ShuShinKan

So China is still on 100%? I post when this should change. But I think this is kind of natural, when you see through their eyes. The produce even fake BMW under the brand BYD(BuyYourDream)!

Temperline a little high up, wonder how it can be that fine without shirasaya or mounting? Maybe a new generation fake, they are optimizing. Actually no ideas, I have to little experience. Try to reflect my first intention. Sorry but I am quite negative to china traders, 100% bad experience yet.

Just surfed in Australia and found this in the gallery, just a hint, look in the tanto section. http://www.nihonto.com.au/html/Japanese ... lery_.html Maybe this leads to something...

Did you notice that there seems to be a bohi only om the ura-side....? I will try to get better photos but that might take a while. The red color comes from a defect in the camera I guess....not my pictures, mine should be worse... Thanks for your opinion, thrilling isn´t it? Gunther

Hi all, I have a new nut to work on..... Primary my question is if somebody has any idea about the kanji on the saya, but before you dive into your books, please make up your mind if this is fake or treasure? I think it is beautiful. No, not for sale. No better fotos on the moment, no, not my sword. To save some bandwidth and disk space to the forum, i put the pictures on a swedish server. Have fun! Gunther

Great work Brian, Now I start to get on it again, and finally understand. Wonder about the length of the katana, it is quite short, but why? made for a child?! joking! Many mysteries, but I wonder that a smith who is registered active later than the stamp should not be the hottest tip.... There are somehow constraints in time-space... As there can be gaps in the registering, i would assume its further the -15 than the +15 years. Gunther

congratulations Jean, 1000 posts now! I do not really see the shortening story because the nakago is well formed and the mei is in right place. Anyhow it is a chiisa katana. I do not understand putting a date on a sword when it is not exact, but maybe i am thinking to much european style.... I have ordered a book but it will take some 2 weeks before it shows up here at my place, so will need to look up on the internet. Some more questions. I looked up at jssus-knowledge base about the kanji and there are 3 smith registered with the same kanji. I also got better fotos now so it should be bizen no kuni jo osafune tadamitsu , but i am quite unsure about the osafune - signs, osa is right but fune i cannot find the kanji anywhere. Could somebody please please give me some more background on dating practices?

Hi all who still follow this thread! I have had contact with the current owner and he says the blade i 59 cm. He thinks it became shortened because of a law stating that it is forbidden to carry a sword longer than 60 cm. Any information about that available? On the http://www.sho-shin.com/sue4.htm there is tree of the tadamitsu group. When the listings of Tadamitsus (tadamistu(1)) contains the signatures (what is written in capital letters under each tadamitsu-characteristic) then I guess i can reduce the tadamitsus on two ! HIKOBEInoJO Tadamitsu i Eisho 1504 or HEIUEMONnoJO Tadamitsu i Eisho 1504 PLease correct me!

Correction: mei should read Bi shu no kuni ju osa fune tada mitsu

Hi Jean, I have found an article (refered in the other thread) that staed that Bizen blades became shorter in 1504. but I do not know which size they had before... Gunther

Jean, thanks for the statement, also on the frogs behalf... I actually like "kraut". It is delicious with some wild meat or in a sour lake...

Just for information, I have started a new thread under Nihonto named prectice in eisho because there are popping up more general questions in my little head, that are not directly related to the translation any more. As a facit I read the nagako as eisho gannen hachi gatsu kichi jitsu bizen no kuni jo osa fune tada mitsu Why it is signed like that, i try to find out in the other thread. Thank you for a good work. You have helped me a lot. Now I know about the facts and have to make up my mind what I personally think about it and the blade itself. Feels like diving into another time now.

Hi all! I transfer a part of a thread started in the translation section (topic: "?tadamitsu") here because I feel my question belongs to this main topic more than the translation now. The discussion was related to a sword I have got some photos on. I guess I can understand now all the kanji on the nakago and it should say: Signature side: Bizen no kuni jo osa fune tada mitsu Nengo side: Ei sho Gan nen Hachi gatsu Kichi jitsu After reading an enlightening article from "Cox, Malcolm E. and Shimano, Motohide" about Bizen Osafune Kiyomitsu Ha, I found that the Kiyomitsu Ha used this kind of inscription mainly on premanufactured blades and that "hachu gatsu" is rather a luck wishing insription than a fixed date. After a long introduction, now my question. As the smith families have been connected to each other and had much co-laboration, could that be that the tada-mitsu families did the same? Pre manufactured swords and date-marked them just before delivery and used the same marking system of their "serial production"? I have not found any information on that yet. In case you have hints, please let me know. Thanks in advance "Dalarna province gan nen Ni gatsu kichi jitsu" shu shin kan

Hi, now I have been active at this forum almost 5 days and managed to get a lot of feelings expressed from you guys - both kinds! I am glad about that - you tell what you are going for and you have my confidence. My name is Gunther Schmidt, originally from germany and had an odd way during my life and finally arrived in central Sweden (geographically) in the middle of nowhere, as my friends say. My wife is doing research on wildlife brownbears and thats why I am placed here. I am actually engineer for laser technologies and image processing but now i work part time as tourist guide and mainly as software developer. My way to nihonto is alike zigzag as the rest of my life, and in the base, I fall for the craftmanship, that I will never in any way will be able to do myself. I do not know anything by now and the further I read, the more I understand how little I really know( and that is mich less than I expected). So far my life, Cheers on a good future! Gunther

so that might explain it was never signed...... Thank you for your comments, valuable in deed! I'll stop following this thread as ambiguous as I did 6 hours ago. Gunther

Hello guys, sweet of you that you worry about my humour. Actually I did not understand a word after a couple of statements and thought you had changed topic, so thats why I thought I state my topic as answered and have no longer need of following it. Thanks for your effort getting me on good mind, I like the forum. It is perfect! I simply do not catch up with learning all the terminology.... Embracements! Gunther PS: the term krauts is considered outdated, we eat the same junkfood like everybody else nowadays

Hi, the length is ca 60 cm.

Just got a warning! Someone else thinking that the mei could be faked? In case somebody has a photo of a Tadamitsu signature and date stamping from around Eisho in his archive, it would be great being able to take a look on it. When you do not want to put out more pictures here to save spae on the servers harddisk, you can even send them directly to me: ShuShinKan@kvarnberg.se Please post your opinions, preferably here so all can see them! Thanks a lot! One more thing: Are there any ways to determine the age of a shirasaya?

Nice to see that you had lots of fun with my question! Thanks for all creative answers ! If this is ok with you I consider this thread as closed. /Gunther

So you mean it would not be an item to start a collection on? Not an opportunity.... I understand! ("swallow") Thank you for the hints, I am not sure about the certain defects, starting to explore the world, you know. Shall pay more attention to that. Gunther

Hi I am not sure if I post right here. The following item is for sale and my intention is to learn more about it before I buy. The article is NOT in an Online-Auction but private. I guess it comes from Bizen and the owner says it is made before eisho - but he is not sure. Maybe you guys like to send comments, at least if I am in right forum now. Unfortunately there are kanji missing. Personally, I fell for the hamon! Gunther

Thanks for your replies! I consider buying an unsigned katana but I have to little knowledge about nihonto to see if I only throw away my money. Guess I need to feel for it or leave it undone. Gunther

Dear all! I wonder actually what might be the reason for the absence of kanji. In my imagination, the smith is a proud and well educated person, following tradition rules and his intention. No reason not to place a name on a blade. So why? Any suggestions - or knowledge? Happy for all replies! Gunther

Jean, I have got some more pictures. Not as good as I could see something on them, but you surprised me already with your eagle-eyes! Have fun! Is there an upper limit for the amount of pictures in one message? Ill come back with a picture in picture -picture. gunther

Dear Brian, dear Jaques, thank you for the introduction. Kind of you to take care of me... Gunther