Jon MB

Bill, what do last-ditch pieces go for these days?

I would also argue legit mei. Ugly, but period applied.

People love to call 'fake'. I don't know why. There is no doubt whatsoever the blade is not new. This was apparent from the first couple of pics. Patina & wear speak for themselves.

What helpful fellow forum members.

This piece looks to be either inauthentic or poorly restored. Note the apparent machining marks to the left of picture '3' (picture '5 of 11').

Great find. Looking for one too.

The blossom could be an incarnation of the Guomindang/ Kuomintang plum blossom symbol.

'....Osano Jun (187-192) argues that the first martial art in Japan to adopt a true soke system was the Kodokan School of judo. Osano could be right. The Kodokan set the standards not just for members within one training hall in one location, but for all participants in judo throughout the nation. The Kodokan defined the art; it controlled licensing and instruction; and it established branch schools with instructors who maintained permanent affiliation with the headquarters. If the Kodokan does not recognize something as being "judo," then it is not judo. '

'....For almost every art or amusement patronized by the ruling elite, there existed only a limited number of these familial guilds, each one of which enforced the above rights over anyone who practiced that art throughout the entire kingdom. 5 No one could legally perform a play, a song, a musical piece, or practice any other art in public without either joining the soke's school or paying fees for temporary permission ( ichinichi soden ). Enforcement of these exclusive rights enabled soke families to control huge populations of students across all strata of society. Nishiyama argues that from the middle of the eighteenth century these guilds provided a government-regulated medium for the distribution of cultural knowledge within which people assigned to different social classes (samurai of various ranks, townsmen, merchants, priests, wealthy farmers, rural warriors, etc.) could interact with one another on a near-equal footing (Nishiyama 1982b, 531; 1997, 204-208).'

'.....This English-language usage stands in stark contrast to the connotations of the word soke in Japan where, if it is used at all, it strongly implies loyalty to existing schools, deference to ancestral authority, and conservative adherence to traditional forms. Despite what many seem to believe in the West, as a Japanese word soke has never meant "founder," nor does it mean "grandmaster" ' Useful and erudite info.

And it can go the other way, where oils from the leather, or more likely trapped humidity, encourage corrosion.

Many thanks indeed, Steve.

Dear Steve, thank you for your kind assistance. I have one more, if you could...I suppose I need to knuckle down and study my characters seriously now. Thank you again. Also thanks for your interest, Morita San and Tetsugendo.

one more, label

Any assistance much appreciated, may be Chinese. Jon B

Nice thread! Great item.

Very interesting topic

Except that the one thing fakers seem not to do is undertake any kind of complex research. So that would be of some assistance to them. Maybe.

Many thanks Uwe.

Enju

Mei weird, rest looks ok, IMO.

Very kind, thank you very much.

Thank you very much indeed Morita San. I have three more from the same source.

I would be really very grateful if anyone can tell me more about this scroll. I love the script but I think I should at least have some clue what it represents before hanging it up. Any assistance very much appreciated. Course it might by Chinese...Anyway, not modern. Apologies if this is too tangential... Many thanks, Jon

Chinese coin/wealth symbol to habaki Archaic stylized chinese script historically used for decorative purposes Late war/ Island style leather covering Without much supporting evidence I would suggest chinese puppet troops officer, WW2