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Here's a look at my latest version of my Tsuba stand 'The Dragon Very Detailed and high relief sculpt, slightly taller to accommodate the larger Tsuba Thanks for looking

First submission on Thursday, early afternoon. Katana Mei-Tohto Tsuguhira Ka Ko Gane plus a lot of other kanji. Returned as Horyu (undecided). Was pretty disappointed in the outcome but I plan on keeping it anyway so papers would have just been a bonus. Katana A dealer near my table was packing up to leave on Saturday afternoon. He came to my table and said last minute deal on a katana I had looked at a few times. I took another look at it and made an offer that he accepted. Mei- Bungo Jyu Fujiwara Saneyuki Took it to shinsa on Sunday morning and it passed with 76 points. Tachi Always wanted a tachi and finally got a great example from Matt Jerrel with Sohei swords. Took it immediately to shinsa and it was attributed to Chikuzen Kongobye Moritaka with 73 points. Overall, very happy with the results. I plan on submitting the tachi koshirae at the next shinsa, whenever that may be. Dan

Im not trying to beat a dead horse, but from experience, I can say that, yes, I have seen armors get broken apart and sold separately for more money in Japan and ALSO because not one dealer can afford the full price of an armor.... so they break it up and each dealer gets a part. But it is usually at auctions and it is done mainly for the dealers to sell to foreigners. What is trying to be done here is to educate people (you foreigners) as to why it is important to keep things togehter. There was one armor that I saw broken up and it took me years to track down the pieces and put back together. I also once found the missing mempo from an armor owned by Date Masamune misplaced that was put in the wrong box a couple hundred years ago (maybe the kids were playing with it) and ended up in Date Yoshikuni's armor's box which was sold off years ago by the family. It took me 25 years, but the armor was finally put back together, and it was only by chance. I made a mistake which brought me into the place that had the armor (and mempo) if I hadnt gone in there at that time, for some weird reason, it would have never gotten back together. I see people on here all day long talking about how its their responsibility to take care of this stuff... and they are only the temporary owners etc. Then take care of it! If you cant afford to by the whole armor, then don't. I would say the same thing for a sword with its original koshiare. There is much more to learn about the history of an artifact with a fuller context of the item. The more you take it apart and re-do it to your preferences, the more you ruin the context. There is plenty of stuff out there. Just find something that you like before buying something only to rip it apart and re-make it or only buy part of it because you dont have room in your house for full armors. Too many headless armors out there. Just my thoughts.

Bonji on blades are often easy to identify, but sometimes they are not as simple as they seem. Just for consideration: reinhard

I saw this armor when it was still in Japan right before it was sold. Still had the proper sangu and the maedate that were in the photos. I dont understand why anybody would break up that matching set. Its just really weird that somebody would do that because it devalues the set as the kiko on the watagami matched the tsuneate. Now its a composite. Weird.

So posted this on another forum but this seems to be the more proper home for it: RESULTS ARE IN: 1) The Kanekuni failed shinsa and was ruled as gimei with a wider possible attribution to Mino Den. It was kantei'd to be from the Oei Era. I didn't have a strong faith in the signature on this one and the age via the shinsa was a bit older than I originally thought it was. I pegged it as late 1400s early 1500s, so I was close. 2) The Kunitsugu passed shinsa with 73 points to Etchu Uda Kunitsugu also from the Oei Era. Out of the two I'm glad this was the one that papered. This was my favorite of my unpapered blades. Ōei (応永) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, "year name") after Meitoku and before Shōchō. This period spanned the years from July 1394 through April 1428. Reigning emperors were Go-Komatsu-tennō (後小松天皇,) and Shōkō-tennō (称光天皇). So had a 50% success rate on the Meis but I'm still glad that the Gimei Kanekuni at least has a "confirmed" age. Also the NTHK point system was unfamiliar to me so I had to research it. It seems a 73 pointer to be a lower level "important" ranking. Below is a pic of the Kunitsugu blade that passed.

For much better pics and comments go to Ford Hallam's Tosogu insights no 11 £600

Yes, attributed to Myōchin (Katchūshi). End of Edo period. The comments suggest it was well made, and done by an armorer who either transitioned to tsuba-maker, or one who was also trained in tsuba-making skills. (Note also that this paper is from the Tōsōgu Kenkyū Kai. No reason to doubt their attribution on this piece, I think.)

All of them cast fakes . Good for paperweights and to throw at your enemies though!

No, sorry it is not amazing and definitely cast, I have seen a few hundred of these, the signatures are gimei. The sword owner at some point probably switched it from the original. If you are interested there are two 'types' one like yours [and above] with the irregular hitsu-ana shapes and the other with 'niku' outlines on the hitsu, these latter ones can also have fake [cast in] tagane-ato. I think the 'regular' hitsu ones are signed MITSUNAGA SAKU? but also gimei. https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/65537469-katana-tanto-tsuba-wakizashi-1-forged-iron-cloud-tsuba-c2-478-mitsunaga-saku-finely-carved-Japan-edo-period-1600-1868 Old thread here 2012 -

Just to clarify I purchased this armor. I knew what I was buying and I bought it because I liked it. It was a reasonable price and I would buy it again. I don't know who changed what but like all descriptions on antique things buy what you see not what it is described. What I did get was what was pictured with excellent packing and communication. If any of you have an issue with the seller then take it up with him. I posted this a short while ago so I am assuming since you have seem to have been tracking it you are aware of who bought it. I really get tired of hearing people snipe at each other on this forum. The Japanese swop parts on armor , break up sets and all manner of other things to make more money. Is anyone surprised that this happens all over. I can't think of a more scary way to make a living than dealing in and or restoring antiques. Sometimes you buy things because you like them. Don't turn everything into a Monkey poop fight because there are no winners in the end.

春親在銘 傑作 赤銅四分一削継戸尻金朽込彫下 金二足蟻之圖苔金キチリ金銀 昭和庚寅夏 阿弥屋　惣右 Haruchika zaimei Masterpiece Two tone with shakudō and shibuichi arranged diagonally, with kojiri rot effect in gold Image of a pair of ants in gold. Moss in gold, and dovetail joints in gold and silver. 1950 Summer Amiya Sō

Item No. 301 Kozuka in Shakudo , Shibuichi and Gold Subject of ants on bark , signed Haruchika , 19th cent. Made in two separate sections of Shakudo and Shibuichi, joined with Gold clips and a dovetail joint, ants are inlaid onto a bark texture ground. A pleasing, unusual piece which also has an attestation by Amiya Soemon on the interior of the box lid. Can anyone help with the translation please ?

I’m not going to be shy. Hope more members post results. If you would like any more details about any of the blades, let me know. Here are my results from Saturday. 9 out of 11 of my blade submittals passed. I’ll post one more result of Sunday daisho tsuba submittal later… KATANA — Mei: Hizen Kuni ju Omi Daijo Fujiwara Tadahiro - judged Gimei - however judges notes say “Kanbun Hizen”, so still same school. I knew this one was probably gimei, but it was a good looking blade (for me) and I submitted to confirm it was not a total disaster. When I asked ‘on the side’, I was told if submitted mumei, it probably would still have scored 71 or 72 points, but of course you will have to take my word for that. WAKIZASHI — Mei: Omi-no-kami Minamoto Rai Sadamori. 77 points. One point away from possible Yushu submittal! Was kinda proud about this one as it was not a high cost blade and I trusted my research before buying… but as always, it was still a gamble. Was told it was one of the higher scored blades of the Shinsa weekend. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again. WAKIZASHI — Mei: Bizen Osafune ju Yokoyama Sukekane / A day in February 1862. Mount Fuji hamon. Nagasa on border between ko-wakizashi or o-tanto. 73 points. Had previous old NBTHK Kicho Hozon white papers and I wanted to re-confirm. Originally judged as tanto but NBTHK corrected to wakizashi in 2020 at a previous owners request and NTHK-NPO also stated wakizashi. WAKIZASHI — Mei: Kuwana ju Morishige - Judged meikan-more. 71 points. It was in a very out of polish state when I purchased and while a blade with interesting activity, unfortunately, a fukure opened during polish, but still a respectable 71 points. And I felt it should be included in shinsa to get smith’s name recorded ‘somewhere’. If you do a search on NMB, you will see blade previously discussed. WAKIZASHI — Mei: Omi no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masahiro (1st Gen). 74 points. This blade sparked my interest in the Hojoji school. It also fueled a recent purchase from Grey Doffin of a Hojoji Tachibana Kunimasa katana. Most definitely a school that has peaked my interest and will be a focus in the future. WAKIZASHI — MUMEI - was bounced as saiha. A little surprised by this one. Thought it might get Bungo which I was ok with, but did not expect saiha… oh well. Back to my blind squirrel status I guess. WAKIZASHI — Mei: Kanazawa ju Darani Tachibana Katsukuni. 74 points WAKIZASHI — MUMEI - judged Den: Kashu Iyo Daijo Katsukuni. 73 points. Thought it was a Mino blade, so I need to study more. TANTO — Mei: Sei-ryu-shi Moriyuki. 71 points. Was a little nervous about this blade as I could not find much about smith and example mei’s, and one kanji in mei seemed a bit ‘off’. Blade is probably a bit tired, but I was pleasantly surprised by result. JUMONJI YARI — Mei: Heian Jo Fujiwara Kunishige 75 points HIRA SANKAKU YARI (a last minute addition that showed up in the mail earlier than I expected - Shinsa team was able to squeeze it in with my other blades) — Mei (signed on all 4 sides of nakago): Izumi no Kami Kanesada (11th generation) / Keio 3 U (year of hare) 8th month / Made at Echigo Kuni Kamo / Made for Kasahara Hayato. 31.5cm nagasa. 73 points

Hello, Here are some sword fittings and tsuba for sale. Please pm me for more photos and information. Price + shipping. Best regards, Krystian

Good afternoon NMB, On offer today is a whimsical black Oribe sake cup by one of the Showa era's greats. Sasaki Tadashi was a true shokunin and this cup is a perfect example of his dedication to the craft. The bracken motif is beautifully scraped away from the jet black and silky smooth glaze, which gives the cup a marvelous feel in hand. This combined with its softly rounded lip makes for a perfect sipper. 4.7cm high x 6.3cm wide, in perfect condition with its original box, cloth and paperwork. $100 via PayPal F&F shipped to the USA, $120 worldwide. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional pics. Thanks for looking! 🙏🍶

For real vandalism check this out. Like Chris’s example from the same self proclaimed U.K. expert but much worse. Sweet tidy white laced armor in Japan… Buy it, ship it to the U.K. Swap out the sangu then out with a pot of red paint…yep red paint, probably not even urushi. And look….. The reason to do this? Kerching! All about the money. More bling = more bucks! Cultural vandalism. Period.

I try to understand the clan and school features of armors since decades. It truly is a fascinating world. It is important to understand that switching parts is much more harmful than one can expect at first glance. We are discussing such a series of armors for the moment on our Japanese Armor Society forum. I think our members understand the importance of a complete genuine set. Genuine matching sets become rare and expensive. You may own an armor and do with it whatever you want, you have not broken any law if you put it on fire, repaint it, whatever. But it is stupid and it stays vandalism.

I don't know if I understood you correctly, but in trad. jap. archery no arrow has to bend around the bow. With the draw hand I twist the string, and with the tenouchi I turn the bow out when I shoot. In principle, I do everything that I must not do under any circumstances in western archery ;-).

Jeremy, although it is marked KABURAYA, I don't think it is one. The shape you have in mind is what you are looking for. The depicted item might just be a display piece.

Looks like a sukashi yanone with a piece of wood on the shank, perhaps one of the outsize heads that were temple offerings. Are you looking for the head or the whole arrow? That one isn’t capable of being shot from a bow like that as the shaft of the arrow must flex around the bow on release.

Thank you guys for the insight! I put off on buying until I was sure, and decided to ask first. But it would’ve been a cheap paperweight nonetheless! They were asking $25 for all 4 I really appreciated the in depth analysis from Spartancrest, and ended up walking away with some valuable knowledge! Tsuba is just a whole sub genre that is way over my head at the moment, and I still have plenty to learn haha Ended up getting some other cool things (unrelated to Nihonto) while I was there, so the trip was not wasted!

I have the same opinion - cast. They may have come from a display board. The first two have cast seams in the cut out areas. The other two are worse IMO. The Crane or 'Tsuru' one I believe was made as a paperweight and had a cord tied through the "udenuki-ana" [now missing] the slot was used so the cord could lay flush with the tsuba. The pattern is usually associated with the Higo school - such as this one https://www.tosoguya.com/higo_crane_tsuba.html similar pattern in "Bronze" ? https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1055933740 [likely an utsushi from another school]

Thank you Garrett!

Garrett, what kind of swords might that be? IAITO with zinc-aluminium alloy blades? Newly made sharp blades are not allowed in Japan unless they have been traditionally forged from TAMAHAGANE. Not really tourist souvenirs!

The famous Hosokawa-Mon is always consisting of nine round luminaries. A bigger one in the middle and eight smaller ones circling around it. Not one more, not one less. reinhard

After many misprints on the hardcover book, the corrected version is finally done. To buy my book, "Study of Japanese Swords", go to the link below. The Alpha publishing company will ship hard and soft covers to all countries. To ship to other than the U.S., click "all countries", under buy a hardcover today. The link should look like the one below. https://www.alphapublisher.com/yurie-halchak-author-book...

Grey, You're just asking the same questions that I already addressed above. You seem to trust that those sangu weren't original and that the previous dealer had swapped them. I can ask you to prove the unprovable, too: "How do you know that they swapped them out? Can you prove it? How do you know?" This is a little silly. I'm not interested in having a conversation that goes into the schoolyard, let's deal with facts. We know what it looked like when it was first sold, and we know it was changed. Let's deal with those facts. What it had was period appropriate sangu for both the region and the era. The sangu matched the urushi on the rest of the armor from the photos. It was swapped for sangu that don't match as well. Why? Also, the kusari between the splints of the replaced kote is missing. It is just as damaged at the original set it came with, so even less reason to swap it. The maedate was period appropriate for the region and era, and was a "standard pattern" we've seen on multiple armors, from the same time period and region (There is a photo above). It was replaced with something much more exotic and fancy, why? These swaps were superfluous. "Original maedate crest with ponytail kashira date" if the Kaga beetle wasn't original, the hairy replacement certainly wasn't! It was an even later addition. Best regards, Chris

Why did the seller who chopshopped this armor claim the maedate was original when he swapped it out? Which we can 100% prove. Let's start with the simple things here. Can you explain that lie? Is this a business practice that you endorse?

I had two successes: A mumei 27.5' o-kissaki katana in red Higo koshirae came back ID'ed as Aizu Kanesada (11th generation), placed at 72 points. A mumei 8" yoroi-doshi tanto in plain black shirasaya came back ID'ed as Nanki Shigekuni (also probably 11th generation), but it placed at 75 points. Not bad for a couple of mumei! Weirdly both Ansei era, but it is what it is! BIG thanks to Mark Jones and Chris Bowen for putting on the show and shinsa! I really enjoyed this year.

We just talked about this sword in a recent thread. Cross-posting this here for easy reference. I can't find this smith in any reference. He appears once or twice in a thread on a different forum, but I don't know if anything is known about him, when he lived, or if he was even real. (It does look like a late Edo signature, but other than that I know absolutely nothing of this smith).

You can use all tulipfera woods and theire genetic neighbours like linden, poplar, alder and others.

Dear Carlos. Puzzled by your last statement. Honoki is Magnolia Hypoleuca or Magnolia Obovata and is deciduous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_obovata All the best.

Ah yes, Jean. You are right, I was in error! I would think like most wood magnolia is also acidic, and that the acidity varies with environment though. Magnolia is an interesting wood, being an angiosperm that doesn't lose its leaves.

Carlos, it seems that HINOKI is cypress. HONOKI (magnolia wood) is different: https://www.lorberg.com/en/company/news-events/post/magnolia-hypoleuca-honoki-magnolie/

Tsukamaki Article from JSS/US http://www.montanairon.com/tsukamaki.html

If you want to know your Alder's acid content, dissolve some alder sawdust in distilled water and use some of those inexpensive pH strips to test what it is. If you're going to make a tsuka for a nihonto, I'd only use imported honoki, and only honoki meant for tsuka. This paper has alder at pH 4.9 (acidic): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353504883_Changes_in_the_Physical_and_Chemical_Properties_of_Alder_Wood_in_the_Process_of_Thermal_Treatment_with_Saturated_Water_Steam Honoki is a type of cypress. This paper says that pH of wood varies according to its environment, with cypress woods varying from 3.3 to 6.4 in the papers surveyed: https://www.proquest.com/openview/cea5592742f8f785925d2616b6341206/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1446337 The cypress they looked at in the paper were a bit less acidic, between 5.1 and 5.9. So, we see that Honoki is probably acidic relative to pH7. However, it's traditional, and we know it doesn't affect the wood long term, and that's what counts. For a reproduction, there's nothing wrong with buying some other kind of cypress. That's what I did! However, for both alder and cypress, the nature of the wood makes a big difference. You can get very soft and pretty hard cypress and alder. Usually young trees are pretty soft, and they get harder and tougher as they age, especially the heartwood. For a saya, you want pretty young/soft wood to protect the blade, but for a tsuka, you want the wood pretty hard and tough to hold its shape and prevent deformation/cracks. If your Alder tree was old and you got the heartwood, it may be good for a reproduction tsuka, but if it was pretty young and soft, save it for some other project.

Of course! Here you go.

The For Sale section seems to be getting more and more popular, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to sort through the offerings for those looking for only swords, or tsuba etc. So I have decided it is time to split these sales into sections. I know we all resist change, but I think this will be a good move and I can fine tune the settings or descriptions as we go along. Please post new items in the relevant sections above. In time, I will move all the old listings into their sections. Members should be able to reply to and discuss old listings, but not create new listings in the open section anymore. You will need to start the listings in the specific sections. Comments, suggestions etc are welcome, in this thread. I really do feel this is a step forward, and there are other changes coming that I think will improve things. Brian

Hello again from the UK. Apologies for posting another sword but as usual I’m asking for help both on the blade and the koshirae. The age of both puzzles me. Usual non-mint UK as-found condition. I’ve done my best with the images. Please do give me your opinions. Firstly the blade. Very heavily forged in predominantly a quite loose flowing masame with the odd itame area. The hamon is suguha with very mild midare and gentle sunagashi in places and sprinkled with dark ko-nie. The boshi is O-Maru (almost squarish) one side and slight hakikake the other. The ubu mumei nakago looks shinshinto although the mune edge is far more heavily aged. I am obliged to give an option even if totally wrong, so……to me the forging and hardening look more koto (loose masame with quite a few fine hadaware)but the nakago looks shinshinto. So I’ll go shinshinto. Nagasa 77.7cm (overall 98cm) Motohaba 3.8 cm Sakihaba 2.6 cm Motokasane 1.1cm Sakikasane 0.6cm The koshirae is also heavily made to support the large blade. The blackbear skin is a shadow of its former self. Age has taken a huge toll and only the “under fur” is left with a few traces of the much longer outer black fur. It is coming out in handfuls…..but is original and has obvious age. The understated heavy mounts all appear to be of thick shakudo with a beautiful shakudo habaki. The Ito is very faded as is the silk brocade. I think both were once more gold in appearance. There is considerable wear to the ashi and I have had to repair them a bit (one was hanging off) One Tokugawa mon is missing. This probably isn’t the first koshirae that this blade has had (two mekugi ana….only one in this tsuka). So…….is it the real deal…a late Edo period Samurai Tachi, or maybe a shrine sword? It’s not flash enough imo to be a Meiji creation….not smothered in gold mon etc. What do you all think??….please chip in. Many thanks. All the best. Colin

Koto Osuriage Tachi 68.6 cm NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Sayagaki by Mr. Tanobe Tachi attributed to the Enju school. Enju is representative of Yamashiro Den it's roots are from the Rai school. This sword was discussed as being a work of Rai Kunitoshi at one point , but due to disagreement it was given the safer attribution of Enju. There were a few spots of Rai grain which caused the discussion. It can be said it's still open to discussion. It has an elegant Tachi shape of late Kamakura ( 1280 ) . This is a summary of the sayagaki.

Koto Osuriage Tachi - Bizen Omiya Morishige 75.7 cm NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon to 1st generation Morishige , late Kamakura Circa 1319 Very thick at 9 mm , very healthy. Elongated Kissaki. This is 75.7 cm long as Osuriage , this would have been a huge blade before being shortened. Koshirae is Tachi style but of the Edo jidai.

O Suriage Tachi late Kamakura Circa 1290-1300. 68 cm NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon attribution to Yamato Taima Specifically to Cho Aritoshi Cho is short for Chobeinojo Aritoshi This school takes its name from the Taimadera temple in Nara. They made swords for the warrior monks who protected the holdings and land belonging to the temple. They rarely signed these swords and the works of this school are rare . Sayagaki by Mr Tonobe The Hada of this sword is really beautiful.

Koto Tachi O suriage 66.7 cm NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Nambokucho jidai circa 1350 O Kissaki Sayagaki by Mr. Tanobe The Rai school was founded by Kuniyoshi. The character for Rai means " one who comes" ,the implication is the founder of this school came from outside Japan . Maybe from Korea is one of the theories. The Nanbokucho a period of constant war fare.

After a long search process... I was looking for an Aoe but ended with a Ryumon Nobuyoshi 龍門延吉.

Thanks!

The internet is very slow here in Thailand and take a long time to load photos...

France, I shall not enter into details but including "file fees" taken by the Customs Agent the cost is 5% for Antiques more than 100 Years old. It is some kind of Bingo with French Customs duties. I had swords coming from Japon which went through Customs - Tax free Others which were taxed (5% all-in) - small items as tsuba/kogatana often can go through Customs tax free. From North America, nothing escapes Customs but small parcels (tsuba)