Bugyotsuji

The side of the NTHK Kanteisho paper with the information in grid lines and the 4 red seals.

I was holding a yamagane/odo tsuba the other day and asked casually if these would have been cast. A few eyes flicked around the room, as if looking for higher confirmation, and then after a some pregnant seconds, 'yes' came the answer. A room full of artisans, too.

Yes indeed, and according to this you are correct. 脇差　備中国呰部住河野理兵衛尉為家 (WA-040221)｜刀・日本刀の販売なら日本刀専門店の【銀座 誠友堂】

Your wakizashi paperwork is from the NTHK, the Nihon Token Hozon Kai, quite a well-known certification body, if not quite as trusted as the NBTHK. I have a crick in my neck recently making this a pain, but... The first line from the right notes the smith Mei as signed. The next line descrbes the 'tsukurikomi' as Shobu-zukuri, iori mune and ubu nakago. Then kitae: O-itame Then hamon: Choji midare Then for the boshi: Midare komi, maruku kaeru Then 1 mekugi ana, and nakago filed in sujikai. Period: Around Kanei (Not sure what 別家 means, possibly 'a different branch' Tameie, not the main family?) PS Written in a rush. Forgive any oversights!

There's more descriptive stuff if you want it...

It's certainly unglazed, earthy and nutty. I have grown to like it over the years; earthy colours and textures seem to be common to Bizen sword tangs, Bizen long guns with iron and silver lockwork, and Bizen pottery. Three-in-one. It is said that fresh flowers last longer in a Bizen-yaki vase, as the pottery 'breathes'. Incidentally, I once saw an example of a Bizen-yaki Netsuke, but where and when.... The Silverman Collection in the Toledo Museum of Art in the USA has probably the world's largest collection of ceramic netsuke. Once dropped, that's it, thus not too many ceramic examples have survived down through the centuries. I only have about six or seven (?) myself.

Moriyama San, thank you very much! This has been bothering me all morning. No wonder there was no such address in Japan!

That is astonishingly cheap, Colin! (But not ‘congratulations!’ though…?) Strangely enough, I saw a large Bizen-yaki Kirin yesterday. Now, you will see Shishi of all shapes and sizes, even pairs of fighting shishi, but I cannot recall ever having seen a Kirin in Bizen pottery before. (Talking of Bizen, they have just knocked down the 'old' Bizen Yaki Kaikan in Inbe and completely rebuilt it as the Bizen City Museum, opening on 12 July, very soon.) https://www.axismag.jp/posts/2025/06/660481.html

Srinivas, try cropping your photos before uploading. (80% of each is unwanted background.)

The tag is smudged, making it hard to read. Name places have changed and fallen out of use so everything needs double-checking. I’m guessing several people are attacking it right now, though!

Run a swordsmith search on: Bungo Ju Fujiwara Teruyuki (Fujiwara Teruyuki living in Bungo in Kyūshū) 豊後住藤原輝行 (Oops, I’ve just now noticed Jussi’s reply!) 柴田福蔵 Shibata Fukuzō The name on the tag

Coz it’s upside down? Kashū Jū 橘 Tachibana Katsu…. (Cut off)(?定 -sada?)

The horse appearing from the gourd shows no craftsmanship underneath, indeed the resin seam has been polished off, but look at the horse’s stomach. As to these others. More bad seam polishing. The Himotōshi holes. One set situated in the wrong place, one shows white resin residue inside, and the eagle holes are too badly formed. The signature cartouche example looks the ticket from a distance but is modern, garish and scribbled to look like a Japanese artist’s Mei signature.

This is a first for me, Moriyama San. Thank you! I have a tanto made by the daimyo Date Munetada of Uwajima, so it is interesting for me to discover this background information, an earlier daimyo artist and maker of swords in the wider Date family. Date Munetada - SamuraiWiki

Apologies for the lack of clarity re 'typical', Rob. To me, although admittedly these cultures share many kanji and words, it looks like the style of markings that you would find on a Japanese-made blade, as opposed to 'Chinese' markings. This is admittedly only a feeling though. I spent some time yesterday searching for such (pre) WW2 blade wording and logo in order to find something to back up this feeling, but failed to find anything useful. The factory could have been in Taiwan or Shanghai under Japanese occupation, of course. Unless it is of later manufacture. The shape of the blade (but not the nakago) does seem to give a nod to Japanese style. That's about the best I can do as we are entering marshy territory here...

First of all thanks to all those who looked, especially to Brian for the honesty in his replies. Next, Colin has the correct answer. They are all fakes. Nos.1, 2, 4 and 5 are dark resin. No. 3 is a striped wood, possibly ebony (?). In the bottom row, No. 9 is resin and No. 10 is some kind of crudely-carved green soapstone. Nos. 6 & 7 are possibly boxwood, but you'll see tables covered in these. Their freshness and the identical beady black eyes give them away at once. No. 8, the egg-shaped Asterix-like warrior figure is also that same stripy ebony (?), and the himotoshi holes are up by his neck, in totally the wrong place. Of the two ebony figures, (3&9) the one carrying the sack has a signature plaque underneath which will fool a lot people. "If it's signed, it's surely got to be real." These shell cartouche signature plaques often look similar. The names are Japanese-looking signatures, scrawled for illegibility, and often dyed red. If a Netsuke is looking up at you and cute or smiling, it was probably carved appealingly for the post-Meiji Western tourist market. Most of the features above are immediate tell-tale warnings. (Unfortunately the forger's art progresses.) Apologies for the diversion. I kept a box of these NLO for just such an occasion, and felt a need to get this subject in the open and out of the way. (Photos supplied regarding any of the above points.) Please feel free to add to this thread for the benefit of us all!

isoroku イソロク is probably meant to refer to Yamamoto Isoroku, the famous admiral. The strange stencil writing on the handle says '10,000 year life'. 一万年の人生 Agreeing with Brian.

Gotta get back to work, but before my break ends here is a hint. Small button aside, how many are wood, how many are resin, and how many are stone? The answer may surprise some. The answer is that five are resin. Although there is evidence that forms of resin were used to make pressed Netsuke back in Meiji times, these examples above are all modern. Although they look like wood, they tend to be heavier, and close examination should reveal mould casting lines, and/or evidence of sanding to remove such lines. Resin Netsuke can be made by some museums too for sale in their shop, but underneath a flat filed bottom (and sometimes a logo mark or Romanized lettering) usually makes that clear. If five are resin, then we can say that at least five are fakes.

特製 Tokusei in Japan means 'specially made' and it looks typical to me. Perhaps someone here will recognize the logo mark of the workshop or factory?

Same here, so, one of the owners of what... one of the armours, or of Chiddingstone itself?

We are often forced into some kind of guessing game, looking behind the words. For example the attribution on your paperwork is Uda, but it does not say 'Den' Uda 伝宇多; in other words they are pretty sure it is an Uda blade. What is the meaning of DEN - Tosogu - Nihonto Message Board

I'm guessing not many have found this nook corner haven, so let's give it a full earth day. Top row, from left. 1. Horse grazing with bound legs, or emerging from gourd. 2. Horse lying with large fly on back. 3. Strange creature with stick, carrying sack. 4. Perching eagle. 5. Monkey with hands caught in jar. Bottom row. 6. Snail and frog kissing. 7. Octopus and monkey entwined. 8. Warrior with sword behind back. 9. See-no-evil seated monkey. 10. Speak-no-evil seated monkey. + small kagami-buta type manju button (behind octopus)

As Jean says, the whole thing is the complete address of the organization. Are you wanting this in Romanized form?

If there is no active rust already, no need to add or do anything. The oils from your fingers will help keep the Nakago black and stable.

Of course there is some kind of 100% pure mineral oil that some Nihonto folks swear by.