Curran

JPenn of Western New York formerly South Jersey, I spent many years in Jersey City with a nice view of the Statue of Liberty's backside, with the future wife in grad school in Phili and the extended family in northern PA. I am sure we've traveled many of the same roads at different times over the years. I'm now in Florida sharing responsibility for my parents and very senior grandparents. I don't miss the weather you've gone through this season, but I do miss the sort of character to be had in that part of the country. To get to 1000 Mito-shoami shiiremono without serious wear and tear on the wallet, flipping through tables at Tampa, San Fran, Chicago sword shows helps a lot. I owned at least two in my early collecting days.... both off to ebay long long ago. Get to a sword show or two whenever you can. I know there aren't any in the New York area (even the shinsa related ones are weak), so get to Tampa or San Fran when you need a break form that latitude.

Michael 101 said exactly what I was thinking. "Edo Higo" (aka. Kumagai) may not be as good as the original Jingo (Shimizu), but a very nice buy at $150. If choosing one, go with that one. There will be several things to study about it. As Jim R. pointed out, the mimi is a bit irregular... but it often seems to be in Edo Higo. They were sort of the street level Tokyo sellers, like the main floor room of Tiffany in NYC. Items are/were nice, but lack attention to detail that the original commissioned pieces have. The less than perfect mimi is rather common in Edo Higo and after a while it sticks in the mind as a kantei point. Good luck.

Understood. I opened up a photoshop type program and looked at one of Yumi's tsuba. In the side shot of the tsuba with a bit of zoom it quickly becomes apparent that he painted both faces of the tsuba with something. Sad, sad, sad. Wonder what he is using. Your best bets are probably to get to know the community here and buy from someone you like/trust if they offer out something that appeals to you. At least you are fairly certain to get something real, and some bargains do come across the board. The crowd here is a small fraction of ebay, but most all fakes are screened out. The only drawback is waiting for something good to come across. This website also has a "Links" section up top and links to many dealers in Japan. Get to know them. Like something....you can always get opinions from those on the list.

J. Penn, Mito-shoami shiiremono. A bit more specific than just shiiremono, which is more general. Shape of the plate, poor grainy iron for something only a little over 100 years old, lower right hand minimal vague design done in copper quickly and very lightly guided over with gold and silver. Rubs off so easy. After the first thousand or so, they start to blur together. _____________________________________________________ David, No one else replied. It tells you something. At least they are actual tsuba. Take the info I've given you and pop it into the search function or google it. People are pretty generous here, sometimes incredibly so. Buy a copy of Harry Watson's Nihonto Koza Kodogu volume or track down the Northern California Japanese Sword Society and buy a photocopy of the Tsuba Study book.

The ebay sellers you listed: The Yumi seller: look like real pieces, but something uniformly wrong about them. Grey said he thinks they've been coated with something, which would make sense. They look funky. Buy at your own risk. Edo antiques: quick glance and things looked relatively okay. You'd do better at a show. Third seller: rather low end and/or dubious stuff. You'd probably do better buying something off a seller here. One in a bargain something comes across ebay, but the risk/reward gets worse and worse each year. There have been a few good book deals, but the last time I got a nihonto bargain off ebay was probably 6 years ago. Most of it is catch-study-release for small gain/loss.

*Sigh* #1: Damaged something or other, most likely Shoami. Can't see the signature to tell. #2: Choshu or bushu style tsuba. #3: Bushu-Ito or some close derivative #4: Hizen dragons on a relatively generic plate of a tsuba #5: Namban tsuba, relatively rusted up. #6 Mito shoami, shiremono. Hit the books or research online. To the box maker's credit, they are actual tsuba. The "menuki" do not appear to be real menuki. However, ask yourself if you would glue-gun fine tsuba to a box? Value is relative at this level and should best be assessed on ebay. Thank you for respected the protocol of signing with a proper name. Curran

What looks like a broken or ground kissaki & questionable mei. Ebay being what it is, certain to go for big bucks. Amazing that people still chase the poor odds vs the papered bargains to be had at sword shows and independent sellers here in the USA/Canada. Sure some of the old timers still want 20,000 for their stump monkey of a 'Masamune', but get thee to a sword show or haggle with someone the next time they put something papered up for sale in the NMB section.

1st Tsuba: Akasaka. I'd say 4th generation or a student of 4th gen. 2nd tsuba: not Akasaka or very late Akasaka

Just for others and a bit of reminder confirm: Tomei millet should be 7 down the central row and 7 a head? That is the rule of thumb . ie. In the zip file Martin provided, the ones not meeting this criteria are the non-Araki Tomei copies. <<< This is not to say that all the ones that do _are_ Araki Tomei works, as Ford is about to prove >>> Eric, I haven't seen that koshirae in a while. Saw different photos before, but never saw it in person. A real beauty.

Perhaps the f/k on Cyrus' site would help? Otherwise, must check a few books. I don't remember the millet on any tsuba. Would be quite the knuckle grater.

Not that I am aware. I could flip through the Namban tsuba book and check, but I doubt it.

I believe the shape is [demon] reference. I have 2 or 3 of this tsuba before, including a papered one. I was curious about the shape too, and read a good explanation somewhere. Unfortunately, that is all I remember. Maybe someone else will cue off that and know what I am talking about.

Pryable tsuba wasn't meant to imply crowbaring of tsuba. After years of me not collecting or buying much, the past 2 months seem to have thrown several things into the air and play. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Nice one ups like this ko-naginata are tempting, but not on focus. Unique enough that I thought I'd point the forum at it and hope I didn't ruin someone's chances of getting it for the opening bid. I have no idea of its 'fair value'.

Yep, it was me. Gilles, thanks for remembering to do this. And that is the biggest image I have seen of Tombogiri, not counting the oshigata I saw in San Fran. Congrats to John for jumping on the book. I'd never seen it before. With thoughts in my head that I shouldn't be buying anything I wasn't looking for given that I may need haul it 1200 miles later this year.... I hesitated. Tombogiri is a bit over the top with all the horimono, but it is an impressive blade. Must have had quite a presence in battle.

I thought it might be a pretty cool item to own for a while, but couldn't expand the pictures. Not sure whether it would be nice or just quirky in person, but caught my eye. I haven't used Bing as a translator before. Funny that it has a censor! Microsoft wanting to be more family friendly?? When you say you edit, do you mean you are running it backward through the translator and it reappears? Ie. maybe it runs a word (vulgarity) check in english only and the visual version it sends out to you is overwritten in ****, but remains vulgar in the code?

Don't know if I've ever posted in this section before. I saw this on Yahoo!Japan while trolling around and looking for two books I am trying to track down. http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/121185388 I thought it kinda cool and didn't know if it would interest anyone else here. Not sure how unique this minature naginata is, but I don't recall seeing another. Good or bad comments anyone? Between a possible move, a few remaining house expenses, and a nihonto restoration project I may be funding next month, I shouldn't take a stab at it. Anyone else here interested, go for it. Curran (*** Incidentally, anyone who wants to try and pry a tsuba off my semi-permanent collection- the next month would be a good time as the restoration project is almost a certainty and going to be 2k to 3k I'd like to come out of the Nihonto part of the personal balance sheet. I'm pretty much bare bones on the books.... so gotta come from somewhere else > )

John, I figured as much. It isn't the sort of mistake that Bob Haynes would make. I have much to learn about Goto schools. I should at least learn or memorize the main-line writing and reading of names.

Moriyama-san and John, I understand now. The menuki attribution is Goto Kenjo. Old papers (older than me). I was relying upon the Haynes Index, but for whatever reason Bob Haynes used a different kanji for Ken in his entries for 'Kenjo'.

Moriyama-san, I considered "Kenjo" as a possibility, but I do not understand this reading as an attribution. I do not have a record of an artist named Kenjo using these characters. What are mumei "Kenjo" menuki?

This is for a pair of menuki. It has me stumped for now. Help please: 顕乗 First character is 18 strokes and can be read (ken, aki, teru, or several other ways) and second is normally 'Hide', but can also be read 'Jo'. What is the correct reading?

This is too impossibly good of a film. Mind boggling project. Having only seen an image of the original, I had not realized the striped were inlaid. Brian, okay to cross link it in the Tosogu section? (Done - Admin) I almost missed it in this section.

Yes, many of us waiting for pictures. Won't be able to afford the book for a while, but doesn't mean I cannot appreciate it. Hope someone brings a copy to the Tampa show.

You are right- that would be pretty strange. I don't know what to make of it....

I believe he is referencing this one on JSA: http://www.l-wise.co.jp/super-jsa/aucti ... ode=detail

No more problems for me, after trying to clean up everything on my computer and waiting a day or so. Very strange problems. I couldn't post to a particular thread or PM anyone directly from the existing posts in that thread. Then two days later... back to normal. Curran