Okan

Great work as always. Congrats! 

4 hours ago, DKR said:

What does the sayagaki say ?

It is a "Tada-mei" by the first generation Tadayoshi, and is estimated to be a work from around the 15th or 16th year of the Keicho era [1610–1611]. It is a utsushi of an old work by Rai Kunitoshi and is excellently made.

Hizen no Kuni Tadayoshi. Blade length: 8 sun, 5 bu. Year of the Wood-Snake, March, by Tanzan.

Thank you all for your comments! 

Hello all, 

I recently acquired a Gassan wakizashi (Hozon - Gassan) and would like to learn more about it. I would greatly appreciate your insight into identifying the period and any additional details you may notice.

Thank you, and my apologies in advance for the photos.

On 3/28/2026 at 12:30 AM, Exclus1ve said:

I love the accompanying documents for such things, very interesting. Okan, could you take a photo of kashira and the signature as well?

It's not signed, Viktor. Here you go:

On 3/24/2026 at 6:46 PM, Curran said:

 

Hey... No worries! Good tsuba.

There are a few of us in the USA that collect Norisuke tsuba and might put an exhibit together some day. I figured one of them had gotten this example.

Though subtle, it pulls off the water ripple effect very well. It makes Hotei's bag look very fluid and generous.

 

Even though I am a part time Corp Tax CPA, I totally got my own taxes wrong under the new USA tax laws.

It will even out next year, but I owe a lot more than expected this year. 

Missing out on that tsuba was simply a casualty of timing and cash flows.

I really did think it was going to one of the collectors in the USA.

I have a feeling it will eventually end up with one of the collectors in the USA — it’s just making a brief stopover here for now  

5 hours ago, Exclus1ve said:

I like Kaga Zogan. Your tsuba made me take action) I’ll share my new acquisition soon.

Looking forward to seeing it! 

Hi guys, 

Here is something interesting to show you. A set of f/k awarded to Kamiya Dōichi, by Lord Chimura Nakashige(千村仲展) in 1868.

Who was Kamiya Dōichi:

Kamiya Dōichi(神谷道一) Known by the courtesy name Shikan and the art name Kansai. He was a Karō (Chief Retainer) of the Chimura family(Hatamoto), Kukuri Domain of Nōshū [Mino Province], during the Restoration. During the Hokueutsu War (part of the Boshin War), he was dispatched as the Commander of the Second Unit. After the Restoration, he became a Negi (senior priest) at the Minami-gu National Shrine. Subsequently, he entered service in Gifu Prefecture, where he was tasked with the editing of historical records. In 1879, he became the first District Governor of Kani, and later served as the District Governor for Ena, Ono, Mashita, and Yoshiki. He resigned from office in 1885 and authored works such as the "Sekigahara Senki" (Chronicle of the Battle of Sekigahara).

Translations made by Gemini so I'm expecting some errors, but you'll get the idea.

Award for the Echigo Military Campaign. Plum Blossom Fuchi-Kashira. One Set.

Meiji 1, Year of the Earth Dragon [1868], November 15th. From the village of Kukuri in Tōnō [Eastern Mino Province]. Humbly received from Lord Chimura Nakashige. [Signed] Kamiya Dōichi.

At the time of the Meiji Restoration, the Kukuri Domain of Nōshū [Mino Province] joined the Imperial Army and dispatched troops to Echigo. My ancestor, Kamiya Dōichi, served as a military inspector and fought bravely. Upon his victorious return, the Lord of the Domain, Chimura Nakashige, rewarded his distinguished service by granting him this.

From there, it was passed down to my late father, Yoshimichi. The writing remaining on the lid of this case was brushed by the old master Kansai Dōichi. Having escaped the war damages of the 20th year of Showa (1945), it still exists today. It should be deeply revered.

Recorded by his grandson, Yasuhiko.

Enjoy! 

I’m sorry, @Curran. It went higher than I expected as well. I’ll check the books—thank you!

@ROKUJURO Dear Jean, I bought these before the war started, and somehow the second one magically appeared at my door along with other stuff, being stuck in the Philippines for quite a while. So I’m not on the hunt; but research  And yes, might be Hotei's sack. 

@Spartancrest Thank you! It’s definitely someone’s sack.  

Hi all,

I’d like to share two more tsuba, one of which recently came into my hands: a Norisuke and a Chōshū Sadaie piece. As always, any thoughts or observations are very welcome.

@Volker62

2 more blades with the same nickname. 

Bizen Osafune Katsumitsu

Asa-arashi

Owned by Matsushita Masatoshi

Auspicious day in the 8th month, Eishō 1 (1504)

Asa-arashi

Ōwaki-ke futatsu-dō kiri-otoshi (cutting through two torsos at the underarm)

Owned by Maejima Hachirō

Signed Tomotsugu (kaō)

Hi, 

Much appreciated if you could give me a hand with this.

Thank you

5 minutes ago, eternal_newbie said:

Care to elaborate? I'm curious to see how they compare to the previous two sessions, which had an extremely low (sub-10%) pass rate.

Just a personal impression. I’ll leave it at that  

I visited two days ago and was surprised to see that some blades and fittings which would barely have qualified for Tokuho 5-6 years ago were able to pass Juyo. Of course, there were some great pieces as well.

@wakiboy yup!

18 hours ago, Exclus1ve said:

Very beautiful! I like this set better in terms of quality. 

Very interesting point. So it turns out this was a joint work done at the same time?

I like them both — each set has its own character. And yes, according to the origami, it’s a joint work made at the same time. 

Sokujo and Teijo were cousins. Sokujo lived a very short life and passed away at the age of 31. His son Renjo was four at the time, so although he was the intended successor, uncle Teijo stepped in to take over the mainline, raising and training Renjo until he came of age. Renjo, assumed the position at 25, becoming the 11th-generation head.

16 minutes ago, Lewis B said:

Excellent. In a dealer capacity?

No, I'm sending my collector half instead  

I’ll be there as well. 

1 hour ago, shakudo said:

Hi Okan, love the 2 sets you have shown, would be pleased to have in my collection for sure. One set juyo- is that papered by NBTHK or by attribution on kanji inside box? And this set by paper? Certainly dint want to offend but papered?

Very envious,

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike, 

Previous set is NBTHK 67th Juyo..this one is Tokubetsu Hozon with Origami by the 12th gen Goto Mitsumasa. 

1 hour ago, Lewis B said:

The menuki are not that dissimilar to this pair that just listed on Eirakudo

 

https://eirakudo.shop/807221

Well, as you know, they all copied the work of their predecessors, so most of the pieces show similarities with both earlier and later generations. But of course, some are inferior in quality, while others just speak to you. Ones at Eirakudo are very nice as well. 

@Dereks Menuki and all other mon(shishis) are solid gold. 

Hi all, 

Since I had some time for photos today, I thought I’d share this one as well. A mitokoromono by Sokujo, the 8th-generation mainline Goto. According to the origami, the nanako ground was made by Teijo, the 9th generation.

Enjoy! 

Just now, Dereks said:

Just finished reading the article—it’s amazing how thorough the documentation on this family is. Big thanks to @Markus for digging it up!

 

And Okan, forgive my ignorance—does this set have Hozon paper saying Goto Tokujo, or are you judging from the style and box inscriptions? Asking this because they look very similar. 

It's Juyo.