Rich T

It's Shouami something, those last 2 are hard to make out. 正阿弥 XX Richard

Contact the Northern Token Society, they should be in the links above and will probably have a rough idea. Cheers Rich

Milts costings sounds fair. I would call that a fairly generic Edo period Tosho tsuba. Cheers Richard

Dear Sydney Shinsa Attendees, The Nihon Token Hozon Kai is extremely reluctant to take the follow steps regarding shinsa fees for the upcoming Sydney shinsa; however, given the steep appreciation of the Japanese yen against the Australian dollar, the present fees are significantly less than the fees charged here in Japan. Given the added costs of airfare, hotel and meals, without an increase in the fees, the NTHK will be unable to hold the shinsa. The present advertised fees are as follows: Swords: Submission A$100, pass Origami fee A$100 Koshirae: Submission A$100, pass Origami fee A$100 Kodogu: Submission A$50, pass Origami fee A$100 The new fees that we are forced to ask for with your patience and understanding are: Swords: Submission A$150, pass Origami fee A$150 Koshirae: Submission A$100, pass Origami fee A$150 Kodogu: Submission A$100, pass Origami fee A$150 We realize that these increases may result in some of those planning to submit items for shinsa to cancel. Unfortunately, given the present situation, that is an eventuality we must accept. It is with a heavy sense of responsibility that we take these steps. We want to hold the finest shinsa we can, but under the present economic circumstances, without this increase, we find that to be impossible. I beg your indulgence and hope for your support. Gordon L. Robson Director Nihon Token Hozon Kai

Oh common Guido, translate it into all known languages LOL, what's the hold up ??????

That's because it is not a tachi tsuba, but a katana tsuba Barry :-) It is a gimei Yamakichibei. The tsuba would be from the 1600's though I think, the fuchi and kashira do not match so I suspect this was all put together at some time by someone and may in fact not have much to do with the sword at all ???. I would hazard a guess at the kashira being a late Higo piece, and the fuchi, well not sure, could be Shoami work. Cheers Rich

Here are some mid Muromachi Ezo menuki I own, they are quite small and for a tanto in the Aikuchi style mounting I believe. cheers Rich

Hi Koichi san. This Toshisada exists but is a Kaga artisan. Those who worked in the Edo period all worked in zogan, much like Heianjo work. This does not fir that bill. Having said all that, the mei looks like it fits that reading. I have yet to find a listed match for it and the work style though. Cheers Rich

2 things about this I feel that point it to being Edô work. The design is too modern to my eye to make it that old and there is Kuchi-beni 口紅. This is the very circular sekigane that is at the top and bottom of the nakagô ana. This was a common trait in the Suruga school, as well as Tadashige of the Akasaka group and some Kinkô works and a few other workers and schools. It is an Edô thing. As the the mei, not much to read there except the first 2 kanji (ones on the right) might be 伊賀 Iga (伊州 Ishû Province) I wondered if the second last kanji (on the left side) was Mura 村 but I am not have a lot of luck with that thought. This style of sukashi was seen in the works of Sadanaga and the Akao gorup, I would guess mid late Edo. There is some nasty rust damage on the top of the mimi, it looks to have been stored badly for a long period. Just some random Sunday morning thoughts. Cheers Rich

Yes, that's a bummer Brian, it has happened to me as well. It is because they back up in a TXT file, and there is not multi character sets allowed in those. All the kanji goes to mush. If I see anything, I will PM or email the correct kanji to you. Best Rich

Actually Baz, Rich S did start the forum, in conjunction with his site. I took it over from him, and re named it to Nihonto Message Board (I think, it was so long ago LOL) So yes, Rich S, then me, then Brian. The forum remains, the custodians come and go, a bit like Nihonto in that way :-) Rich

Ha, well done mate. I am sure though, there are now many many curious minds. I hope this has not opened the hornets nest ? Rich

Thats a pretty small pic but looks like Nagamitsu to me 長光 Gendai sword ? Rich Pic courtesy of Dr. Rich Stein http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/index.htm

God, they'll let anyone in here. And so the rot begins For those not in the know, wait till Milt and Barry get going with their bat caves and other weirdness........ The last time I was on a forum with these two, I left LOL (just joking of course and with much luv :-) Him from the other side of the country.

I would have thought Choshu perhaps. That style of carving, and inlay of course is acceptable. I agree, it loosks to be a pretty good job. Well done. Rich

Adding my Christmas cheer, I don't think there is much nice about it at all Ho Ho Ho :-) Rich

It is not Ko Tosho, they did not make Mokko gata tsuba, just round. It might be Katchu-shi however as they used Maru, Kaku and Mokko in their works. Besides Maru, Kaku might have been very very early, but Mokko I think for the most part would be late Muromachi onwards so it would not receive the KO attribution in shinsa any more. It could also be an Owari (region) tsuba or one of the Owari groups such as Yamakeichibe or Ono, or a copy of one of these. In fact Ono could be a better call than all of these. This example form Jim G's site for instance This looks to have some pretty severe rust damage that is old, in the Ji. One of my initial thoughts was it was a late copy. One last note, the shape of the nakago ana can help define the older tsuba in Tosho, Katchu-shi and the Irogane Ko tsuba. Just my 2 cents worth. cheers Richard

Thanks Darcy great work and much appreciated. Thanks also to Barry and the gang at JSSUS for hosting them. Cheers Richard

Hi Koichi, yes I posted that, then removed it as I realised it was not right. I have been through Toso Kinko Jiten, Kinko Meikan, and a couple of others and I cannot find this maker. I cannot tell from the images but this one looks cast. Also, this mei looks a little immature compared to usual Choshu works. Just my thoughts. Richard

I am not sure if these are any good ????? but they may be worth a look. I just googled 'Alternatives to Paypal' http://www.auctioncheckout.com/ http://www.swreg.org/ Donations are the easiest way to go when in doubt. I do not think some members really appreciate the amount of traffic these boards generate and the huge amount of bandwidth they use. It was case when I was running NMB and I think now it is even bigger than that. And with the SA dollar swilling like a drunk in the bar troth, I think poor old Brian could do with some help. It is a huge undertaking running one of these forums, that not only uses up Brian's personal money, but also a LOT of his personal time. But I am sure I do not need to tell all you people that :-) Good work mate. Rich

Thanks Rich, that's greatly appreciated. I have always loved your work as well :-) Best Rich

Hi Rich, hows everything ?, hope you are well mate. So eventually no. As soon as I have what I want backed up, I will take it down. The domain will be deleted. cheers Rich

Hi all, yes, sorry about the lack of communication. I have been on holidays for a week as well as busy with other things. Firstly, worry not Roland. I did take the Nihonto Kanji Pages down, but Darcy has them in his hot little hands as we speak and I have donated them to the JSSUS so they will appear on their site soon (I think/hope) nb. ok, just saw Barry's message and it's full steam ahead by the looks. I have closed tosogu.com (forum). I got tired of trying to placate people who seemed hell bent on causing trouble instead of trying to work towards a greater learning within a community, who, instead of using their energies to grow things seemed to want to tear them down. I am too old to be dealing with fools, I just want to study and learn. I decided to put my energies into other things. I also closed the blog as it was not having that many hits any more, the forum sort off took over. So there you have it, the kanji pages will be up, soon I hope. Check with Barry Hennick for more info or if you need something specific from the pages, just ask. Cheers all Richard Turner

Hi Piers, The book is ok, you should be able to pick it up on Yahoo Japan for about 50 - 100 US dollars. It is mostly late tsuba (read little pre Edo) and a bit ecliptic in it's layout. Yes, it is all B&W, the Japanese explanations are better then the simple English descriptions. Don't spend too much on it is my advice. Cheers Rich

Ooopss, sorry about that, especially to Guido, I amended my post, I just sort of looked at the avatar and thought it Guido's, they look pretty similar at first glance. Wakari wa baka gaijin desu. So, Kyo Shoami huh ???????? Why ? :-) Cheers mate, and thanks for correcting me Rich