Fuuten

Additionally, on the circular firing marks on the inside of the bowl. Forgive the crude copy/paste, it's late.

Good evening, Unsure if it's the visibility or subject matter as I had expected the numerous show and tells on their site would've garnered more interest (given the what I thought was excellent presentation). Might I request one of the mods to move topic to the tosogu section, perhaps that is the better place after all Thank you kindly. 🙏

Dear Ed, Looks great! And the tsuba, is that turtle shell (tortoise?). I'm not sure if the material is actually the shell. I see it more often in combs and the like. A tsuba might be a first for me if it is👍👌 The f&k! perhaps a mix of shakudo, shibuichi and copper? Definitely not a run of the mill koshirae! Thanks for sharing.

Dear Jean, Correct, which kind are almost always beautiful and in demand. The plate with the mixed metal is kind of subdued in the one shown but differs from the normally seen single color top layer (in conjunction with the guri-bori carving), anyway I thought that one was particularly good. 🙏 Glad you found it interesting as well!

Good evening kind ladies & gentlemen, Lately I haven't been so active on the board but I'm happy to say it is no reflection of my interest on the subject and I thought this was worth sharing. After deliberating for a minute or two I decided to post it in general although it is largely about tosogu artists and background information on a specific technique and related history. Combined, I think all chapters add up to a thought out, finely presented lesson on a subject broader than just tosogu and that here more people will see it. Please move if deemed necessary. From a company that offers wedding rings—of all places! Informative and thorough, a number of posts include experiments in which they recreate old pieces that are illustrated to a tee and clearly described in flawless English. https://www.mokumeganeya.com/e/mokumeganetour/2018/09/21/find-mokume-gane-chapter-9/ Near the bottom of the page are links to all chapters. Attached an example of the practice that I think is extraordinarily beautiful (and which is now my background 😎). Visually tricky, confusing me when seen at first, followed by becoming enchanted with the design. From the Ashmolean collection. Hope others enjoy as well 👍

Buy it if you like it but I'd suggest saving yourself 400 euro. If it comes with the koshirae the price isn't too bad but its not in a state of preservation people prefer to see.

Dear Dale, I knew the title but not about the associated shapes! Very interesting, you gave me food for thought. Thank you very much Nr 31 seems to have similar features to the open work if you replace the centerline with the ana. Also on the second image one side matches though I'm not sure how it would translate to the mirrored/symmetrical on the copper one. I'm going to look into it a little further. Intriguing!

Because the thread went silent > bump for more feedback on this tsuba. Would love to hear more impressions/thoughts on it. I like it but have no real idea on what it is or what school or modern worker might be responsible for it. Thanks in advance.

The kabuto with the water ladle is certainly very cool. I would assume it belonged to a student of the way of Tea. Please correct me if I'm confusing the term but (iirc.), it is called a hishaku. Traditionally made from bamboo and used in the Tea ceremony. Hishaku are used to scoop boiling water from the kettle and cold water from the mizusashi (water pot), to the kettle, keeping it atleast half full.

And anonymous who added the remarks gave numerous points of attention, given signatures are carved in unique often charactistic ways. So while the specific names kanji differ over time, like handwriting can be identified. As mentioned though gimei, big name. Might be a beautiful sword though! It does need some attention and tlc.

Definitely. To get someone interested in Nihonto, further than just viewing a photo thinking on the (arguably bad), things that it can be used for and then considering just the total picture (ah sure looks pretty good), is difficult! Then considering monetary value, reading about the importance of papers these days, opposite to more down to earth stories about what it comes down to: it's the sword not the papers. This sword I'd guess holds the consensus of being a Japanese sword on the board (not shinsa but for what it's worth pretty straight on and able of judging real or fake), regardless of sayagaki which might or might not be valid. Long story short.. . If someone has a potential victim in mind and can assure said person (1. Good deal), 2 in this case papers would be arbitrary if one would otherwise demand atleast Hozon (which would be interesting for the attribution not so much for the real or not. Sorry 💬💥 😃

Just considering its a real Japanese blade and in this case likely centuries old. A nice blade that would be a very good item to get someone into Nihonto. At thousand it was a good deal (I would think). Now 70% with free shipping for those in the US.. What more do people want?

Dear Brian, I have and can, without reservation recommend Pablo. Just send him a message

Hi John, This page is great to keep as a reference for tsuba in general.

Dear Steven, I'm not entirely sure to what tsuba your post was meant for. Incase it was meant for the odd copper tsuba I did not bid 😗

In the spirit of this thread, this tsuba passed by couple weeks ago. Odd openwork and at first glance an odd copper tsuba but the (apologies, correct term for the pattern escapes me atm), careful outward radiating grooves (sunbeams from point on horizon), made me think it was perhaps more interesting than I gave it credit for, only having half-recorded seeing it while browsing. Maybe new and not a masterwork but interesting I thought. Interested in opinions on what it is. Thank you in advance.

Thank you for the follow up. That's a stroke of bad luck though it is on its own a success story! And it's not as if it cannot pass even though it didn't. This is one great thread

How wrong could you go for 20USD! For a real Japanese blade, you couldn't have done better Count me in-terested to see what comes of it and whether or not you decide to have it restored.

http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html This page mentions a number of anti-counterfeit measures. Hope it helps.

Yes! That one might be my favorite book (still). It also includes a bunch of Hoju. And in my opinion, one of the most beautiful blades (but sadly does not have full sugata picture), plate 20 - know it by heart

Thanks Piers, Uwe. Sadly I haven't had the pleasure of visiting one of those local musea, yet. One day Given fires were a pretty common threat and calamity in largely wooden build cities, does anyone know what kind of protective measures they may have had (already, or in development), during the the Edo period? Was there any such thing as ground works combined with larger scale city planning in those days? Where a pump cart would be useful only if there were water reservoirs spread throughout a city. Somewhat going off on a tangent with this but it has sparked an interest 🤔

Good evening, From a comment in the 'yari size' topic to a Quora topic on Japanese palanquins and then I somehow ended up on this ebay listing. Seems like a pretty strange thing to stumble over😏 It's not that old if the year given is correct (1910), but I think such type carts could've been build and used much earlier. Pretty cool and I for one haven't seen anything like it before on ebay etc, though I haven't been looking for things like this either. Firefighting pump cart

Hello and welcome, Searching google or the nmb should give you some idea regarding the seller. The advice you'll probably get is to buy books. Please sign with your name. If English isn't your first language, perhaps someone can help with communication. You can add a location to your profile. On the sword. Not in good condition as far as the polish goes. Appears to have some rust and assuming it has no papers it's not worth what it might sell for on ebay. To underline: books.

Tempting! I quite like the koudai not to mention the firing effects!

Nice package! Great deal.