Gabriel L

OK, for translation I see: 河内 KAWACHI = Kawachi province 守 KAMI = Lord thereof 藤原 FUJIWARA = Honorary clan title 圀 KUNI ?? Still working on the actual smith's name... looks like it might be partially rusted over... EDIT: Looks like Paul's got it, oh well, I was too slow this time. I don't have oshigata either but first instinct is that the mei seems "sloppy."

Tom, Per forum rules please set up your signature to include real name. This is a real antique Japanese blade, not a WWII type. Granted it may have been remounted in WWII furniture, but this is a traditionally made weapon, not a mass-manufactured military item. It's obviously out of polish, but the only thing that worries me is the chip near the base. The kissaki (point) looks good, doesn't seem chipped from the wide shot (can we get a closeup?) and looks like the geometry is still crisp, so it doesn't seem like it's been through too much soldier-inflicted damage (no offense intended). DON'T attempt ANY kind of "restoration" yourself! You could quickly destroy any value it might have trying. Check here for care instructions. Attaching the nakago right-side up for anyone who wants to try translating (including me, haha). I'm slightly worried about how shiny the nakago looks near the mei, suspiciously like someone might have tried to "clean" it at some point. But maybe not, it's tricky to make that judgment from just the photos we have. Regardless of my (or anyone else's) translation, truly authenticating the signature would require shinsa (expert appraisal by one of the big Japanese groups, e.g. NBTHK or NTHK). And restoration in the form of a professional, traditional polish is possible precluding any fatal flaws or cracks (again, I don't like the look of that chip) but is very expensive and possibly not worth it, depending. Can you supply measurements? Length is measured in a straight line from the tip to where the spine notches at the nakago (tang). You might also supply width and thickness at that notch and width at the yokote (transverse line that defines the tip region), but that's not nearly as helpful as length.

What? Refers back to photo HAHAHAHA! Unfortunately I have my doubts re: Justin's sword... I'll reserve judgment for now though.

Thanks John. That's in line with expectations. Cheers, —GLL

Hi everyone, Digging through my photo archives just now, I came across an old image a friend of mine submitted. Her family inherited a couple odds and ends which I had had a look at. I didn't know tosogu (still don't) so the most I was able to say was that they were authentic, probably Edo or Meiji period, and decent (though not exactly exceptional). I assume the bird is a phoenix? And I wasn't sure if the kozuka base was a very brown suaka or a very red shibuichi. Anyway, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts if you have any, especially on school, age, motif, etc. There were no signatures. EDIT: added the reverse side of the kozuka, FWIW.

I too can think of a lot of things I'd rather own for $12,000.

I'm virtually certain it is artificially carved to look that way. It just doesn't seem like real damage except perhaps for the seam on top that someone else pointed out. I could believe the kodogu are shubuichi. It would explain the wear pattern well.

Not at all. My "inspiration" was actually more general than some might believe, although the recent thread you referred to certainly contributed. I see what you mean. It has a warm cast, but I'm not sure how perfect the white balance is in the photography. It certainly looks professional enough so perhaps it is truly browner than usual. It would be a great match for the saya and tsukamaki if so. With respect to the kashira, I see the silvery portions, but again I am not sure how much the reflection of the light tent is involved... tough to tell. Does shakudo rub down to silver? I thought it had a gold-colored base. Also, there is some silver application elsewhere on the tosogu, so perhaps it is an actual inlay or something (but I doubt it, doesn't look quite right for that). Interesting.

Kind of you to say so, Ford. I know the dangers of stating one's opinion... —GLL PS, I almost forgot! :bowdown: Kidding, kidding...

I suspect this is just an example of extreme flamboyancy in the merchant class's (or that of some lords as well, I suppose) taste and means. I doubt something of this extreme calibre (and it is extreme no doubt) would be produced for foreign export, and I certainly don't see any western influence in it. I've seen a number of Edo-period examples of such "showoff" koshirae, and even though this was produced during the cusp of change my personal opinion is that this is simply another example of same. Entering rant mode: I think it is a mistake to generalize all of "the Japanese aesthetic" as one of reserved naturalistic asceticism. Obviously this is a hallmark of many Japanese arts and one of the aspects that makes them both unique and especially attractive, but the reality is that there exist many examples of highly decorated and elaborate works of Japanese art as well. Not just from the Meiji or even late Edo period, either. Even at the time the most extreme examples of such "busy" work might have been considered in questionable taste, and some might argue that the "true" Japanese aesthetic is one of martial simplicity. However, my point is simply that some individuals in Japanese history did demonstrably have such taste, and it would be silly to reflexively explain such items as due to either western influence or demand. I'm much more a fan of genuine history than of idealized or simplified history... ...End of rant. Anyway, regarding this particular koshirae, yes it's a doozy. I am most impressed with the way the kogatana tip shows through the saya! Never seen that before. Not sure what you find particularly interesting about the shakudo color; looks normal (though well done of course) to me. Perchance are you referring to the tsukamaki? That's baleen, not shakudo. Very beautiful, very delicate (this one is in spectacular condition), and of course a "loaded" subject considering Japan's current involvement in whaling. And look at the emperor node on that samé! Creates the impression of the "pearl" that the dragon chases. Obviously a masterpiece of the craft even if way "over the top." I love it.

News to me that any antique appraisal (or indeed most anything in life) is ever 100% reliable. Not to say that Fujishiro papers aren't entirely trustworthy from a practical perspective, but let's be serious.

Post photos, don't "clean" anything; I have seen at least one decent cane sword but many more poor examples.

The brain assumes light comes from the sky, not the ground. That's the basis of this illusion.

Speaking of which... $1950 wakizashi, mumei, but several copies of reference mei. They look decently close to my (humble) eye.

Todd is inventorying his inheritance. He accordingly has lots of unknown items in dresser drawers. Nice kozuka... I don't have any in my dresser either. :lol:

Those look like some nice yanone. Let's see how that eBay sale is going... oh, looks like the sharks have found it, nevermind.

Steve, To answer one of your questions, the ratings you refer to are a post-hoc, contextual, subjective system developed by one particular expert (Fujishiro). I highly recommend Darcy's article on ratings.

With respect, there is no picture of this sword (just a wide shot of the koshirae) and it's impossible to give a value without A) judging the craftsmanship of the blade itself and B) assessing the authenticity of the mei. There's a hozon wakizashi with same mei for ~$3100 here, but the mei doesn't match perfectly IMHO. There's a tokubetsu hozon katana with the same mei (presumably) that sold at Christie's for ~$11000 here; no pictures. There's a daisho of blades with this signature here, also tokubetsu hozon; the mei looks much more like a match to me. Another Christie's katana here, realized at ~$6000. Some more info and an example from Sho-Shin here. Too bad they didn't include the mei. This is all just with a Google search, no special knowledge applied. There's no guarantee before shinsa that your mei is genuine, that these other swords are supposed to have been made by the same smith (some signatures match multiple smiths, although in this case I feel subjectively that we are talking about one smith), that your sword is in good condition, that it matches the level of work of other examples, etc. etc. And all of this is completely academic since we haven't seen the sword itself yet. The mounts are not the sword; the nakago is not the sword (though it's a very important part); the blade is the sword.

汎隆 Thanks Stephen. Unfortunately I'm useless without books (and even then I'm no expert :lol:). But I gather this smith is supposed to be decent. Now whether it's gimei is another matter (not one for me).

伯耆 HOKI (Hôki province) 守 KAMI (Lord thereof) 藤原 FUJIWARA (Fujiwara "clan" title, honorary) 江 NOBU (????) 全 YASU (?) [Hoki no Kami Fujiwara Nobuyasu] I'm having trouble seeing the last two characters, which would be the smith's name. I'll keep looking, but try to take clearer photos.

I am away from my books but I'll get the ball rolling on the ura side (reverse): 越前 ECHI ZEN (Echizen province) 住 JU (resident thereof) FYI from the photos shown it looks like a real antique nihonto... but you should post photos of the blade as well. Also this shouldn't be in the tosogu forum, should be in the nihonto section unless you are trying to get info on the mounts (in which case you need to post more closeup pics thereof). Gimme a sec to translate the omote (front).

The whole "left-right" display thing is one that I hear many people repeating stories about, but precious little original information on. Suffice it to say that it seems pretty universally traditional to display with tsuka to the left, which makes sense since that's the "omote" (outer) side of the sword. Why would you display a sword with the ura facing out? It just feels backwards. :lol: On the other hand I couldn't care less which way someone else chooses to display their swords, so long as they know how to properly take care of them.

I might add that there's always the possibility of a "window" polish. Not sure if it's necessary in this case because the old polish isn't entirely gone, but for a lower price (~$100) a togishi can work on just a small section of the blade just to reveal some of the details, which would help in checking that the workmanship matches that of the specific school/smith. If it was me I'd just go all or nothing. My personal interest in seeing the sword restored wouldn't hinge on its being a true Nobukuni Yoshikane, especially if I wasn't intending to turn it around and sell it, but at the same time restoration is very expensive. Still, Yoshikane is well-regarded enough that I would also be quite curious to see what they had to say at shinsa! So what can you do. :lol:

Signed kodogu of high quality is a nice touch (signed waves fuchi/kashira in shakudo and gold, signed iron tsuba, shakudo and gold "lion dogs" shishi menuki). The saya is low-grade WWII-era but the tsuka is high-quality original. Silver habaki are usually later Edo period or newer. You may want to cross-post in the Tosogu forum for more expert opinions on the fittings; try retaking your fuchi and tsuba photos with correct focus so that they can read the signatures. The horimono are pretty well done, nice Buddhist inscription with bonji. Hi is crisp, geometry nice. Condition is remarkably good for a sword that certainly hasn't received proper care in decades; besides the hazing over of the polish and some light rust (both of which could be undone by a PROFESSIONAL TOGISHI—do NOT attempt restoration yourself!!), the only lamentable issue is the broken tip. The hamon looks wide enough so that a togishi might be able to repair it though. Go here: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm and educate yourself as much as you can stand. Especially read the Sword Care Guide; to summarize, do NOT attempt restoration, don't handle the blade, do not clean the nakago (tang), just apply light mineral oil (you can buy traditional choji oil for this) to the blade to prevent rust. It is absolutely a good quality, old, genuine nihonto (traditionally-made Japanese blade). Matt has filled you in on the relevant details from the mei (signature). Actually confirming that signature would require sending it off to shinsa which can be a bit of a process, but regardless it's still of good quality. We could give you leads and info on how to get it restored, shinsa'd, or both (it would have to be polished before shinsa, waste of time otherwise); or you could enjoy it as-is since the polish hasn't degraded to the point of masking the metallurgical details entirely.

Alf Tan has been dealing swords a good while and to my knowledge is entirely fair. However, he sells a lot of WWII swords, so you have to understand what that means. The items are described accurately but it's up to the buyer to have a clear idea of what they want out of a sword. Personally I would suggest that if you don't yet have the ability to judge the authenticity of this sort of work (or the differences between these and traditionally-made nihonto), you might want to save your money, spend more time reading and studying, and then make a decision. You may still be interested in these swords but at least then you'd know what you're getting and why. Cheers, —GLL