Mark S.

Actually it is… but I won’t speak for the person who runs this Board or the general feeling about this issue. I have a bad feeling this won’t end well. Take it for what it is worth but before you continue down the road of letting everyone know your plans, please take a look at: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/35486-a-word-about-amateur-polishing/ I also am a little concerned about the machi area of this blade, but it could be the pictures.

Here is a better pic of mei and yasurime

Steve, Your knowledge and willingness to help is always appreciated. I don’t know if the mei helps or hurts, and I was going to wait because I had the strong urge to believe it is gimei, but I will attach it if it puts things in context. Once again, this is my attempt at translating the mei.

So I may have a bit of a mess on my hands, but that will be for a future post. Right now, I am having trouble with a few parts of a sayagaki translation. As always I tried my best first. Could you please confirm what I have and help with the missing. One section of writing is worn so I added a pic to try to highlight the worn spot. Thank you for your help. Mark S.

Oh, I wasn’t accusing you of that. I was just remembering back fondly to my youth and lessons learned… some more painful than others But really well earned. Be patient and wait for the right teacher to guide you. You will not be disappointed. The old saying… “when the student is ready, the Master will appear”. Wish you the best with your training. And do not worry about your perceived physical limitations, a proper teacher will help you find your Way.

Some ‘general guidelines’ regarding these signatures. Please remember there are always exceptions to nihonto ‘rules’ but lots of good info and lots of leads to other research. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21234-bizen-and-bishu-signature/

I always use this as a default answer. Weapons were a part of my karate training and I was told by my Sensei what would work for me… and what he would allow. Funny, I knew better than to argue with him. Yes, the sai he told me to get were a little too heavy for me and a little too long, but he knew I would grow into them and it would make me stronger. Always trust their guidance. In the long run, it will work out… and will probably be a less painful experience

Also, I have seen this little ‘jump’ (see attached photo and red arrow) in the stroke mark of the kanji on a couple of blades (and from this seller). Just wondering if it is at all common or could point toward gimei? I ask for future reference.

It would probably be easier if you listed one blade at a time (so we know which date goes with which mei) and made sure the are oriented correctly so they can be read easier. I believe this one is Izumi no Kami Kunisada. If there is another kanji at the top hidden by the seppa/tsuba (and I think it is there peeking out a bit) that looks like a #, then it would read Inouye Izumi no Kami Kunisada.

Unless you are unaware, it’s Brian’s site… his $$$… his playground… his rules… and seriously… it is Gestapo-ish. At least spell snide comments right. Funny… MOST of us have no problem here. Sometimes if it stinks wherever you go, you might want to check your undies. You always have the option to go somewhere else, or better yet, show everyone how it is done and start your own, better run, website (you know, to PROVE how much better YOU would be at this), but you don’t have the option to dictate your expectations on something you don’t own or have responsibility for. “What i have heard from others…” (you have made this statement several times) is at best hearsay, can be considered to be completely made up, and has NO validity. I can claim I have heard ‘from others’ about a lot of things about you. Doesn’t mean it’s true. When you have actual FIRST HAND documented knowledge of events, then maybe you would have a little more standing here. What is more interesting is that I’m just trying to figure out what is in it for you to try so hard to convince the poster that he didn’t experience FIRST HAND what he says he experienced based only on your SECOND HAND (and THAT is a maybe) “what I have heard from others” accusations ? Things that make the rest of us go hmmmmm???……

I saw this yari on eBay as well. I don’t mean any disrespect… but it sold (with shipping) for about $250??? Why?

Thank You Bob!

Two things to take note of: 1) MANY gimei (fake signatures) of this smith 2) Katana almost always (in nihonto, never say always… but usually always) are signed tachi mei by this smith. Yours is signed katana mei.

This is a note on AOI Art’s website that was posted recently. I highly suggest reaching out to them to get estimates before you order. Also note that some long or large size items (full naginata / yari poles, etc.) can be expensive to ship: “Thank you so much for giving us your patronage. Some of you have already experienced that we have charged you an extra shipping fee to ship the parcels. That was the effect of the suspension of all EMS shipments to European countries. And now, other couriers like FedEx and UPS have raised their fees so we cannot afford shipping fees anymore. Please note that it is very probable that we ask you for an additional charge to ship items, depending on the countries you live. We will let you know whether you have to pay the additional fees when you order any items. Make sure that you write your shipping address including your country name when you make an order. If not, we cannot calculate the shipping fees. We apologize for what we have decided but we have to get profits to keep our business. We truly hope you all understand.”

I have found the following site to be a nice resource: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10237/10338

I’m wondering if someone mistakenly tried to acid etch a small section of the hamon thinking they could ‘fix’ an area of the original hamon that was hard to see… and just made it worse?

Just a quick favor to ask… If anyone has access to the Zuikan Tomei Soran and wouldn’t mind looking up / sending me a reference, I would appreciate it. Just need a copy/picture of page 166 (or neighboring pages) in reference to Minamoto Rai Sadamori. Thank you, Mark

Daisho set at AOI Art I have been struggling with resisting the purchase of…

God creates the heaven and earth… and then creates man… and then man expects and demands that God prove he exists? Hmmmmm……

I always like when we get reports of purchases and shinsa results!!! C’mon guys!!! Want to live vicariously through you!!! Hoping the Chicago shinsa happens next year.

I also have an oshigata from AOI with blank scroll and I don’t know what was intended for mounting by AOI Art. The following information is probably going to be WAY more than you want to know… but like any art, there is always more to it than we would think. I will attach some YouTube videos that show the process plus a new, modern way of mounting that might work. I would first like to state that my ‘experience’ with this process is old and minimal. 30 years ago in college I took a Japanese black ink painting class with a Japanese professor and part of the class was learning the process to mount our ‘class final painting’ to make a rudimentary scroll (kakemono). The main thing to keep in mind is that the oshigata is ‘see-through’ and mounting it directly to the provided scroll would probably be too dark and much of the detail would completely disappear. Usually, paintings on rice paper are mounted to another heavier paper before mounting to a scroll. This adds strength and gives a white background that is no longer transparent. The process requires completely wetting the original drawing on rice paper and mounting it to the bracing paper with thin rice or flour glue. Quite the ‘pucker factor’ when working with your ‘class final’ painting and completely wetting it down! You got one shot at it!!! So here is a video showing the ‘ultimate’ of what that process is… obviously way beyond our little oshigata scroll… but just like blades, we might as well start with ‘the best’: Next are two videos that show more detailed procedures for wet mounting. While these are Chinese paintings, the process is pretty much exactly the same: Finally, a more modern way of mounting with silicone paper and iron that may be more suitable for our application. NOTE!!! I have absolutely NO experience with this process: Right now I’m leaving mine rolled up ‘as is’ as that is safest until I can figure out what I want to do with it…

To get you started, the left side of nakago I believe reads: Sakuyo Bakka Shi Hosokawa Masayoshi Tsukuru and then the Kao (stamped seal) in lower right.

The rest of the horimono looks pretty polished down so this is definitely a possibility. Could it also be remnants of an old flaw in the blade that the horimono was engraved over to cover up… or just an area of core steel that is starting to show through from numerous polishes?

I can’t figure out why you guys try? Discussion is not part of the formula. Charlie Brown… Lucy… Football. All these threads end the same. You’re wrong.

Elitism There is a huge difference between saying “I only LIKE the best 10 smiths” (and by default “so should you”) and “I KNOW jack about those 10 smiths”… or anything else for that matter. I’ve met many people who have money and claim to like the best (of whatever… cars, wine, etc.) only because they could afford it, not because they knew or appreciated anything about it. And I’ve met people who ‘claim’ to like the best of everything because they think that is what they should say to impress people. You can never be wrong with that claim and you can even pretend to ‘hang with’ the ‘right crowd’ based only on your words. I’ve also met many people who can enjoy the best of everything, graciously share some of that experience with others, are grateful for their ability to have all that, and still treat others who don’t have all that with respect and dignity. Rare maybe?