Mark Green

First yari, looks to be a very nice, good size, standard, "sasaho yari". Very nice! Nice fat bo-hi, without the lacquer you often see in these. Love it! Mark G oops, that's a pretty one too mariuszk

I agree with Carlo. That is a pretty nice yari, just put is new display mounts, that are manageable. I like that one a lot.

You want to see pretty.

Hi Gang, I was wondering, is Tim still with us? has he found someone with a good camera yet? I for one, was wonderfully inspired by this tsuba. My belief is that the set was very likely custom made for someone. I have no proof of this obviously. But I feel that the quality, and the story, show it. Mark G

That right side yari pic looks exactly like my little 3 in 3 sided yari.

Hi Gang, I have always thought that palanquin yari were just late period export gimmicks. While I'm sure a few old yari were cut down to fit inside (whatever), I would doubt very much, that a whole lot of these were made for that purpose. That may be why most that you see for sale are very pristine looking. They just don't make a lot of sense. If you are rich and powerful enough to be carried in a Palanquin, why wouldn't you have a few retainers that were armed. Plus, I doubt that someone could use a 2-3 ft yari on a stick better then a sword of some kind. In a Palanquin, you are just a sitting duck. while a few ladies may have had some of these, I still believe that the whole "Palanquin Yari" gimmick was just a spiff way of selling off the thousands of yari hanging around when modern weapons came to Japan. A lot of people kept old cutdown yari by the door for home defence. Many likely still do. I recommend this for anyone. Mark G

That is pretty cool looking carlo. Does that wooden piece on the left act as a throwing handle as well? Like an Adaladal?

These plants don't start out that big. Plus, I feel the tsubashi was just making open space, with something that would look good. Mark G It looks like giant rhubarb. :lol:

I have this short bladed, roundish point yari. Three sided, all edged hardened, and very sharp. I was told, years ago, and it seemed to make a lot of sense, that these short tipped yari blades were used by mounted yari. That, with the power, and kinetic energy behind any yari used from horseback, you didn't want a very long blade. If your yari gets stuck in something (flesh,armor,whatever), it can be dragged out of your grip. If you punched someone with this and sank it just a half inch or so, that person, would likely be done for the day. (ever had a puncture wound!) Plus the force of the energy, could easily break bones, and other nasty things. So it did make sense to me, having done all kinds of silly weapons strikes from horseback. It is very easy to get things stuck, and or, injure yourself with your own weapon while bouncing around on a half ton of power. The nice little signed yari, that I have done most of my silly horseback antics with is this one. It has a 4 in blade. And this will puncture just about anything. From horseback, or ground, you don't need much blade to put someone out of the fight. Plus, when you are spear fighting, the last thing you want, is for your tip to get stuck in something for more then a second. That usually spells death to you. I think it is very likely, that as more non Samurai were added to the battlefield, the short 4-8 in yari, became the norm. Easier to make, and less steel.

That is a yari. They range from 3 in. to 30 in. in blade length. A 5 in. yari will kill or mame you very nicely. You see many in the 5-10 in. range. The famous Samurai yari fighters, seemed to like the bit longer 12-24 in blades. You can do a lot of slash cutting with the longer blades. All the edges are hardened steel, just like the swords. On a good direct thrust, most will go right through armor of the time. Mark G

Sweet find Ford.

Hi gang, Very nice, stout tsuba there. Nice get. It looks way to beefy for ko-katchush. Powerful looking. Edo resurgence. More pics please, when you have it in hand. Mark G

Hi Moss, I think your sword looks pretty good. Has the Nakago been cleaned? It doesn't look old Koto to me. It could be an "after the flood" made sword. It looks well made though. Near flawless, from what I can see. The old polish looks quite fine to me. I can't see why you would need to polish this one anyway. Mark G

It could be I supposes. I have made a great deal of Armor from Buffalo Rawhide. Samurai, and European. Here is a Rawhide Jingasa I made years ago from rawhide, and cashew lacquer I used a wood hoop for a base. But found later you could remove the hoop, once the lacquer cured. I made a few. They held up very well to the weather, of all kinds.

Here is one of mine, that I feel may have been used as a firemans helmet. It is made of wood, I believe, and has an alloy rim, and vervailes, added for some kind of fabric or mail, neck and shoulder cover. I have used it for years in SCA use.

My best guess on this sword, due to it's nice length, was late 1600's-early 1700's. It does have some very nice tapering, all the way around. It sure has some ugly goobs, but it is still alive. Somehow, it was thought of enough to make it an instrument of war into the 20th century. I advised Rich that he should just enjoy it for what it was, and save his fittings for his next (better) sword. We shall see.

Oh yes, there are some very pretty blades out there. I have a couple. But the VAST majority you see on the market, that's something else. Sorry, I should have been more clear. Most,if not all, were still made for utility. And like their big brothers, were made in the same time trusted way. With hamon, hada, and all the nice stuff in between. But still made to cut your apple, and anything else you needed to. I wonder if any big sword dealer in Japan has ever kept track of the "questionable" signature percentage on these? That would be fun to know. Outside of the highly collectible few I have seen, I'm not sure I would have trusted the signature on any of them. Unless it was mandatory to crank out a few hundred before you could get your no-kami title.

In late period, it is more likely about the kozuka. The blade was something you cut apples with. Although it would be very cool to have a nice daisho, with all blades being made by the same smith. Not sure if I have ever seen any. I'm sure they are out there though. Ko-gatana were likely made by students, I would think. They may still have the signature of the master though. It seems to me, that most of the ko-gatana you see, are signed by some no-kami or another. I feel there must have been a signature factory for a long time on these. Something for the gemei cutters to practice on?????? I think a friend of mine, even has a signed, Shinkei. Easy sale, to some unsuspecting young Samurai with the cash, in some late Edo market. Mark G

Grey, IMHO, that is the best acting both of those guys ever did. A wonderful movie. I saw that as a teen, way before I ever saw any of Mifune's samurai movies. I remember going to a little out of the way 'art' theater, in China Town, Boston, to see Seven Samurai. From that day, I was hooked. Around 71-72? Good point Mark.

Here you go http://www.amazon.com/James-Clavells-Sh ... B0000A2ZNX

Keith, Try ebay, or Yahoo If you have a VCR you can likely find the full Shogun. That's where I found it some years ago. I have the mini version on DVD too. That should be available. I think it is like 3-4 hrs.

John is right!!! I don't know how many 'kids' I have met who think that the last Samurai was close to real history. VERY SAD!!!!!! I love the line " And of course warriors from America" But here in the US, they don't teach much history in high school any more. For sure not any Asian history. It really is a very sad state of affairs. Dooming us all to repeat the bad drama of days past.

Other then the classics, some of the pretty good 'new' samurai movies are Samurai Fiction The Hidden Blade Love and Honor Hana Nothing like good old Shakespeare, "Throne of Blood" though. Or "Ran" Or any of Kurosawa's movies. But for good fun, The new Ziotachi , by Takeshi Kitano, is pure bloody fun.

"Twilight Samurai" Great movie! Tom's movie, Hollywood kaka. Fun to watch though. Wasn't that in NZ. where they built the village. Nice place. I could live there. Mark G

Yes, many old swords were mounted in many styles of military, and police mounts. I for one, would love to see some better pics of the sword. Mark G Geezzzz, I just noticed how old the first post was???????????????