petethe canadian

I changed the u to an o, pommel, domo. Of course all of what I suggest is speculation as we can not ask Mohei himself, I saw and owned other katana bako and this is the only one I saw that has wood that was gouged from the end where the tips of the blades were stored, both ends look different and my guess is because of the different ends of the katana. In some photos the ghosting from where the brackets were fastened on the bottom and sides that held the blades in place in the chest are visible, the wood is a lighter colour and there are holes where the nails once were. Most of the interior staining is at the end of the box where the tips of the blades rested, a slip of the hand while cleaning or replacing a katana is a possibility. I believe the 4 hinges that attach the top to the chest were added at some other time, probably not original to 1820 and who knows, could be whoever added the hinges cut themself, there are a number of possibilities for how the blood stains originated, but having lived in Japan I seriously doubt any carpenter or person who worked on the chest/box would have left any kind of staining behind, too sloppy, just doesn't fit the meticulous craftsmanship of the Japanese. But again, I could be wrong on all of this but I'm basing what I write on what I see with my own eyes. There is writing on just about every surface of the chest, it passed through many hands before mine, there are many possible explanations for the stains. Adds to the mystery.

this is the opposite end of the chest where the pummel was stored, we can see a different kind of gouge, like the wood was compressed over decades where the katana pommel was lifted from and replaced in the box it was a tight fit, whatever all this is it's a piece of samurai history and it fits nicely with my wife's ancestors who were samurai but they were archers, I found an old scroll in their storeroom that shows how to build, measure and use archery targets, I can post photos of that as well if anyone would like to see that.

Two more photos of the stains that I believe to be blood, I can't say for sure they are Mohei's fingerprints and blood stains but I can't say they aren't. The chest is 206 years old, it passed through many hands before it got to me so who knows whose blood stains they are if they are indeed blood stains. Some folks have speculated that the stains are lacquer stains from the box but had I been the carpenter who made the box for a samurai I certainly would not have left my fingerprints on the piece, some have said hanko ink stains, could be but personally they look like the wrong colour to me to be that ink. In the right side photo here we can see where some of the wood on one end of the box where the tips of the blades were stored, perhaps Mohei acquired a different blade than he owned when he commissioned the box and needed to "make the new blade fit" so some of the wood was gouged out and it doesn't appear to be professionally done to me eye, appears to be quire rough, someone used a chisel or some other type of sharp object to gouge out enough wood for the fit. The opposite end of the box/chest shows where the pummel end of the katana was/were forced down and that created a different type of gouge which I will show photos of later. All very mysterious. I saw a LOT of old katana in my 22 years in Japan but never bought one, mostly because the ones I saw were crazy expensive and at some point historical katana were no longer permitted to leave Japan.

Hi, I appreciate the reply. The actual mystery of this chest is in the interior, I just wanted to upload a couple of pics to make sure I am posting this in the correct section and since you didn't; tell me to move it; I will assume this is the proper section. The back has been translated but of course I am not sure it's correct but from what I've been told it is signed by Sugiyama Mohei who commissioned the chest/box. So now that I am reasonable certain this is the right section, here are a couple more photos...there are quite a few stains inside the chest, anybody want to opine on the stains seen here? .

Another newb here, posting from Calgary Alberta but I am from Montreal Quebec. I just posted about my katana chest and hope to get feedback on the mysteries of the chest. I lived in Sendai Miyagi for over 20 years and while in the country we picked up a lot of Japanese antiques, we came back with all kinds of antiques most of which we use in our daily lives. My wife is from Sendai and I found quite a few old documents, books and scrolls in their storehouse going back to the days of her samurai ancestors who served the Date clan, they were archers, all very interesting though I have given up on AI trying to translate them.

Hi, I am new here and I thought I posted about my katana chest yesterday but I don't see the thread, quite possible, probable? I posted in the wrong section so I will ask here, I have an 1820 katana chest that I bought while in Japan, it is signed and dated and there is something mysterious about the chest so I'd really like to get some opinions on it and I want to make sure I post in the proper section. added a couple of photos to show you what I am referring to. Thanks.I