Matsunoki

Hello from the UK. I am returning to Nihonto after a gap of very many years. Please excuse all errors and omissions. I have acquired this blade and I would greatly appreciate some help figuring out what it is. For what it is worth, I think it could be a greatly cut down Nanbokucho Tachi but I lack the knowledge (or courage) to try beyond that. It is in the remains of an old Japanese polish so it has been very difficult to get good images. The hada looks to be a fairly coarse flowing masame with some ayasugi like inclusions in the hamon and a few o-hada areas. The hamon appears to be suguha and still looks fairly healthy with a bright thin nioi line mostly visible.The boshi looks kaen/hakkikake on one side and possibly Jizo on the other? There is konie scattered along the hamon, some in sunagashi or ayasugi form. I believe there is nothing left of the original nakago or if there is it has been heavily reworked. The kissaki is pretty large! The measurements - Nagasa. 63cm (overall 77cm) motohaba 32.24mm sakihaba 24.62 mm motokasane 6.85 mm sakikasane 6.24mm kissaki length 87.81mm I will post more images below. I’m very new to forums/ social media so I haven’t quite got the hang of it yet…..and as I’m rather “old school” my tech abilities are somewhat lacking……sorry! Sincere thanks in advance. Colin.

This aikuchi koshirae is a typical example of the opulent and high quality work probably done in the Meiji period. It is possibly for a rich merchant, unlikely for a Samurai but most likely for sale to the “important” Westerners that were helping Japan to “modernise”. They can contain blades of varying age and quality and sometimes re-use older similar fittings that do not always match perfectly. However they often come with en-suite silver mounts and some that use the finest Meiji Kinko mixed metal mounts can take your breath away for sheer quality of workmanship. This example shows the skills and quirky taste of the lacquer artisan beautifully. It is super quality……and very desirable if your taste is for eye-catching koshirae. It would have appealed greatly to the “gaijin” present in Japan following the Meiji restoration.

Hello from the UK. I am returning to collecting Japanese swords after a gap of many many years. This is my first Nihonto post and this is my first ever forum or social media attempt. Please forgive all errors and omissions! I am trying to reactivate the relevant memory cells and have recovered my books from the loft! It’s good to be back. I have just acquired this Tanto and unsurprisingly I’m already stumped! Please can you help me with the inscriptions? I can get the odd kanji…..year, day, Kuni (I think) but really I’m hopelessly lost. The blade itself also confuses me. I apologise for the poor images but the indifferent polish makes it difficult to photograph. The hada seems to be a gently undulating masame more visible in the hamon. The hamon is is a quite wide suguha mostly in nioi bit with nie scattered and with what looks like lots of sunagashi and strange dark striations along the whole blade. Is it utsuri or hitatsura? It has koshirae that has stylised silver leaf mounts…..I can post an image if anyone would like. Any/all help greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Colin. Ps more images to follow

Well, I’ve decided to join! It’s my first forum/social media platform so it’s all a bit new. However I’ve been heavily into Japanese history and arts for over 40 years…..ever since a dealer showed me a Japanese sword. I was totally hooked. Collected swords but then sold them all more than 30 years ago. (I try not to think about it!!) My interest expanded into different arts….Meiji metalwork, cloisonné, okimono, netsuke etc. Dealt in all these for over 30 years in parallel with a corporate career . Now fully retired from everything. However Nihonto always tugged away at my subconscious. I’ve just sold my whole collection of Japanese art and am returning to swords…ie where it all started those many years ago. It’s like coming home really. Haven’t been this excited for quite a while. Really looking forward to being part of this superb forum. When I get the hang of it I will seek your assistance and opinions on a sword or two that have already entered the household. Meantime best wishes to all of you, stay well in these troubled times. Colin