Toryu2020

Love number three - best of the lot in my opinion If collected in the 19th century they may have known the swordsmith - regardless interesting grouping -t

Still awaiting it's arrival on the West Coast, Watching Sumo highlights from 2013, Best wishes for a bountiful New Year!

Looks like Higo Dotanuki - Count me as another one very curious to see more of this wonderful find... -t

Definitely Raijin and I love this expression of the theme! Nice one Doctor, -t

Sorry i missed the mystery post - What i would say is that you cannot separate tameshi-giri (suimono-giri) from executions. Under the Yamano family these were official sword tests, using the bodies of executed criminals. Under the Yamada sword testing was a "service"provided as a side business to their profession as executioners. It all got codified and routine under the Tokugawa. Yari were used for crucifixions and were tested on heads as described in the article. They may not have recorded tests on yari but they were in fact doing this kind of thing. If youll allow me to paraphrase my teacher, " it is exactly because the world of the bushi was so harsh that they could produce such sublime art" the two are in separable... -t

Props to Dr Data for postting this a very interesting study, We need to remember why mutilation of the body was considered "judicial punishment" with official sanction and not just some grusome torture carried out by corrupt officials. In Chinese culture just as in Japanese culture it is believed that when you return as a spirit you take the shape of your earthly body. Thus in China the death of a thousand cuts was not a torture where you agonized thru 999 cuts, rather the criminal died rather quickly but was punished eternally in that he would be unrecognizable to his family or friends if hereturned as a spirit. The same logic applied in Japan, death by decapitation and use of your corpse for suimono-giri was the second worst punishment on the books. The very worst punishment was death by decapitation, suimono-giri and then your body was dumped in a potters grave with no proper Buddhist ceremonial. This was punishment not only for the criminal but also for his family and it was eternal. The fact that these two bodies were buried in a family plot in a temple suggests to me that they were most likely related. Also it suggets that while thier crimes were serious, they did not receive the severest punishment or we would not have their bones as evidence today. -t

George - As I tried to explain in the previous post the difference is clearly stated in Japanese; Futatsu Do means two do - the little tsu tells us this is how it is to be read and understood. Ni no do means "number two" do cut - when the little no character is included it clearly indicates this is how it is to be read and understood. The same will be true for three, four, five though multiples over three are rare. Since "hitotsu do" is not that impressive a single body cut will say something like Dodan ori meaning cut thru one body and into the dodan (mound). hoping i made this clearer... -t

Sennin is clearly visible looking straight up to the heavens his robes blend with the bird but if you imagine an old man riding "backward" on the crane you'll see all of him...

Looks to be based on a toppei koshirae, very nice find! -t

Higo - many designs were copied by later generations. Very popular designs were copied by other artists/schools to some degree of success or not it seems in this third case... -t

http://itokumihimoten.com search Kumihimo 組紐 there are lots of sources, none of them cheap. i am away from my files this week, but will look when I get homefor the card of the shopthat did custom sageo for the Kanagawa Kendo guys... -t

Gentlemen- The great thing about Japanese is the use of kana to give us reading hints. in this case Ninodo(弐の胴 ) is the second do cut while Futatsu do (弍ツ胴) means cut two bodies. this is an impotant distinction when looking at Tameshi-mei - you could cut five in a row rather than five at once or use well aged bodies but i think if it is Yamano or Yamada family work they did not get up to such shenanigans. There are plenty of fakes and some questionable testers and tests out there. Clive Sinclair has a good article on the subject on the TSGB pages i believe. while the lacquer mei raises some questions it is an interesting artefact given as Chris says it cut two bodies, twice! -t

Miwa hasnt been to the show with her handmade sageo in several years, I think Junichi must be speaking of Dick Dodge and his wife who are always over in the far left corner. Im surprised Curran there arent good links on this site - surely this has come up before, or are you just hoping for something appropriate in somebodys junk box?

I would go with "withered" tree and see these as empty branches as Ito Sensei has suggested, -t

Junichi- I believe you answered your own question. Very nice piece, love the subdued nature of the colors and the theme. -t

Jason- sounds like youre off to a great start. Make sure you dig through the archives here, lots of useful nuggets, news on new publications and links to worthwhile websites. If you havent already check out the Japanese sword index webpages, lots of great links. Youve set yourself an impressive goal, i envy you the adventure! -t (for Toryu)

How about Man 満?

Acid etching - a sure sign... -t

We really need a Swords and Swordsmen thread on this board, There are many ways to cut with the Japanese sword - how you cut will depend often on the school you practice but also on the circumstances. Most will cut with the left hand, a large slicing stroke as has been mentioned. There is a "skipping" stroke, a pushing stroke, a pulling stroke, a "snapping" cut where the right hand pushes and the left hand pulls in a quick close snapping motion tight to the body. There is also chopping with the right hand or with both hands close together on the tsuka. for any who have tried cutting real targets you will understand that the sword cuts best when the focus is in the mono-uchi. Chopping with the right hand puts all that power in the area of the koshi (habaki-moto) - might kill a naked man but a poor way to cut a moving target that is even lightly armed. Most often tsuka fail for two reasons; long tsuka/short nakago or very bad cutting form. Chopping is bad form and nearly every school you encounter will train it out of you. I use two mekugi in my training sword for added safety, in the tremendous explosions, rattle and roar one encounters crawling across a modern battle I'd want two mekugi in my tsuka as well. However I think the failures would be more from poor cutting, applied to heavy targets (rifles, helmets) by poorly trained swordsmen, and maybe poor materials, a tough combination in a tough environment. mho -t

David - I dont think there was a big market for boku-to tsuba combos. I think it more likely the artist leaves what would be the seppa-dai blank and anyone who chose to utilize the design could give it whatever treatment was needed. There is quite the variety here - it is easy to see from a book like this many a design could be copied, right down to the signature! -t

i would suggest Sumo (as a new year festivity) for the theme... -t

Has to be the coolest tsuba I have seen in a long time. Thank you for pointing it out, -t

Sad! Even then Japanese school-kids had to wear shorts in the winter!! -t

Jeremy - According to Japanese Imported Arms of the Meiji Period the Hon stamp is an early acceptance stamp that was used in what became the Tokyo Arsenal. The Shin or "Ni" (新) stands for either Niigata, Niihari or Niikawa, the prefecture where it would have been registered. The latter two, Niihari and Niikawa, were later consolidated into other areas so no longer exist as Prefectures, I think both of these support the early Meiji date. A very neat find. -t

Gentlemen - With one thousand years of history comes one thousand different styles of wearing and using a sword. For some schools the draw involves use of the hips and waist, in others very long swords can be drawn using just the left and right hands and the judicious use of "timing." Swords were worn on the back and can be drawn over the shoulder or under if you know what you are doing. To say that it wasn't done or there is only one way is a mistake. For every application there was usually more than one devised to defeat it, many of these "tricks" fell by the wayside and today what we see are the schools and techniques proven by battle and by their (technical/teaching) logic. Gyaku menuki are indeed a feature of Yagyu koshirae but like many of the variations we see a matter of taste and used by a number of practitioners. Myself included, -t We really need a Swords and Swordsmen section on this forum...