Ray Singer

While I am definitely not pursuing this for myself, just curious what the appropriate costs and timeline would look like for restoration of an armour in this condition. Would this even make sense financially? Best regards, Ray

In addition to some interesting swords which showed up at the antique shows this weekend (there were three large shows around South Florida) one dealer brought this armour. I have little background in this area, do not collect armour at all and have not investigated what would be involved (time or cost) for restoration. If anyone is interested in following up with this dealer please PM me and I will send you his contact information. Best regards, Ray

If anyone is interested, there are a few Japanese swords for sale at the West Palm Beach antique show this weekend. Nothing that I felt I had to bring home, but there was a wide katakiri-ba Kaifu-to wakizashi by Ujiyoshi that I found interesting. Also scattered about the show was a Sukesada wakizashi dated Tensho 3, several Mantetsu, a mumei Sue-koto wakizashi in shirasaya, two hachiwara, a signed Bizen tanto in koshirae and assorted gunto mounted Showa-to. I assume most of our Florida members will be attending the Tampa show next weekend where there will be more & better swords for sale, but this is a large, fun show to spend the day at and worth the visit. Feel free to PM me if anyone needs directions and details. http://www.wpbaf.com Best regards, Ray

My feeling is that this is a gimei intended to be passed off as a Kiyomaro.

The mei may be good. The Kaneuji line went on through late Edo, and the later generations used the mei Shizu Saburo Kaneuji (Nōshū Ōgaki-ju Shizu Saburo Kaneuji). The later Ōgaki Kaneuji smiths were kogatana specialists.

It does appear to be Sukesada. Shizu Saburo Kaneuji (kogatana)

A very fine ko-itame, densely covered with ji-nie. Nashiji-hada, chirimen-hada, konuka-hada, etc. That paired with a suguha (or suguha-based) hamon in consistent ko-nie with a bright habuchi that is not too tight. Ko-Aoe, Awataguchi, Rai and top Hizen-to are all very appealing to me.

Yes, agreed and I am likewise sure these are unintentional errors. With Aoi it is always best to read through the descriptions very carefully and ask if anything looks off or has been expressed in a way that is not clear. Additional examples: Ju-to listed on their auction page as a 'Dewa (no) Kami Masahiro' is of course actually a Yukihiro: https://www.aoijapan.com/how-to-order/auction-list Item 16629 listed as a Ko-Naminohira on the katana page is actually a Ko-Uda. The individual sword detail page was eventually corrected but the listing page is still incorrect. https://www.aoijapan.com/japaneseswords/katana

Just FYI, the wakizashi at auction below does not have Tokubetsu Hozon. I queried Tsuruta-san on this and the sword has only an internal (Aoi-Art) attribution to Hokke. The listing and auction page have not yet been updated to reflect the lack of a kanteisho. https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-mumei-attributed-to-hokke 250,000 JPY would have been a very reasonable price for a flawless wakizashi with Tokubetsu Hozon, so just issuing this warning in case someone was planning to bid (as one individual already has). Best regards, Ray

Comparisons attached. IMHO not a good match to verified examples. Take care, Ray

Hi Barry The signature reads Awataguchi Omi (no) Kami Tadatsuna. Best regards, Ray

Another example. http://www.e-sword.jp/tantou/1710-3010.htm

The same applies to Kicho, Tokubetsu Kicho and Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho.

And BTW, this is the individual who performed the restoration. Best regards, Ray

I took a look at the miniature matchlocks on eBay and they are all much smaller than this example, ranging between 9.7 - 11cm. http://www.ebay.com/itm/132017144477 http://www.ebay.com/itm/142193728726 http://www.ebay.com/itm/142193728028

Thanks for the kind words everyone. This one seems quite a bit too large to be categorized as a netsuke. The gun measures 18.3cm and has substantial weight. Best regards, Ray

Excellent question Brian, I will ask the owner and let you know.

The owner of this piece recently received it back from restoration in Japan. I thought some might be interested to see completed reconstruction of the missing lock and plate. Best regards, Ray

Unfortunately no chance this is authentic. Very typical Chinese fake.

That's the one Ron

I've seen various types on inscriptions on a mune. One NMB member has a very beautiful gendai tanto by Yoshihara Kuniie with a mune inscription. Here is another example. http://www.nihontocraft.com/11th_Rai_Kinmichi.htm

I believe this is meant to say that the sword is for the individual's protection. Same concept for a mamori-gatana.

A quote from Jim Kurrasch (Nanka Token Kai, April 1999) "In the olden times the preferred method for Umegane was to use a piece from the nakago of the sword to be repaired. This gave the exact same steel for the umegane as used in the sword. Maybe that is why one sees square mekugi-ana on some of the older swords. These strangely shaped ana are often on the point side of the round mekugi ana. So maybe when one sees these they should also be looking for umegane."

Yes, it does look like Yasunori. I do not see that smith. Meikan-more?

Perhaps Bushū jū Yasu (something): 武州住安_