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Although “祥” alone can also be read as Aki or Naga for example, in combination with “正” however, I come always up with Yoshimasa or Shousei. Not listed in Koop/Inada, by the way…..

Very suspicious, indeed! Last three kanji can be read “於大連” (oite Dairen = in China)

Hi George, not sure about the third, but it seems “角屋政光”…. So it could be Masamitsu. Several readings for the first two, like Kakuya, Kadoya, Sumiya, Tsunoya and Yadoya. Still searching…

It is strange! Although I never met or talked to him it feels like a good friend has left the scene. A gap will remain…. My deepest condolences. RIP Darcy!

Looks very “廣光” to me!

No luck so far Marc…

Your reading of the mei seems right. The nengo (other side) is “文安ニ年八月” (August 1445). I’ll leave a judgment to the sword experts here….

“酒井繁正” (Sakai Shigemasa)! Compairing the signature online, I would have my doubts….

Hi Marc, I already thought so…I’m probably getting older 🙄 However, I can ask our “book guru” if he knows this publication!

Well now I remember Marc! We talked already about this guy a while ago Munechika, second reading Munekane worked around 嘉永 / 安政 (Kaei / Ansei). Here some examples of his signatures ( I'm not sure if I had already sent them to you ):

Hi Mark, can’t see neither a back plate nor any kanji at all. The descriptions are indeed quite a bit far fetched, I don’t know the book, though. There are at least 3 Munechika listed in the Meikan for the late Edo period: 宗近, 宗親 and 宗周! Any better pics available?

No clue Malcolm. My best guess would be “武久作” and maybe “平安”….

Hi Ciro, I’ve got some parts deciphered (as already mentioned). But couldn’t find any references for the smith and also some relevant parts still waiting for the final translation…. Sry!

My best guess for the first character might be “線”. But that makes no sense and I’m not convinced at all. The second is still illegible for me.… And like Steve mentioned, the last one looks like a composition of maybe “月”, “臣” and..?! But also the style of “writing” is remarkable different when you compare the first with the last two kanji! Or the blade is grind down in this area?

Hello Robert! What one can see at first glance is, “?明珎作?” (?Myōchin saku?). Last character might be “之”. So without the first kanji it could read “?Myōchin kore wo tsukuru”. Which means “Myōchin made this”. All depends, however, of what is written above! Could be “上” or something like that, but I’m not sure yet…

Certificate states: 銘 “明義” + 花押 (Akiyoshi + kao). Mei and seal are very similar to this pupil of Kōno Haruaki. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to tsuba though…

Looks not that bad 👍

I think it’s March, Grey!

Jussi has the description of the armor right! It reads “Kon ito muna tori go mai dō gusoku”. That means “Dark blue laced five piece cuirass armor with laced top section”.

The book is “大和の甲冑武具展” (Yamato no katchu bugu ten). It’s was an exhibition of Yamato arms and armor, etc. Probably around 1994…

Ok, to be exact: "正平六年六月一日" (1351)

Hi Seve, the leather is called "Shôhei gawa" and the date printed on it, is the date of its first introduction in 1352, if I remember well. Hence no connection to the piece..

Hello and welcome Lucky! I love the first sentence of Johns post...!!! Nice helmet and a nice gusoku over and above that! Yes, the kabuto might have some age, but more on that later. The mon on the fukigaeshi could be described as "Maru ni de hitotsu biki" ("丸に出一つ引き", or literally, protruding bar in a ring ) I guess!? I found only a few references, "鮒子田" (Fushita), "田畑" (Tabata) and "大山" (Oyama). Unfortunately, thats only half of the truth. On the one hand we have no chronological assignment, on the other hand we still have these two choji on the maedate. Furthermore and unfortunately, Simon is not totally wrong.....there is a possibillity, that these are later additions. So a lot of study and work left to do... Note: Some of the names could have several readings!

Dear fellow NMB members, the JAS is happy to announce the opening of the new "Samurai Art Museum" in Berlin for the 8th of May in the year of the tiger! Depending on the pandemic situation, our society is about to organize a meeting in the realm of this event, probably in the time frame from May the 6th to 8th. Don't miss this unique opportunity!

Adam, adjusting the display is a good idea. Try to take the load from the watagami (and the lacing as such) as good as possible. It will be tricky because your dō is flexible due to the sukage lacing. Momoyama or not is a longer story. It has to do with the overall construction of the piece, the shape of muna-ita, watagami….etc.etc. Dividing between Momoyama and early Edo is in general very difficult, even for experienced collectors! If you like to know more, pm me. As for maintenance: No abrasives for cleaning! Though urushi is solvent resistant, use little warm water on a cotton wool pad to remove the old dust. Be careful and avoid under all circumstances that the liquid gets under the lacquer and comes in contact with the bare metal! Consider not only the flaking areas or the tiny cracks in the lacquer but also the holes for the lacing! If necessary you can add a little soap to the water. The exposed metal gets a thin oil cover, for the time being…. Gluing back the lose urushi parts is possible. A well known gentleman recommended super glue. It works well, but I don’t like it. I’ve tried paraloid. It’s reversible but has less “power” and ist not so easy to handle…..hence super glue It will become a cumbersome job and I don’t envy you….