ROKUJURO

Yes, KATANA or long WAKIZASHI, but there are no fixed rules. There were long swords with small TSUBA as well as with very big TSUBA, depending on era and individual taste.

Mark, take your time there to see most of it! A full day is not too much unless you have specialized in a certain field and want to see only that.

No, you have posted your request in the "MILITARIA" section, but this belongs in the "Translation" section. In addition to that, it is not a military blade.

Gareth, did you compare with certified examples?

In theory, practice and theory should be the same, but in practice, they are not.

Robert, I think you are mixing up teaching and learning. In a craft, a master can only demonstrate, as experience can not be transferred. Your body has to learn precise movements and skills by repetition. The same applies to sports like archery or golf. In the West, explaining context and correlation may to a small extent shorten the apprentice time, but that is not the case in Asia where repeated action (1.000 times....) is seen as the basis of learning, and this helps avoiding mistakes and flaws. It is not only tradition what makes learning a craft like TOGI very special, it is mainly the experience. Learning in Japan with a master will allow you to see a pattern in the work of swordsmiths. You cannot easily compare 100 blades of the same school or tradition outside of Japan to learn to see what features they have in common. But this is important to avoid mistakes in the restoration treatment. Japanese swords are not endlessly available, and they cannot be polished without a loss of material. So our main objective in preserving them must be absolute competence in dealing with them. I do not think that can be done with shortcuts. P.S. I am teaching forging blades the traditional way, and I know what I am talking about

SEKI KANEMICHI?

Robert, you probably forgot a tiny detail: Japanese swords are not forged from steel that could be compared with your knives or even most Japanese kitchen knives. They have a composite structure, and the material behaves very differently. The soft bond of Japanese stones has a completely different effect on these blades as it takes away the steel matrix but let the martensite particles (NIE, NIOI and their many formations) stand out. I doubt that acceptable results will be possible without learning in a traditional environment as polishing is only a part of the necessary knowledge. Violins are expensive, but would you "try to learn" to build your own without being taught? The so-called 'secrets of the craft' are nothing but guided experience on the subject, but we (as individuals) will not live long enough to make all possible mistakes ourselves AND learn from them.

Rodriguez, you will probably have more success in the "TRANSLATION" section.

A rather plain ITOMAKI (or SHIPPO) design TSUBA:

Eric, of course you handle it as you like. I was just mentioning the Japanese way. If friends come to your place it is certainly acceptable to show a blade at a time for study, I think. But I would personally not lay out a dozen blades for 'display'. Showing blades follows a ritual of unpacking/unsheathing and carefully and respectfully inspecting a blade, starting with the SUGATA. This creates an intense atmosphere of focusing on the item. But as mentioned, there are no fixed rules of how you should proceed in your home!

SUGATA looks like KANBUN SHINTO era.

No one said you should do something you don't like or you don't feel comfortable with. TSUBA may indeed seem complicated for someone who does not want to spend years of learning or is not interested in Japanese culture and arts. There is enough room ( = hobbies ) for all of us.

Eric, in Japan, it is considered bad manners to show what you have. This may be different in a DAIMYO's house. Private citizens rarely invite other people - not even friends - and as Deanna correctly mentions, swords are kept out of sight in KATANA DANSU or drawers.

That is a gorgeous TACHI! It should rest in a TACHI stand! If on a KATANA KAKE, TSUKA to the left, cutting edge downwards (the same as when carried).

Steve, it is probably easier to win the lottery....

Dale, thank you so much! Very interesting to see the small variations! Unfortunately, I cannot read the signatures properly, but they seem not to be all by TEIMEI (SADANAGA).

It seems that similar design elements were used by several schools, even OWARI. I bought the second TSUBA as AKASAKA.

I am not too sure about the school or tradition, but I bet it is not Alaska!

Yes, one could think so, but in fact, it is a naturalistic depiction of a steering rudder of a boat (called FUNA KADASHI in the auction's description).

Probably I just misunderstood you. I thought you had been bidding against her.

Stephen, "she" did not win it. It is a TEIMEI TSUBA, signed SADANAGA, not SADAYOSHI, and unusually large.

Jacob, as long as you are in the first steps, E-Bay is a dangerous place. Lots of fake or copied TSUBA (NO plural 'S') are waiting for the non-suspecting newbie collectors. The photos are not good enough to be sure that you are not buying a cheap cast copy. The first item shows SHACHI dragon-fish, but I am not sure about the TSUBA's quality. The second TSUBA has irises as theme; it might be o.k. but I would need to inspect it in hand to be sure. There are reliable sellers and collectors here on NMB - have a look at the sales page!

Some of mine:

Vladimir, looking at the shape and the details, it is a post-war souvenir TANTO for tourists. The signature (SEKI KANETSUGU ?), if correct at all, is in the wrong place. These show up from time to time, not rare. Sometimes they are sold as "KAMIKAZE TANTO", which is wrong as well.