obiwanknabbe

Kazuhiro would like me to make it known that he will accept reasonable offers on this blade if anyone is interested.

This has all the looks of a komonjo ebay sword. Its possible that it started as a real blade of some type, but everything about it was tempered with or faked.

46+ now, but I started collecting in my teens. I imagine many of us got our starts because of martial arts training and how it connected us to Japanese culture and history. I do further suspect that much of our training is owed to having grown up on B ninja movies in the 80s (zodiacally also known as the decade of Chuck Norris), and early exposure to the seven samurai on late night tv.

Ok.. rabbit hole... where motoyasu and mototake brothers?

My wife surprised the ever living heck out of me with this amazing birthday gift. An exceptionally wide wakizashi made by Motoyasu. Can anyone tell me more about this maker? Another name perhaps?. I can't seem to find anything about him other than the he was possibly a Satsuma smith. Came with some nice fittings and an iron tsuba signed Mototake.

Does anyone have any thicker pins? My wife bought me a sword for my birthday (am I a lucky man or what!), but the mekugi was frail and snapped. I dont have any spares.

Hi Bruce, This is one I didn't upload earlier. While is smaller, it's more clear if you zoom in. I'll ask for more.

I'll see if I can get a better one. It's a re-upload of a message so it may be reducing the quality a bit.

A few more pictures have been supplied. If anyone would like to see anything specific, please ask.

Adding some information another member requested Motohaba-3.15cm. Sakihaba-2.1cm. kiisaki-3.6cm. Nakago-Ubu. Nakagojiri-Kengyo. yasurime-Sujikai. Mekugiana-1.

From Kazuhiro: "鍛(kitae)：板目肌(Itamehada)ながれ、地沸厚く。非常に良くつみ、見事な板目肌である。 刃文(hamon)：のたれ調(notare)、互の目(gunome)乱れ、匂い(nioi)深く沸(nie)よくつき、砂流(sunagashi)しかかる。". Forging: Itamehada has a flowing texture, and the ji-ze is thick. It is very well-forged, with a beautiful itame-hada. Hamon: Notare has a rough texture, the gunome is irregular, the nioi is deep, the nie is well-formed, and the sand is starting to flow.

Hello everyone! If the admins will permit it, I am helping a dear friend sell a very interesting sword. Some of you may know Kazuhiro-sama of the NY nihonto collectors society. He has come into possession of the blade listed below, but he now finds himself in poor health, so I am assisting where I can. Offered for sale is a Oku Yamatonokami Tairano Ason Motohira Category: Katana Era: Edo Kanse （1790 February） Produce place: Satuma (Kagoshima prefecture) NBTHK Ceritificate: Juyo Token Length 71.2 cm Hamon Notare with gunome Jigane Koitame Sayagaki done by Tanobe Yukihiro Sensei. The asking price is $48,000 USD. To help save his energy, I will act as intermediary for the beginning of any interactions, questions, or negotiations. If someone wishes to make a purchase, I will put you directly in touch with my friend so that any final sale arrangements can be made. Please note that I do not have this blade in my possession, but if more pictures are requested, I will do my best to get them for you. Please know It may take some time.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the information! Am i correct that this is Natori Shunsen? From what i see, he mostly did portraits, but was known to do some landscapes right around this time period. I cant seem to find another example posted anywhere for comparison. can anyone suggest some resources?

just incase this didnt post correctly

Hello all, i recently came into possession of a lovely not so little ( over 7ft long top to bottom) painting that i think is an original.. I will stress think. the paper is pretty old and it appears to be hand painted.. I would love to know what this says if anyone can help. Am I correct that this was made in 1924? Is the artist Hisashi Harizumida Hisashi Sugita? I could not find anything about him. if the admins think this should be in the Izakaya, please let me know and i will repost it. Best regards Kurt

Hey everyone! Ive been out of the collecting phase for a bit but was in one of those antique malls and spotted these sitting in a case of random Asian items. Nice Iron Dai Sho set with a small gold inlay on the Mei. Im pretty sure these are both signed Seiryuken Eiju in sosho script though i think (just a hunch) that there may be more that one smiths hand at work between the 2 of them. Smaller seems.... tighter.. for lack of a better work. Both are in fantastic condition. No dings or scratches. Definitely not cast. . Tiny bit of surface rust on the larger one near the Mei. Anyone have some thoughts about these. Thanks in advance!

Here ya go.. One Mano Masayasu

Brian, As far as i can tell, there are no other Masayasu wartime smiths (other than his students) . I checked the gendai and showa databases, there are no other Masayasu smiths listed. .. Aspects of the mei are consistent with known examples... especially the "yasu". The 45* angle to the Yasuri mie is consistent with Nakirishi Mei.. Soshin examples seem to always be horizontal and with the noted punch mark at the bottom of the nakago. As I already have a Soshin example, im thinking it may be interesting to have one made by a student as well.

Brian, Unless i am mistaken, which i very well could be, It is my understanding that Masayasu (and his students) only made Gendaito. Slough only lists medium grade Gendaito being attributed to his work.. I do wish there was some more detailed information available about this particular maker and the shop that he ran. There does appear to be Hamon. The turn back on the boshi is fairly well pronounced. What i meant was that I could not see hada or hamon up close in the picture, as there is no close up shot, not that it was not there to be seen.

To revive this topic, I have the opportunity to pick up another blade Signed Masa Yasu, though it appears to be Nakirishi mei. It also only has a 2 kanji Mei. Blade is in good polish in wartime mount with no apparent issues. Cant see the hada or hamon up close but pretty sure its Gendaito.. no stamps.. Crumbling leather cover over wood saya. Seller is asking 1495.00. USD.. Is that about market for Nakirishi Mei or is it a bargain?

I'll weigh in here as i am actually a student of Ninjutsu..I can't validate anything about the man in the above video other than that he runs the "ninja" museum in Iga but I study Genbukan Ninjutsu under the seal of Shoto Tanemura (https://genbukan.org/home/masters/267-2/) and call tell you definitively that Shuriken are 100% real. They came in all different sizes as they had varied uses. Some were used as hand weapons, some used for distraction, some could be used for climbing. The needle type mentioned above are called Bo-Shuriken. Most were never really used as you see them in the movies as lethal one shot throwing weapon. It could be done, but was more of a secondary consideration. As for ninja being peasants, yes sometimes they were, but more often than not, they were actually samurai. I put out a request through my teacher to see if i can get a picture of some of the ancestral pieces Tanemura Sensei may have in his possession so that we can study them.

That is certainly a fake.. Take a moment to read the info in the link provided.. It shows you may of the tell tale signs. http://jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html Kurt