tristan105

Apologies, I started a new thread and should have posted here. Bought a tsuka on the loose just for the gosan-no-kiri mon and the very nice condition naval tassel. Can't get any closer with my lousy phone camera but it is a 3-5-3 paulownia.

Thank you, I am grateful for your insights.

I picked up this WW2-era tsuka at a local auction because it is the only one that I have ever seen with a 3-5-3 paulownia medallion. As a bonus, it came with a portepee in excellent condition. I was wondering (a) if anyone here has seen another 3-5-3 medallion like this and (b) if the colors on the portepee indicate issue to a major/colonel-level officer?

I haven't seen this variant posted yet in this thread so here goes. This is an old family blade signed Munemitsu kitted out for WW2. I bought it a few years ago because I had never seen this kind of tsuka cover. I unsnapped the cover on the saya and it appears that an old sparkly lacquered wood saya lurks underneath. I would have to undo the threads on the tsuka cover to see what lies beneath and I don't have the courage to do that. I figure some things are best left undisturbed. I also haven't applied any leather preservative to field covers. Que sera, sera.

Both of your replies are incredibly helpful, thank you so much. I am very pleased to be the steward of a Kiyomasa naginata.

I hope this is the right forum to ask. Can anyone ID the clan or family associated with this kamon? It is on the saya of a naginata that I recently purchased. I have checked many of the online sites for kamon identification and did not see it. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

No problem, I am sure that I am making many enthusiastic/foolish amateur errors. Thank you for your patience and guidance. I am wondering if the partially obliterated characters on the date inscription might be "Gen-Toku" (1329)? I was looking at the date tables on p. 185 of the Sinclair book and it looks like some aspects of the kanji match. Here are a few more pictures that I took this morning.

Domo arigato for all of the help that I have received on the identification of my items. If anyone has any more insight into the ambiguous creation date of my tanto then I would appreciate hearing your thoughts. In the meantime I have put the tanto on the waitlist for a good repolish. I also did some online sleuthing regarding Ujitsugu, the maker of my kozuka. Not a lot out there but I did find a Worthpoint record with some pictures of another one of his creations. Very similar in many respects.

Here are some additional pictures of the reverse side tang inscriptions. Can anyone make them out from these pictures? Happy to retake with different lighting/background if that will help. I have also included a few of the obverse side inscriptions, which I am told translate to "Soshu junin Sadamune."

Thank you for the assistance and I will try to put up some better pictures of the inscriptions on my tanto per Rokujuro's instructions. One of my katanas has the same tsuba as the one pictured in "Nobody's" signature. Here are a few general pics in the meantime.

This is a recent purchase. I know that it is very unlikely to be a real Sadamune but even tribute pieces or gimei can have a place in a collection at the right price. The tanto is aesthetically pleasing and came with beautiful koshirae including a kozuka. I was pleased to add it to my small collection. The dealer provided a translation of the mei but not the inscription on the reverse side of the tanto's tang, nor did they translate the inscription on the kozuka. Can anyone hazard an interpretation from the these pictures? I can provide further if these prove to be inadequate. Thanks in advance for any assistance.