ROKUJURO

Maybe that better photos can show more. I only see running scratches, but one has to see the blade in hand, when it is properly polished.

Yes, probably oil quenched. NAKAGO looks artificially aged/patinated.

Yes, it requires polishing, unfortunately it is not easy to find professionals around BrusselsI think. Jacob, the main thing is that you like it, and if you want to keep it as your treasure, please NEVER touch the bare blade with your hands or fingers! Then you will be able to admire it for a long time! P.S. Zenon van Damme used to polish, but generally speaking, you will have to send it to Japan for that.

ISmithers, welcome to the board! Please sign all posts with your first name plus an initial as is requested here. There must be a reason that you bought this item without knowing what it is. Was it very cheap? As far as I can judge from photos only, it looks like a phantasy sword, but it is not a KATANA and it is not Japanese. A bit of Chinese opera, made recently (between 1 and 10 years old). Value: What you paid for it, others may say USD 50.-- or 100.--. Maker is a factory in Eastern Asia, I think. In case you have a love for authentic Japanese SAMURAI weapons, please have a look at the many pictures and informations here on NMB. You will soon see how the real thing looks!

Steve, I like your TSUBA! but you should forget that it is signed! No TOSHO, but good for mounting.

KANEMOTO. Looks like a later MINO blade.

Sergey, Please show the photos here, we do not have access to the site.

Stephen, that is a problem which I can understand. In the past, I have been in a similar situation. You need money urgently, you try to sell your treasures (and rip your heart in two), but nobody seems interested. What you need in these cases is time and patience which you don't have. I have no good solution for this except winning the national lottery - urgently! P.S. Don't give your swords away too cheaply!

Ian, wear might be imaginable in very rare singular cases. I have seen that on soft metal TOSOGU. But if you look at TSUBA with prominent TEKKOTSU everywhere (and not only on the MIMI), you will have problems to explain that by your theory.

Hatchet?

Ian, do you know about any evidence that the so-called TEKKOTSU are indeed harder than the surrounding matrix? Or is this just an assumption that is repeated by everybody without proof because is was written somewhere? Carburization or decarburization are processes of carbon migration in steel which are performed by heating the material up to 900°C and above. As long as the heat is there, the objects (or the workpieces) will have the same temperature througout as metals are very good heat conductors. We have to use modern metallurgical knowledge to solve the mystery.

.... They used sand iron which can sometimes give it a sort of grainy texture to the iron..... Patrick, there is no such thing as 'sand iron' that I am aware of. TAMAHAGANE - the base material of all iron items in the SAMURAI culture - is being made from sand iron ore, and the result does not have a 'sandy' look or structure. It is mainly the non-forging production process (= casting) or a later chemical treatment (= patination) that can produce a grainy surface (e.g. YAGYU TSUBA).

I like to see at least two good photos of each TSUBA (front and back) and precise dimensions. In the above array I see two or three TSUBA I might be interested in.

Didier, it is already a good thing to be able to relate a blade to a certain era/period. The polish of your blade (and the photos) do not allow to see the HADA, so to relate it to HIZEN, you should see some very tight MOKUME HADA (or even KONUKA HADA, which is typical for many HIZEN blades). In contrast to what Barry wrote, there is of course a slim chance that a very good blade once received a very basical polish. On the other hand, HIZEN blades of the famous makers had a MEI in most cases. MUMEI SHINTO WAKIZASHI are generally not in favour with collectors, as they are often not top of the line, but that should not be a reason not to like your blade..

The TSUKA ITO is a real mess.....That is not only a visual drawback, but a technical problem with the safety. Please refrain from swinging the sword, or you might have the 'House of the flying blades'!

It looks definitely like a cast iron TSUBA to me.

The signature tries to say YAMAGUCHI KAWASEI, but it is not executed in the usual Japanese way, and in addition to that, there are no swordsmiths with that name. Together with many other (red) signs obviously a bad fake.

Roger, I have no doubt your TSUBA is a genuine one. I want to add that the execution seems a bit rough which is very probably intentionally. The fine or even elegant design is in contrast to this which makes me believe that we have a later TSUBA here. This is just my uneducated opinion; it could as well be a revival piece or having been made by an apprentice of a renowned school, using the design of the master. To get a well founded assessment, please ask Ford Hallam.

Roger, it is a difficult one, I think. Earlier schools are often related with (relative exact) time periods, while later ones are sometimes difficult to differentiate from each other. Design elements had spread around in the country and in the TSUBASHI workshops and were copied which makes an exact judgement much more difficult. In your TSUBA I see features like the SHINSHU droplets representing water spray on the waves. The way this is carried out reminds me a bit of ONIN TSUBA - not saying this could be related to that style but perhaps the artist had something like that in mind. The design - waves and a water wheel - is a common one and was used by many schools. The heavy corrosion does not make it easier to find an assessment, but my gut feeling and the fact that some of the brass inlays have fallen out leads me to believe that it is not an early TSUBA, so my guess is somewhere about 1750 or later This opinion is a bit bold, so I am happy to be corrected.by our experts.

Steffie, looks like 19th century to me. Is there a lot of oil on the blade? That should not happen! Please make sure that no oil gets into the SAYA, otherwise the blade will be scratched!

David, KANE or KIN is in the NMB KANJI pages above (research); 8 strokes.

Yes, MITSU is correct. It is indeed written a bit sloppily.

Second KANJI could also be KAWA so ISHIKAWA perhaps?

No, there is nothing of Japanese origin visible. Instead, several 'red flags' for bad fake.

AIKUCHI are a form of TANTO which have no TSUKA-ITO. Yours is a TANTO. The missing horn piece on the SAYA (KURIGATA) is not crucial and can be replaced. It is NOT for hanging the TANTO on a wall!