Toryu2020

Very odd estimates, prices all over the place, it will be interesting to see where the Muramasa goes... -t

https://www.societyforasianart.org/prog ... nese-sword Folks - This will be an informal afternoon covering all aspects of the sword. As such it will be mostly introductory in nature so will be aimed at the beginner. However we do expect to have several Juyo level blades out for hands-on study as well as three tables of top quality koshirae and fittings. Should you plan to be in the city that day we would love to see you, -t

Adam - It is a very romantic notion that a sword desires to be used and to lock it up in a shirasaya to be venerated as a piece of art is somehow cruel. If anything the sword has earned its rest and should no longer suffer any abuse, especially if it has lasted some 700 years. I would say depending on the targets used and the skill of the user, as Kunitaro has pointed out, it is possible to use an older blade and not cause damage. However it is a very rare individual that does not cause wear and tear when using a sword for tameshigiri or even iai. Even if your draw and return are super precise, the regular use of uchiko and the contact with the oils of the hand will dull a polish. If only for iai practice the wear is minimal given the life of a sword but still it is wear and if we are the gurantors of the future of the blade we should first do no harm. It is for the very reasons above we do not recommend use of older blades for Iai practice. There are shinken and iaito available that will give the student the same experience without putting possibly important works at risk. mho -t

Ken - I think if you troll thru the New Member Introductions you'll see the personal histories posted. Always nice to check in there once in awhile and see who is joining up... -t

Ken - I would think what you need to do is research who his clients were. From there you should be able to piece together what the likely taste was of the area they came from and so know the likely rig that would have housed one of his works... -t

Alex - We have to remember that the real study of nihonto occurs in the mother tongue, there are terms, historical, archaeological, and otherwise that have been adapted by collectors and practitioners for their own use. The various types of tachi (Efu-dachi, Kenukigata-tachi, ito-maki-tachi) gave way to the koshi-gatana which originally was a term for the tanto, but came to mean that blade worn at the hip. In the Muromachi age this blade became shorter, the curve moved toward the tip and the nakago/tsuka became shorter as well for one-handed use. This blade, ideal for the quick draw, came to be known as the katate-uchi-gatana or as you have pointed out; single-handed striking sword. This name has been abbreviated to uchi-gatana and just katana. The blades themselves show similar profiles. Certainly persons of differing sizes, tastes and ages carried them into battle. How then do we know how they were worn and used? You would have to have the original koshirae to say for sure it was worn as a wakizashi or as a katana. Therefore in the modern study of swords, in the absence of other evidence like a koshirae, length is used to distinguish katana from wakizashi. hoping some of this makes sense... -t

Hans - Don't take Chris' comments to heart. These are natural questions, maybe better suited to an MA forum but quite understandable that someone would ask. I for one am following the thread and find it interesting. ChrisSF I am guessing you have never heard of Ha-biki? -t

Thanks to Chris and Malcolm for the kind remarks, Thanks Peter for posting this, if you get better pics of the tsuba would love to see those as well. -t

http://www.toryu-mon.com Below a little snippet from my article on koshirae the full text of which resides on my ARCHIVES page; 突兵拵　– Toppei Koshirae; In response to growing threats both internally and from the west, the Tokugawa Bakufu under French influence established the Rikugun-sho, or Ministry of War, in 1866. The students and curriculum of the Kobu-sho were absorbed at this time and became the Army training school. French instructors were employed to teach close order drill, artillery and European military science. A uniform based on the French model was employed and swords were required to be carried in a type of leather frog. Because of the particular shape of these leather frogs, scabbards were remade with thin pointed tapering kojiri that reminded the soldiers of a Toppei kabuto. The kurikata became a simple loop on a swivel, sometimes attached to the mune side of the saya, to allow for the sword to be worn in the redress position while in western uniform or through the obi in traditional style. Because these were employed when wearing pants, “zubon”, they are also sometimes referred to as Zubon-zashi and may be thought of as the last stage in the development of Samurai accoutrement as their world would soon disappear with the advent of the Restoration. I think this is a fairly nice example especially if that is silver... -t

Curtis - Look for info on "high" shinogi versus "low" shinogi, this should at least point you toward the various schools that used them... -t

Curran - No pictures?

Brian - FWIW I think the wood on your saya and tsuka both appear very new, 20th century. The kaeshizuno looks to be katana size and new. That is not a signature but a production number. Also in the fuchi it looks like there are little dings showing new metal - this is never good since something untouched from the Edo period even with dings should show age/patination appropriate for the age. If I had to say I would say your fittings are older but the whole koshirae was put together recently. Certainly as a display piece very nice looking and the fittings are honest but i would say this was no a whole set worn by anyone prior to 1945... -t

OK saw the poster- Sorry we did not see this earlier, Bob made no mention at the sword show. And now it looks we can't go... -t

Ken- September 29, 2012??

Many people like gyaku-menuki not just Yagyu swordsmen. If everything is reversed then the owner clearly considered his sword a tachi and wore it that way... not unheard of,and a nice point of difference. -t

I hope I can form my kanji that well when I get old...not so poorly chiselled I'm thinkin -t

Eric - Love that Kaji kabuto and mempo. Looking forward to many more excavated Edo corners... -t

Octopodes! I happened to see them, they were huge, of real quality and would have bought them myself if it hadn't been the new owner who showed them to me... -t

Brian- May I suggest http://www.nihonto.com ???

Every good sword deserves a good polish - This looks to be a good sword, only a trained polisher can say for sure if it can be restored but I would definitely look into it. -t

Alex - The sword is good-looking and is certainly a much better start than some of the purchases we sometimes see here. A real assessment should be done in hand as has been said. For the Koshirae it is eye-catching and indeed looks good on the sword rack. Inspired by a famous set that belonged to the Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi it has been copied many times. We would need closer examination to say for sure but it appears the saya is rather new, the gold stripes not reaching the koiguchi suggest very recent factory made work. The fittings are nice enough, not top-tier but not the worst grade either. The mantis and grasses theme is also an oft-copied one. The colors of shakudo and gold seem to match well the overall package. The tsuba looks like it might have been re-patinated at some point, suggested by the black spots on the seppa-dai, but again this may be your photos. The worst part of the koshirae really is the wrap - I would be very surprised if it was period work - the knots appear too clumsy and the "Hishi" the diamonds that form the grip are not at all uniform. If it looks like that but is still "very tight" I would think it was a very recent re-wrap myself. Not a disaster by any means and certainly a piece we can learn from by comparison. Much of this study is learning the Japanese aesthetic, learning to see as they do and appreciating the best workmanship and expression. But this is a hobby afterall what do they know, in the end collect what you love! -t (the other Thomas. Tom actually...) The above is my opinion, the advice is often repeated by others more learned than I.

OK I remember the post, First off how very neat to have something from that time. If the date is the original date of manufacture then it is pretty darn cool to think this was involved somehow. Not sure how many other pieces of armour were cranked out at this time but I am guessing many artists were either busy making simpler items or simply waiting out the conflict. This does not fit the standard for either the Shogunate forces or the New Imperial Army. Perhaps Aizu or some other place up north got busy making armour for the coming storm. surely if we figure out where your artist was working we'll have a better idea. Thanks again Justin -t ( for tom)

Justin - I would be careful when making assumptions even for something clearly dated like your kabuto. Besides the date do you have any other evidence to suggest it was made "FOR" the fight that was then in progress? Remember that battles happen, are referred to by different names by the opposing sides and may only be known to history by the name applied by historians. Keio 4 was an intercalary year which included an extra month. Like our leap year this occurred only occasionally to help adjust the calendar. It would have been natural for an armour-maker to include this (戊辰) in the date but would not mean it was meant for the conflict unless he said "made for so and so of Satsuma" or for some other group we now know was involved in the fight. If we were to speculate it would most likely be someone associated with the Shogunate since they had the money and the connections. Keep in mind though that it was a mixed bag on both sides of the conflict and some units from both armies were using older arms. Also that many Daimyo chose to opt out of the whole thing, choosing instead to remain at home isolated from what was a political fight at the capital. Why not stay home and live as you always had, and just join up with whoever the winner turned out to be? Someone like this could easily have commissioned some armour while sitting safely on the sidelines. Any idea where this was made? That would be the biggest clue and as always photos are appreciated, -t

Thanks Malcolm I have both books in the series and others from Koryu, I hope someday to have the pleasure of meeting some of these great authors. -t

I know that Mike Y kinda got us started but wanted to go ahead and create a thread for those who are attending, those who want to post photos or reviews and those who are wishing they were here! http://Www.ncjsc.org The schedule of events is up, dealer registration is this afternoon, lots of guests in from out of town so this is promising to be a very good year. For those on Facebook look for us under the 2012 NCJSC San Francisco To-ken Taikai - "like" us and let us know if you're coming! See you all there! -t