Gilles

Thank you for your comments gentlemen, I really appreciate. Here are my answers. David, this tsuba is quite big, 8 cm X 7 cm. John, I've tried to take a close-up of the mei. Hope it helps. Kaigunair, it is a Vajra, the gold is a little worn out at one end of the Vajra and the left nostril of the temple guardian show also some wear. They are very prominent. All the best,

Dear all, I acquired yesterday a tsuba at an action sale which is signed KIKUCHI TSUNEKATSU (please see the pictures). I've made a quick research and the signature looks good. I just bought it because I like it. Please tell me your thought about it. Good signature or gimei ? Quality ? Please bear in mind that I am not a tosogu man. Best regards, PS : there is no hole in the nyo figure (white spot). I think that a piece of paper was on the tsuba when the picture was taken.

Hello Thierry, Thank you for your post but the book on Grey's site is not the same. The book I am talking about was edited in 1970 and the cover is different. The size is also larger. Must be another edition with more details but that is what I am trying to figure out.

Dear all, Does somebody know this book and can tell me about the presence of illustrations ??????

Dear all, Can you give me some infos about the book SATSUMA NO KATANA TO TSUBA written by FUKUNAGA published in 1970 (in Japanese) ? Is there some pictures or some oshigata as my Japanese reading is quite basic to say the least ? Please note that this book is bigger, larger and have a different cover than the one previoulsy sold on Grey's site. Thank you for your help.

Dear Keith, You raise a very interesting question here. I've been told by an antiques dealer in Japan that some very thick wakizachi size tsuba made of iron could be used on naginata. Moreover, from time to time, I stumble upon such tsuba which are definitely not made for regular size wakizashi. I've also heard about rectangular nakago ana made for naginata but did not have the occasion to see one on a naginata yet. Is there some knowledgeable person in this particular field who can explain that to us?

The tassel shown is the type used for parade swords of the current Japanese navy. Regards,

Dear chris, Thank you for your help. I appreciate a lot.

Dear Curran, The point is that I don't even know if what I have is a kind of microdear cloth :? I bought that cloth in a reputable sword shop in Tokyo but I had only few explanations except that it was safe to use and the results were surprising. Not even a word if I have to wash it before the first use. Moreover, I was in a hurry to take my plane so I was not looking for full explanations

Dear All If a full translation is too much, a summary will help me a lot

Gentlemen, More difficult now. Can you translate the whole text? It is stated that is it a cloth to clean Japanese sword. It can be used to clean lenses. Do I have to wash it first ? Can you help me on this one too? I will appreciate a lot.

Hello; The good part of it is that you have the Ebay buyer protection. You have to go on Ebay to the resolution center and answer to the questions. If the item was not strictly as described thus Ebay will give you a full refund. It takes quite a long time but you will get your money back and the seller will be in troubles towards Ebay. I had this experience a while ago, a "wise" seller sold me a yari with a fatal flaw that he hid all along the sale and the surprise was for me when I received it. he never answered to settle this problem. He is still on Ebay with a very low feedback rating which is a warning by itself.

Dear Jacques, That is possible. I will try to do that the coming week-end.

Yes, I'm Gilles :D Here are some pictures. Feel free to tell me about your thought.

Thank you so much Markus for your answer. That gô is a real conundrum for me. Jacques, yes, I got it just before Christmas and I must say that this is an impressive naginata. The blade seems to have a koto shape. May be it was a copy of a blade from that time.

Can somebody tell me if at least I am right ?

Dear all, I bought a nice Naginata lately and here is it's Mei. I can read BUSHU JU RYUSHINSHI TAIRA SUKENORI SAKU. Am I right ? Do you know this swordsmith who seems to have worked at the very end of the EDO era and at the beginning of MEIJI ? Is somebody able to give me details about that smith and its school ? On the JSSUS site it can be found at #2579. Thank you for your help

Dear Markus, Yes, I did contact Lulu. They told me that the mistake was their own and they are sending me a copy of the Koto book in English. Let us wait and see. Thank you Markus for your concern. Regards,

ARGHHHH !!!!!!! Got the books today, the shin-shinto was in English as ordered but the koto was in German AS NOT ORDERED.

Too bad, I ordered mine yesterday

Congratulations Paul

Dear Justin, I have this one, bought a while ago (2002). It is now in a frame. I have no need anymore for this nice sashimono as I am more focused on swords. In case of interest please PM me. Regards, Scan sashimono.pdf

I must say that Ed is a top seller according to my standards. No surprise, very good communication and realist prices.

Asked this guy for a lowered price on one of his non sold items (I asked to make the buy still through Ebay), never replied but put my country out of his other sales

Thank you very much M.Moriyama. Your help was decisive. 於野州今市造 (Oite Ya-shu Imaichi tsukuru) - made at Imaichi in Shimotsuke province (I cannot understand the additional "於野" before these characters......???). The two characters before 於野 were exactly the same. The man who signed was hampered by a gap in the steel and could not write those characters properly. So, he wrote them again below. Domo arigato gozaimasu