sword_guy

I recently came across the ebay seller sakura_antiques who seems to have some good items and claims to be from Japan. However it seems suspicious that none of the items I have seen are papered. Has anyone dealt with this seller in the past? Is he legitimate?

Very strange. This one seems to be more ovoid than some of the other similar examples. Maybe this one is a copy? It does seem like the whole seppa area is pretty worn down.

Hi All, I just saw (what appears to be) the exact same Kogatana and Kogai listed for different prices on Yahoo Japan auction and Ebay by what appears to be different sellers. For reference: https://www.jauce.com/auction/1024399257 (¥10,500 JPY at time of posting) https://www.ebay.com/itm/275055370318 ($645 USD at time of posting) I'm not sure what to make of this. Is one a liar or are there retailers in Japan that will list through multiple sources? I wanted to share this curiosity I found and was wondering if anyone could give some more information on this phenomenon.

Very impressive! I think personally I am partial to those carved all the way through (although that is of course FAR more labor intensive than a surface level carving), and find those repeating patterns like the Asanoha more appealing. But the precision needed to do numerous concentric circles and the very understated nature of them is definitely attractive. I find the tsuba that are nearly a perfect circle appealing in themselves just for the pure precision and simplicity they have with the knowledge that to do that by hand with a high degree of precision would be quite a challenge. Adding concentric circles amplifies that.

Yeah I think I have seen some that seemed just wrong on ebay (I'm still fairly new so can't articulate why but just a gut feeling). As an aside a metal 3D printed Tsuba actually seems pretty cool! (even though it's not traditional at all). You could make some very interesting and near impossible patterns (by hand) with 3D printing. Thanks for the link!

Etching would be a far easier way to make the patterns but as far as I know it usually doesn't go very deep. Do you know how deep that pattern is on the tsuba you showed? As far as I know in Europe at the same time etching saw significant use even by famous artists like Rembrant. And as it turns out in the late edo period Japan saw the first etching for art by a man named Shiba Kōkan. Who etched in copper. So it was at least known and possible but no idea if it was common. An interesting thought experiment worthy of further research for sure!

That does seem to be the most plausible story. I have heard this was a very common practice under the masters. Even so still impressive! I have also seen some other patterns like this one which I think is called "Sayagata" So I am presuming there must be others either of other mons repeating (like the Shippo Tsunagi) or other interesting patterns like the one below.

Very interesting! It seems like (from your examples and some others I have come across) that Seiryuken Eiju is the primary producer of these tsuba with the second pattern (shippo?). Is that his signature style? Were there others that did the same? If not he must have produced a tremendous amount foe them to still be quite common!

Hi Chris, Thank you for the information! Do you know of any broad term to cover all types of tsubas that have some sort of tiled / repeating geometric pattern? Would that be Sashiko? Are there many others like this tsuba (in the shippo style or otherwise) or is this a relatively rare type?

Hi All, I recently saw this post on the for sale section of a tsuba that I like many others thought was beautiful: I was looking to learn more about these types of tsuba with tiled geometric patterns. I find them visually striking and am hoping to learn more. Were there any schools that specialized in them? Any patterns that are recurring in these types of designs? Any resources that would be good to check out to get a more in depth knowledge? Thanks in advance!

Thanks!

Can you guys please list Eric's ebay username? I am always curious to see other good reliable sellers.

The saya looks like it is trying to copy the Type 98 saya to me

It looks pretty fake to me The tsuba looks very different from traditional Type 98 tsubas (it doesn't have the same chrysanthemum symbols and is instead almost an asterisk symbol) as does the fuchi (no chrysanthemum, etc.) The kanji on the blade while I cannot read it is usually associated with fakes (from what I have seen) There is no samegawa that I can see on the tsuka and the Tsuka-ito seems kind of sloppily done with a fair amount of unevenness on it. The color of the tsuka-ito also liike wrong but that could be the lighting. The overall blade profile looks more like a wakizashi which as far as I know did exist in WWII type 98 guntos but usually they had the same sayas as the longer ones (someone please correct me if I am wrong) The saya also has no symbols, same as the tsuba and fuchi. There is also no saya clip (I don't know if there is a proper term for this...) which would hold the blade into the saya although there is a hole for it in the tsuba. All in all looks pretty fake but I am somewhat new so I defer to the older and more knowledgeable members.

You are absolutely right thank you for the correction!

Interesting. I see some references to type 44 online but as far as I know the type naming system comes from the year of the emperor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_98) so type 44 would be 1911 (as per the type 44 rifle) if I understand correctly. As I said a bit new and I do see the type 3 on ohmura http://ohmura-study.net/952.html I also know that many swords were made not necessarily at the same time or place as they were later put together. Perhaps it was a blade that was part of a Type 98 and then refit into a Type 3 housing? Do you have more pictures of the blade?

I am still fairly new but have never heard of type 44 gunto. I have seen Type 94 Guntos which as far as I know started production in 1932 (http://ohmura-study.net/931.html) As far as I know shin Gunto were produced all throughout and before the war so a sword produced in 1942 is very reasonable.

I'm certainly no expert but it seems to be fake to me. The blade has writing on it which seems to correlate with fakes, and the tsuka and saya all seem totally different from the examples listed as authentic I have seen before. Check out this link for lots of good info: http://ohmura-study.net/957.html I am, however not particularly knowledgeable so perhaps it is good to wait for a second opinion. Also, it is probably best to move this to the Military swords section. As far as I know that is the section for non-traditionally made blades like the NCO Guntos which this may or may not be.

Is there any visible hada or hamon? It seems like a curious piece. Maybe modern made? A tanto repurposed from an old showato? I am fairly new and kind of guessing here so I would defer to anyone more knowledgeable.

Hi Mario I think you will probably want to at least put some information about what price range you are interested in. There are lots of options at a variety of price ranges. Good luck in your search!