Bazza

Cola, the length of the blade and tang suggest this is a KINNOTOU of the Bakumatsu period ca 1850. Do a google search to find out more and also search the Board with KINNOTO (omit the U for the search) BaZZa.

karatekutya Sir, Hope you saw this from your other "rusty nakago treatment" thread awa mywei's reading of the mei: Hizen Kuni Yoshikane was a Shinshintou swordsmith ca 1865: https://www.samuraim...u-hozon-certificate/ Can we see more pics of the blade itself, please??? BaZZa. EDIT to add that there is a lot of detail in the link about the swordsmith YOSHIKANE that is well worth reading.

Hizen Kuni Yoshikane was a Shinshintou swordsmith ca 1865: https://www.samuraim...u-hozon-certificate/ Can we see more pics of the blade itself, please??? BaZZa.

KANEFUSA?? BaZZa.

Is it time we did a survey of our Members here??? (hic!) BooZar. aka BaZZa.

I've been gazing at these images for 15 minutes or so. For interest, if one clicks on the image it enlarges, but if your cursor turns into a + sign and one clicks on that the image is further enlarged in a new window. Can anyone comment on the ground of the tsuba? It looks like a leaf or plant surface with a layer of tiny eggs - I nearly wrote 'shimmer' because the effect is so subtle it defies my ability to express it, but it is so purposeful it must have a name. Another simile the springs to mind is of 'goose bumps' on skin exposed to the cold, low, little bumps close together. Spell binding effect. BaZZa.

Jon, as for the last paragraph are you able please to give some references, particularly regarding "Post 1750 there was a very sudden breakdown in social cohesion and a very significant uptick in violent conflict across Japanese society… ". I recall a book from my undergrad days titled (I think) "Samurai Poverty of the Bakumatsu period" or some such title. Poverty in a ruling class seems a given for an "uptick in violent conflict across Japanese society". A B&W film I recall seeing years ago showed a lot of violence. A pistol in the film indicated it was probably set in the Bakumatsu period. BaZZa.

"It" is also from the munemachi not the hamachi. I would ask the vendor to clean the area then rephotograph it to clear up the question. BaZZa.

The key is the character 於 - 'oite' or 'at', indicating I think that Kanenaga was away from his usual place of residence/work and made this blade whilst visiting Seki. BaZZa.

Just browsing and found this very interesting link: https://www.atlasobs...apanese-living-dolls BaZZa.

Rolland, a thoroughly absorbing and excellent read, thank you. You wrote: > What puzzles me is the enigmatic "orphan" mekugi ana on the left side. It is empty > and has no counterpart on the right. I've seen something similar in other teppo's photos. > I found this mekugi ana very useful for removing the karakuri, but what was its real purpose? In my experience with the 6 teppou in my collection its real purpose is exactly what you used it for - gently removing the karakuri. Best regards, BaZZa.

Kiril wrote: > Lots of Hasebe and Masamune will not have a "quality nioiguchi", in fact it can be quite difficult to observe As I was reading through the discussion the thought came to me: "I know 'best' here means from an 'art' point of view, but from a battle perspective do the points mentioned one way or another matter???" BaZZa.

Ahhhh, Steve, a hint of trouble in google's camp. I've been having trouble with google for quite some time and thought it might be a 'local' problem, i.e., me!! Or Microsoft wanting to promote Bing. i note that some google searches default to Bing, and others wind up at a dead end of "That site is unavailable at present". Others wind up at "air..." something. Sorry now I don't have a dossier of issues, but more then interesting to read your comment. BaZZa.

It was a joy to re-read this thread. Brian, how about a 'sticky' "In memory of a celebration" - or should that be "cerebration"!! BaZZa.

No one has mentioned the bear fur trimming on the haidate. I know nussink (as a certain guard was wont to say) except having a niggling memory that bear fur was 'macho'??? BaZZa.

For the OP offering, I can't help but think of 'jigsaw' puzzle pieces, perhaps something from Mingei that was popular amongst 'the people'??? BaZZa.

Jon, As you can see, it's a 'becoming' big club... Nonetheless, it's one of those topics that are evergreen and deserve the occasional airing for folk who are new or older folk who welcome the re-reading. BaZZa.

If I could hop in here again, being aware of some of the problems with KUNIKANE blades (from this very thread plus a pink from one in the hand!) I found it very useful to revisit this thread from the very beginning. Thanks, Jon, for reviving this important subject. BaZZa.

This is one of the most interesting necro-posts I have read. I have always been interested in the Psychology of Collecting, but never got really deeply into the topic - my love of Nihontou kept that at bay! However, from a long, long time ago in my reading I remember this comment "collectors decide their own categories", so I googled it. Do so google it yourself and have a delve into yet another topic we can tear ourselves to pieces on... BaZZa.

This the first downvote I've ever placed. Dan, your expressed view is a disservice to the whole ethos of collecting and studying high level artworks of a culture in many ways so much more sensitive than our own blundering efforts. Do please keep on staying off the Forum unless you can show some real respect and maturity and earn your place here. BaZZa.

> we all have made poor purchases simply because something was cheap. John, tell me about it!!! My beginning years were full of blunders and bodgy swords because I essentially had no idea what I was doing and bought anything that was on offer. I stuck with it, joined any club I could find in the world and 15 years later hooked my first really good Tokubetsu Hozon katana. It was the cheese to the chalk my collection was up to that time. Then I purged the much lesser pieces I'd picked up in the intervening years. They all went. I persevered, studied the books AGAIN and AGAIN and continued seeking out other collectors to hold and look at their finds and learn from them. We all benefitted and some of the good people are still close friends today. Now some 55 years after the good find I still have that sword and I'm in as happy a place as I can be for my circumstances in life, still finding other collectors and making new friends along the way. Michael, take heart and keep on. This is a lifelong affliction, and it doesn't come easy. All it takes is money, more money, and persistence in the face of disappointment along the way. BaZZa.

Agree with Ian and John. The tang has a smooth appearance and combined with a blackish finish suggests artificial patination. Check for ububa (flat edge for a short distance from the hamachi) as Ian suggests. Also, your observation that the habaki seems to be a refit suggests a shorter tang lengthened by machiokuri to fit a WW2 koshirae. Now here's a tear (sob). I have a nida Hizen Tadahiro katana that had machiokuri performed to fit the blade to a shinguntou koshirae (sob again). Ubu, but no longer pristine... BaZZa.

Dear All, it is with great sadness I announce the passing of my good and dear mate in swords Roger Dundas. He had been unwell for some time and passed with his family present. I will miss his good friendship and the conversations we had. RIP Roger. BaZZa.

MUMEI is the most prolific artisan of all... BaZZa.

I wonder if its anything connected to the 'troubles' I'm having here... Anyone else in Oz having connect problems on a google word search??? BaZZa.