george trotter

David, Just looking as the photo of you tsuba (guard) and seppa I can say: You have 6 seppa...there should be 8 here. The two larger "4 lobe" seppas that match that design on the tsuba are missing. Get 2 of these 4 lobe seppa and I think you will probably find the assembly will become tight on the tang. Regards,

I have 5 Rinji mounted swords ranging in quality from the steel scabbard type through high quality lacquer mounts up to one-off private mounting....NONE had/have a tassel. All those (maybe 12) I have seen in hand also had no tassels. Maybe we can have some feedback from members on this...did your Rinji (or should I say 'Alternative') swords have a tassel when you found them, or did you put them on? I'm not saying that they never had tassels, but just that I have never seen an original still in place. Regards,

Saw one of these years ago (when Stephen was still a naughty little boy), can't really be certain, but at the time "we" thought it was just a battlefield damaged tsuba that had its damaged rim taken off and just carried on being used "as-is". I agree with Tom and Stephen, just a "customised" rim....probably as a field repair that was never replaced later on with a "new" tsuba by its owner. Interesting....I'd keep it as is... Regards,

I'm another zip bag storage guy....only difference is that my tassel bags have a numbered tag that links to the numbered tag on sword. I keep the tassels in a drawer out of the light/heat etc.

A bit unusual? to have horimono (carving) on the blade up near the kissaki (tip) . Can't say I've seen this before. What do members know about this? Just asking...

Hi Peter, This smith you list is not a showa stamped Seki/Gifu WWII smith as Bruce quoted. He is a late shinshinto-early gendai smith 1837-1903. He is listed in Slough as you say (p.62) but not as a Showa/Seki smith - he is given as a smith of the Kaei-Meiji eras. Regards,

No Steven, That is not a waste of time...but I can say that the Kanesada of the "Last of the Kanesada" article/booklet is about Aizu Izumi no Kami Kanesada 1837-1903 of Fukushima Prefecture. I think (guess) all the above J,K,U's on Bruces list are likely Seki/Gifu...don't know about the Y's. Regards,

HI Mal, Well I opened your articles today and YES, I have read them...I must be getting old...forgot. All the info Geoff requested/suggested is there...great work Mal. Back in the day I had navy swords by Suetsugu Shigemitsu and others...wish I'd kept them...sigh! Regards,

Duuh! Thanks Mal...I'll go have a look.... Wow just opened it...great work Mal....I will spend Sunday reading both of those articles. Regards,

Duuh! Thanks Mal...I'll go have a look....

Toto ju nin means Eastern Capital Resident person Toto = Eastern Capital (Tokyo) Regards,

Hi Geoff, I am like Bruce, I have seen various smiths noted as being Kaigun Jumei Tosho over the years but have never seen a list (or started one). Here is the one you mention as INABA Kaneyoshi mentioned in Slough p.73 as (Matsubara) Kaneyoshi Aichi Pref. IM yen). He signed INABA but as Slough says, his real name is MATSUBARA (Toko Taikan p.142, ygr bro. of Nakata Kanehide, Seki RJT 2 m yen)...wonder if he is the often seen "smith" signing INABA on many Navy/Toyokawa stainless steel blades that we see? Looking forward to the "Geoff List" aren't we Bruce? Regards,

Yes, very nice Neil, thanks for sharing...and thanks for your and Brandon's comments on polish. Gotta love the gendaito. Regards,

Hi Bruce, Yes 78 on munw. These are just from a list I noted down over the years...all nos on tang mune. No sorry, didn't keep any pics, just made note as they were Osaka/Hyogo/Kyoto area smiths/mountings/numbers. Regards, Geo.

Great info... Bruce, I checked my file on Kunihide and I can say tang numbers 90, 98, 99 are ALL star stamp. Also on this list is two more tang number swords: Masakuni (Osaka?) star 19/5 tang 78 Rinji mounts Endo Tomonari Kobe star 19/7 tang 24 Rinji mounts. Volker, I have tried to contact/email the Inari Shrine in Kyoto about my smith Kunihide working there in WWII but have never succeeded. If you or your friend can get some more information on the Fushimi Inari forge in WWII, can you see if there is any mention of (RJT smith) Fushimi ju Takashima Kunihide saku working there in 1944-45? (tang mei photo above). Great stuff, Regards

Yes interesting Thomas...one for Bruce?...these small nakago-mune numbers only? seem to be from Hyogo/Osaka/Kyoto area smiths and/or mounting shops.

Hi Thomas, just saw your reply/question....yes, that is the correct reading of his mei. Date side says 19/8. Very small numbers on nakago mune are 98...I have also seen same date/mei numbered 90 on nakago mune. Thanks for your interest... Regards,

The Aizu Kanesada being dated 1836 should be the 10th generation. Born 1818, Died 1869. A good line of smiths descending from Mino Kanesada line.

Hi Baz, Yes I checked and Tomita Sukehiro info and picture is on page 78 of Gendai Toko Meikan. Brandon san, Sorry to butt in but I think it is a mistake to re-polish that Sukehiro. IMO it is better to have a WWII blade in a high quality sashi-komi WWII polish with a few scratches than an "altered" WWII blade with one of these awful, historically inappropriate modern ha-dori polishes. Sorry, I'll shut up now...

Hi Volker, Yes Uwe is correct in his translation...I was quite wromg...not Oshu, but Inshu (Inaba). Sorry.

Volker san, I can't help much, but I think the inscription is: O-shu Fuji-X Nao-suke Kane-mitsu I am not sure of some of this reading of course, but Oshu is Fukushima Prefecture (Aizu-Wakamatsu). You need to look for the smith names possibilities as Naosuke (unless it is a personal name?)....and Kanemitsu. There was a branch of the Mino Kanesada line up there running from c. 1670-1903, so maybe a pupil? Hope this helps a little, Regards, Edit to add...Oh I see Uwe has added info...most likely mine has errors...sorry.

Wonder who the naughty schoolboy was who lost the parts....?

I have 11 swords - I love them all - I would not part with any of them. 1. Mumei - Bizen c. 1400 2. Seisui Tokyo 1944 3. Yamagami Munetoshi Niigata 1941 (RJT smith) 4. Yamagami Munetoshi Niigata 1943 RJT star 5. Okishiba Yoshisada Osaka c.1943 (RJT smith) 6. Nagao Kunishiro Aomori 1944 RJT star 7. Shigekuni Wakayama? c. 1942 8. Nakata Kanehide Gifu 1944 RJT star 9. Mumei early gendaito c.1890? 10. Takashima Kunihide Kyoto 1944 RJT star 11. Tsukamoto Masakazu Fukushima 1942 (RJT smith)

Hi Bruce, May have discussed these marks before...can't rememeber, but (again?) for your files... This one you show is a blade by Igarashi Akimitsu, RJT star of Niigata. Date 4/1943 (2128 na) on tang, marked 'i'536 on all RS metal parts. Mine is by Yamagami Munetoshi RJT of Niigata. Date 8/1943 (1080 matsu) on tang, marked 'i'403 on all RS metal parts. Both RJT, both 1943, both Niigata, both 'i' number on parts. Regards,

Ganko san, I was just browsing and saw this...It's been a while since you posted this but can I ask about the sword on the bottom of "Image 1"? (hope I haven't asked before). Is it RJT? Name of smith? date? tang numbers? What area of Japan? I ask because I have one mounted the same way (rare..only seen about 3) mine is an RJT by Takashima Kunihide of Kyoto dated 8/44 with nos 98 on top edge of tang...I think they come from the Kyoto - Osaka - Hyogo region. Hope you canhelp, Regards,