moriarty

I'm currently seeking Satsuma-related items: particularly blades, koshirae, tsuba, and other sword fittings or accessories tied to the province. At the moment, I'm finding it difficult to locate pieces available for purchase outside of sold listings and references in books. If anyone knows of reputable sources, dealers, private collectors, or upcoming sales that feature authentic Satsuma items, I’d greatly appreciate any leads. Thanks in advance for any information you’re willing to share

Greetings, I would like to borrow a bit of everyone's knowledge and judgement regarding the koshirae for this blade, as always, low prices and few pictures don't make me too comfortable on Fleabay https://ebay.us/m/cSAn1n

Greetings Charles, As a fellow martial artist, my sole recommendation is that you don't consider making an expensive purchase due to pressure, even for tameshigiri, most live blades outside of Japan will render a similar performance. As for blade geometry, not much deviates from common sense, thicker blades can make cutting straw easier, but will enfeeble your batto/notto. Blades with bo-hi produce tachi-kaze (blade wind) with most correct cutting motions, those without it often produce a lesser sound and have different balancing. Some degree of curvature is helpful towards notto, but excessive examples take nuanced handling. I wish you continuous luck in your efforts, and don't be afraid to ask questions, we get bored without them!

A few Caribbean religions to my knowledge

Greetings Curtis, 吉光- Yoshimitsu 昭和十八年十二月日- December of 1945 (1943 as corrected by Moriyama below) From what I remember, stamped numbers in the nakago signal special orders from an arsenal, but I could be wrong Cheers.

Greetings Steven, 謹作 高山刀- Honorably made Takayama Sword 刀匠 服部正廣- Swordsmith Masahiro Hattori 研師 馬渕金美- Polisher Mabushi Kaneyoshi(?) Can't really see the polisher's name very well, hope this helps.

I've seen one before, if that's worth something

Hope you get some stubborn bidders! Best of luck

Greetings Enrique, This is a modern Chinese blade, the signature reads: 洪升作- Made by Hong Sheng This is his company website: https://www.facebook...sheng.hong.Dremsword

Talk about a flash deal! Congratulations Matthew

Greetings Laurent, Closest mei I found for comparison. A few more close-up pictures of the blade under good lighting would help with identification. (Hamon, bohi, etc.) https://www.e-sword....1110_1102syousai.htm

Gorgeous blade Good luck on the sale

There's a few reasons a smith would fake a signature, to sell an inferior blade, gain renown as a supposed student or follow the orders of a patron who wanted a famous name in his sword. A few continue to be done by underhanded sellers or owners trying to make a quick buck

Agree with Ray above. Crude is quite the understatement for those kanji strokes..

Greetings Steve, Such a great summary on Musashi's influential life and literary body of work, it's difficult to ascertain how much of his influence can go past us westerners (and perhaps most Japanese) in both martial arts and artistic inspirations. As with anything, I recommend taking most sources about Musashi; including his own works, with a great amount of suspicion. There are very few facts scholars can agree with regarding him, his triumph over the Yoshioka was particularly embellished by later scribes. Good luck in your training, be it the Niten-ryūha or the Niten-do of the federation