Hector

There are several of these old photos on Yahoo at any given time. Unfortunately, the seller normally places a ruler over the face; I guess so that the photograph can't be reproduced in its entirety on a forum like this one.

Hi Sam, @Scogg Your sword also seems to have the officer's name carved on it. 井大 "Idai"? (Big Well?) Best, Hector

I agree that it's postwar and almost certainly occurred after it was taken as a trophy. Such objects were never venerated by the victors in the same way as they were by their original owners. Even in Japan nowadays, blades used specifically for tameshigiri are unbent and at least superficially repolished very soon after they incur such damage. Even if they are of low quality artistically, unlike the sword in question here. Best, Hector

Hi Hoshi, As I said before, this is a remarkable resource - thank you. There was one thing which I meant to point out a week ago when you first presented your amazing project but it slipped my mind. I looked up Emura, a World War II gendaito smith of only reasonable quality, and I was a little confused to see that he was shown with one Juyo rating. Just thought I'd better flag it up. Best, Hector

Hi John, I haven't received it yet so I can't confirm the caption underneath. However, this is the photo that I felt sure was of a Yasukuni smith. It looked very similar to a shot I saw in Tom Kishida's book and Showa 8 is 1933, which is when the Yasukuni forge started up so it would make sense. i'll let you know as soon as I have the magazine in hand. Best, Hector

Yesterday I scored another vintage Japanese magazine about swords. Basically, I know it's from Showa 8 and I recognised one of the photographs as being from the Yasukuni Shrine but, that aside, I have very little idea what it's actually about (apart from swords). I'm including the seller's photos because I've discovered that I am absolutely awful at taking my own (of blades, books - basically anything). 🥴 Best, Hector

This is an absolutely fantastic resource Hoshi - thank you! (I apologize if I'm not using your actual birth name but I can see no other name to use. m(_ _)m)

Thanks Rohan. That is even more worrying for me personally as I almost exclusively look at unknown/average smiths due to budgetary restraints. Best, Hector

That's incredible and shocking, Moriyama-san. Is Hakushu ju Nobuhiro so famous that he would even warrant being copied? Best, Hector

Taking samurai inclusivity to its next logical step, I suppose we could have the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' movie series reimagined with Okami Ito now being a wronged trans-mother and the baby cart being a deadly Segmart 4-Wheel Mobility Scooter.

Born 1984? That is absolutely heartbreaking. 😢

I didn't realise mukansa were also being targeted but I suppose it makes sense if someone with a chisel is trying to make a quick buck. 😳 On my Yahoo travels today, I also came across a Kiyomaru and a Chikuzen no Sa. Must be my lucky day! 😬

As some of you know, I spend a lot of of my retirement time In Japan looking at the auction sites like Yahoo. Everyone, except the most woefully uninformed, knows that a decent level maker without current papers will be sporting a fake signature. However, I'm starting to see a pattern where it looks like nakago are often being reworked before the blades are put on the market. The first example below clearly shows overworked yasurime but you can still see traces of the original signature under the new Kanji. On the second, the signature goes into the fuller in a way that I've never seen before. Best, Hector

Believe me Brett, that makes you a sensei compared to me! 😁

This is an absolute gold mine Brett! Thank you so much for putting up these links! Just looking through the first issue I found a wonderful analogy worthy of keeping for posterity: "It has been our experience, that the less a collector knows about swords, the more he wants swords with big names. This is quite often the type of collector who refuses to study swords. There is a term in Japan for such people, a tengu. A tengu is an imaginary being with a very long nose like Cyrano de Bergerac, and in Japanese legends a tengu is very strong willed, although being capable of being outwitted or conquered. The term tengu in this case is applied to collectors who know very little but profess to know everything."

I think this is called a Type 3 gunto. Seems in very good condition with a nice blade. Best, Hector https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e1218319385

I actually printed it all off on a good quality printer and put it into a binder. I'm of that generation which prefers a hard copy of everything. Great reference - thank you!

Perhaps it's mekugi-ana utsuri?

If it's focussed on "samurai" rather than swords, I suspect this particular curator will have a whole display devoted to Matsudaira Ken.

I looked the guy on the video up. Sure ain't no Victor Harris. 😳 https://www.joenickols.com

Hi there Fujidog, I would say it's definitely a gendaito and not a Showato. When I first started looking for a sword of my own, I was considering a gunto with a blade by this maker. So I did a lot of research on him and I've never seen one of his with a stamp. Good resource here: Japanese SWORDSMITH ISHIDO TERUHIDE

Steve, I know it seems like I'm always busting your balls but you really should try to use the resources on this forum before asking for help. If you go to the bottom of the index page there is a section called "Translating Mei" with all the Chinese characters you needed to decipher this name and date. I've taken screenshots and ringed everything for you to show you how it works. I know the dates can be very confusing but that two character name was really easy if you'd bothered to look. Best, Hector (No idea why this lettering all appears so big!)

WHOA! I just signed back in and this thread has gone in a completely different direction to what I originally envisioned. As it's obviously created some unintentional conflict then I'm happy for the admins to lock it any time. Best, Hector

Last night I was bidding on this tsuba but lost my nerve in the end. It was going steadily up in price and, even if it did prove to be the genuine article (which was almost impossible to tell from the bad photos), it was in such a rusty condition I didn't have faith in myself that I could restore it - no matter how much bone or Ivory I used.

Presumably Kanamoto den (school) by the sambonsugi (3 cedar zigzag) hamon?