Toryu2020

Wes there are sword clubs in L.A. and San Francisco that provide regular opportunities to study swords in all states of preservation but most importantly in newly polished and papered condition. The best way for you to learn is to get some background and vocabulary and then see and study as many swords in hand as you can. It is very hard to avoid the temptation to buy, i would not buy in this case and here is why: 1. the kissaki appears to have been poorly reshaped at some point - this might be fixable but maybe not without significant alteration. 2. the rust could be hiding hagire, hairline cracks, a fatal flaw, hard to see but impossible to repair. 3. if you spend a grand on the blade and two grand on restoration you'll have a three thousand dollar sword but not much more. this is a big gamble, listen to the many voices telling you to pass on this one unless you have lots of money to gamble with. if you are interested in attending a sword club meeting just let us know, -t www.ncjsc.org

Folks - Just a reminder that now is the time for registrations, as we are less than two months from the Chicago Show. Also I have updated the website with a hyperlink to the registration forms as some people had reported problems loading and printing the form. If you explore the website a bit you will see that we also updated the galleries, especially the armour page with pictures from our recent trips to Dallas and L.A. Should you have any questions about the shinsa, contact me here or thru the website, Thank you. -t

Ken et al- Yamamura Sensei has several dedicated students. So while we know it will not be his son, the esteemed reverend, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that there will be a 25th generation Masamune. It will be interesting to see if he passes on the name. -t

i would have gone Satsuma with this piece looks a bit stouter than Osaka, and the nie is in keeping with their work... -t deliberate, i say.

Jason is it an art piece we are talking about? then definitely talk to Brian. if for a morepracticle item like an Iai sword, I would go with the DYI option myself. FWIW -t

Beautiful piece, A pair of severed heads, not from Tameshigiri (Suimono-giri) but from battle. Very auspicious (for a head hunter). Two mimi? you guys miss nothing... -t

Nice find John, a piece well worth investigating. Hoping you'll be able to share some more photos, -t

A ceiling fan? Whatever it is I think it's cool. -t

Jan - Nothing wrong with your eyes, and mine it turns out. Thought I had made a mistake but indeed this is what it says in the book. No oshigata of that particular mei, something we may have to look for. I agree it is very strange since all my other references list Motoyasu as the third son of Motonao... -t

Jan et al - According to Fukunaga Suiken writing in Satsuma no Katana to Tsuba; The date of Motoyasu's death is not understood. However there is a tanto dated Bunka 5 (1808), where he gives his age as 76, we can therefore say that he was born in Kyoho 18 (1733). And given that there is a sword dated Bunka 8 (1811), he lived to an exceptionally old age for his time (at least 79). hopin this helps... -t

Interesting question Stephen - I should be very surprised if Hon'ami Koji, my teacher, in Kamakura would do such a thing, but I shall have to ask him sometime. You might speak to Paul Martin as I know he is well acquainted with Hon'Ami Koshu, who might offer kinpun but with him being elevated to Living National Treasure, I cannot imagine it would be cheap. -t Thinking out loud, maybe there is a way to use photography to digitally recreate the mei, make color prints and this could go along with the sword as part of its history/documentation?

Peter - This Oshigata is from a book by Fujishiro, a study of Naotane, Masahide and Kiyomaro published during the war years. We shall have to examine your blade more closely to determine when it was made as the signature could easily have been added later. Kajihei is the nickname of Hosoda Naomitsu a student of Naokatsu who took to forging famous Shinshinto works when there was no market for swords in the Meiji period. If you can find Harry Watsons' translations of the Nihonto Koza Shinshinto volume there is an excellent article on how to spot gimei and particularly the work of Kajihei that is well worth the cost. -t

Peter - attached is a published signature that is considered gimei - I think you will find it interesting for comparison. -t

Issara - A lot of good questions and hard to give good answers in short concise bursts but here goes; I would look to three sources Ogasawara-ryu Yabusame and Ogasawara-ryu kyudo (kyujutsu) and Yagyu Shingan-ryu, a school of fighting in armour. This last uses the tachi I believe much as it would have been used in individual combat in the earlier periods. Certainly the sword had evolved some by the time this school emerged but I think you can get a clear idea of just what was possible and practical with the weapon when on foot. Ogasawara-ryu and Takeda-ryu Yabusame have cutting techniques from horseback, though not often practised. The biggest obstacle may be the danger to horses while training so these techniques may only be seen in the dojo. I know of at least one guy who used to cut targets from the back of a motorcycle while his deshi operated the "iron horse". Making bows or making arrows does not carry the same cultural or spiritual weight as making swords - the Emperor afterall is first and foremost the head priest for the Shinto religion. The making of swords involves the participation of the gods in a magical event that results in a tangible item that is way more than its constituent parts. Swords (blades) were a necessary part of Shinto ritual from early on. Therefore if you are a power broker in the world of the samurai you need swordmakers at hand not just to supply your troops but also to provide blades for dedication ceremonies and such. And in Kamakura there were a lot of new temples and shrines raised up by the new Shogun, so they had need of a lot of swords. I have my own ideas about the use of the tachi but feel there are answers out there already, I am sure you can find good info and I envy you the search for those answers, -your friend in the way -t

脇差入門 - Wakizashi Nyumon as stated may be a Shibata publication. 趣味の日本刀 Shumi no Nihonto - an introductory text, reprinted many times very common. 百剣百話 Hyakken Hyaku wa - 100 swords 100 stories, collectors talk about their favorite swords. 刀匠全集 Tosho Zenshu - a mini meikan and as stated usually two volumes, very common. 脇差の魅力 Wakizashi no Miryoku - the charm of wakizashi by Shibata. 日本刀辞典 Nihonto Jiten - a price book, many editions very common. 刀剣銘字典 Token Meijiten - The only one I haven't seen or do not recall seeing. 桃山時代の刀剣 Momoyama Jidai no Token - an exhibition catalog. They can all be found for around $10 except the Meijiten which looks like it sells for around $30. Good information perhaps but most of it will be found in other texts. mho -t

futatsu do - two bodies ni no do - number two waist cut most saidan mei will make the clear distinction by adding the article "no" -t

Klaus - While it is possible your little kozuka comes from Wales, I think it more likely Japanese. Google Kanzan and Jittoku, I think youll find your answer... -t

We need to examinethe record sof this police station from that time, and perhaps other official records from any local office that dealt with the Army. Why? because the Japanese might not have asked this soldier for photo ID and fingerprints but how did they know to recognize him as "a man in charge of the regiment" (Butai no sekininsha) After more than ten years under a military government I highly doubt that the police officers would release anything of value to just any soldier. The fact he is identified as sekininsha means they knew something more of this guy than his rank which would have been apparent from his uniform. So i would want to examine the daily logs of the police station leading up to this date, had he been in to the station previously? Leaving aside the English note for a minute, why would they use his full name? Why not Colydaybimore as a single word family name? EG; Takahashi Shacho, Yamanaka Taisa, or Yamashita Shogun? Given the confusion over first and last names that exists to this day when communicating between Japanese and Americans how can we know which is first name and which is last when the scribe did not include any commas while being very precise otherwise? i would want to see more forms, documents and writing examples from the original scribe to see what can be gleaned from his writing habits. Could his name be Corday? could it be Gordy? Instead of Bimore, could this have been a V? Vimo, De veimo? Could Henk be on to something? Imagine as he comes to the house looking for swords Tokugawa asks "what was your name? the uncomprehending American repeats over and over as he paws the mans stuff "this is neat, could I buy more!" I doubt the Japanese have these swords but they do have the answers buried in their records...

Not an octopus but also not a bad looking tanto... -t

Hakoti - The standard answer around here is to use the KANJI pages at the top of this page to try to decipher it yourself. Really not a difficult mei - if you are pressed for time or dont want to bother looking it up yourself, just say so there are many here who will give you the answer. You might also hear some say "be sure to sign your posts" FWIW it looks to be an honest sword and signature - good luck -t

Somebody else trying to raise some cash before the Dai Token Ichi? -t

I for one think it looks the way it is supposed to look, No evidence of loss that I can see, I would think the cut-outs would be deeper if there was brass inlaid in them. Not your everyday piece, nice find. -t

very cool indeed! -t

To me the estimates are way too high on most of the items, there are some curious things in the write-ups as well. That being said there are some great looking armors here and several swords I should like to see in person. Looking forward to reviews from those on the scene... -t

Further - On the question of the tama and dragon - they did pictureque hamon and this is a possibility but my recollection is that in the Tamba n/k Yoshimichi school and I think Hizen Masahiro, there was a fashion for including a "Sun and Moon" in the monouchi. My thought is that this was pointed out to us as a kantei point. Of course my thinking is getting weaker and weaker these days so I could be wrong... -t