chris covington

Hello all, The book just came in the mail today. Although not on par with Tom Kishida's Yasukuni book it is still a good read. It seems like Minotogawa shrine smiths had a much smaller production with shorter number of years in production and fewer smiths. The book is well written and it has a bunch of photos and oshigata. For $5 plus $7.95 for shipping you can't go wrong. I'd love to see someone expand on this research. Sadly it seems like all of the smiths who worked at the shrine have passed away. Best regards, Chris

I have been known to collect a coin or two. I have a small collection of Knights of St. John coins http://coins.mos.net.au/CC.htm. This tsuba is very interesting and I would love to see other examples with European coins worked into the design. The patina on those coins is wonderful! I wish all of my silver coins looked that sharp. Best regards, Chris

Hoanh, Thank you for the great photos. Yeah mine looks very different. When I get off duty I'll have to really study mine against the shoshin examples. I'll see if I can get some better photos of the mei when I get home. Best regards, Chris

So I can't seem to figure out how to transfer a section of a DVD to youtube. I guess there won't be any Marubashi tonight. Sorry. I like the idea of welding the crack if that is possible? Any suggestions on who to talk to about that? I know it is too late for this sword as an art sword but does anyone have any thoughts on the mei? Does it seem like it could be shoshin or does it look gimei? Cheers, Chris

Hello all, As far as I know there is no video of Marubashi no kata online. I will try to post some when I get home. If you saw something that was wood on wood contact then that isn't it. It is a very strange kata done very slowly which is why I considered this sword for it. The size is just right too. I guess I can find another old wakizashi to use. I'm sorry I didn't mean to turn this into a budo thread. Best regards, Chris

Hi guys, I had a feeling I'd get called out for saying I'd use it for budo . In Jikishinkage-ryu the last set of kata called Marubashi uses shinken vs kodachi shinken. The movements are done very slowly with very deep controlled breathing. There are no cutting movements and there is no blade on blade contact. It is a rather cryptic set of kata. If anyone here saw these kata I'm sure they'd be very confused . There won't be much chance for flying metal. I understand everyones concerns though. Cheers! Chris

Hello all, Hoanh just posted a really lovely Bitchu no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro blade in full polish here http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17310. Great looking sword. I have a wakizashi signed Bitchu (no) Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro as well but I am unsure of the mei and it is nowhere near as nice as Hoanh's. I got it a while back from someone on the old nihonto email list but i cannot remember who it was. Maybe they are here? Does anyone remember this sword? Anyway, it has been suggested that mine is the 3rd or 4th gen. smith. It has the kiku mon but it is on the omote side with the mei which I thought was odd. The blade also has a few flaws, one fatal. It looks like during yakire some of the clay did not stick right on the blade (either that or it is shingane poking through). It is difficult for me to tell because of the old polish. There are a few open welds; small but there. The real killer though is that there is a hagiri from the ha to the shinogiji. I picked this sword up cheap to study a little about Osaka shinto and just never got rid of it. The koshirae is some mix and match late war gunto mash-up. The tsuba is very poorly cast and the saya is leather covered. The tsuka is either an unfinished tsuka that never got same' or a shirasaya tsuka that got a little rattan wrapped around it and two cast menuki tacked on. The habaki is an old copper one with shakudo foil. No other fittings. The menuki ana has bone eyelets though. Now I hate to pass old rumors as fact but I had always heard if a sword has shakudo habaki it has a fatal flaw of some sort. This is true of this sword. It also has a cloth surrender tag that i keep separate from the sword most of the time so it doesn't get damaged. I don't know if this mei is shoshin or not. It does not look like the ones shown and linked in this post http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13572&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15 but if it is a later generation who knows? I'm open to any thoughts. I've decided (at least for now) to use this sword for budo. Unless someone can suggest a polisher who can cover up some of these flaws I think it will stay as is. Even if the flaws are covered by a skilled polisher I would still know I had a flawed sword and I couldn't sell it without disclosure. Anyway, thank you for looking. Chris

Love it! Thanks for sharing! i have a yasuhiro signed blade but it is in rough shape and beyond help even with a polish. For me it is a sword for budo. I will start another thread so I don't steal this one. Thanks again for sharing this great looking sword with us!

It looks like there is one on ebay that is simillar http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-SAMURAI-SWORD-ANTIQUE-small-katana-TSUBA-No-T006-/221313245353?pt=Asian_Antiques&hash=item33874c20a9. You can see on the omote side at about 1 o'clock there is a a symbol that looks like your "KK" it also has the weird nakago ana. Maybe you can have a matching daisho set of these cast tsuba with the "KK" on them?

Given that each one of these seems to come from the same mould and have nearly identical decoration, I would assume they are made with a modern manufacturing techniques. I would think they are no earlier than Meiji era and maybe as late as early Showa era. I'm not expert but that is just a feeling I get from them. They are too close to identical. If you look at the feather detail (stylized feathers) on the belly of your friend's chicken and the detail on the belly of the ebay chicken they have the exact same detail markings. It looks like they have 10 bids on it already and this is just the koshirae so I'm sure the blade will add value, although I know you are missing parts on your friend's saya. I think these are interesting tachi and if I had one I'm sure I'd treasure it but I don't see myself going out of my way to find one. I feel like any authentic tachi koshirae is special even these Kentucky Fried koshirae

There is currently a tachi on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/121206296400?_trksid=m570.p2050601.l4763&_trkparms=ga1m%3DT12%26ga2m%3DT43%26ga3m%3DT2%26ga4m%3DT3#ht_11228wt_947 that is just like all of the others posted. All of the castings look like they are the same with maybe some hand work added to them? It looks like it was a fairly popular koshirae. I'm not sure what they are for but I keep imagining the kashira deep fried for some reason...

I'm not so sure about the Toyotomi connection. I think the phoenix and paulownia tree are closely associated with each other because of the idea of rebirth. Paulownia trees when they are young are often cut down to a stump (I guess like roses?). For whatever reason this makes them grow even faster and larger. Even large adult trees that have been harvested will often start growing again very quickly. This makes them great trees for reforestation and for crop harvest. The wood is becoming popular as a body wood for bass guitars often with a veneer of more exotic wood on top. As for the OP I don't know much but I know what I like and I think this is a very lovely tsuba, thank you for sharing and happy birthday!

It looks like Paragon still has copies for sale for just $5. I just ordered one. Hey for $5 (plus $8 for shipping) I can't complain. I'll keep you posted if it actually arrives

I am new to tosogu so take this with a grain of salt. Like Lance, I like the Christie's example more than either of the Bonhams examples. When you zoom in very tight you can see the carving in the tree leaves just above the moon (and below the raven on the kogai) are very different quality. The two Bonhams examples are very solid looking. The Christie's example looks more like a sumi-e. There is almost an ink like quality where the "brush strokes" have a gradation from black to gray. I'm not sure if this is because of the quality of photography or the skil of the carving but I find it much more appealing. With regards to the individual ravens in each peace I feel like the Bonhams examples the birds are simply looking at some distant insect or maybe something shiney to take to their nests. The Christie's example I feel like the raven looking at the moon is almost contemplative. I get this feeling based on the angle of the necks and the orientation of the birds' heads in relationship to the moon. In the Bonhams kozuka the one bird is looking part the moon. The kogai I fel like the bird is looking at a piece of food he droped. In the Christie's kozuka I feel the bird it looking at the moon maybe pondering how he can capture it to bring back to his nest? Just my thought! Chris

Hello all, I have been thinking a lot about supporting foolish behavior. This is what I mean. Is it bad to purchase a sword from someone who has destroyed it, just to save a few parts or does that purchase validate their action and make them likely to do it again? Years ago I bought an uchigatana from a guy who knew nothing about swords. The blade was taken to a grinding wheel and isn't really worth the steel it is made from anymore. The nagasa is about 24 inches and the nakago is only about 5 inches. The tsuka was about wakizashi length (just enough room to fit one hand on it) with brass/bronze Higo fittings. The ito was brown and lacquered but mostly falling apart. The same was black. It was trash except for the fuchi, kashira and menuki. There was no tsuba or habaki. I gave the guy something like $50 just to save the fittings. I also told him that he devalued an antique that might have been worth considerably more if he hadn't decided to give it a redneck polish (I didn't use those exact words to him). He swore it wasn't worth anything because it was old junk. At the time I was happy to save the fittings. Having recently found the blade in my boxes of stuff I started thinking about this more. Did I validate his foolishness by giving him money for something he ruined? Was this the best action to take? If I hadn't bought it maybe he would have realized he made a mistake? Or maybe he would have just sold it to another person like me? Maybe he thinks this is okay behavior because he made $50 off of it. But had I not purchased the "sword" from him I'm sure the menuki would have been lost as the ito turned to dust. What would folks here do? I've included a photo of the mei. The whole sword looks like the nakago. I can't make out the kanji very well, the first one looks like Tomo to me (?). Any thoughts on the mei? Sad sad old sword The other question is what the heck do you do with a sword that is this poorly damaged?!? It is beyond repair. Thanks for reading!

Mr. Wilson, I've recently been having luck with the cotton cloth/pocket method mixed with damp bathroom environment. The iron is starting to look nice. I also make sure I do not wash my hands before picking it up so some of the oils on my fingers can work into it. The trouble I am having is the brass now. All the handling keeps the brass shiny. I think I just need to leave it be for a while until it gets some brass patina. I would imagine the choji oil would protect the iron like it does on a sword which wouldn't be helpful if you are trying to put some luster on the patina. I dunno though. I've never tried sun tanning a tsuba. maybe it warms it up making the already present oils look better? This is above my pay grade

Hello all, This might be a long shot but this is a thought... I've seen cast tsuba that were given as awards for things like budo. Maybe the "KK" is an organizational logo or part of some sort of award? Just a guess. Edit: I found this on ebay. Looks like a commemorative tsuba from the 1970 kokutai national sporting event that was held in Iwate. I'm guessing it was for the Fukuoka kendo team maybe? Maybe your horse tsuba was for an event like this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Commemmorative-Tsuba-W-Sho-ki-Sama-Design-Signed-/251070077594?pt=Asian_Antiques&hash=item3a74f15a9a Chris

Mauro, Wow, thanks for those examples. I guess I shouldn't be too quick to judge my actions as mistakes. My real mistake (although maybe not as big really) was buying from someone who knew nothing about Japanese antiques and provided poor quality images. The price was right so I thought the gamble worth it. Even if the tsuba isn't the prettiest the price was more than right so I couldn't really lose. BTW, I did not listen to the advice to throw it out so don't bother looking through my trash bins unless you want some empty soda bottles and week old leftovers The one piece of advice I did heed though was books. I've realized I am over my head with tsuba. What makes something good and what makes something less good? Clearly even people with a lot of experience that I respect have differing opinions. The only way I will be able to sort this out is with knowledge. Back to my original tsuba in this post... It does look like it was mounted at some point and the kozuka ana was enlarged. Judging from the color of the steel inside the ana it was a long while ago, too. This was the reason I bought it in the first place. I assumed no one would enlarge a hole in the tsuba for something like a kozuka if it were made within the last 100 years (in Japan or Wisconsin ) Even tsuba that are mounted for budo wouldn't do that because I doubt many budo use swords have kozuka or kogai witth them. Anyway, Thank you again for those images. I am now even more curious about my little tsuba. Cheers! Chris PS the measurements are 6.9cm X 7.0cm X 4mm

Hoanh, Thanks for the reply. I'm glad you were able to give this old tsuba a 2nd chance. I've had mine of close to 20 years now. I think I am going to keep it. Something of a good luck charm Best regards, Chris

Hello Hoanh, I was just wondering if you had any updated progress photos of how this tsuba looks now? I recently posted about a Heianjo tsuba I bought years ago that I did some restoration work to. http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17071&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=heianjo&sid=854aeac23eb821f946e4c4ff8802fec0 While trying to get a better understanding of Heianjo brass inlay tsuba I came across this old thread and thought I'd ask. Cheers, Chris

I guess this sort of reminds me of a new parent with an ugly baby. They try to act like it is cute but deep down they know it isn't. Maybe I should delete this whole post? lol Nah, I'll leave it up. We all have our bruises from collecting mistakes I'll keep this up as a reminder to myself don't buy just from photos and certainly not blurry ones (on the plus side I'm not set back very much so it wasn't a costly mistake). Cheers, Chris

Mr. Doffin, Tell me how you really feel Joking aside, I got it cheap from an antique dealer and only saw it with some blurry photos so figured what the heck I'll roll the dice. It isn't the prettiest tsuba is it? I still sort of like it though. Don't ask i don't don't know why Thanks for the post, Chris

Hello all, I just picked this tsuba up recently and I am assuming it is Heianjo (?) brass inlay (I'm still not good at this though so I could be wrong). It doesn't seem to be super old but I liked it when I saw it. The kogai ana is very small on this one. It appears that during its service life someone enlarged the kozuka ana to make it more usable. The punch marks on the surface go around the brass inlay and around the kogai ana so I think the brass and kogai ana are original. The enlarged kozuka ana cuts through the brass inlay and through some of the surface punching so that is why I assume it is a modification. Anyway, I liked the kiku and tendrils on it but I wasn't sure what the circles and the "T" shaped objects represent. I am open to any thoughts about the motif or on the tsuba as a whole. Thanks for your help everyone! Chris

Mr. Trotter et al., I spoke with my friend regarding Itto-ryu and the so called Seisui no ken. His conclusion is about what mine is, it has no relationship to Itto-ryu. He is also skilled in Toyama-ryu and observed it has nothing in common with Toyama-ryu. I have a feeling the Seisui no ken is a modern kata made up by Westerners with a fabricated history (something very common in modern American budo schools). That isn't to say it has no value just that it has nothing to do with Japanese swordsmanship. As for the "Ippo susumite tsuki, Ippo susumite tatsu" phrase, that doesn't seem to appear anywhere in Itto-ryu documents that he is aware of or can find in any of his references. Up until the founding of the gunto soho (the methods for using the shingunto) the Toyama academy taught a system of fencing with a kyugunto that more resembled western saber fencing than anything Japanese. A small manual called "Kenjutsu Kyohan" was published for training and a translated copy can be found online here: http://kenshi247.net/blog/2010/04/12/kenjutsu-kyohan-part-1-guntojutsu/ . One person has suggested that the phrase might come from karate and is simillar to the phrase "ippon kumite tsuki, ippon kumite tatsu." I know karate was VERY popular from the Meiji era through the war years. I don't know enough about karate history to say though. I'm sorry this doesn't help you identify the owner or the system of swordsmanship he studied but maybe it keeps you from barking up the wrong tree at least? Best regards, Chris

Mr. Trotter, From what I saw of the video it doesn't look much like Itto-ryu but I'm not an Itto-ryu guy (I was lucky enough to take a weekend seminar with Sasamori sensei the headmaster of Ono-ha Itto-ryu but that's it). The gentleman in the video does not use a real sword but what looks like a standard Kendo kata bokuto.. I'll keep you posted when I get a reply from my friend. I just texted him a few minutes ago. He is on the West Coast and I'm on the East Coast so he might not be awake yet Best regards, Chris