Ludolf Richter

I remember the characters plus the Kao.It was maybe a pice from the former Mosle Collection.The characters had been vice versa: Hisahide.There is only one artist possible:Hisahide from the Kikugawa family from Otowa/Edo.Besides other Go, he also used Hidehisa (written like Teruhisa but spoken Hidehisa): Haynes H 01475.One piece was dated 1825 with the addition that he was 77 (?) years old when he made it,which shows that he was born around 1750.Ludolf

Hi Brian,maybe he was a student of one of the Yanagawa masters who left the school.He shouldn't have used "Yanagawa".There are at least 2 with the same name who worked in the Akasaka style at Edo.Your Tsuba seems to be not typical for Yanagawa but more for Akasaka style.Ludolf

Hi Brian,there is no Yanagawa Masayoshi in the books:look at "The Yanagawa School" in "The Baur Collection" on page 108 with all the artists of that school.Ludolf

Look at my topic "Nice Shinto blade" with Fujiwara instead of Minamoto.Ludolf

There had been a Czernys auction in Italy on Dec.2/3.One Wakizashi blade without Koshirae or Shirasaya in best condition remained unsold.There is a photo of the blade plus an oshigata in the internet catalogue at No.682.The price is Euro 1500 plus ca.300 for the auctioneer.The Mei reads Shinano no Kami Fujiwara Nobuyoshi.I have checked the Mei from the Oshigata-pic and I believe that Nidai Shinano no Kami Nobuyoshi,Hawley NOB 592,made the blade.Hawley has forgotten his rating figure:by comparisn between Shodai and Nidai according to Tokuno's figures he shoud have a "60"!The Mei is nearly identical with one from the Shinto Taikan (p.615).Take a look:www.czernys.com Ludolf

Hi Kurosawa, the Tsuba Mei reads:Sukenaga saku.Haynes and other non-Japanese index-books don't show this artist.In a Japanes book he is listed as an artist from Bizen province without further data.My guess is that the Tsuba was made bei a swordsmith,who didn't (as usual!) use his swordsmith's name or he used different Kanji.There is no Bizen Sukenaga swordsmith with these Kanji,but some with a different 2nd character.Ludolf

for Brian:I had to log in seven times till I could place my reply! Hi Curran,I believe there is no ranking sytem for tosogu artists in existance.If one has papers that attribute his Tsuba (etc.) to a well known and esteemed master,than he is lucky and will probably achieve good results.There may be differences due to the various motives.Auction results are showing a tendency to higher prices for soft-metal pieces,especially from masters of the 19th Century.It is selfevident that,for example,a Heian or Onin Tsuba,which normally is not faultless,shall be degraded.Some collectors prefer pieces from the metal (iron vs.soft metal or vice versa) or from certain schools or Sukashi vs.other ones.Although I have a nice (an valuable) Kozuka from the 2nd Umetada master I prefer 3 Tsuba,made of iron (2 Ko-Tosho,a 3rd one with high relief carvings,signed by Yanagawa Naoharu).I am wondering why so many Tsuba without Mei or papers are achieving such high prices,if only they are showing a nice ("sweet") picture/motive,regardless whether they are made by a famous master or not!Ludolf PS.I started as a sword collectors and I am know an "overall" Nihonto fan

According to the Haynes index,it should be the Tomonobu from Choshu with the index figure H 10021 (1850-75),but in fact,there had been several other Choshu Tomonobu from the beginning of the 18th century till the Meiji era,not covered by the Haynes "bible".The shape is like others of the Okamoto family,where the artists normally added "Oka" in front of the name.Ludolf

I am quite sure it's not made by (the probable shodai )SAD 747.For SAD 748 I do not have any mei-pic.Your mei looks as if someone tried to fake the one of SAD 747,who at that time was known as very good swordsmith.Ludolf

Hi John,the last 5 characters read as follows: ju Tadakatsu kore kitau The last 2 characters "he who has made this". Tadakatsu was a Showa swordsmith from Seki/Gifu,who worked for the army during the war.Hawley gave him the TAD 64.He is not mentioned in Slough's Oshigata Book.

The 2nd Sadatsugu is SAD 748.Sorry.Ludolf

Hi Lewis,the Mei reads "Echizen ju Hyaga (no) Kami Fujiwara Sadatsugu".There are 2 in Hawley's index,probably father and son: SAD 747 rating 30 (!) worked around 1661(Kanbun era) SAD 747 rating 15 worked around 1688(Genroku era) Ludolf

To become the personal fitting artist of a Daimyo one had to be very good.I believe his ranking at that time would have been around the No.10 of all the fitting artists.The very best had been employed by the "big" one Daimyos (Tokugawa clan,Satsuma,etc.).Ludolf

It's (the famous) Hamano artist of the Tsuchiya-family,who often used Masachika (here with Sekienshi),normally followed by "6th generation" (Kanji or Kao),although he called himself Yasuchika 6th generation:Haynes Y 11109.He worked for the Daimyo of Dewa and died in 1861.Some authors make him Yasuchika 5th generation because his father is said to have used the Yasuchika name first when he was more then 60 years old,i.e.after his son.I don't know whether the character behind chika does mean 6th gen.Ludolf

Hi Tsuba guys,now that I own these Tsuba,I started to look in my books for a possible artist.I believe I was successful:there is an iron Tsuba (with gold and shakudo inlays,but without a Kogai hitsu like with mine),signed Hideoki (H 01129,1788-1851,student of Otsuki Mitsuoki,worked at Edo and later Osaka) with the same shape,size,rim (!),nakago and Kozuka hitsu like my bigger one Tsuba.When I lput my Tsuba on the pic (according to the author in original size) of Hideoki's one,nothing of the pic was to be seen besides the part below the Kogai hitsu!The motive is of course different.Ludolf

I have bought a nice iron tsuba with high relief carvings.The mei reads Kôto ju Takafuji Kiyohide,where Kôto is is an old writing for Kyôto.There is only one Yamashiro artist in the books with no further data who worked around 1700.Does anyone of You have information about this Kiyohide or the (family name?) Takafuji?Ludolf

Many thanks.Ludolf

Hi all,there is a nice Katana on a German auction to come,signed Hizen Kuni Masatsugu (Hawley MAS 1165 and 1135,Nihonto Meikan p.865).According to the description,the sword was made in 1940,but the inscription is as follows:koki nisen roku hyaku nen.For me that sounds like 2040 and not 1940.What does that mean?Ludolf

I just got them 300 Euro below then the auction limit,because they remained unsold during the session.Ludolf

I just got this information from Google: non-Samurai with "Ko"-Wakizashi length not longer than 45.54 cm!Ludolf II. Civilian Control and Classifications of Nihon-to in Feudal Laws: The length based definition. More than four decades after Tokugawa Iyeyasu had restored the peace and order in Japanese society, the Tokugawa Shogunate also issued several orders to prohibit chonin class from carrying long swords. One of such orders was Dai-sho katana no Sumpou oyobi tohats futsumoh no Sei [The Order Regarding Dai-sho Katana and Hair Style] issued in July, Shoho 2 (a.d.1645). This law also specified the maximum "blade length" (again, measured in terms of the distance from ha-machi to kissaki) of katana to be 2 shaku 8 to 9 sun (= 84.84cm - 87.87cm), and wakizashi to be 1 shaku 8 sun to 9 sun (= 54.54cm - 57.57cm) (Kokubo, 1993; Ogasawara, 1994b). Then in March, Kanbun 8 (a.d 1668) the Tokugawa Shogunate once again issued Muto Rei, [No Sword Order], an executive order to firmly prohibit the commoner class carrying/wearing any swords longer than "ko--wakizashi" (i.e., small wakizashi) unless specifically permitted by the government (Iiyama, 1995). According Muto Rei, "ko-wakizashi" is defined as a sword whose blade length is shorter than 1 shaku 5 sun (= 45.54cm).

Thanks Paul and Ed!Why was "my" Waki (probably from Kanbun era) shortened 9 cm below the maximum prescripted length?!I had hoped that there were different lengths prescripted for Samurai and non-Samurai. The Daisho looks great:a dream for an Nihonto collector!$ 26.000 seems a little bit to cheap:yesterday a Shinshinto Tachi,made by Ishido Unju Korekazu in 1862,was sold at an auction for nearly Euro 20.000 and a Koto Tachi without papers,signed Hisakatsu,for nearly Euro 23.000.Ludolf

Has anyone heard of a shortened Wakizashi,where the Mei was folded into the new Tang (Orikaeshi-Mei) ?There is a nice Shinto/Kyoto Wakizashi with that feature on an German auction to come:shortened from probably 51-52 cm (the standard length used by this swordsmith) to now 42.5 cm.I remember certain restrictions for non-samurai for the length of their Wakizashi but couldn't find the source in my books.Ludolf

"Probably Tanaka-school",whatever that means.Ludolf

Auction Nagel/Stuttgart/Germany/Nov.4 with estimate Euro 1300

There may be a chance that the Mei is not faked but made by Shodai Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi of the Mishina Ha of Osaka/Settsu (the 3rd son of Shodai Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi of the Mishina Ha of Kyoto/Yamashiro) = Hawley YOS 391!!The 2nd signature/dating (Bushu Edo Mishina Yoshimichi shortened this sword in the 2nd month of Kansei 3 [1792]) is a little bit strange:there is no member of the Mishina Ha-either Kyoto or Osaka- to be found at Edo/Musashi! Nihonto Meikan and Hawley (YOS 385) are showing a "Shinto" one from Edo with no further data.It's not the 7th gen.Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi from Osaka (YOS 402,also Hyuga;he died in 1805):the 2 examples from REI 37/1993 and Art and the Sword/1991 are quite dfferent. If the Mei is faked,why should a later swordsmith,who shortened the sword,add an inscription like that one at all,with the statement being a member of the Mishina school?! Get it papered!Ludolf