Bazza

All, Pietro conveyed the information: ... was published by Iida Kunitaro, whose seal is also found on another tanzaku print associated with Doi ... Can anyone please give the meaning of tanzaku in this context??? Thanks, BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas.

A most noteworthy feature of this sword is the not often seen reverse takanoha yasurime (reverse hawk feather filemarks). The signature is also most elegantly incised. BaZZa.

Well, I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but to me David's tanto hamon looks more like sunagashi than "classical" imo-no-tsuru?? BaZZa.

I think its been said before - AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH - yes, I forgot the link. Worse, I think I'm losing my grip!! Actually, your link is better than the one I had that just linked to a download site that one had to sign into. Thanks for seeking out a better result for a very interesting topic following on from Sen_no_Rikyū. BaZZa.

In the second last photo is the border a seemingly highly figured wood or lacquer imitating wood? Sometimes hard to tell the difference. If wood, does anybody (or nobody or somebody!!) know the name of the wood? A friend has a tanto the saya of which is a highly figured dark/black wood similar to the photo in question. Mmmm, shame Nihonto etc have to be shoved aside for other exhibits... BaZZa.

We should also note that the hangers are "upside down" for correct wearing of the sword... BaZZa.

The Home of Ashiya Tea Kettles: Ashiya in Onga-gun Just stumbled upon this - seems very interesting. The first hit is a pdf that seems difficult to download for me and I'm only posting this for someone who might be very interested in further following the topic. BaZZa.

The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated I best start this by saying google the met genji for all the hits.. Here is the New York Times review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/arts/design/genji-met-museum-review.html Here is the met website itself https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2019/the-tale-of-genji BaZZa

Bob, and All, try a relief whisky - I'm presently nose down in a glass of fine Australian Shiraz from the Possums Vineyard. Mmmmmm - Shiraz, Mother - where have you been all my life??!! BaZZa. EDIT: I once lost a very nice tanto with richly engraved silver mounts of chrysanthemums. I put out LOST pamphlets locally and a newspaper LOST advertisement as well. In the fullness of time my then girlfriend (now my 50+ years wife) discovered this tanto in her knitted jumpers shelf where I had hastily "thrust|" it one night for safe keeping. My memory is scarcely better these some 50+ years later...

John, enquiring minds want know - do you think you have such a sword??? BaZZa.

Now, this might "technically" be a necropost, but if I ever saw it (and I've been here for 10-ish years) I don't remember it and TOTALLY enjoyed reading it through. I'm reminded that I have two handachi koshirae that I perhaps ought to post, but let's see if this thread has a renewed life... BaZZa.

MEIN GOTT!!! I let reading "Peter's Pages" slip for a while and I come back to a day or two's reading on its own!!! Well, I tuned in because I have found a couple of interesting things and thought I may as well post them here: 1. How Japan's ancient trees could tell the future http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190205-does-the-climate-shape-social-change 2. The survival of Japan's music rests on artificial ivory http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190403-the-survival-of-japans-music-rests-on-artificial-ivory Regards, BaZZa.

Chuck, Here is another read for you: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4976-fukumoto-kanemune-work/ Have a trawl around the Forum using the Search function in top rh corner of the page. BaZZa.

Sir (please sign your name so we can address you politely), its not a star stamp, its a cherry blossom stamp (a stamp is known as a kokuin) with characters inside. I'm not sure, but mates is this a Chimata stamp??? The word just popped into my head!!! BaZZa (aka Barry Thomas)

Oh, sorry, I didn't scroll down far enough. At the bottom of the shirasaya will be information about the appraiser and his KAO (identifying "flourish" - a signature of a sort). This stuff is way above my pay grade and one of our more erudite members might be moved to have a crack at it. BaZZa.

Aaaaargh, Piers, I feel your pain. No rotten cabbages from this little wood duck. 1. > Suddenly the blade dropped straight out the tsuka hitting the expensive > tiled floor point-first, right between my feet. It bounced and lay silent. No blood anywhere. Many years ago I saw exactly the same - EXACTLY - the same thing happen to a VERY experienced mate of mine. The tanto blade left the handle and hit the carpeted floor. It didn't bounce, rather, it stuck into the floor and gently keeled over, slightly bending the point - clearly an inferior blade because it didn't snap off!!! Never mind American Express, the look on my mate's face was indeed priceless. He looked at me (no one else saw it), picked it up, put it all back together and had a quiet word with the owner. All was cool, no problem at all and I believe the kissaki was straightened in the workshop the next day! 2. When very young handling my first sword, a skinny Koto katana in Shingunto koshirae, somehow I lost control of it and it fell from my right-handed grasp. Instinctively I tried to catch the blade in mid-air with my left hand (didn't think of my left foot). Not successful and I'm giving the fine, short, suguha scar over my thumb joint a respectful glance as I type this. The sword wasn't damaged, but lesson learnt - until the next mishap some 50 years later... So Piers, you are in good company and I suspect the membership of this exclusive group is larger than we care to 'collectively' admit. BaZZa.

Blade is attributed to ECHIZEN KANENAKA on the paper and are the first four characters on the shirasaya. The remaining characters on the shirasaya constitute the length in shaku, sun, bu and ri (?) and for your exercise I'll leave the numbers for you to work out :>). The first long row on the paper is the same as the shirasaya with the addition of "1 wakizashi" and "mumei". The rest of the paper is I think "proforma stuff" and another member probably has an appropriate website off the top of their head for that. BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas.

Bruce, In the first photo I love the finger-print looking jigane... BaZZa.

I bought Don Myra's Gaijin's Guide to Polishing (a set of videos including shirasaya making etc etc) DEFINITELY NOT TO POLISH, but out of curiosity to see what he was up to and what damage he could do to a sword. The videos were a horror story in their own right. I'm always astonished at the abysmal lack of knowledge of people who claim to be able to polish Nihonto. There is one such man known to me here in Australia and he "works" for a smallish military museum, with an "apprentice" no less. Aaaaagh, what Brian said. I did ring Don Myra's home one day and spoke to his wife who said Don was very ill and as he couldn't work he did "polishing" to make ends meet. I have no idea what his medical issues were (it was now a LONG time ago), but it is possible he could have passed away. BaZZa. (small edit)

The nakago jiri (tang end) would suggest a Kaga province blade, possibly a kazuuchimono from the 1500s, but that would need someone knowledgeable to look at "in the hand". BaZZa.

My journey with wine has been very like that which Piers so eloquently describes - and far more successful than my journey with swords. My wine story started when I was 18 and tried for the first time "Stanley Claret" from a (now) old-style flagon. A light bulb went off "Mother, where have you been all my life??!!" To keep to the theme of the thread, the horror stories here abound solely due to far too much of a good thing on occasions... Nonetheless, I regret I have but one liver to give my country. With swords, like Piers, I perforce learned to ride alone as there were no Sensei in my part of the world 55 years ago. I looked for those lightning moments when a flash illuminated the sword of the moment I was looking at. This was rare. Never mind your tanto journey Piers, mine has been peppered with at times quite expensive follies. Yet we persevere... BaZZa.

Well, good gravy, in my 55 years of collecting I've almost made a meal out of Jugyo-Ryo!!! BaZZa.

Marius, I have always LOVED your "supercilious nincompoop" line and put myself at the bottom of that class... Which is why I allus reads your opinions closely. To people who occasionally say "Oh, you're an expert Barry" I reply that I am a mere empty vessel regurgitating others' opinions and knowledge... Best regards, BaZZa.

Well, agree on the seeming crudity, but there is the matter of the black lacquer that hasn't been discussed and Robert's observation very nice detail on unworn parts. Does this indicate old, i.e. Ko Kinko, or was black lacquer on tosogu a feature even at the end of Edo??? The nanako is to my eye very crude indeed compared to top work, yet I can't see enough in the horses to comment. BaZZa.

Ahhhh, while I was ruminating on writing styles Jean went right to it... BaZZa.