Prewar70

I picked up an inexpensive wakizashi for $100 with some battle damage and not in the best of shape. I really like the open iron tsuba and hoping someone could provide me with info on style and school. The habaki seems nice and well made, maybe a little better quality to my eyes. It also has 2 circular markings which I tried to get in the pictures. Not sure if this is tooling or maker's marks. Again any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'm a novice, but I have an opinion based on generalizations, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm also thinking back to my days in school, if I raise my hand I'm putting myself out there to learn and be educated, so here it goes. From all the gimei signatures that are out there, Kanemoto seems like an easy one to try and replicate. It's 2 characters, multiple generations, and a desirable name. Your mei seems different on many points. Finally, you are overthinking it and speculating far too much. Get it in the hands of some stateside experts or send it to Japan for polish and Shinsa and put your mind at ease. You'll stop thinking about it so much once the process has started. I have a potential 3rd generation Tadayoshi that I have resigned myself to being gimei. It's in Japan now being polished and Shinsa in November. Either way, it's still a beautiful blade. I felt much better once it was out of the house!

The mei is not correct, is it? On the sword. I did a quick search the other night and could not find where he signed this way.

What are the characteristics of the Higo School in general or more specifically for kozukas?

I am trying to find an iron kozuka to match the following. I was thinking of finding a flower themed kozuka that match the menuki but was advised I should find an iron kozuka to match the umabari. I'm searching and looking for examples but not having much luck. Open to thoughts and ideas and if you have pictures please include. Thanks.

Thanks Stephen. I'm not really "into" tsubas yet, meaning I have yet to purchase one but I do like looking at them. I always gravitate to open iron.

I really like the open work of Akasaka school and iron. To me, this tsuba looks legit. I have no idea if it's priced reasonably or not. What do you think? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2385-Akasaka-tsuba-for-Japanese-sword-fuchi-kashira-menuki-tsuka-saya-menpo-/222162018391?hash=item33b9e36057:g:yOIAAOSwwPhWkknX

Great news! Looking forward to meeting some people.

Does your fingernail catch on it? Seems like it should be easy to determine if it's tape and on the finish or in the finish.

What is the the boshi and yasurimei telling me about this sword and where it was made? It is not takanoha yasurimei. The boshi is not exactly zigzagging to my eyes but neither is it ko-maru with turnback like the picture in the Connoisseur's book. I haven't seen enough true sword examples to do any comparisons either.

Not to mention I don't think that signature style/kanji format is correct.

Raging gimei

From my eye, the hada in the shinogi-ji is more coarse, and closer to itame but the grain is not long and continuous. The hada in the ji, is much more fine, and dense, that part is very clear when comparing the ji to the shinogi-ji. I would describe the ji-hada as more small swirls, or mokume. You can see some of what I'm talking about in the pictures. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Who would you recommend in the states to have these made and does anyone do both?

So much talk lately about Kanemoto, and I couldn't believe the timing of my recent purchase. So as I'm learning, a template for describing the main points of a sword makes sense. Maybe this is whats referred to as Kantei? Here's my description, along with pictures. Length/nagasa: 53.3 cm Nakago: 14 cm / ubu Sori: 2.2 cm Mekugiana: 1 Shinogi-ji: at the munemachi 1cm wide and tapers to .6 cm at the yokote Taper: not sure what this is called in Japanese, but seeing as this sword tapers, I wanted to measure. From the munemachi to the yokote, width from cutting edge to mune, 2.8cm - 2cm Hamon: sanbonsugi Hada: itame and mokume, more itame in the shinogi-ji Signature: mumei Mune: lori Sugata: shinogi-zukuri In the hand, this feels like a serious, utilitarian, strong sword. The hada is very visible, swirling and some straight, but there is little to no ware or openings. From everything I have read, the hamon is classic Mino School, Kanemoto or Kanesada. Not sure about generation, except perhaps later, as the hamon is not relaxed, but very uniform. The boshi is a little different on each side, hopefully you can see that in the pictures. It has a graceful curve. It has high shinogi. The mekugiana almost looks punched on one side vs drilled, but if I had to answer I would say drilled. The yasurimei is strongly sloping as you can see, but this didn't seem consistent with other Kanemoto examples I looked at. Not signed, although there is one vertical looking chisel mark visible below the mekugiana in one of the pictures. i'd like to hear your remarks and feedback as to what I have. Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

When looking through Roger's book, there are many things that are off with the signature but two things continued to catch my eye. The mei, in relation to the mekugi ana, it's unusual for this sword. And the Tada, what I would call the "j" looking stroke, it's sloping and curved. In almost all the oshigata I looked at 2nd Tadahiro signed with a very flat, angular, horizontal stroke, whether the sword smith himself or student.

Beautiful sword with provenance and pictured in a book, but not papered. Is the signature good or suspect? I'm not a bidder, simply wanted to see if anyone was interested in discussing. http://czernys.com/auctions_lot.php?oggetto=61514&asta=59

Here's a thought, what about using uchiko on an unpolished blade, to give it a light polish and perhaps over time, especially if you did it frequently, the process might enhance it?

Any recommendations on where to purchase here in the states? Thanks

Thanks for the help Steve. If I get a chance I'll post some pics of the set

What an incredible and beautiful sword. I'd love to see more pics if you feel up to it. Not sure how much you want to share but curious if this came from a dealer or private party. Was it hidden away in a collection for many years? I would think that a sword like this is on collectors' radar

Hey Grey take a look at that Hayne's Index book for the fuchi signature I'm looking for information on in the translation section! Thanks.

Don't want to beat a dead horse if nobody has any information on this smith. I did not find much to go off of using Toshimitsu. The fittings are good quality and the signature is nice, so hoping to find out more. Thanks.

Matt, I will hedge my bet here because this is all so new but I have been doing some reading on Tadayoshi . Please correct me where I'm wrong. Hizen kuni mutsu no kami fujiwara Tadayoshi. This is a rare signature for the Sandai to have used and not many examples. Maybe only used for a short time around 1660/61? Using Roger's extensive research, he signed fujiwara distinctly from the Shodai with a few different/extra strokes. And I believe the mutsu is somewhat unique when he signed using fujiwara too. Not sure if that is the historical piece you were referring to or not. I've seen this mei before, pulled it off the web somewhere and have a picture of it in my notebook. At least it looks almost identical to yours.