Soshin

I received the Kanemoto Katana today. While the outside lighting on this chilly rainy day was not the best the katana still looked great after getting it unpacked and the Saran Wrap taken off the blade from shipping. (This is a bit harder than the tanto I had polished in the past.) Here are some photos after I cleaned the oil from the blade. The sanbonsugi (三本杉) style hamon made up of a very refined nioi (匂) is extraordinarily strong with this sword. The mune and bo-hi of the sword are now exceptionally clean and completely rust and stain free. I will be submitting this sword to NBTHK shinsa next year.

Just a restorative cleaning of set mostly focused on the kashira. The patina is nice and complex on this set making it a change to light for photograph. I might go back to editing the above after image in Photoshop. Just to be clear, nothing was done to the patina of the set.

Thanks Dan. I have long considered the restoration of this set from early 2021 all the way through 2022. It was not an easy decision. I would disagree, but I can understand it and expressing your opinion in a respectful manner is important. The set and more specifically the kashira I think in the long term will benefit from the removal of what I think was dried dirt mixed with pine pitch or something similar. The set is hard to photograph, and I couldn't get the lighting as good as the original photograph even with the same camera. Here is a photograph of the set under different lighting after restoration. @Franco D You are very welcome. You might already be aware of him. I will send you a PM once I contact the restorer and get his permission to share his name.

Here is a before and after picture of a Katana sized Ko-Mino Fuchi-gashira (古美濃縁頭) set that underwent professional restorative cleaning. Most of the arduous work was done on the kashira. The set turned out very well in my opinion. The set is hard to photograph in detail because the height difference between the base and the top of the carving is very great. This is a characteristic of the workmanship of the Ko-Mino group. By the Edo Period the difference between the base and the top of the carving was reduced. I am going to upload a full set of high-resolution photographs to my homepage (https://www.tsubaotaku.com/) on the first of March but wanted to show two photographs at lower resolution as a fun preview on NMB. Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to discuss it openly but in a polite and respectful manner. Before: After:

Funny thing is I completely ignored the "estimated value" statement on the paperwork before liking it. I would agree with Brian's statement above. Since April you are in the USA contacting @Ray Singer, @Mark, or @Grey Doffin would be a clever idea to obtain a few current value estimates of the Japanese sword in the USA Japanese sword market.

I heard back from Woody Hall today. He has been working on my blade since last week and he thinks he should be done in a couple of days. He is going to let me know when he is finished and the blade really to ship. I will keep everyone updated.

Hello Colin, I once had a menuki set with the same bamboo and crab design. I would agree with Curran's call of it being the work of the Aizu Shoami School. In terms of age of would say early Meiji Period to late Edo Period circa early to mid-19th Century. It is hard to be much more specific given your tsuba isn't signed. Check out my link below my personal collection website. I have been collecting for a while now had have amassed a sizable collection myself not to mention all the tsuba I sold directly and indirectly when I had my Japanese art and antiques business.

I will be attending the Chicago show for two-days Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29. I already have my shinsa slot reversed.

Thanks for sharing, Curren such a wonderful and expensive tsuba. This tsuba is worth every yen. This is another great tsuba that is far beyond my means. I love the aesthetics of Umetada School. I have two Hozon level tsuba works by the school one is in forged iron (tetsu 鉄) and the other in copper-gold alloy (shakudō 赤銅). 　

Looks Koto to me, but I am no expert, only a Tsuba Otaku. Please do not force the habaki off. You need special tools for that. I would recommend sending the sword to a professional Japanese sword polisher for inspection and he can remove the habaki safely using special tools and techniques. He can give you an idea of the quality of the blade and its approximate age.

Not sure Chris U., I think you would need to contact Woody directly, but I would suspect the queue has a wait time of about 6-8 months at a minimum. Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. I am excited to see what the Kanemoto Katana looks like. Here are a few more previous photos of the sword before the polishing restoration that were part of the original post.

I just wanted to start this new topic about the polishing of my Kanemoto Katana, which has been in the works for over a year. I just received an update from the polisher. The dark spots in the ji and ha have been cleaned, as well as the rust specks on the mune (see before restoration photo below). He is now working with the uchigomori stone for those areas, he will then move on to shiage. At this point I am so far down the "rabbit hole" I will disclose who the professional Japanese sword polisher is. It is Woody Hall who is based out of Las Vegas. Once I get the sword in hand, I will post photos to this topic on NMB. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Thanks everyone.

Here is the woodblock print framed. I just picked it up at the framing store. I took the photo as I have it in the guest room of my home. On the back of the frame, I have the letter from the gallery (see above in my original post) mounted as well providing information about the woodblock print. I think the framing turned out very well and it looks great in my guest room.

Great reply and well stated Steve Waszak, I could not have stated better myself. I am a huge fan of Hirata Hikozo work and the Hirata School in general and the link tsuba in Grev's original post is worth every cent in my opinion. I wrote an article a few years ago that was published and later republished again in the JSSUS Journal. Here is a direct link to the 11-page article from my website: Early History of the Hirata School of Higo Province.

I am aware of that, and it was part of the discussion with the farmer. They are going to be using conservation glass to protect the natural dyes used in the colors in the woodblock print. The print will mostly be in the dark and will not have any sunlight exposer.

I just wanted to share this woodblock print that was leftover inventory from my now closed Japanese art business. I am getting it professionally framed and will display it in my guest room of my home. The young man at the framing store was helpful and I talked to detail a while about how I wanted it customed framed. I also attached information about the woodblock prints from the gallery I purchased it from. The colors on the woodblock print are nice, but the print has some minor edge damage. I will post an update once the framing is done in a few weeks.

Pietro, Thanks for the information and reading of the signature. Not to worry I don't take Netsuke collecting seriously anyway. Japanese sword fittings I do take seriously, and I have a website about it (link below). The motif of my "netsuke" is a quail and millet.

I picked up this new netsuke a few months ago in trade for a large framed three panel woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada. The subject of the netsuke is a bird. It is signed on the bottom, but I can only make out one of the two characters (X yama X 山). The previous owner thought it was ivory, but I am not sure. Thanks to anyone that can provide a bit of additional help information. This is a bit out of the focus area of Japanese sword fittings, but I enjoy all types of Japanese art including netsuke.

Thanks for showing everyone some remarkably interesting tsuba. I have no scary snake tsuba, but I do have these nice large snake menuki that are a work of the Mito School. Enjoy...

Marco, The close-up photos of this tsuba at different angles look nice on your website. Thanks for sharing.

Hello Marco.K, Love Ko-Kinko tosogu with great photos. Nice website with a straightforward design. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the excellent work.

Brian response summarizes it nicely and is always good to remember when trying to understand topics like these. There were no fixed rules for the fittings used for the Japanese sword in everyday use outside of specific contexts such as the Shogun's court or while performing other important official duties. An informative book I would recommend is The Art Appreciation of Japanese Sword Fittings by Shigeo Fukushi.

I think that might have been a comment made to me on NMB about a fine set of menuki (tadpole shaped) I had about ten or so years ago. I think Ford might have made the comment but don't quote me on it as it was such a long while ago. I still think this idea that all fittings of the sword having the exact same "cookie cutter" motif or design in very much a modern invention. It's not at all surprising that a Gendaito was mounted with fittings that have the exact same motif. Different fittings for a sword mount while not having the same exact motif or design might have different motifs or designs that share some common relation or connection to a larger theme, idea, or even a story. Also, sometime two different motifs are intermixed for a common theme. An example of this is that of dragons and tigers. This is just one example there are many more found in Japanese art.

Hi Stephen, I was at the New York Token Kai meeting at the MET on Sunday, October 23, 2022. It was a fun experience. I also stopped and viewed the Art of Samurai auction preview at Bonhams. I did some online bidding on a few lots but were outbid during the auction on Wednesday after the viewing. Unfortunately, I had a schedule conflict and could not attend the last meeting of 2022 on Sunday December 4. I highly recommend the club as a whole and the club officers.