Maxime Chouinard

Thank you Jean. The photo is making a lot of details look very off, chiefly the kiku which looks much more amateurish than it really is. The link is showing a blade by the first generation Yoshimichi, but I think mine is from the 4th Kyoto generation. I have compared it to many blades by that specific smith, and find the characters to be an exact match, with the kiku being the one detail that varies the most among different examples, namely the way the button is carved in. To illustrate my point, I made a superposition of this oshigata and the mei of the present sword. https://www.aoijapan.net/katana-kikumon-tamba-no-kami-yoshimichi-kyo-fouth-generation/

Thank you!

I also forgot to mention that I am not looking to sell this sword nor its fittings.

For added attention, here is the tsuba that came with it. Any ideas on which maker or school this may belong to would be very welcome.

Indeed I was quite surprised to see that when I removed the mekugi. Having a screw mekugi seems essential here to maintain the pressure on the wrap. The backing paper may have been there to help stabilize the sleeve through pressure or glue. I'm also unsure about the lines. Perhaps the remains of a previous tsukamaki that was undone and replaced? Perhaps a way to measure where the lines would be placed on the sleeve? As for the reason why, I'm am equally puzzled. It does make for a fairly tough grip. Perhaps a way to allow someone to change the cover for another? Though at that point an extra tsuka may have done the job. Maybe as a layer of protection to be certain that water would not affect the blade? Maybe the artisan simply wanted to show off their incredible skills and creativity by designing such an intricate koshirae? Who knows!

I have examined it myself, and I can tell you it is exactly as I described it. It is a thin tube of wood on which a mock ito was made out of lacquer. If a textile wrap was present underneath the urushi it would be much thicker than this one is. This is only a few millimeters thick, barely the size of a very slim cord. It is possible though that the ito was carved out of wood or paper and then lacquered though, but it's not like standard lacquered ito I have seen in the past.

Thank you!

Thank you for the feedback. Could it be gimei? It's a bit rusted out, but it's not quite the general shape or positioning of a Muramasa mei, at least for the little I know on the subject.

Hello everyone, A friend recently showed me this tanto for which I cannot quite make out the signature. I'm working very hard to convince myself that it is not Muramasa though, as the characters certainly look very similar. XD The blade comes with a very high end koshirae. Almost every single feature that can be silver is made of that metal, even down to the koiguchi, over which the fuchi slides to almost hermetically enclose the blade in the saya. The only exception is the habaki... which is wrapped in gold foil. Also, I am curious if there is a name for this type of tsukamaki. It appears to be a sheath of wood over which someone created a mock tsuka ito using urushi. Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help!

Hello everyone, I have recently found this katana which bears the signature of Tanban no kami Yoshimichi. It seems very similar to the mei of the 4th generation Kyo, but I would I am wondering if more experienced members could chime in. Unfortunately, the blade was heavily scratched and tarnished, so it is almost impossible to see any grain or hamon. It looks to have been polished quite a few times during its lifetime judging by the fairly small ha machi. The yasurime is also difficult to see due to the thick patina on the nakago, but it looks sujikai/o-sujikai. Thank you in advance.

I am raising the question again, is there any expert that anyone could suggest to authenticate these blades and who might be willing to travel to Quebec?

Thanks! Here are two close ups of this last blade.

Well I wasn't expecting that! Of course the next step would be to show it to an expert, I am would never feel confortable to officially identify this. Could anyone suggest someone able to authenticate this piece? It is located in Quebec City, Canada.

Any other guess on the second tanto or the wakizashi tsuba mei?

Thank you Thomas. It appears that the blade has a couple of kitaeware. I believe this would be indicative of a folded (if somewhat badly) blade?

Thanks to both of you. I'll try to post some more pictures tonight when I get home, I don't think any of them really shows it but there was some kind of a faint hada going on.

Thanks Piers!

Also realized that some pictures were missing. Second tanto: The tsuba for the wakizashi

Thank you! As for the second one, its not much clearer but here is another view. http://i42.tinypic.com/33lhtl5.jpg

Hello everyone, I am helping a local regimental museum to identify part of their sword collection, among them are many nihonto and a couple of gunto. This one grabbed my attention as it seems to be a naval officer sword with a nihonto blade. I am unfamiliar with naval sword tassel so if anyone could name the rank it identifies I would be grateful. Also can anyone identify the mon and translate the mei? Thank you for any help you can bring.

I am helping a local regimental museum to identify some of the swords in their collections. Some of them are Nihonto, and I would be glad if you could help me to identify some of them. The first one is a small tanto with a kanji horimono. Unfortunately the kissaki is broken but it is signed , and interestingly the sageo seems to be recycled from a military gunto tassel. It is very scratched and I could barely make out the hamon or hada. The second one is also a tanto, lavishly decorated, the saya lacquer work is done so that a raised decor representing a dragon is shown. It is also signed, unfortunately a mekugi hana was pierced partly onto one of the characters. The blade exhibits a single bo-hi and has an assymetrical theme to its fittings. The third one is a wakizashi, the blade was cut and is unsigned but the tsuba is signed, part of the yasuri me is still visible. Any information you could give would be very much appreciated.

Thank you Piers! I took a look at that list for a couple of minutes and... oh boy! I came up with a couple of candidates but none of them really look like what I have here, but I guess its just because of the way it was stylized. What would the kanji refer to? A unit or a family?

Hello everyone, I just bought this antique jingasa, and was wondering if anyone could help me identify its provenance and age? The Mon is familiar but I can't remember where I've seen it before. Any hint you can give is appreciated!

Thanks for the info Lance. Would be great to have a thread with unusual details on gunto/military gendai to. If anyone has anything to contribute please do so!

Thank you Mariusz, most helpful indeed!