Toryu2020

Jeremiah Youre not an outlier. I like the new look and I'm looking forward to some new merch and new articles. -t

Thanks Ray I will pass your comments along. -t

Folks Fred has updated the website, and I find it easier to navigate and much fresher. The articles which were buried on the old site are now front and center and he has added some great Musashitsuba to the gallery. Check it out and send him your feedback I am sure he'd love to hear it. -t

I would discourage all but the most advanced student from using such a blade. Iai could only damage a sword like this, not improve it. As stated there are better options for less. -t

Can we see photos of the end of the nakago? -t

Brando Please dont toss it away, and please dont give up on this forum. There is signs of good activity in your blade, and a good cleaning with uchiko could bring more of that out. The shape of the blade and the condition of the nakago suggest shinto. The takanoha yasuri suggests Mino/Seki. Not much more can be said that hasnt already been mentioned. I will say for some, even though its a loss, they might get it polished just to preserve it. Of course only a trained polisher can tell you if it can be restored. -t

Heads up folks! Pre-registration has closed for this years Shinsa. There are a few slots left but you will have to come see me at the show to get on the schedule. Looking forward to seeing everyone in San Francisco. -t

Gabion - used in castle building and flood control There were major floods in the Edo period, the debris, decay left in the aftermath became a theme... -t

長谷川氏需應之鍛 Shooting from the hip here but believe this says "in answer to the request of Mr Hasegawa (I) forged this" -t

I for one would love an excuse to get down to Dallas once a year, Make sure you play up the proximity to the Barbierre museum and the Asian collection downtown. Talking with friends, you might consider the following; Most exhibitors want know that other exhibitors have committed, you will need a good core of sellers. Any show of less than 50 tables May be too small to justify a good hotel and may not generate enough of a budget to spend money to attract the public. You might have to lose money a few times to get your event up and running. The venue should be convenient to airports. Proximity to other large events like a Cherry Blossom festival or Kendo Nationals would help bring walk-ins. The show room must be held on a 24 hour basis with adequate security so that it is not necessary to break down each night. Most important it cannot be too close to other established sword shows, you dont want to force sellers to choose. Wishing you success, -t

A sweet tsuba!

Stephen J Did you want help reading this mei or were you asking how to read mei in general? There are simple rules to follow that will help you navigate signatures. 1. most often the last two characters are the smiths name - often these are the easiest two to translate. 2. Saku 作 tsukuru 造 to make or manufacture - these two if you recognize them come after the smiths name. sometimes accompanied by 之 kore (this). 3. Kuni 国 when it is not part of a name means country (province) often the two characters before this are the place name. 4. Mamori 守 when it is part of a title is read "(no) kami" the two characters before fore this are usually place names. and this brings up rule five. 5. many kanji have more than one reading you will have to play around with combinations sometimes to get to the answer. I think if you have Hawleys and the book Japanese Names you have a huge head start. If you sussed out Uda you could go to Japanese Names and find that it is a place name, you then look at the last two as a personal name and start looking for names that start with Kuni, koku. If youve sussed out Uda you could go to Hawleys to find that it is a pretty large school of makers, you then start looking at this school in particular and you should find Kunimune is the name of a number of artists. Thats how I would approach these problems. and as has been pointed out you can go to the NMB Kanji pages for lots of good info... -t

I agree Bitchu Tamenaga there is at least one smith with this name listed... -t

Im in Bitchu too but say Aoe... -t

Michael Hozon may be pedestrian but Jojosaku is better than average - I would advise my students against using such a sword and I offer you the same. He has specific listings for Iai swords and I think youll find good offerings there that no one will cry about. This sword should be preserved... mho -t

There did not used to be an American branch, there did not used to be a European branch. They do hear us and they do change albeit slowly. If dramatic numbers of overseas members join, then you will see dramatic change. The material is there for all members, yes there are translations but with very little effort you can learn to read and understand the sword descriptions. With that understanding comes greater affinity to your subject matter and other collectors with the same interest. Join us! Another thought, Robert Haynes did not wait for the Japanese to write the book on kodogu, he wrote and published it himself and now it is THE book. There once was a sword database, created and maintained by one man, now it is supported by the JSSUS and is a resource for all. Perhaps as a member you could work with others to create a fledgling database, swords in the US and Europe. If it grows and proves useful maybe the hombu will take up the model or even adopt and expand it with their own info. Be the change you want to see! I think it is a great idea and I would work with you - collectors with passion are what is needed and there is lots we could do as a branch stepping of my soapbox... -t

The blade is dated an auspicious day in the Second year of Meiji, year of the snake. 明治ニ己巳年三月吉日 An intriguing find, would love to see more pictures -t

I have the Shinto Oshigata Shu - yours is in much better shape than mine. Since it was put out by an Osaka group the emphasis seems to be Osaka Shinto but all the big shinto names are included. There really only two sections, a listing of schools and their work-styles and then oshigata, which is the bulk of the two volumes. I find it useful when researching signatues. What was the third item? -t

Several well- regarded smiths in Bizen who use this name - I would approach with some healthy skepticism -t

Axel look closely, Satsuma-aged might better be rendered "Satsuma-age'd" It looks like it is supposed to look and it looks pretty cool to me... -t

You'll want to bone up on Aizu history, the historical connections if real will add to the interest and value for sure. A nice find, count me jealous... -t

“ Be sure to book your room reservation at the show hotel, the San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel before the block fills up. Their number is 650-692-9100. Don’t forget to ask for the special Sword show room rate of $169.00 per night. If you have any problems booking the room, contact Fred Weissberg.” and if you're thinking of submitting items for shinsa, now is the time to send in the registration, we will soon be assigning timeslots if you dont want to miss out get your reservation in...

Only sevene weeks to go folks! What better gift to buy yourself for fathers day than a trip to San Francisco - “If you are thinking of buying an exhibitor’s table at the show, better hurry as they are going fast. For information about availability, please contact Fred Weissberg at hageyama@mindspring.com”.

降魔 is a buddhist term that relates to the young lord buddha before he acheived enlightenment. He sat in meditation for many years and during this time a myriad of demons tempted and harrassed him, trying to dislodge him from his purpose but he could not be moved, he ignored them and all were defeated (悪魔を降伏) (Akuma wo goubuku) So if I saw this on a tsuba lets say, I would think the owner was not about killing actual demons but rather steadfastly maintainiing the proper mindset... -t

The Meikan lists two Tsuguyoshi with this signature, One in Kanbun and one in Teikyo - I would look for info on the Shimozaka school... -t