Bugyotsuji

Agreed.

No.3 on this page is Shinto... http://www.e-sword.jp/baiyaku/baiyaku_sw4.htm And this Jumonji is a Shimosaka... but different Mei. (Kuni is Yamashiro) http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/0610_4016syousai.htm

Thanks for the information. I wouldn't know how to disable Java script, although I do remember having problems with Java many years ago when I used mainly Macs... do you have a Mac?

Christies NY

I don't see how anyone can be 100% sure that the tag is correct. If you ask, "can you see Maeda there?" then sure, but we could also see other things too. Whoever wrote the tag had the benefit of handling it and viewing it in different lights, an advantage that we don't have here, unfortunately. The area around the Mei looks very messy. Has someone tried to clean it up? Were there, at some time, other characters underneath? Can you take further shots from different angles under different lighting?

Not an expert, and the second and third Kanji seem to be rubbed away? The yellow numbers are 713, and the first Kanji is the

In the swordsmith database above there are two possible Hiromichi candidates for Showa Gunto, but the 'Maeda' is not clear. PS Reinhard, not that it has anything to do with the price of fish, but the left name on the tag looks closer to 'Antoni' than 'Anton'.

Negative over. Alan Thanks for that! Take everything with a pinch of salt, then. Over.

My personal opinion, but I think you did really well to get that far. Congratulations. And Moriyama san ... what can I say?

If you run searches on Google under such headings as 日本刀　平å‡é‡é‡ you get pages like: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls= ... tnG=Search One site says that a sword blade of 2 shaku 4 sun should not weigh much over 700 gm. The reason the writer gives is that heavier blades were often thought to be blunt, stemming from the fact that in many cases they were untempered. The tempering process reduces the weight? NB The above is not my opinion, but just something I read during a search to answer your question.

Ah, thank you Moriyama san. I missed your clickable "here" ...

Another week and a sudden desire to post something. This Kutani bowl is about 18 cm across; I came across it at an antique stall about 2 weeks ago. It has some spidery cracks in the base, and the advice was to pour a line of clear cement along the cracks to stop any possible spread. The picture shows the 1703 attack by the 47 Ronin on the Kira residence in Edo, I assume. The man wielding the giant Tsuchi must be O-Taka Gengo, according to the name on his lapel, although it is difficult to read. The 4 Kanji should be 大高æºå¾, but they seem to read 大高言語, 言å¾? here.

Sorry again, but the sword got a Tokubetsu Hozon paper. Which sword are we talking about? The one on the previous page?

legaiaflame. Is the real reason that you are asking... that you have come across a supposedly Japanese sword which feels somehow too light (or too heavy)?

Moriyama sama, thank you for rescuing me!

First attempt. The Japanese is quite convoluted and the translation was actually much harder than I thought it would be at first glance! Can someone please help polish this for me.

What is written on the right is just a description of what is drawn on the left. When I have a few minutes I will translate it, if someone has not already done it, but you will be surely be disappointed. The photo is not very good so I cannot be 100% sure on a couple of the Kanji. You are forcing me to make educated guesses! :lol: Do you still want the translation?　 Edit. Apologies. You can click on the picture and then click again to make it even bigger and easier to read. I take it back about the 'poor photo'... !

Hmmm... interesting stuff. About two years ago a Japanese man came to my room at college and showed me a faded colour photograph of a Japanese armour room in a stately home in the UK that he visited 30 years ago. He was with two Japanese and the house was owned by some titled chap, but he couldn't remember any names. The original collector was some plenipotentiary who had been in Japan 100 years or so ago. There were several sets of armour, and lots of good-looking swords in koshirae, and I particularly remember a shield on the wall that had Japanese swords radiating out of it, (like a claymore display) all of them having been welded to the back of the shield. He wanted me to do my best to rediscover out where the collection was, but I quietly left the photo on my table to gather dust as I had no idea where to start. It didn't look like that room above though, more long and narrow, like a dining room. PS I am afraid the suspicion of things being pilfered is more than likely...

Remy, you have but a simple question? :lol: It's difficult to answer such a convoluted question simply! Some saya have a little chamber built into the bottom for collecting the oil, which suggests that swords were, at some time anyway, able to be stored vertically. (Possibly only temporarily while the sword was in koshirae, I wonder?) Most sword storage cases that I've seen in Japan have been horizontal, ranging from ordinary or custom-built drawers in an ordinary chest, thru bespoke wooden katana cases with a simple lock, to a massive combination safe built into the wall. What you want is a horizontal, thief-proof, but portable in case of fire, gun locker, available locally, right?

What set it off was my expressing a desire for this crossed blades Mon. There must be a story behind it, which is yet to come out. Anyone recognize it? Any pointers? I cannot find an example of it in the Mon reference book that normally covers most Mon. I suspect it is a Christian Mon, and my imagination says it must be called "Ken-Juji Mon". The Lord of Tsuyama Castle, Matsudaira, used a Ken-Dai 剣大Mon, which was adapted of necessity from an original Christian cross used by the previous Lord Mori, and on some of the old 'Do' breastplates you can make out where the bottom of the cross å has been painted over and forked to create the character Dai 大 . The cross underneath, however, on the Do is not made of blades, but done in brushwork. That is the edge of my knowledge. Perhaps there was an intermediate step from brushwork cross to crossed blades, (this being an extant example) from thence to the famous Ken-Dai?

A collector friend wanted my powder flask, and in exchange he recently gave me these two crests. One is the Tsuta Mon, the vine signifying flourishing offspring. The 7th Tokugawa Shogun used the Hishi Mon, but the 8th Tokugawa Shogun, feeling that Hishi (water chestnut) are too weak, adopted the vine, Tsuta, as his Mon as a symbol of potency, according to one explanation.

Well I mentioned a green furoshiki, so here is a piccy of it. Looks a bit like the shroud of Turin.

PS Forgot to mention that it appears to be a hollow drum, so it must all be worked on a metal (brass/copper?) surface.

*****Having washed some of the surface grime off with soap and water. The dealer assured me it is old, and my collector friend says he will buy it off me whenever I grow tired of it...

Reinhard spotted the edge, and he was right, but that is a lovely tsuba there! PS Do you have the name in writing? The Hana-omodaka Mon was used by several families, not just Mizuno. It was very slightly adapted by each. The Mizuno family attached two lines of flowing water to the bottom of the Mon, and cut short the three stems to compensate. Please cross-check with your version.