Toryu2020

城太郎光雄 Maybe?

I wonder did anyone else notice that this sword was a repeat? I only recently started seriously working these problems again and I am curious if this happens often? -t

I too am enjoying following this, I wonder have we jumped a step here - what about the basic construction of the piece itself - there was mention of the height of the design element - but what of the length, thickness and weight of the piece itself? What of the shape/size of the opening for the kogatana, what about how the piece is put together, one piece, two or three? Along with application/patination techniques is this not how we determine age? -t

james - it would be nice if we could see the tsuba too. i am just guessing but it looks like Akasaka Yasutoki saku - tetsu-ji hon sukashi The rest alludes me as well but will give it some more thought, thank you for the chance to work the little grey cells, -t

Och!?! Sorry, should read inch

Ken- What do you see when looking at the mune above the kissaki and an och or two below that? - t

Most likely a Daisho piece - the other tsuba depicting the tiger cub Tiger moms as we all know being extremely fierce. You might look at Ford Hallams pages for info on the theme and I think he produced one or two passable items in this vein... -t

備州　ナントカ　丸　光兼 At first blush this is what I am seeing. Was not able to find a smith with these kanji in the Meikan. More and better pics will be needed. Jim - preservation is the watchword even for folks who do Iai, and I do hope you're not doing any yardwork with it... -t

Darcy - This raises a more interesting question, Did Sato Sensei keep records? Where are those records kept now? Perhaps this is an avenue our friends at the NBTHK could help you explore... -t

Chris - Check my website for an article on th Hamabe school. -t

Kyle - Would you have more pictures of the handle in question? Are there other mon on the item? Can we see the tsuba and habaki? Not likely but they may hold clues to place of origin. If anybody would know, David could tell you if the wrap was indicative and I dont think it is. Brocade on tsuka and saya were used very early on in some tachi koshirae and so is repeated in later years when recreating those early style of tachi. Brocade in place of same on buke-zukuri mounts like this seems to have been a late Edo thing and in most examples I have seen was a cost cutting thing on lower end items. Your piece looks to have had a hard life but I am sure it was quite eye-catching when fresh out of the shop. If this was the companion to a daito this fella would have been quite a dandy... -t

Gentlemen - The genesis of this story comes from the original name of this style of tsuba; Mukade. The Takeda army employed a troop of swift running messengers that carried orders from the command tent to the captains in the field; The Mukade-tai. They were conspicuous for their centipede hata-jirushi. When promoted to membership in this troop, the story goes, you were directly or indirectly given the privilege of wearing this style of tsuba, a mark of said membership, by the lord, Shingen himself. Why the tsuba? Because you did not wear the hata-jirushi every day, but you always had your sword! Reference Nihonto Daihyakka Jiten by Fukunaga Suiken I am pretty sure I wrote this up in To-Ron several years ago. Like any style it was oft copied and the "Shingen" appellation clearly excites us pedestrians more than "centipede tsuba", so it was natural for dealers to exploit it. The story clearly being lost over time... -t

Neat!

Was not able to find any searching online in Japanese, waiting to hear from friends in Japan. In the meantime added photos of the little portable model that I use to our website. Please feel free to persue the Kenshaku and other galleries; http://www.toryu-mon.com

The link works for me - takes me to four pages with photos of a signed type 98 and a civilian mounted wakizashi, ostensiibly for sale, contact info page, looks like a real website. So no one has heard of this guy? -t

So this showed up in my email box, looks legit enough but not my area of collecting. Does anybody know this guy? -t Mr Hector Arboleas wrote: The price for both swords is $ 4950. This, and all the other information about the swords, you can find it in the website at : http://swords4sale.gigasrc.com Thank you again. Hector Arboleas

Elliott - You know I am not a fittings guy but this is how I would appraoch it. Look at the shape. Forget the base metal and the lovely decorations and focus solely on that particular shape - especially how the rim comes to those lovely points breaking up the four quadrants. How many quatrefoil (quadrate?) tsuba can you find? Can we find this particular expression of the form anywhere else? With all due respect to Bob - I would think that in the Muromachi the Kinko were only just beginning to experiment with the shapes and materials traditionally used. How early are the examples that we can see with this particular shape with this particular treatment of the rim? Next I would look at the theme and the expression of the theme - forgetting schools for now - what is the earliest example of this theme? Do they all feature this many deer? How is the mountain expressed? Could there be examples of similar images from other arts like sumi painting? I think if you can place the shape in the larger context of tsuba development and the the theme in the context of popular art, you will have dialed in on the period. May in fact be that early I do not know. Of course once youve dialed in your date you can then look at who was working in brass. (stating the obvious here) I have to wonder if this isnt a conundrum Bob has set for you to solve. Nice problem to have, -t

Truly something we do not see everyday. Thank you for posting. -t

The item you are thinking of is called a Kenshaku 劍尺 　I have seen a number of versions over the years, all were home-made. I have one I should dig out and post photos of. If there was a commercial version would be nice to have one for club meetings and such. -t

Very cool Ken, Looks like Aoi mon and then 長曽根虎徹二代目興正 with a Kao might want to look him up in Shosakenshu, for the Kao anyway. Sure to be lots of information on this school in your sword books. and when you all get around to it, I should love to see a photo of the other side... -t

And a very neat item Ron -t

Alan to clarify; in the Tokyo meetings there are the 60 watt bulbs, the florescent overhead and then nothing else...

Kansei 8 nen - Look again, not Shinshin-to. Pictures of the blade would also be welcome. Certainly a piece worth investigating... -t

Junichi - The 60 watt bulb is most popular in Japan from my limited experience. At the NBTHK and NTHK regular monthly meetings there is overhead flourescent lighting and nothing else. A plain black background is less of a distraction for the eye, and does not reflect light, this is why we like it for our meetings at the NCJSC. That said a "viewing tent" might be a lot of time and trouble for little additional gain. Halogen seems to do a lot to highlight NIE and so we usually have at least one on the string as a alternative to the 60w. If you find the right kind of LED it might be a bonus because there is no heat generated, always a problem. A clamp lamp makes sense for your application because you most likely will be dealing with changing environments where a string may not be usable. I think this is a great idea, if you could put it together as a tent as envisioned, remember it has to be stupid simple so that you or any member of the club could set it up and break it down. It will be interesting to see what we can come up with. As for the lights for kodogu - we may need to look at using the small table in the corner or other set up but I think it will be very nice to have these at each meeting regardless of where we set them up. -t

Not fair! now you have to show us the armour! 上野沼田藩三万五千石 土岐山城守 沼田城王