Gilles

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.

I was also following that sale. I own a sword signed KANESHIGE with the same shoji mei (I will post pictures this week-end). I was wondering, how was it possible to have two swords with (what I believe) exactly the same mei ????

Just my personal opinion. I discern on some pictures that the HAMON (tempered line) on different places on the blade seems to be very close from the HA. You will need to have it in hand to make sure that it is not the case.

Very useful to know.

Super. thank you very much Ian.

So do I...

Superb work. Thank you very much Yurie. Please keep on posting, we need your knowledge.

Dear Emilio, I suspect that this tsuba is not older than me but it's my personnal opinion.

I agree with Ray, The averall shape of the yari, its bohi and the round base of the nakago seems to be quite suspicious to my eyes.... No comparision with your blade Ken which is unmistakably a good one. Just my personnal opinion,

Fake mei for me, very poorly done....

So do I. I am quite surprised that such an armourer from the end of the 19th century has left no other trace than several kanji in five or six kabuto..... As I am still a sword collector, swordsmiths are easier to follow than armourers. There must be a very big difference of status between those two corporations as Ian told us previously. Anyway, thank you everybody for having shared your knowledge.

Dear Luc and John, Thank you Luc for this information. Can you tell me if this kabuto was made during the BAKUMATSU era or prior to that time ? John, how can you explain the difference you mention in your last post ?

Thank you very much gentlemen for those explanation and clarification. They are very welcome. Can you tell me in what period HIRATA KANEYOSHI and ASAI TOMOYUKI were living ? Were they contemporaries ? I surmise that HIRATA KANEYOSHI was living in the end of the 18th century ??? is that right ???

Dear all, Like Javier in his last topic, I could not resist to acquire a zunari. I think that this one can be qualified as HINENO-ZUNARI. It is signed Hirata Kaneyuki. Please note the modification of the visor (mabizashi) which is quite prominent. Also like Javier, I would like to hear any further explanation from experienced members of the forum about the shape of this helmet and about this armor maker. Kaneyuki seems to be only referenced in the Chappelear book (pages 220, 221). I would also need some explanations about the shape of the shikoro which is of the Hineno type. Can someone explain to me what are the features of the Hineno type shikoro ? I believe that this shikoro is original to this kabuto, is that right ? As you see, I have a lot of questions and I need you to help me. I am aware that it is not a high quality kabuto but I like its spartan shape.

No problem Dave. I will give you the green light. Anyway, I am not in a hurry and I can wait....

Dear Piers, It is still O.K. with me. I will deal with Dave for the paypal thing. Best regards,

Piers, If you want, I will secure one copy for you. It is not far from where I work.

I also miss this nice guy.