What am I ?

[Dogditcher]

It is listed as a Kimono knife -(not sure there is such a thing)

 

* When i put listed as -thats what is in the journal it probably not
 spelled correctly but written as what was heard*

 

As always Translation and any information is appreciated

                          Enjoy-Thanks Steve

 

 

 

 

[Dogditcher]

[Geraint]

Dear Steve.

 

'I am a late Meiji confection put together for the tourist market, more or less in the form of a much more expensive tanto koshirae with a blade form never seen before but guaranteed to appeal to the gaijin especially now that I have dodgy horimono added and a little Shibayama style inlay on my saya.'  There are some fabulous tanto koshirae made by great Meiji craftsmen and often to be found for sale in the larger auction houses, generally speaking they command very high prices as the works of art that they no doubt are but they are not the same as tanto carried by samurai.  This one is a lowball copy, don't get your hopes up.

 

To be honest, the internet is so full of misleading information on this one that I hesitate to post a link.  However you might find some information on kwaiken and mamori katana.  Basically a kwaiken is a mounting almost totally devoid of fittings but often with a bevel on one side of the kashira so that when carried inside the kimono the owner can tell by feel which is the edge and which the back.  Mamori katana or tanto are more specialised versions of this.  One shown below.

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

Tempted to agree with you Geraint, but I do see a lot of semi decent work there, more than would be required just as an export piece. I suppose this could be a Meiji period special order piece for some occasion. Shape looks inspired by a Bashin, and the whole thing does seem diminutive. Maybe made for a lady, who wanted something flashy. Either way, it is a genuine Japanese piece, and definitely has some interest. I guess we'll know more once we get a translation.

[Lewis B]

With such a short nagasa of only ~11cm and it being apparently double edged the blade could be an oversized bashin that's been mounted in some fancy clothes for sale as something more than it is. The angle of the blade in the tsuka looks odd and the poor horimono carving supports this suspicion. Of course I could be wrong but thats my immediate impression. 

[Ooitame]

I agree looks like bashin, with added poorly done and recent horimono; stating vs the possible mei and bird depth on the other side. Koshirare looks interesting, not an expert in that area though.

[Franco]

One does run across legitimate retired samurai tanto and self protection pieces for women, and both the mounts and blade will be of immediate recognizable quality. This is all tourist and export stuff for people who don't know any better. It is what is and should be treated and valued as such, but not made out to be as something more.

[Matsunoki]

What are the metal mounts made from? Silver or shibuichi?

No doubt its Meiji in my mind but by no means a piece of junk “for people who don’t know any better”

Many people collect these Meiji works and I’m guessing this would fetch a couple of thousand £ in just about any auction. Considerable work has gone into the lacquer work and if the mounts are silver or shibuichi then it would have been expensive when first made. To cast those mounts, hand finish them, fit to a custom made saya etc exhibit considerable skills, possibly made by some of those who lost their lively hoods when the sword ban came in and the Samurai faded from history. 
OK not one for the purist collector of Nihonto but then horses for courses. 

[Scogg]

Flexing my moderator privileges, and deleting the off-topic back-and-forth arguments.

Let's keep name calling off the forum; whether that be in private message or public. Let's stick to the topic at hand, and remember why we're here. 

Differences of views/opinions/experience and observations is no excuse for hostilities. 
-Sam

[Dogditcher]

On 5/13/2025 at 5:19 AM, Matsunoki said:

What are the metal mounts made from? Silver or shibuichi?

The Habaki appears to be silver-

I would say that this in hand in my eyes is more than a tourist trade item

I may try to remove handle just to see whats there-not sure if its pressed or mechanically fastened 

Thanks for the reply's

 

a couple more pics

 

[Robert S]

I would call this a high quality cultural item.  That is to say, it doesn't reflect a period when a blade and koshirae like this kept their original meaning, but rather from a period where it reflected on the cultural values of a previous period.  So it might have been made for Japanese or tourist market, at a high level of craft, but more as a symbol than a reality.

[Matsunoki]

11 hours ago, Dogditcher said:

I would say that this in hand in my eyes is more than a tourist trade item

Correct, as far as we can see from the images. 
The term “tourist trade” and its variants when used in connection with Japanese works or art all need to be put into context. During the Meiji period there was no tourism industry in Japan. There was little industry at all to begin with. That came much later when many of the skills to make something like this had already been lost.

During Meiji there were many foreigners in Japan mostly acting as envoys, advisers etc helping Japan to “modernise”. This included areas such as military, weaponry, railroads, construction, agriculture etc. Large teams of people all interested in the culture and “art” of Japan and with considerable finances available.

Many of these foreigners did indeed bring great “perceived” benefit to Japan (and themselves) and it was very common to present them with lavish gifts often of superb quality made by some of the finest remaining artists. 

From the images, this piece, although containing an unspectacular blade, does look to fall into that category and time period although a critical thing to know is…..what metal is used for the mounts and are they heavy, solid and cast or are they pressed?……because the Japanese at this time were quickly developing techniques that mimicked high quality but using far simpler manufacturing and patination techniques.

 

As Meiji progressed the “look alike” pieces became more common, not as gifts but as fodder for the wealthy gaijin who lacked the knowledge to tell the difference and who were too far  down the ladder to be important. They still fool some today.
 

So, which is it?

 

[Tcat]

Hi all. Without overthinking it seems to be a meiji era kaiken. Quality is quite good for the era, not a cheap tourist item but also not a treasure per se. The lacquerwork is done well, with nice abalone inlays. Fittings are good but not outstanding. The blade has 'Hachiman Okami' carved into one side with a late-style looking horimono. On the other we have grass script horimono and birds. Decent horimono both sides. My guess is that its a legit meiji era 'wedding sword' kaiken worn by the bride.

[Dogditcher]

I have taken additional pictures and removed handle to help 

  Thanks for the reply's

 

[b.hennick]

It looks like a Yari (spear) mounted as a tanto. The fittings look good. 

[Dogditcher]

 

[Brian]

This is not mass produced, and those fittings are well done. I'd happily own it.

[vajo]

It follows the line. Toppei Koshirae

 

[Matsunoki]

Hmmmm……can’t explain those small areas that look like brass spots scattered around randomly on the fittings. I’ve seen that before when weak areas in pressings have been reinforced from behind so still can’t tell if pressed or cast. Could be that an alloy was not fully “mixed” so blobs of one component appear in any casting. 

[Matsunoki]

Ie……