watsonmil

Hello, Sticking my neck out, ... but I agree with Grey & Keith, ... if its Japanese, ... then my guess would be Ainu. ... Ron Watson

Dear James & Robert, I think overall the presence of bones or more correctly " tekkotsu " has more to do with aestetics than any particular function. The reason for tekkotsu is that the maker left impurities of harder steel in the iron, bits of iron harder than the majority of the iron in forging the tsuba. So there are hard lumps mixed into the skin. They work their way to the edge ( mimi ) during the forging process though some can also be seen in the tsuba face ocassionally. Several schools used this effect right up into the Edo period. Perhaps someone else could explain better than I, ... but this is my way of expaining the occurence. It is often considered that a tsuba is well forged with the appearance of tekkotsu, as it takes a good deal of forging to force the harder bits to the edge. Kind of difficult to understand in my poor but basic explanation. " Oh, Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones, ... now Hear the Word of the Lord " :D . ... Ron Watson

Dear Robert, .... I have a bridge in Brooklyn, NY for sale at a most reasonable price. Contact me for details. ... Ron Watson

Dear Peter & ( Tony ), Thank you for posting these photos, .... it was begining in the 1980's and lastly in the 1990's that I had spoken and/or had contact with Kotoken Kajihara, ... it was delightful to see these photos. It serves to remind us all how temporary our presence really is. It seems like only yesterday that we sat together and I was in total awe that this man would even think of discussing swords with me ... a neophite ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Elliot, I have a couple of origami done on swords I own by Kotoken Kajihara, .... If you need, ... I can supply photos with a week or so notice. ... Ron Watson

Dear Members, I was somewhat chastised for .. " ranting " .. by Grey and Jean, ... Well my dear fellows you had better soon do some " ranting " of your own, .... whether you want the study of Nihonto to be free of political interference or not matters little. It is a FACT. At the rate Governments in lets see now, ... the UK ( sword bans ), ... Australia ( sword restrictions in some areas ), Ireland ( sword bans ), ... proposed Legislation to prohibit importation of double edged blades in more than a few Countries, and ACTUAL LAW in some US States, .... and NOW this restriction on International Air Mail to the USA .... you had better bloody well get your heads out of the sand or you will have nothing to study but BOOKS ( and these if over the allowable weight will be riding the waves as well ). Unless people ( meaning YOU and me ) begin to take action in speaking .... no call it " ranting " at our respective members of Government you will have nothing of interest to post on the NMB for its purpose of " being " will no longer exist. Now when these mis-understood non-political bomb makers notice it is just as easy to sabotage a ship with a explosives how does one ship then ??? Well there I go again ... ranting. ... Ron Watson

Humm, Typical Liberal knee jerk reaction to a situation. Instead of dealing with the cause in an effective way, .... inconvenience everyone else. I am far from being a Communist, ... but I do ADMIRE the Chinese way of dealing with the perpetrators of serious crime. But Oh, ... what would keep our Lawyers and Politicians ( basically the same bottom feeders ) in Juyo Class Swords, and Mercedes if it weren't for Terrorists, Murders, Rapists, and Drug Dealers ??? Delete my post if you have problems with the Political Correctness, ... enough will agree with me and will have read, ... and I would be insulted if anyone were to consider me Politically Correct. ... Ron Watson

Dear Aaron, Almost certainly a Gimei of Iga no kami Fujiwara Kinmichi. The poorly cut Chrysanthemum is the first indication. The discrepencies in the signature strokes to known genuine signatures is evident as well. Perhaps someone else more knowledgable in scanning and posting could post a comparison for you. ... Ron Watson

Dear Elliot, It has been many years since I last spoke to Ko-token Kajihara. I believe he is now deceased or at least retired. If I stand to be corrected in this regard I would be delighted, ... as he certainly was a most kind and knowlegable gentleman. ... Ron Watson

Dear Ray, You know, ... I just went thru my Samurai Collection photos, ... and low and behold I DO NOT have a photo. I am not a photographer ( my son does my photos and he lives 100 miles away ). I have four Festival dolls, ... three are absolutely gorgeous works of art. If I can find someone capable of doing a couple of photos ( not necessarily quality ) ... I would be happy to either post them here or PM them to you and Thomas. No promises but I will try. ... Ron Watson PS> It's the same problem with a short article I want to write regarding GIMEI Swords, ... no one here to take the necessary photos.

Dear Ray, You say: " I can't possibly see his pack belonging to some other doll. Unless these clothes are inter-changeable like Barbi clothes. The proportions are right as well as the coloring. But anything is possible." It is quite possible as the Benkei doll may well have been part of the same display, and consequently would have been proprtionally the same. You have a fixation of your doll missing a BOW. My Yoshitune doll has no bow but does have a sword and only the Fan in his left hand. Dear Thomas, You are sounding like a high priced defense lawyer , .... the lowly prosecuting lawyer rests his case, .... call in the Jury . ... Ron Watson

Dear Thomas, Benkei is a towering figure of strength and Herculean power. According to mythology, Benkei was the son of a Tengu (these are Shinto demons in the form of bird-men, the offspring of Susanowa) who was trained to become a priest but was, instead, a great warrior. He challenged all new-comers, collecting their swords to reach his goal of 1,000. When the smaller hero YOSHITSUNE challenged him, the giant Benkei was defeated for the very first time. Soon the two became true friends and Benkei became his SERVANT. The doll in question is obviously a high ranking samurai, .... perhaps we can compromise and say Yoshitsune is carrying his sevant Benkei' s tools whilst he is taking a break from defeating the Taira. ... Ron Watson

Dear Ray, My Yoshitsune doll while sitting on his camp stool is about 11 inches tall. I am going to go out on a wee limb here and suggest the hole thru his hand once held a War Fan. As to the implements stuffed into his obi at the back, ... some at least appear to be carpenters tools, etc. I think they may well belong to a different doll, and at some point became part of this doll's accessories by mis-match. It is not logical for a Samurai ( certainly of this fellows rank ) to be associated nor in possession of agricultural or carpentry tools. There were sometimes several dolls displayed during the Festivals, and especially easy to have got things a bit mixed up during the war and immediate post war period when US Servicemen were searching out souvenirs to bring home. ... Ron Watson

I would agree doe skin, ... and nicely tied. " I rather like the plain textured fuchi kashira. " .... Keith, me too. ... Ron Watson

Dear Tom, The character ( doll ) portrayed is most likely Yoshitsune, ... an idolized Japanese military man who fell victim to his brother's jelousy. He is quite often shown in full armour sitting on a camp stool with a gunsen ( fan ) in one hand. I note your doll appears to have bent hips / legs as though he might have at one time been seated. He always has an impassive face ( expression of a true Samurai ) as he sits to contemplate the future ... death or victory. He is most often assosiated with Boys Day ( May 5th I think ). Your doll appears a little smaller than standard. Just out of curiosity could you advise his height. I have a few beautiful Meiji era festival dolls, and one is elaborate enough that whom ever carved it not only undercut the eye lids, but completed the oral cavity so that you can practically see down his throat. An amazing feat of carving. ... Ron Watson

If I ever manage to get the photos done, ... I was sort of hoping to do a small article on the subject of GIMEI, ... and how the Western / European ideas and or bias towards them is often quite unfounded in the studies of the true connesseur. In short for now don't necessarily look down your snobbish noses when a gimei signature is presented. Many times you may be surprised and indeed many times you might well have had your snose sliced off ! It's a bit like love, ... the style may or may not be consistent but hopefully not always the stokes ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Jason, Actually I agree that this sword is probably considerably older than Shinkai. Can you get a photo of the overall sword and boshi ? There appears to be lots of activity = study ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Mariusz, One does not see a whole lot of ONO tsuba for sale, ... at least I don't. It was this example which led me down the slippery path of Nihonto and related art / artifacts collecting / study. It remains a favorite. About 30 years ago, I was offered a very tired o-suriage Tachi ( cut down to wakizashi ). The Tsuba pictured below was on that sword, and it is the reason I sprung for the $ 75.00 asking price. The tsuba was covered in heavy paint ( not patina ) ......... PAINT. The features were completely obliterated with paint. Many many hours of cleaning went into the removal of the paint from all those waves and piercings. After taking it to an old Japanese collector who became my sensi, he quickly translated the one side to say : Shimomura Fukushige. The other side of the Nakago-ana read Oshu Province. A little research indicated ONO School .... early Edo. Measurements top to bottom 3 inches, side to side 2 1/2 inches. Thickness 5/16 inch. It is of course iron, and well forged. Sadly due to damage to the original patina by removal of paint, I had to re-colour it. I hope I got it relatively close. Anyways this item was the beginning of a most enjoyable and expensive introduction to the Arts of the Samurai. Kind regards, ... Ron Watson

I hesitate to comment, ... except to say that a shadow box may be fine for certain Nihonto Related artifacts, ( I have a gunsen War Fan displayed in this manner ), but to display a fine example of Nihonto in this fashion somehow visually cheapens it / them. There are sword racks MADE for sword display, ... and yes they should be at least in their Shirasaya or Koshira to avoid the natural and un-natural elements found in most homes. Perhaps I am old fashioned ( I stand guilty in pride ), as I see little in new innovations that surpass the old. ... Ron Watson

Dear Chuck, Dear God, ... you gotta be a city boy ! That is NOT a moose, the menuki pictured are a species of deer found in Japan. Please if you visit the north, ... do not go a-hunting . ... Ron Watson PS > Regarding the other Menuki, ... perhaps " Jean " would comment on the specific species :D .

Well Chuck, Firstly, ... a year and a half does not a collection make. I suppose some might argue that point in that any more than two of anything defines a collection. One usually starts off collecting quite by accident, ... an item is inherited, finding an old or foreign coin in one's change might be another. A collector is an accumulator generally, ... and that is as far in the field of Nihonto and related material that most progress to achieve ... sadly. What you should aspire to is that of a connoisseur. The only way I know of achieving this in such a vast field of art / artifacts is STUDY. For most of us this entails countless hours of reading and if you are very lucky handling items that interest you whether that be at : shows, dealers, meetings, museums or fellow collector's homes. This forum contains a wealth of information, but one must sift the wheat from the chaff. It is always best to study excellent books, and articles by connoisseurs / students of Nihonto. NO ONE can ever begin to be an expert in any more than one or two niches of this quagmire. God, ... I've been at it for far too many years to count, and I in most fields am still a student rather than a sensi. Given the Liberal attitude of most city people and modern fascist governments, ... many collectors prefer to be anonomous and hide their collections or store them out of sight. I'm far from being one of these politically correct twits, and rely on part of my other collection and expertise to deal with problems. Most of my items are insured as itemized items on my regular homeowners insurance as " contents ". The company I deal with have been wonderful in this respect. In regard as to how much money one spends, ... this totally depends upon your finances. The best one can answer is to buy the BEST you can afford. If and when this were to become a spending competion rather than a learning competion, ... then it's time to revert back to the comic books. Oh, and yes Ford is a nice guy but then so am I or I wouldn't spend my time replying now would I . ... Ron Watson

Dear Yim, I would not necessarily call that sword crap. It may well have potential. Is it signed ? A closeup photo of the boshi would be good as well. Compared to many of the swords pictured here for comment, ... I would think yours is certainly worth a second look. Is there, ... was their any koshira with this wakizashi ?? Do you see any visible kizu ( flaws ). If I were you, I would not at this stage write this one off. Regards, ... Ron Watson

I am far from a fittings expert but I would venture OWARI mid Edo period. To me at least the quality looks quite good. Now I await the firing squad . ... Ron Watson

Dear Dimitri, Welcome, ... if that avatar is a picture of you, ... I could possibly find it in my heart to just give you a very nice Katana .... . ... Ron Watson

Dear Mark & Mark, Sounds like a bloody Law Firm or a Clothing Retailer, .... never-the-less you two guys made my evening, and probably a few other members' evening as well. Very nice for you both to share with the rest of us . I can't honestly say which I prefer ! Now all I'm waiting for is to see the nude ladies menuki. God that didn't sound right ! ... Ron Watson