Toryu2020

Curt - Perhaps I misunderstand so want to ask - where are you getting the saya made? Is the craftsman not producing a new habaki along with a new tsuka to match the shirasaya? Is it just a saya you are having made, one suitable for lacquer and wear as a full koshirae? I only ask because getting a "shirasaya" is generally not a step to re-mounting an old sword... -t

FWIW 1. Shinshinto - ubu 2. Koto - Muromachi 3. Koto - Nanboku-cho 4. Koto - Kamakura

and the flower fits for shi-shi better than saru ... -t

Gary - It may sound obvious but you are looking at seal script - I believe this is an homage and what you are seeing is 安親 : Yasuchika The animals appear to be a monkey and a water-dragon. The third thing looks like a missing ume-gane (plug) and not a feature intended by the artist. FWIW -t

Drago - looking at the date, start with the first character. If you think it is Mei (明) then you need to look at all the year periods that start with Mei. If you are convinced this is a Tameshi-mei then you should only be looking at nengo after 1600 or so. If this character is not "Mitsu" then what other character, often seen in dates might it be? and that number 8 character appears to me to be pretty common. If there were two characters before it what might they be? The other side I agree is a puzzle but maybe photos of different angles may help. Are you convinced there is a character between "tsu" and "U"? neat stuff, -t

Folks - It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2013 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. Following on the success of the 2012 Tampa Shinsa Yoshikawa Sensei and team have been persuaded to bring an overseas shinsa to the west coast. This event will coincide with the 2013 NCJSC To-ken Taikai being held the same weekend in the same hotel in San Francisco. It promises to be a heavily attended sword show this year and with the added excitement of a shinsa will surely be one not to miss. 2013 NTHK San Francisco Shinsa August 3,4 and 5 09:00 to 17:00 daily San Francisco Airport Marriott, Burlingame Registration $100.00 per item Visit http://www.toryu-mon.com for registration information and full details. or email us at NTHK2013@toryu-mon.com We look forward to seeing you all there, -t Note: If you plan to stay at the hotel remember to ask for the special "sword show" rate.

Denis - If you insert a shim on the sides of the koiguchi the saya is more likely to split. The best way to go is to insert your shims at the ha and mune (top and bottom). Very very thin leather works or if you can get it paper thin slices of cedar the Japanese call kyogi. The danger lies in the glue used. Make sure you use nothing with any petroleum or other chemical base. Simple white glue works fine but must be thoroughly dry before you return the sword to the saya. If you make your own rice-glue use it sparingly and remember to completely dry it, before returning the sword to the saya. I have done this many times for swords used in our dojo, it is quite easy to do and harmless if you follow the advice above, -t

Traditionally all fires are extinguished at the end of the old year and not re-lighted until the third day at the earliest. This is why traditional news years food is all served cold and prepared in advance. For swordsmiths this was indeed how they re-lit the fire and still do. They hammer a piece of steel until redhot and then use that to light paper to relight the fires in the forge. -t

i am more inclined to see this a mizuhiki, originally dried fish given as a gift on auspicious occasions. today it is represented by red/white folded paper on gift boxes - indeed the inclusion of the rat is also auspicious... -t

Two Tomoe as Barry says and two kiri In the classic kiri-mon you see three leaves and three "flowers" here I believe all we are seeing is the middle of the three and the other two are hinted at... -t

I'd go with Jingo... -t

They are all kanji, they are all shown upside down... -t

楽水軒藤静寿 Rakusuiken Tou Seiju or Fuji Seiju Rakusuiken is his Go and not a place name i am thinking...

A nice example, And original as it is coloured. There were reprints of this in the showa period only worth about $20. Neat stuff but not very useful unless you have a specific sword/smith listed annd youd like to have all available info. Much better info available for much less in more recent publications... -t

and there you have it, Nobuyoshi two artists who signed with these characters... -t

how about? 信廣 Nobuhiro with rather stylized characters - how about some full photos of the guard?

great stuff Gentlemen- This is one of those friend of a friend items. i have yet to see it in hand but once i do will post some more photos for the final verdict... thanks, -t

I want to ask, is this not a gendai work? Are we maybe looking in the wrong place for this smith? The depth of the ha-machi especially makes me wonder. 龍虎 BTW is the theme of the tsuba - dragon on one side and tiger on the other... -t

Henk - You may have read my use of the word harass too literally. There is a style of instruction where you take the student by the hand and lead him through all he needs to know. Then there is the class that challenges the student from the beginning to read his surroundings and copy the actions of others or suffer for his inattention. The student is forced to dissect the techniques himself and all his realizations are earned by him rather than given. As a "westerner" I am criticized by my teacher when I try to explain things to the students; "talking to them makes them stupid!" is something I often hear. As for "ranking" folks, it is important to know who is a teacher or senior student and to address them properly. I think in any large gathering we unconsciously do this. It is not to be critical or to point out others and certainly not something verbalized. We might push people hard but we are always polite :D

Folks - Would you all say this is a Chinese fake pretending to be something she is not or a late-War something or other that someone has gussied up by polishing all the parts and painting the same black? No where near Slough at the moment so will appreciate any input. -t

My little handbook of Japanese mon lists no less than 96 families that used this mon in the Edo period, the Takenaka being the most famous, it notes that more than 200 families (they mean families that count) used variations of the take mon during the more two hundred years of Tokugawa rule. If you have an object with more than one mon on it, it may be possible to connect it to a particular generation of a particular family as the main house, the mothers house and the particular generation could be represented by mon. For this you need a copy of the Taisei Bukan which is a who's who of Edo-jidai Japan... -t

Very nice Franco - keep those pictures coming! -t

Ok so no real sources to cite here but I offer the following; It is said that Takeda Shingen developed the mukade tsuba for his Mukade-tai, his elite guard and messenger corps, marking them as members and important individuals among his troops. Just as the shu-saya or ichiban yari marked someone of exceptional bravery or as a member of the vanguard. There was a tale related years ago in the JSSUS about a samurai that discovered a famous tsuba while on a mission for his lord in the provinces, upon returning home he realized he could not wear it publicly and would never have come across it without the patronage of his lord, he therefore made a gift of it to his daimyo, for which he was rewarded. He was then faced with the question whether or not to compensate the seller as the tsuba had now become much more valuable than even he had thought when he purchased it. A tale certainly, but one told to teach the us the values of the time; don't wear tsuba/koshirae above your station, don't take advantage of the ignorant, don't covet valuable swords and tsuba! Yagyu tsuba are said carry the message of individual teachings from the famous school of swordsmanship but may also have marked the wearer as a member of the ryu, as a school supported by the Tokugawa this may have meant you were someone of some importance and not just a "fan." Culturally it makes perfect sense, in todays' Kendo dojo if you were to show up in super high class bogu on your first day you would be subjected to constant harassment until either your skills matched your equipment or you quit! This is not a new attitude. In Iaido we eschew flashy dress and koshirae for shinsa and embu most especially for beginners. There is a great deal of examination of the kit and comportment of new faces, if someones rank is known you know how to behave, but if new you check them out and "rank" them based on appearance and performance, including what equipment they employ. How many cheap poorly made koshirae have you seen with an exceptional top class tsuba attached? How many well made koshirae have you seen where the tsuba has been removed or swapped out with something that clearly does not fit? An untouched specimen of a period koshirae is a thing of beauty no matter the quality but the qualities are clear and all the parts seem to fit the "rank" do they not? My own teacher says that the choice of tsuba was more important than the choice of sword for it tells the world what kind of man you are, and once the sword is drawn "the tsuba is just a hand-stop and the blade simply a weapon." In short I agree with the idea, while "sources" and clear evidence may require some work on our part I feel confident that the idea is a correct one. -t

i have both the paperback and the eBook. terrific stuff here. the only regret is the the paper has no color images and the electronic images are not a higher resolution. love all that I have read so far. -t

I would have to disagree with John - The Samurai Sword is where you need to start. It is a very good introduction and indeed has excellent references for variations in written kanji as seen in signatures. The connoisseurs book is a fantastic overview of the whole study focused on the practice of kantei. I feel you need to master the terminology and history and maybe get to know some of the more famous names before tackling this book. I recommend you start with Yumoto Sensei's book and then read The Japanese Sword by Sato Kanzan which also introduces the subject of fittings and koshirae and has some great illustrations. If you totally devour these two books and can't wait for more move on to the more advanced books - keeping in mind unless you are seeing real swords in hand, the connoisseurs book is just a lot of names, dates and jargon. mho -t PS Nakahara Sensei has a unique few on several subjects that I think are best appreciated after the "established" view is understood.