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well 2 mm on 19 is more than 10% error, not so slight difference

Sorry for the late reply Jussi, i was looking for a good example. This is a famous tanto by Ryosai, it's also been proposed as kantei by NBTHK with the following dimensions: Type: tanto Length: 7 sun 2 bu (22. 0 cm) Sori: slight uchizori Motohaba: 5 bu 6 rin (1.7 cm) Motokasane: 2 bu 1 rin (0.65 cm) Nakago length: 3 sun 4 rin (9.2 cm) Nakago sori: very slight This is what i measure from the scan took from http://www.sho-shin.com/sai.htm Even considrering a conversion approximation and a possible parallax error from the picture the difference is too obvious for me, especially the other dimensions are much closer to what NBTHK states

http://www.intk-token.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=9345

Museo d'Arte Orientale, Venice http://www.intk-token.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=9368

The brass inlays would probably classify it as Heianjo, tho the look and the wheel design reminds of ko-katchushi. Anyway a nice old one, late Muromachi seems a good guess to me

Recently i been studying some Juyo papers and i found out something odd, it seems that NBTHK considers the measure of motohaba from the ha to the base of the mune, not like i've always been told, from the ha to the top of the mune. In some older paper it appears to be as mine, but in last years seems something changed. Did someone else notice that too? Or have an explanation?

Masatada left the work at the shrine in 1942 due to illness and died in 1944. Hayakawa Mikio was on Nagato in 1943

兼定 Kanesada

Many of my tsuba have a wabi-sabi feeling since i mainly study pre-Edo pieces. Here's two good examples, one is most likely a Saotome tsuba of early Edo and shows a more "classic" feeling, while the second a Nobuie utsushi by Naoaki shows a more refined taste.

koshirae is not made by him "Iimura Kasyo: He was born at Meiji 34, November 3rd. After that he studied under the Honami Ko-son and also a son of the Miyata Kiyonobu for making Koshirae and fittings. He got the Yusyu syo prize, Ministry of Edocation prize, The best honor president prize at the war time. He also published Tken Yoran, Shinto taikan and also Shinshinto taikan. He made many Koshirae but in case of high ranking Koshirae, he put the name on the Koshirae like this item. The Koshirae is the top ranking sold gold Koshirae and it is well matched for Gassan Sadakatsu."

Signature says 藤原宗長 Fujiwara Munenaga, several smiths with that name, without seeing more of blade hard to tell more

Interesting variation, looks almost it has some ko-Umetada influence

The kiri mon is the mon of the Toyotomi clan, now used as the emblem of the Japanese Government.

I think is safe to say late Muromachi/Momoyama. I have one which probably comes from same school or even author.

Welcome, me and Francesco were in your shop few weeks ago and had a great time with Karita Naoji san and his wife. Manuel

EMURA (江村), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Okayama – “Chōunsai Emura saku” (長運斎江村作), “Emura saku” (江村作), “Bishū Chōunsai Emura saku” (備州長運斎江村作), “Doshū Chōunsai Emura saku” (土州長運斎江村作). Emura came originally from Kōchi (高知) what was the former Tosa province and was from aroud 1940 onwards the head of a prison in Okayama (岡山). He returned to Kōchi in 1943. His gō was Chōunsai (長運斎). In the prison, he operated a forge and a kind of swordmaking school that trained several students. These students in turn worked from time to time as daisaku-daimei for him. It is said that he was a self-taught swordsmith and we know reports that mention that his blades were polished by prisoners. He signed the left radical (氵) of the character for E (江) as curve like ( and the character for mura often like the hiragana syllable o (お). Emura died in 1960.

Thank you very much Steve! Quite interesting i never heard of a fuigo company before, i always thought this kind of things would be artigianal made, you never stop learning

During my last trip to Japan i bought at a flea market a small fuigo, dated Taisho era. It has other writings and stamps but i'm having trouble translating them, so if someone can help me maybe i can also figure out who was using this before.

The signature seems TERUHIDE (輝秀) not NOBUHIDE to me

Seems to me 左近将監藤原盛綱作 Sakon shogen Fujiwara Moritsuna saku

Masa...or "sho" since Shoami is written 正阿弥

No problem, i will also send you a pdf, is all in Japanese, but i think that can help you

I think you should ask Markus Sesko, that part is took from his book, here's the english version: "Myōshin´s first name was „Hikoichi“ (彦一 or 彦市). The sword publication „Shintō-bengi“ (新刀弁疑) lists Myōshin as the son of Myōju with the first name „Hikojirō“ (彦次郎), which was the hereditary first name of the Umetada family" there's actually a Umetada Yoshinobu (from Sesko's swordsmiths list): YOSHINOBU (吉信), 1st gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Yamashiro – “Yamashiro no Kuni-jū Umetada Yoshinobu” (山城国住埋忠吉信), “Yamato no Daijō Yoshinobu” (大和大掾吉信), real name Umetada Hikobei (埋忠彦兵衛), he is also listed with the first name Hikoichi (彦市), he was the second son of Umetada Shigeyoshi (重義) and it is said that he studied under Umetada Myōju (埋忠明寿), he was first and foremost an excellent horimono artist and rarely forged own blades, the jigane is a dense ko-itame with ji-nie, the hamon is a gunome mixed with midare in ko-nie-deki with much nie and a wide nioiguchi, jō-saku

I just bought a tsuba that might give some fuel to the topic, it appears a copper based alloy (bronze maybe?) tsuba that shows evident signes of casting inside the petals sukashi, but inside the nakago and kozuka ana is smooth as being cut. Thickness is quite thin, 3mm, and overall dimension is around 60mm In my opinion is a genuine Muromachi piece.

For sure is a bell cricket, a description i found in Japanese say is a wave, but it could well be a fern frond