katanako

Hi Bob, Thanks for the enticing offer! But one Masatada is enough for me. I used to have a secret stash and I thought I was clever...keeping $$$$ hidden. But my wife knew all about it. One day, I went crawling to her, saying that I needed a sword fix...and she said, "Why are you crawling to me? You have $$$$ in your gun box in the garage!!! Sheesh...use that!!!" Oh yes...I remember the pics from that web site. Alfred Tan, right? I was salivating over that one, then it was sold. You won't have any problems unloading your Masatada and I hope you find it a nice home. HENRY

The swords are partially drawn because my buddy and I placed them on his bed, and I only wanted to show the habaki and tsuka. Here is the mei. Thank you. HENRY

A friend of mine and I collect some really nice gendaitos. He has 2 of the nicest Minatogawa Jinja (Shrine) swords in existence. One looks like it was made, presented, and kept in a closet and never saw the light of day! Two of them have the Kikusui emblem on the habaki; mine is in civilian mounts and doesn't have the emblem on the habaki. However, all 3 have the Kikusui mon on the tang. The makers were Masataka, Masanaga (Masakiyo), and Masanao. Two years ago, we went to Kobe together and visited the Minatogawa Shrine and bought talismen which we affixed to our swords. I just can't remember the last time I've seen one of these for sale. They are rare in perfect/mint condition. HENRY

Thanks fellows! The seller has always been honest with me. I don't think he is using a schill. He sells everything he offers, but ocassionally, he gets these 1 history bidders. $2700 is about right for this Mantetsu. I got one in a shirasaya, just gorgeous, but shirasayas are too boring for me. KATANAKO

There is a great Mantestsu sword on ebay from Showa22. "Japanese WWll Army officer's sword in mountings, "Koa Isshin Mantetsu" * The seller always has interesting offerings. I bought a few pieces from him and he is absolutely honest. Alas. I don't like the one bid history guy bidding up the price, so I am sitting this one out. I have a hunch it will be relisted for non-payment. My question: Is the mei chalked? And do people with no intention of buying the sword get a thrill out of jacking up prices and screwing up the bid process for both buyer and seller? I used to see warnings by sellers saying that they won't sell to people with less than 10 successful bids...did ebay change their policy so that sellers can no longer discriminate? HENRY

I just returned from Japan. An acquaintence started collecting tassels because he could not collect swords over there (too much hassle). For the past ten years, he would go out to flea markets and pick these up. Many people have no idea what they are because they are unfamiliar with swords and tassels. some people used them as decorations or decorative ties for wrapping. The most popular are the general tassels because they are so colorful. After the war, all the sword shops went out of business, and these items were plentiful and cheap. You can sometimes find these at flea markets because the Baby Boomers there have no idea what they are. You can pick them up for around $10. My acquaintence gave me a general's tassel as a gift. It sure looks nice on my NCO sword! KATANAKO PS I see that the moderator on this site did not appreciate my sense of humor about my "froggie" katana stand!

I live in Southern California and always attend the annual Northern California Sword Show up near San Francisco. I am not a big time collector; just have a few nice gendaitos and that's it. Thanks everyone for your imput. HENRY

The general's tassel cost $1500 back in the early 1990s, and the colonel's tassel was around $500. I can't remember the last time I saw a general's tassel at a show or on ebay. HENRY

Thank you fellows for the information! I was lucky to acquire these pieces. I bought the tassels separately in the past 20 years at shows. You just don't see them around anymore. HENRY

Thanks Adam and George. Also appreciated the tip about not pulling out the blades halfway! Here are more pics on the Nagayuki. No stamp nor other markings on the tang except for the two kanji characters. The kanji is in the typically "chippy" style of a Showa made blade. I could not find a Nagayuki in Hawley's book during the Showa era. He must have been a very minor swordsmith. I sure would like to know anything about him. So the 3 blades don't look acid etched? What I meant was, someone accentuated the hamon...like a gal using eyeliner on her eyes. A collector said they looked acid etched. Perhaps he was wrong? Thank you very much! HENRY

Here are 3 pics. I have two Emura made blades, and one Nagayuki gendaito. No stamps on any. It was very difficult to get the right lighting to show the hamon. I am wondering now if the hamon was accentuated postwar. Thank you fellows for any comments! HENRY

I have a couple of nice guntos, hand forged with no arsenal stamps on them. They have a beautiful hamon, but they are either entire acid etched or acid accentuated. Was this done to enhance its appearance? I'm puzzled. HENRY

I bought a nice Minatogawa Jinja blade in shirasaya, but I wanted it in a traditional black lacquered saya with gold fittings. I sent it to Fred Lohman, along with the metal saya fittings which I bought here and there. Damn! Fred Lohman is indeed a miracle worker! My sword came back, looking like it came right out of Minatogawa Jinja. Absolutely MINT!!!!! I vouch for Fred Lohman! He has polished 6 blades I sent to him (Samurai and guntos) and I have never been disappointed. I would never send him a Gassan Sadakatsu to be polished (it would be sent to Japan). However, if you have a garden variety Samurai blade or gunto blade, send it to Fred. Reasonable prices and great service. KATANAKO

Thank you all for your kind comments! This message board has saved me $$$$ in costly mistakes I would have committed!!! HENRY S.

Thank you Chris for your helpful comments! I posted another question with a photo of a damaged habaki suppossedly due to a tight shirasaya. HENRY S.