 1184." We plan to do this right: nice paper, competent binding, each page of the original handwritten Japanese will be followed by that page's translation, all to be followed by extensive notes from Mr. Robertshaw, about 60 pages total. Anyone with an interest in Hizen-to should want a copy. You get one if you're a member of the JSS/US. Join now and you'll receive all of this year's issues. Your membership also helps us in our task of translating and publishing other Japanese sword references. You can join on our website: jssus.org Thanks, Grey

Interesting point, Rich; hadn't considered that. It brings to mind another question. There is a picture below of the tsuba in the box, from a recently completed ebay sale. I was wondering if the box and tsuba might have been combined, if maybe the hako-gaki was written about another round tsuba. Could this design be yatsuhashi (pastry) and iris? Grey

Jeremy, I doubt there are any laws in California that would hang up the sword, but even if there were they wouldn't stop the sword at US Customs (a Federal, not State government agency). As long as you have been truthful about what this is and its value you should have no trouble. Grey

Moriyama-san, Thank you. Grey

Hi guys, I would appreciate help with the hako-gaki below, supposedly by Kanzan. Thank you, Grey

Of course, the style of chisel. Thank you. Grey