ROKUJURO

An AKASAKA or OWARI TSUBA (?) with an added brass FUKURIN. Unusual, but the former owner might have had good reasons for it. Not cut down, so no devaluation, I hope!

Probably made only for export?

Hamish, that was most probably made to fit a BOKKEN.

Thank you, I understand.

Robert, could you please expand a bit on these abrasives? What are they made of, are they mineral or organic substances? Thank you in advance!

Looks like TOSHIMITSU to me. Je n'irais pas dans la cave pour faire des photos.....

Thomas, could you show an example of it?

Grev, all very nice! No. 4 is SAKURA (cherry).

There are no laminations in soft-metal. The core is always cast.

Andrea, I don't know how long it is now after SURIAGE (shortening), but it was perhaps a TACHI. Max. length of WAKIZASHI is 605 mm from MUNE-MACHI to KISSAKI. Province might be KISHU, but I am not sure. Try photographing the NAKAGO with a dark background and light from the side.

Bruno, trying to learn since 1975 and still a beginner!

A much older 'relative'? KO-SHOAMI?

MASATSUNE?

The door-handle of my forge:

Steve, in case you can't get the book, I would ask Kelly Schmidt (kschmidt1127@gmail.com). He is an agent living in Japan (HIMEIJI), and I am sure he could help! I can absolutely recommend him.

Chris, don't be offended. It has nothing to do with Brian, it is just my personal opinion. I think it is a pity to show bad photos when they could be made much better without more effort. In cases where translations are requested, I feel it would be more polite to post the best photos possible and not expect that the experts try to read from crappy images (upside-down...).

My opinion: Do not touch anything Japanese when you are not trained in Japan by an expert. All "general" restorations are wrong and will damage the object, often beyond repair. Museum restorators are the worst; they know nothing about Japanese arts and crafts.

Chris, it is probably a nice TSUBA you have there, but we do not see much of the beauty. To be fully appreciated, your TSUBA images should be: - well focused, not foggy or blurry - made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast - made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos) - made directly from above (not at an angle) - made in high resolution to see details - presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown If you cannot provide good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They cannot show what you want us to see.

Didier, probably not OKUMURA KANEMITSU. I see that he used a different "KANE" KANJI.

Gustavo, Japanese do not like the "newly made" look of an item. Instead they appreciate the "respectfully used" appearance of objects, so TSUBA always got a patina treatment when they were made. All metals were treated except gold and silver. There were (at least) 2 reasons for that: The artificial patina prevented the item from corrosion, and it was stable, so the looks did not change for a long period of time if the TOSOGU (not tosugo) were well cared for. In olden times, the patina treatments were a secret of the artisans, but thanks to modern artists like Ford Hallam, many recipes are known and used. An exception to this standard patination procedure are steel blades. They were polished and always kept clean.

Looks like an authentic SHOWA-TO by SEKI KANEMITSU (can't read the MEI properly, too small). Your photos aren't bad, but you could improve on the technique. Making good photos of swords isn't easy and takes a lot of experience. Try to post images that are: - well focused, not foggy or blurry - made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast - made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos) - made directly from above (not at an angle) - made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) - without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI - made in high resolution to see details - showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA - presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown If you cannot provide good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.

Yes, of course.

Gustavo, if this TSUBA had a good patina, it would be difficult to tell it from a Japanese one in my opinion. Really well done!

I think this is my oldest, a KO-TOSHO (pre EDO JIDAI):

Isaac, to help us make safer comments, you should improve your photos. It is not easy with swords and it may take a lot of experience. Try to post images that are: - well focused, not foggy or blurry - made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast - made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos) - made directly from above (not at an angle) - made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) - without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI - made in high resolution to see details - showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA - presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown If you cannot provide good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.