Mark

Curran, here are pictures, the tsuba has the same name

Chris Thanks! I thought it was something added to the date, either that or the persons age. appreciate the help

John I had that, I need the kanji after "nen"

I think I read Tamagawa Yoshihisa (kao) and Kaei 4th year (1851) but not sure the rest of the date or what follows it. Any help appreciated Thanks

The Chicago Sword Show is getting close. For those planning to attend here is an update: The show should be very busy this year. Tables are sold out (if you need a table email me, I have a waiting list). There are a lot more hotel reservations than last year. There will be dealers from Japan, Europe, and USA in attendance looking for items. There is usually one or more Juyo discovered at the show so come and join the hunt. The hotel is getting full, if you plan to stay at the Hyatt make reservations. The room block is oversold and at present they are out of 2DBLE rooms, there are a few KING rooms left (the hotel has rollways available). If you call the hotel at 800-233-1234 say you are with "Token Kai" to get the discount rate of $109. To reserve online here is a link https://aws.passkey.com/event/11646749/owner/4631/home For more information you can email me or check the website http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/ I understand the Shinsa is filling up but there are presently openings, please contact Tom Helm to arrange spots http://www.toryu-mon.com/Toryu-Mon/NTHK_Shinsa_Registration.html Should be a fun time, a lot of NMB members will be in attendance See you there!

a mei like yours gives the idea of 1600-1750. As Grey mentioned Shimosaka is a group, so that "name" was used by a number of individuals from the group.

George I am not into gendai. I was interested in the inscription. But here is a picture of the mei. I have no idea which one it is, I did not know there were two.

USA as I understand it there is no import duty/tax on Antiques. In my experience if the item(s) is send using USPS (like EMS) there is no cost but if the item is send through other carriers they do charge import duty and when I have had that happen and complain I find it costs more to dispute than the charge I have to pay.

25 3/8" so maybe a little short but it is a bit wider than normal so that adds to making it look short

it has good width, gunome temper but the polish makes it hard to show, a lot of sunagashi and nie, maybe Soshu style

Chris, Thanks! not the type of custom order I am used to so I was having a hard time making it out. appreciate the help

I have a sword dated 1937 by Okishiba Masatsugu (Osaka smith I think). There is an inscription on the other side of the nakago. Can someone help me with the translation/meaning please. All help appreciated.

update. These are the ones I have available presently

Jason I will be there. I leave Saturday at 3pm so catch me early. See you there

Markus Please stop by my (Mark Jones) and Grey Doffin's tables and introduce yourself. Grey and I will be there with 3 or 4 tables full of 50+ swords (probably an undiscovered Juyo or two in the mix) and 100+ tsuba. Look forward to some fun

Steve Brian suggested you give it a try as it is not too hard. We can help if you run into a problem, let us know what you get. As a clue the first 2 kanji are the province (using the simplified Shu), 3 & 4 are the town, 5 is Ju resident of, the last 2 are the makers name. give it a try and let us know

thanks! those are the threads I remember... I searched using "same' " but got 0 results, must be doing it wrong in my case I sent it Express, they held it in customs for a week, then sent it back marked "return to sender" but forgot to repack it with the materials I used, it came back crushed and torn up, guess they were having a bad day.

James so it looks like the same' is the issue. Sounds like the fee is expensive. Interesting. If they are going to be more aggressive checking that will be an issue for international shipping

Ken, I was shipping it internationally. Thomas, maybe that was the case, never run into it before. They gave me a form letter about fish/wildlife so I thought they were worried about the ray skin. I just wanted to make sure there was no obscure regulation restricting same' and any suggestions how to explain/describe the same' so they know what it is and that it is ok

if the moderators think this should be combined please do that. It seems the other thread is about the problem of shipping swords as they are classified as weapons. My issue is not being able to ship it due to 'Fish and Wildlife' regulations. If that is going to be an issue in the future it will be difficult to ship and koshirae or tsuka with same' internationally. I am hoping this was just some over zealous employee, but if anyone has any knowledge of the regulations it would be good to hear about it, I tried to navigate the web site but can not find any straight forward information

Seems I remember a past thread but I can't seem to locate it. I mail 20+ swords internationally each year. I just had one returned. It was rejected by Fish and Wildlife. The form letter does not say what the issue was but I guess it must be the same' as it was a gunto sword with no ivory or other materials but wood, metal and cloth. Maybe others have had similar problems and can save me some time trying to figure it out. Any suggestions for properly mailing swords and avoiding this issue? Thanks

before trying for generation you need school or group. What school do you think it is?

I read it to say: second generation Minamoto Yoshichika saku.... plenty of into on him on line and in books, I think we have discussed him a number of times

thanks Chris. it was fun

ok, one last stab at it. Muramasa, hard to kantei seeing just one side of the balde