DirkO

Hi Steve, this puzzled me as well, especially seeing I could easily find other Hon'ami origami with the same kanji (albeit a bit less stylized) After some searching, I came up with the idea that it might not be describing an exact month (going from your poetic variation remark) and it might be this: 極月 giwametsuki not a real word, but could be something like "appraisal month" ?

Checked my resources - it's Hon'Ami Tenrai (from the Komi lineage). Far more reputable than his father, published some books and was avidly looking to revive interest in nihonto (start of 20th century).

Kao looks like Honami Tadataka or Tenrai. The first one sadly being a notorious drinker and of somewhat doubtfull repute and Tenrai his son. There's more info about them in Markus' excellent book on the Honami family.

The thing is, these names make little sense to modern Japanese, so they make their own interpretation of what's stated. You might want to have a look here: http://www.jssus.org/nkp/common_kanji.html

for comparison (Juyo Hirata):

A lot harder than I thought! Although I didn't spend nearly enough time with my books on these - I will give it a try: Kantei 1 Taikei Naotane – Shinshinto – Koto Bizen revival piece. Seeing the outstanding hada with a lot of activity and the yakigashira that seem to vanish in the hi, I opt for Naotane rather than Munetsugu. Kantei 2 Tsuda Echizen Sukehiro – Shinto Kanbun - a bit machi-okuri –- High Mune - condensed ko-itame with a lot of ji-nie – frayed nie that go into the ha together with clear and bright jiba point towards Sukehiro. Was first leaning more towards Hizen Tadahiro, but obviously the yasuri weren’t correct. Kantei 3 Late Kamakura, Yamashiro traits, utsuri that tends to shirake, jiba not bright enough for main Rai smiths. My guess would be Ryokai.

Love Michaels tsuba, mine pale in comparison. @Curran - no nice Hazama with sahari inlay?

With your additional info, Curran, I'll switch to ko-shoami as well. Odd nakago-ana in that case. interesting piece,nice buy!

Higo Jingo? Basing it on nakago ana and design...

Although usually more in favour of older blades, there's no denying the quality in this one - just thought I'd share. The attempts at Kiyomaro are obvious - I do stress 'attempts' seeing it's nowhere near the real thing. http://www.kusanaginosya.com/SHOP/384.html

Nice one, Valery! Congratulations!

Patrice also had a nice mumei FK, with incredible detail. Seriously tempting. All in all a very nice experience that will energize the EU collector community. A big thank you to Paul and Eckhard for arranging all the interesting presentations. Paul, you can be sure that no questions went unanswered! A great event to rekindle old friendships and make new ones!

Have my copy for a week or so now, and although it's a translation, Markus went the extra mile to put in some remarks of his own(eg putting in Ito-san's view in the Higo chapter) This means he isn't just translating, he really cares about providing the full picture!

Just as Jean, Masamine is my favourite as well, love his work. Thanks Piers! Was there also a catalog?

Here's a Tosho with very similar sukashi for comparison - http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/f00263.html - look at the difference in quality and iron, and this is just a Tosho, not even Ko-Tosho....

Can only echo what just about everyone here has said. Paul will go out of his way to help you, is very knowledgeable on the subject and an utter gentleman - you'd be very hard pressed to find a better contact in JP for restoration, shinsa,....

Jean is right, my 2-3 weeks are counted from when it is actually shipped from Japan. Also seeing you're from Brugge, it would be wise to contact Zénon Van Damme, a very knowledgeable and helpfull man who only lives a few minutes further. You can always PM me for his details.

Hi Olivier, It's perfectly possible to correctly import nihonto in Belgium. A few remarks : - any weapon over 100 years old is considered an antique, this should also allow you to get the 6% import duty instead of 21%, be sure to use the correct harmonized tariff - you can use EMS/BPost/USPS as a carrier, however if you use DHL/UPS, it will save you some time seeing they do their own declarations - make sure everything is labelled correctly, but try not to use 'sword' 'weapon' or similar terms. I usually stick to Japanese Antique. - on average it will take you roughly 2-3 weeks of waiting before the package will arrive at your door.

Andrew There's a part about books in the FAQ http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/faq.html

Shinsa team can fail it if they notice it has been tampered with, even if the workmanship is there. I'm not saying they always do, but it's their way of saying 'it's been tampered with too heavily'. Shinsa isn't as black and white as we would like, sometimes a pink slip provides a learning opportunity.

Also see this previous topic on nagashi: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/15124-polishers-signature/?hl=nagashi&do=findComment&comment=158892

Book arrived today - well packed - as-new condition. All in all a very smooth and enjoyable transaction. I'd recommend dealing with him any day!

I can see where you would go with 'monkey' on this - but is it really? I think it's just a man.

Papered Myoju (TH)