Gilles

Dear all, I am looking for a Japanese sword in good condition (with its original dimensions, thus not over polished) from the Bakumatsu period along with its original koshirae. I need a textbook example, that is to say that the nakago must be quite long (well over 20 cm) and the nagasa must be over 75 cm. The sword must be signed and dated between 1854 and 1864. I am not looking for a specific or well known swordsmith, just an average to good one. The sword I am looking for must have been made for real combat. Usually, those swords are found with a shallow sori can be quite heavy and rather clumsy to yield, nevertheless, some are quite elegant (both type welcomed). If you have one for sale, please contact me by PM.

Dear Moriyama san and Steve. Thank you very much. You are right, NOBUTSURA seems to be the right reading

Dear Ken, Hopefully Markus may find some info on that swordsmith.

Dear Peter, Thanks to you I have at least one oshigata of this smith . Best regards,

I used to have quite a lot. This is a real one.

Dear Ken and Jean-Pierre, I also have the Markus books and I could not find this swordmith. I saw it on the french book "les sabres shin-shinto" (Serge Degore) but like you said JP, no additional information. Thank you for your assitance gentlemen,

Dear all, I am looking for any information and oshigata of a bakumatsu swordsmith whose name was NOBUREN 信 蓮 who was active in the Bunkyu era (1861-1864) in the settsu province (Osaka). I only found this swordmith referenced on the NIHONTO CLUB site and it is also referenced on the HAWLEY as NOB413. He was used to sign as follow : 浪花金城辺岩井源徴司信蓮作之 : naniwa kinjō-hen iwai genkanshi noburen saku kore If you can help me on this one, I will really appreciate.

I can confirm, Kelly is the man who will find the scarce item you are looking for, he will help you to get it and send it to you without problem. It is always a pleasure to deal with him.

It is signed SHIMOSAKA if I read well. Many swordsmiths signed that way. The point is broken which is never a good thing. You have to make sure that the hamon ( tempered edge) is still there. The tang seems to be ubu, that is to say, in its original length. I will venture to say that your naginata is from the shinto era. The koshirae (scabbard and pole) seems to be very damaged, it will be difficult to save them.

Happy Christmas to all of you. PS : what a nice bottle Jean

Dear Ben, Very nice grouping indeed. Kelly is really a professional and also a nice person to deal with.

Dear Patrick, I doubt that it is a Japanese signature. Look Chinese to me.......

Dear Uwe, Yes, I was quick on that one . Thank you very much for the translation. Those are incantations for protection right ?

Dear all, I have a growing interest in HITAI-ATE which were produced and worn mainly in the bakumatsu era for actual fighting (that is of course my personal point of view). I just bought one at KINOKUNIYA in Japan which has kanji carved on the front. The google translation on the catalog gave me this : This is a practical front that has the Sansha Shrine and "Hachiman Daigo, Amateru Daijingu, Hachimandai" engraved on the central iron plate and the left and right hinged iron plates. - I understand that the SANSHA jinja is mentionned, but which one is it ? In which province ? - "Hachiman Daigo, Amateru Daijingu, Hachimandai" it seems to be an incantation ? AMATERU, is it AMATERASU ???? - Is that really from the end of the EDO era ? Can you give me a full translation and some explanation on those kanji, I will appreciate a lot.

Dear Ken, No, he did not mention any school. A Japanese bronze vase was spotted some time ago with the same design.

Tsuba on hold.

Dear All, Here is a tsuba for sale with a rather uncommon shape. I bought it years ago from our late friend Thierry Bernard who left us in 2017 (the pictures provided here were taken by him). Measurements:6.4 x 5.1 x 0.4 cm. You can buy it for 200 euros using Paypal. Asking price does not includes Paypal fees & shipping costs.

Wishing Ford a very speedy recovery.

Dear all, Can the the lexicographers (as Robert called them ) answer my last question ?

Dear Nobody and Ray, Thank you so much for your help. One last thing eludes me. If I understand right, the sword on EBAY was signed : Okubo (大久保) Genba-no-kami (玄番頭) Tadanari (忠成) kyu ju ichi sai (九十一歳) kore wo sasu (指之) which can be translated "Okubo Genba (no) kami Tadanari, at the age of 91 years used or carried this sword". My sword is signed : 大久保(Okubo) 玄番頭(Genba-no-kami) 所持(possession) 九十一歳(91 years old) 指之(wears this) which can be translated "in possession of Okubo Genba (no) kami, at the age of 91 years used or carried this sword". Am I right in the translation of my sword ???? On my sword, does the mention OKUBO GENBA-NO-KAMI was enough to identify a person ? or is the name of a person missing ? Last but not least, was it a normal structure of phrase used at that time ???? In short does it make sense ????? I promise that after that I stop the questioning.

Dear Nobody, Is it possible for you to translate the whole signature of my sword ?

Ray, Thank you very much for your help. I have the translation somewhere. When I find it we will compare. On the sword sold on ebay, except TADANARI, can you give me the full translation of that MEI ?

The point is, are they legit or was it done in Edo times (or latter) by unscrupulous swords sellers ?????

Dear Ray, You are right. Moreover, those two inlayed signatures seems to be made by the same hand.

Gentlemen, Here are the pictures of the nakago of the sword I own. It is signed KANESHIGE and is possibly from the end of the koto era or the beginning of the shinto era. The mei seems to be quite the same but as I am not a specialist, details can escape me. Nevertheless I can see that two kanji are different. Ray, is it possible for you give me the full translation of the two MEI and their differences ? Are those differences explicable ????? I need some help on that one. Please feel free to make comments.