ROKUJURO

Sergei, circles and horizontal bars are common design features in OWARI TSUBA. Yours seems to be quite large for this school. If you could get it papered, it would be a very valuable item.

Iain, normally you would not expect a TSUGI NAKAGO without a signature (until it is a decoration repair). In this case it might just be a linear corrosion. By the way: It is HABAKI, not Habakai.

I am always stunned with the way some people (in the West) deal with traditional, approved, and reliable techniques. 'The Japanese do it this way, I know, but there must be a shortcut to save time and efforts!' For me the first step is to learn and to understand, then I can try and practice. Most of the time all this goes together, so it's not always the brain that learns but the hands as well. Japanese craftsmen are certainly no magicians, but they have a lot of experience and continuity in their respective crafts, and often I am kind of awestruck when I see what can be done by well trained hands and with a certain feeling and respect for the materials used. I feel it would be a loss not to value these traditional techniques for what they are. The least is that they produce a very high quality that has been tested over centuries under realistic conditions.

Mike, it is your decision and your money so nobody can decide for you. But as far as it is possible to form an opinion after the photos alone, it looks like a genuine blade to me with some deep WARE (openings, welding issues) in the SHINOGI-JI, but in otherwise decent condition. The MEI is indeed what you were told but I have no comparison nor competence to comment on SHOSHIN or GIMEI. A full size photo of the TSUBA would have been nice. The NAKAGO-ANA has suffered a very bad treatment with a rasp, it seems. That may lead to the assumption that this 'ensemble' was put together from parts that were at hand. But again, depending on what you want and what the price was, the package as a whole might be o.k.

Iain, we have quite a number of posts about cast TSUBA here on NMB, so there is much to read. Concerning OWARI TSUBA, I recommend this article as a first read: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/owari.htm I hope you did not pay much for this item; as you will find out, cast TSUBA were not meant for use on a weapon but were just souvenirs for tourists. As tourism started by the end of MEJI JIDAI, you can assume the earliest production after that time up to today. I bought such a TSUBA for about 800.-- Yen in 1979. P.S. TSUBA are shown with the 'edge' up except TACHI TSUBA

Steven, I have been looking at your photos quite a while. The design of a temple bell is not so unusual, but the way this TSUBA was made looks special to me. The inner part looks as if it was from an old corroded piece of iron which was then brought back to life with an iron FUKURIN and two SHAKUDO inserts. Maybe an old TSUBA has been used, who knows?

Look http://nbsk-jp.main.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2cff81e511ed2e07efbfe5a7abedd96f.pdf for the 2015 NBSK results.

Jean And that makes it probably louder as there is a "Black roar saya". This item description was probably made in a haste which adds to the generally quite bad English.

Florian, the blade rests well preserved in its SHIRA-SAYA in the TANSU. The shaft with the TSUNAGI and the lacquered SAYA are upright in a stand in a corner of the room so there is little risk to fall over it. My personal suggestion, unless you prefer to store it horizontally in a rack under the ceiling/above your head if you want to be prepared (used to be a traditional way in Japan's war times). .

Kemlos please sign all your posts with your real first name plus an initial, as is the rule here. Even with your photos being badly out of focus, it is very likely that your relative purchased this sword not long ago. All parts seem to be the typical look-alike copies we know from experience and which you can find here on NMB as bad examples made to deceive non-informed buyers. Better photos may allow a final judgement, but even the 'blood-stained Japanese flag' is often known to be a fake, just to help selling the sword.

This form of a quiver is called SHIKO

Stephen, as far as the (not perfect) photo allows an opinion, I don't think this TSUBA is cast. A very nicely fitting subject as a plus.

Pinmaster, welcome to the NMB! It is a rule here to sign every post with your real first name plus an initial, so we can address you politely.

Grant, we don't oil our blades, we keep them dry. Oil is no real help if you live in a humid climate unless you drown your blade in it. As far as your TSUBA is concerned, I will have a closer look at it in one hundred thousand years. I will mark the date in my calendar and bring one of my own TSUBA for comparison....

Vetoif, please sign all your posts with your first name plus an initial so we can address you politely. If you want someone to read the signature on the NAKAGO it is a good idea to clean it first with something non-abrasive. A simple brush will do the job. I do not read KANEMUNE. Instead I have a tendency to YOSHIMUNE.

Grant, thank you for your PM reply. As it is similar to your post above, I may reply here as well. First rule is: Do not touch the TSUBA's surface mechanically or chemically if you don't know how! You will not see deteriorate the TSUBA in this life or the next, if you keep it dry. So: No soaking in oil or other chemicals! Applying heat after a little water wash may be a good thing if it is very moderate. Your central heating system or sitting it near your stove for half an hour may be sufficient. No heat gun! The warm water may even be enough if you dry your TSUBA thoroughly with household paper right after the cleaning wash. Second rule: Never mess with the patination until your nickname is Ford Hallam! What was built up in centuries is gone in seconds! Don't bury your TSUBA in an airtight coffin (or box) for display, but use a standard KIRI wood box. That will be appropriate and technically sufficient. My suggestion for a first step is a soft dry cleaning with your wife's toothbrush. Then look carefully if that was enough. If not, PLEASE read what you find here on NMB about cleaning, rust removal or restoring TSUBA. There is a wealth of information, and you are not the first collector to face the problem!

Grant, please sign all of your posts. In my opinion this is a nice TSUBA with a lot of skilled craftmanship put into it. It's appearance would profit a lot from careful cleaning (with a soft brush or even with mild soap and warm water) as the dust is obscuring many details. There are hints that the basic body may have been cast, but even if so, the main work has been put into it after casting. The design is good and full of well placed details, the faces are expressive and nicely modeled, and to my eye all the different soft metals are very well executed. Unless Ford says that my old glass eyes need to be replaced, I congratulate you to this purchase!

Do you really think TOSHO?

Chris, what is a big aggressive HAMON (not harmon)? In my understanding people can be aggressive at times, swords or their respective features not at all.

Brian, if in fact you are interested in NIHONTO, but you happen to buy a cheap fake, which was only made to deceive, I feel that you loose all the money as you don't even have a wallhanger. Knowing what you have then, you cannot be happy about it, and you don't want to display it. And in most of the cases, you cannot resell it at the same price. These copies may have indeed a (low) value as decorative item for the non-critical buyer, but purchased bona fide as Japanese weapon, it is a complete loss. Just my actual thoughts after having made the same mistakes in the beginning of my collecting career some 40 years ago.....

The 'well known person' at the antique fairs is probably a good seller but not an expert in NIHONTO. He may have bought this in good faith himself (an assumption to his favours), but everything including the MEI looks like crude non-Japanese work. In my opinion $ 20.-- would have been too much for this. If you are interested in true Japanese swords, why not invest some money in books with good pictures so you can learn what a KATANA looks like?

Early HEIAN blades had such a wide angle on their respective YOKOTE.

Does that have to do with this thread? It's core steel (not steal) = SHINTETSU

Jim, if you could go back in time you won't find the village, because the name is OSAFUNE. And it is not at all safe to assume that it was forged there, and when. Anyone could have faked the signature in the time after the manufacture. I understand your desire to have a history of your WAKIZASHI but you have to keep cool and not invent stories you would like to hear. It is possible and even probable that your blade was used in combat, but I think the dents on the MUNE are not from an adversary's blade, as was already mentioned. And a blade is not retired in a SHIRASAYA but usually rests there as long as it is not needed for combat. The blade should be respected as an old piece of arts and crafts combined, but age is much less important than quality! So one day, when it is brought back to life by a polish and a Japanese KOSHIRAE, it may be well worth of admiration.

Günther, What do you want to know? What kind of help do you need? I am sure you could convince Gilles to sell some of the YANONE to you......