general_piffle

Hi Brian / Steve, thanks for your replies. I don't know how to post more pictures in a reply without uploading them to say photobucket and inserting links in my post but I think it could well be a copper cast albeit an old one. If so does this make it relatively worthless? Thanks.

I really liked the design on this tsuba, the grape vines and the squirrel. Would really appreciate any views or info on it from the pictures. Thank you.

It's not the outright price that's important but the way the deal was handled, or rather mishandled. Please see the previous posts for more info. Thanks.

Hi Mark, can I ask what led you to this thought? I asked Aoi Art and Tsuruta san said he believed the horimono had been put in at the time the sword was made. Because the smith Yoshikado was training under Omura Kaboku who was also a buddhist monk. And as SteveM has observed both the kurikara and sanko are buddhist motifs.

Yes Klaus, high5japan is having another go at auctioning it. I have seen him auction some decent enough swords with recent NBTHK papers but this one really isn't listed accurately and his approach to customer service was dreadful - borderline deceitful. Even after I'd returned the sword and it had been signed for (I could see from the delivery tracking) I had to wait days to get a reply from him. When he did reply he said that the mekugi peg had been crushed, insinuated this was my fault, and that it meant the tsuka was stuck. He said he was going to take the sword to an expert to get the tsuka removed and he would take this cost out of my refund. Bearing in mind he also refused to pay return postage for an item that was inaccurately listed I was shocked at his attitude. Fortunately it was only due to the fact that in opening the return with eBay I'd taken detailed pictures of the tsuka including the big gaps between tsuba and seppa that I was able to challenge him. As one of my pictures clearly showed the crushed / split mekugi peg had been there when the sword was delivered to me. Once I pointed this out to him and spent a good deal of time on the phone to eBay he finally conceded and gave me a full refund. But talk about disingenuous. Hence my warning to others where high5japan is concerned.

Thanks Mark. Interesting. Can I ask what draws you to that conclusion? Thanks.

Thanks for the info and views guys. This is one of the swords I was referring to: http://www.aoijapan.com/katana-noshu-seki-zenjo-ke-echizen-yoshikado-2

It's a beauty isn't it. If I had the surplus I'd be sorely tempted.

Glad you like it! Not wakizashi but katana.

This tsuba really caught my eye.

Thanks very much Greg. The sword I was looking at that is engraved with a dragon on one side is from the Kanbun era around 1658 to 1683 or so. Was there much battle / war during this period in Japan's history or would it more likely have been decorative do you think? Joel U.

Having seen a couple of antique katanas recently with engravings of dragons on the blade, I'm curious to understand the background to decorating the blade of a nihonto. Did these decorations mean the sword was purely for ornamental / decorative purposes? Would a decorated sword actually be used in battle? Was there a reason behind say a dragon decoration other than aesthetic - like imbuing the sword with a good luck blessing or the strength of a dragon for example? Would love to find out more behind this practice. Many thanks. Joel U.

If you're new to the world of nihonto be aware of the eBay seller high5japan. I can only give my personal experience as reference but it was by no means a good experience. At around the same time as finding this forum I also found a sword on eBay that I liked the look of being sold by high5japan. He listed it as the saya being a bit loose at the mouth. I asked a few questions and was satisfied with his answers that it would be a simple fix. So I bid and won. When the sword arrived it was actually the tsuba, seppa, and tsuka that were loose. Very loose. As they were clearly never intended to go with that sword. The tsuba and seppa rattled around on the nakago with a good half inch of play. They literally jangled whenever the sword was moved. I got a refund through eBay's rules by opening a case but it was a difficult return that the seller made as protracted as possible - not replying to messages, delaying tactics, just really poor customer service (if any). The sword was then put up for sale again. I watched it out of curiosity and a few weeks ago it sold for around the same price that I'd originally paid for it. This evening I noticed it's up for sale again, so I imagine the buyer after me also returned it. But it's up for sale now at three times the price it sold for at auction: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272074361245 So if you are thinking about buying from this seller I'd advise you to be very careful.

Just a quick update. Komonjo has been an absolute gentleman and all-round great guy to deal with. He refunded my import tax and return postage without me even having to ask him, plus kept me notified of any updates. The sword was returned to him via eBay's system and when it arrived with him today I received a full refund. Mud clearly sticks from some of the negative things people say about him here but in my experience he's been helpful and honest throughout.

Good idea Markus, here are some random 'starter for 10' thoughts. How about a wiki element but templated and with admin so you can share the work load and add to the knowledge pool? With the book angle why not keep it time-based so maybe annual updates. Or if the paper book took more of a folder / binder approach it would be easier to add updates when needed. I've worked in digital media, including big site builds and content creation, for many years. If I can offer any advice then please feel free to PM me. Thanks.

Good evening all, having joined recently I thought I should introduce myself here. I'm a creative writer for advertising by profession but studied fine art at Chelsea School of Art many years ago. My specialisation (outside of art history) was sculpture, including ancient traditional techniques such as 'lost wax' metal casting. I also do volunteer work in a legal capacity. I've been fortunate to travel to and spend time in Japan, including Tokyo, Nara, Kyoto and Sendai. I've had a fascination with Japanese culture and crafts for many years but have only recently considered actually purchasing a proper nihonto. Peace and good health to you all.

Thanks for your concern Ian, it's much appreciated. Personally I don't believe anyone deserves to be ripped off but each to their own. The return was accepted without a quibble and has been logged with eBay so under their rules and those of PayPal I'm covered. Having been buying and selling on eBay since 2008 I've yet to have a problem with a return.

Gentlemen, just to add I have had word from Chris of www.ejapaneseswords.com who has confirmed that the NBTHK certificate is nothing of the sort. This is part of what he said, and I've attached the pictures he's referring to: "Yours is dated Showa 54 (1979) and the issuing organization is the Bijutsu Nihonto Hozon Shinsa Kai 美術日本刀保存審査会. This is not the NBTHK. I have never heard of them. Here is a genuine Showa 49 NBTHK kantei-sho. Note column 8 where it says 日本美術刀剣保存協会. They were issues up until Showa 57 (1982). Obviously they are similar in appearance but different." This could be useful as future reference for anyone else looking for info. Thanks.

Good idea Brian, thanks. However, it has just shipped yesterday. On top of that I now have a choice because I requested a return from the seller who has granted it with no quibble at all. He simply told me that as the package has shipped I can refuse it or return it when it arrives, as I logged it with eBay as a return I'm covered (personally as a buyer on eBay I've yet to have a bad experience with returns) so I'm confident I'll get my money back. With buying from eBay I was under the impression that this was a 'no no' if the sword wasn't papered, so with respect I thought I was following advice here and 'doing the right thing' by choosing a papered sword. I can appreciate many of you guys probably feel you've seen it and heard it all before but we all start somewhere and just because we're new it doesn't make us stupid. Although I'm sure this was unintentional some of the feedback has come across as pretty negative. However, to add another consideration into all this I didn't originally purchase the sword because of who it was made by. So the smith and mei were secondary to what I believed (with my untrained eye) to be a good-looking nihonto with really interesting hamon (to me) and no obvious rust or blemishes. It was only after I started looking into the smith and stumbled across the excellent article from Thomas (Toryu) that started this thread that I became really fascinated by Omura Kaboku. I've been in discussion via PM with a few very helpful people far more knowledgeable than me who have all offered contrasting views. Bottom line (and all have agreed on this) is nobody can currently, definitively, say whether the mei is genuine or not. But can I ask is Omura Kaboku someone who gets faked a lot? I'm probably wrong but I didn't think he was one of the greats, more well known for his eccentricities than creating incredibly valuable swords that would be worth faking? But like I said, the more I discover the less I know. So, I'm now left with a number of choices. I return the sword, get my money back and treat this as a learning experience. I keep the sword, consider it to possibly be a Kaboku and take the 'all old papers are fake' with a pinch of salt, and treat this as a learning experience. I keep the sword, put it forward for shinsa to see what the experts have to say with it in their hands, and treat this as a learning experience. Decisions, decisions! But thank you all for your advice and inputs, both the positive and the negative. It's all good

Thanks very much for the positive attitude Derek! As a newcomer to the board it's really appreciated. So from reading through the thread in the link you provided a lot of people are saying that while there has been some discredit of the accuracy of NBTHK certification from a certain time and in more provincial areas it's also a problem that isn't as prolific as some are making out. That part, when it comes to the internet generally, is of no surprise. Bottom line for me is of course I hope it's original and I might well send it to shinsa through our very own Kunitaro san out of curiosity. But regardless, in my eyes it's a beautiful sword that has 'probably' come from a fascinating sword-smith - and that's enough for me

Hi Markus, couple of things. When I found the information through Google I had no idea that it had been provided by someone on this forum. When Toryu / Thomas replied to this thread I recognised the URL in his signature and figured out where it had come from. Have a look at my post immediately after Thomas's where I thank him, saying "Thank you for having provided so much interesting information about him". Is there some kind of protocol where I should now edit my original post to accredit Toryu with the benefit of hindsight or is acknowledging him and saying thanks enough?! Not being sarcastic just becoming more aware of the 'idiosyncracies' of this message board... Thanks.

Hi, I've recently purchased what I believe to be an Omura Kaboku katana. It's NBTHK papered / certified but the authenticity of its signature has been queried so I'd like some second opinions from any resident experts. Please have a look and see what you think, thanks:

Even though it's NBTHK papered / certified? Surely if the signature wasn't authentic this would have been called out as part of that process?

Stephen, thank you for the advice. I'm going to take you up on it. Let's face it, the sword has been around for several hundred years and isn't going anywhere. I'll use it to learn from and enjoy before thinking about a polish again later. But am so happy to have this. It looks to my untrained eye to be a beauty and from such a wonderfully eccentric sword-smith

Here are some low quality pics from the listing. I intend to get the sword polished once it arrives: