Barrie B

You can lead a horse to water… Barrie.

Brandon, I know nothing of this artist or his work; however, of Jinpo (H 02047.0) Haynes states ..On his own work his nanako was done by Sano Heinai H 00974, and there is a certain uneveness about it. His work is not common.. so take from this what you will, but unlikely it would be gimei, although you never know.. I had a look in the Kinko Meikan (1993 edition) pp162 and in Makus Sesko's Signatures of Japanese Sword Fitting Artists pp96 and although there are some minor inconsistencies, I am not brave enough to call it either way here. The tsuba looks OK to me - from the photos you have provided - although the nanako doesn't look that good, so maybe the Tsuba is what it claims to be, if Haynes is correct.. All Tsuba look better in the hand. Is your purchase dependent on this Tsuba? Barrie B.

Zhang, You usually do not see 'extra' seppa on Koshirae other than Tachi and Gunto (although there are always exceptions to the rule). I would perhaps purchase some 'key fret' Seppa (http://www.Japanese-swords.com/pages/seppa.htm) as they are usually thicker than regular Seppa and will look better than a stack of Seppa.. A fine example are shown on this Katana.. http://www.ricecracker.com/inventory/74 ... ho_mon.htm I have also seen a piece of metal added to the base of the Fuchi (or sometimes inside it, like a sleeve) to 'thicken' or raise the Fuchi to close the gap. Its hard to explain, but perhaps one of the members here has an example (photo) they could share. Good luck, whatever you decide. Barrie B.

Markus, Received my book today thank you. Much appreciated. Excellent publication with some very fine Tsuba… Barrie. Perth, Western Australia.

Mimi is the rim (or edge if you like) of the Tsuba; 'Fukurin' is the correct term for a cover added to the rim. They are usually made of soft metal, but I have seen iron. When the rim is raised, it is called a Dote Mimi.. Hope this helps - http://www.shibuiswords.com/glossary1.htm Barrie B.

John, Much appreciated mate.. Looking forward to the catch up. Baz.

Kevin. Markus Sesko's Signatures of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists and Robert E. Haynes' Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists is a good way to start. Both books are reasonably inexpensive, are readily available and are in English; you will use them all the time. The Haynes references are extremely useful.. I have a copy of Kinko Meikan (with the translation available from NCJSC), but I was told it was superseded in 1993 because it was published with some Gimei pieces in it. I guess if you have a copy, then it is still an Ok reference for researching your fittings, but both books are hard to get now. Barrie.

Randy, Don't forget Grey Doffin. I buy a lot of my reference books from Grey (http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/Books). If you want something out of print, he will add you to the waiting list, and when one is available, he contacts you.. Barrie.

Randy, I have been doing some research recently into Hyotan (Gourd) Mon with little luck, (and the pairing of Mons as well) ..so if you do manage to research this field (Mon or Kamon) extensively, then we will probably all benefit. Some photos attached as to why I was trying to research the Hyotan Mon. Barrie. P.S. The book: Mon - The Japanese family Crest by Hawley and Chappelear, is an excellent resourse for who used what Mon, although it does not mention the Hyotan Mon..

Randy, You could try 'The World of Family Crests in Japan' ISBN978-4-7816-0052-9 C0039 (if you can get a copy). Printed by Eastpress.co.jp in 2008. Barrie.

Tom, Wow..! Very many thanks. Its such a nice box, seems like a real pity that it was separated from the 'said' contents… maybe they were used for a koshirae.. who knows? Thanks to Guido and Chris as well.. I (we all, I am sure) really appreciate everyones assistance here. Barrie.

Hi, Iimura san speaks english well.. He only sells new boxes - as far as I know - and then has them fitted out.. I am guessing he gets them wholesale from where everyone else (in Japan) buys them. I have plenty of tosogu boxes that I have accumulated over the years, but he makes a living from selling them, so I always buy new before getting things fitted. Every now and then, I buy stuff that is not boxed (eBay etc) so I always have boxes for them.. LOL. As Alan stated, you could ask Mr Micheal Cummins. He is a nice guy, quite talented and may attempt; or if he cannot do it himself, he may know someone able to repair it for you as he lives in Japan? I would have thought if you just want a box repaired though, perhaps a local cabinet maker or handy carpenter could assist, rather than sending all the way back to Japan.. I'm guessing your old box is quite dark now as well, so the new Hinoki will not match.. If your Tsuba is worth it, you might want to consider a new high end box (with mulberry edge) and custom base.. up to you. Barrie,

Not sure.. I have never asked sorry. Just wanted some fittings (custom) boxed. Barrie.

I have had some menuki etc custom fitted by Mr. Yoshiaki Iimura and can recommend him. Easy to deal with. Mr. Yoshiaki Iimura K.K.Token Bijutsu Kogeisha ITABASHI 4-10-2, ITABASHI-KU, TOKYO Postcode 173-0004 Japan Email: katana-iimura@apost.plala.or.jp Website: http://www16.plala.or.jp/katana-iimura/ ... glish.html You have to buy the box you like (he has a good choice) and then let Iimura san know that you would like custom fitting. You then send the fittings to him (I used EMS) and he'll take care of the work and send you an invoice. You can choose from 5 different colours of cloth (2 purple, green, red and white) - see link. http://www16.plala.or.jp/katana-iimura/otoshi.html Good luck. Barrie.

Thank you Guido and Chris.. much appreciated. Barrie B.

Hi all, Once again I am hoping someone here can explain this to me.. It is an empty fittings box that looks to have housed F/K and menuki, at one time… Too nice a box to pass up.. I may recycle..? Any insight would be appreciated. Additionally, does anyone recognise the seal or Kao? Thanks in advance.. Barrie B.

Trent, I'll be there and as you say, it is usually a good weekend... John and Kristie from Nihonto Australia (http://www.nihonto.com.au) turned up last year with a mountain of great stuff, but I have not heard if he will be attending again this year. See you on the weekend. Barrie.

Stephen, What about these…? http://www.hennick.ca/fittingsfs/fuchikashira1.htm Barrie.

Hi, I don't see Hizen at all.. I can sort of see Hi, but not zen..? Its soo hard to read hand written kangi, so thank you to both of you for your assistance. As for the blade, well, it was not offered to me and I could not afford it anyway..hahaaa… Barrie.

Guido, Thank you.. So... Higo Kuni Tadayoshi (important sword) I am guessing this is the authors opinion and a date of A day in the 8th month of the 3rd year of Genna (a day in August 1617). What puzzles me is the bit at the end of the length.. What does 之有 mean please.. Thank you.. Barrie.

Hi all, I recently purchased a koshirae and the Tsunagi has some kanji written on it. While I can guess that it says 'smith, date and length' on the tsunagi, I can't quite make out some of the hand written kanji. What I have so far is: Omote: ? ? Kuni ? ? (? ? katana Mei) A day in the 8th month of the 3rd year of ?? Genki? Can't make this last part of the date.. Ura: Katana length, 2 Sun, 2 Shaku, 3 bu kore (made) tenth day..?? Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.. Barrie.

Morita San, Once again I (and others, I'm sure) am in indebted to your generosity and kindness in helping me (and others) out here when we need it. Thank you. More homework for me then; surely Hideyoshi did not own all these mons? I was hoping to know who they belonged to.. Anyway, thank you. Barrie B.

Hi all, Was researching Gourd Mons, but this is all I could find. Can someone please translate this paragraph for me? I read somewhere that only Hideyoshi adopted this Mon. Is this what this page says? I can only read Hideyosh in the centre of the text. Does it list any other families etc please? It is from a book called The World of Family Crests in Japan ISBN978-4-7816-0052-9. Any assistance appreciated. Thankyou in advance. Barrie B.

Hi Joe, I agree with both Lance and Stephen, although cost is relative.. If you were looking to reproduce a particular style (Banzashi Diasho for example) then cost of fittings may not be so important - if you get my meaning. Do you have a style of koshirae in mind or perhaps an idea of what you hope to end up with? If you are not that concerned, then almost any menuki would do and as Lance stated, a horn kashira was totally acceptable. In fact the horn kashira and wasted tsuka on the Tensho style koshirae is one of my favourites.. Almost any plain 'thin or low' fuchi and an iron tsuba in the tea taste would suit this style.. That would keep the cost down. Probably don't even need menuki, although if you did, you could mount them in the reverse position under the palms of the hand (aka Yagyu style) and have a real mix of styles.. :D I have added a photo of a modern Tensho style koshirae for you.. Barrie.

Some beautiful pieces.. A favorite Tsuba of mine.. Nao Toshi Suku(ru) - Iron tsuba with some inlay, a slightly raised mimi (barely detectable in the photos) and a silver fukurin added.. Barrie.