wakizashi Your Opinion of a First Purchase.

[CaptainKevo]

Esteemed Sirs,

I am a collector of antique silver Kanzashi who recently has been sucked into the world of nihonto, not totally against my will. I am extremely pleased with my first purchase and since I was never planning on reselling or an extensive collection (my pockets aren't that big!) I'm not at all concerned about the dollar value of my blade. However, any information on the age, style and relative condition would be greatly appreciated. There is some pitting.The polish has seen better days and the Hamon is not visible. There are no visible cracks or wounds that I can see but there are some interesting scratches just above where the Hamaki would be that made me wonder if they were from use. At this time I don't think this blade merits a professional polish and definitely not an amateur one! I really, really like this blade and contemplating it's long history has already brought me a lot of pleasure. 

Please tell me what you think.

Kevin

[ROKUJURO]

Kevin,

welcome to the NMB forum.

This is appearing in the wrong section, I think.

Although probably longer, this blade looks like the 20th century tourist TANTO that van still be found on antique markets. The short and unproportionate NAKAGO and the undefined lines let me believe so. 

I hope you did not pay much.....

[Mark]

i agree on not polishing the sword.  It appears to be a late (1880s-1940s) blade. Unless it was shortened. Either way best to enjoy it as is

[CaptainKevo]

I neglected to include the measurements.

 

overall length- 39.3 cm

cutting edge- 31 cm

Sori- 0.3 cm

Motohaba- 2.4 cm

Motogasane- 0.5 cm

 

It's a small Wakisashi but a pretty one. The Shirosaya is quite decent as well.

 

Thanks again,

Kevin

[CaptainKevo]

Rokujuro,

 

Would you be referring to the Shinogi?  I admit that it is not pronounced but it is there. Could this be the result of over polish? Also my photography skills are bad at best.

[Rawa]

Overpolish? Blade looks like being sharpen by kitchen blades sharpener. Don’t put more into it.

[ROKUJURO]

Kevin,

to be blunt: I don't see it as pretty, and the SHIRASAYA looks clumsy and amateurish, at least on these phptos. 

If you compare this sword to authentic others in good condition, you will probably come to the same conclusion.

Still, this discussion should not be posted here but under NIHONTO. 

[CaptainKevo]

understood. If I could remove it, I would.

[Mikaveli]

On 12/28/2025 at 10:07 PM, ROKUJURO said:

Kevin,

to be blunt: I don't see it as pretty, and the SHIRASAYA (not Shirosaya) looks clumsy and amateurish, at least on these phptos.

 

Whilst I'm ever the pendant, is it accurate to say "shirosaya" is an _incorrect_ transliteration?

 

I don't dispute it's the most common pronunciation, but both shirazaya and shirosaya appear frequently in Japanese literature on the topic.

 

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

Hi Michael,

I don't think correct spelling is based on a voting system, but yes, some people do it differently. 

SHIRO is white, but in my experience, most people (and books) use the term SHIRASAYA. Different spelling may also have to do with translating KANJI into ROMAJI which at times seems to be difficult for Japanese people. You sometimes see TUBA written instead of TSUBA, just as an example. Or look at the spelling of KATCHUSHI, KACHUSHI, KACCHUSHI. There is no sound like CCU or TCHU in the KANA system.

[Mikaveli]

8 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Hi Michael,

I don't think correct spelling is based on a voting system, but yes, some people do it differently. 

SHIRO is white, but in my experience, most people (and books) use the term SHIRASAYA. Different spelling may also have to do with translating KANJI into ROMAJI which at times seems to be difficult for Japanese people. You sometimes see TUBA written instead of TSUBA, just as an example. Or look at the spelling of KATCHUSHI, KACHUSHI, KACCHUSHI. There is no sound like CCU or TCHU in the KANA system.

 

Not a voting system, just different available pronunciations.

 

For example, 日本 can be transliterated as both Nihon and Nippon, and whilst one is more common than the other, neither is incorrect.

[ROKUJURO]

So how should we deal with it in your opinion? Everybody spells it as they like? No rules, no mistakes?

[Mikaveli]

42 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

So how should we deal with it in your opinion? Everybody spells it as they like? No rules, no mistakes?

Much the same as it would be inappropriate to correct an American English speaker for using American English spellings.

 

Romanisation of Japanese is imprecise - and whilst we now largely have a defacto system (Heburn), it doesn't invalidate other transliterations. Nihontou, Toukyou etc.

 

Until a Japanese word becomes popular enough to become a recognised loan word, featuring in prominent dictionaries (katana, karaoke, sushi), it's not really misspelled.

[ROKUJURO]

Interesting!
So what about writing FUCHI-GASHIRA vs. FUCHI-KASHIRA? I don't speak Japanese, but I always thought there were rules to it.
 
And KOGATANA vs. KO-KATANA, KOZUKA vs. KO-TSUKA?

[Bazza]

Interesting discussion.  There are at least three (four?) systems of transliterating Japanese to English, some from the 19th century.  I used to agonise over this in my early days of collecting, but no more.  My view is that we should be as good as we can by example individually and be gentle and encouraging with other folk as Jean has done, without being didactic in the matter.  The Hepburn system is the preferred method, but these days I reckon we should roll with the punches instead of being overly precious about it.  The way to have the stuffing knocked out of you is to study Japanese intensively for a few years...

 

BaZZa.

[Lewis B]

1 hour ago, Bazza said:

Interesting discussion.  There are at least three (four?) systems of transliterating Japanese to English, some from the 19th century.  I used to agonise over this in my early days of collecting, but no more.  My view is that we should be as good as we can by example individually and be gentle and encouraging with other folk as Jean has done, without being didactic in the matter.  The Hepburn system is the preferred method, but these days I reckon we should roll with the punches instead of being overly precious about it.  The way to have the stuffing knocked out of you is to study Japanese intensively for a few years...

 

BaZZa.

Agreed. So long as we know what we're talking about it's all good. Whats the saying don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 

 

In any case I get the impression that some here have dyslexia, making things extra troublesome. 

[Scogg]

Being a diagnosed dyslexic myself, makes this stuff pretty challenging. Even keeping word order and spelling straight in English can be rough. I usually reread my posts 5-10 times before I finally catch mistakes that other people notice almost immediately. Sometimes I don't even see those mistakes until I leave and come back with a fresh perspective. 

 

It gets even harder when kanji are involved, especially counting strokes. A lot of that comes from just not being familiar with another language, but it still takes a fair amount of effort. 

 

I've done it before, but I don’t really like using dyslexia as an excuse, because it’s just part of my everyday life. It’s very common, and most people who have it don’t even know, and those who do, often don't lean on it like an ailment. I literally don't even know what it's like to NOT have dyslexia . As I understand it, there's varying levels severity with dyslexia, so I must have the more common mild version...

So it may be the cause for mistakes in spelling here and there, but it's typically no biggie. It makes me a slower and more careful learner, and I think that's a good thing.

I even read slowly, which is how I was flagged to then be diagnosed while I was in school.
I still have to google MENUKI and MEKUGI half the time, so I don't mix them up 
-Sam

[ROKUJURO]

Sam, that is exactly the way to deal (= live) with it!

Others have other disabilities, and sometimes it is not even obvious.