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Sunday bargain day today! Tsubas with boxes for $25 - great price for my sons collection. This weekend I was able to pickup a kabuto with menpo and box/stand for a song. Also a nice sculpted antique drawer box. The one i came back for today was a Kinmichi wakizashi - hozon papered with a Sunday discount. The show was awesome for Hizen collectors. Gordon Robson, Roger Robertshaw and Mike Yamasaki were literally within arms reach. Lots of papered Nidai Tadahiro at bargain prices.

Great show! Highlights for me were the Nanbokucho bizen presentation by the NBTHK. 2 TokuJu and 10 Juyo blades available for study. Other highlights included being able to study a Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto, various ichimonji blades, and an incredibly healthy Nakajima Rai. It was great to see fellow NMB members as well and put faces to names and grab lunch and dinner with a few of you.

29 here, I hypothesis that the shear amount of reading (material) required to advance in the hobby is a non-starter. You can easily spend just as much on books as you can on nihonto artifacts. With televised anime being all the rage the younger crowd is curious. I’d rather have a nihonto collection than a boatload of Pokémon Charizard cards. I guess that makes me an outlier.

I'm a newly minted 80 year old, started collecting at 20. I empathise with the member who said he felt under-qualified here... Oh, and it makes me an 'estate-in-waiting'. BaZZa.

A very bad Chinese copy I am afraid. It is a pity that someone didn't do some homework before buying a sword. There are numerous articals on this forum about these swords and what to look for.

It makes me think about the Higo school. Kind regards. https://www.giquello...3-1868-nagamaru-gata

type 95 NCO's sword model A2, from the Nagoya Arsenal. matching numbers but is in well loved condition, there is no bents, dents or damage, no nicks or chips to the blade but has been resharped in the field. sadlly missing the mekugi screw and the wooden scabbard liner is loose. Priced accordingly, $595 USD plus postage sword is located in Australia, open to trades too

My NBTHK papered Ono tsuba. Dimensions 71.3 mm x 71.0 mm, thickness at seppa-dai 4.5 mm, at mimi 7.5 mm. Regards Luca

Just 50, I had my first nihonto at 27 ... Best, Éric VD

G'day Neil, I have 9 different examples in my files including yours. I don't know if that includes the DTI or Gassan Sadatoshi examples. No doubt there are more that I haven't seen yet. I haven't documented all of the tanto examples yet, but there are a lot of them, at least ten. Cheers, Bryce

Maidate ,Edo period Iron with a light coating of dark brown lacquer 38.2 cm X 3.6 cm Repousse Hachiman Daibujin , the great god of war Hachiman

Not entirely sure this item fits in this thread - A kozuka converted to a kiseru. https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1147440022 fantastic workmanship

Such fond memories. Can't believe it's been a year already.

Well, I was reading his X account and it seems last week he went without me while I was away! Dang… An old faded sign indicates where the Un school (Unji etc.) lived and worked by the Ukaigawa around 1300, Namboku Chō. (Still looking forward to finding my own way there sometime though when the extreme summer weather eases off.)

35 Started in my early 20s

there are 3 finishes with typr 32s, white metal, blued oxide and black paint

Would love to hear what Ian has to say, Russ. Not seen him here for a while, pity.

@Lewis B I have been on both sides of the table. As a seller, my teenage, technical smart teenage daughters set me up with ways of taking electronic payments. I personally accept Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, and Apple pay. With Paypal nad Venmo, I have sold items as low as $20 and as high as $5500. If the seller has either of these applications, their credit card information is already loaded with Paypal, Venmo, etc. and can be charged instantly. We agree on a price and the buyer scans my QR code at the table. They type in the amount to pay, and send. About 1-2 minutes I get an email showing $$$ has been received into your account. As for shipping, I have never accepted money at the show, then shipped afterwards. It is not that I would not do this for someone, but it has not happened for me in this way. I would have no problem returning home, and carefully packaging the item(s) and shipping to the new owner. <-- If I was a buyer, I would make sure to get a business card and full name of the seller. If something should go wrong, you could always turn to the person who runs the show to provide additional information on the person who you are dealing with. Wishing you all the best in your collecting journey! Dan

As a matter of interest how do people organize payment and take possession? I'm guessing no one carries a wad of cash and bank transfers can take a couple of business days to clear. This was my experience when I purchased my Yamato Shikkake. I started the transfer on the Saturday but payment didn't clear until Wed. Luckily I was flying to the UK and was planning to be back in Utrecht the following Friday. I local dealer kindly took possession of the sword and koshirae and we met up when I returned so I could collect it. But this I imagine is not the norm. Paying with credit card may also be difficult, either the dealer isn't able to take that payment or the price exceeds the limit. Do the dealers at the show ship? I assume they would have to return home and ship from there which is less than ideal if international. It wasn't obvious they even bought suitable packaging for shipping. Would really like to have a plan in place before I attend my next show where I might find another blade I can't live without What is the experience of other attendees at these Shows?

Just there to learn for me, and to handle more swords. I was open to buying, but unprepared to fly anything home with me. My favorite sword of the show (aside from the bizen display and other 50k+ items): Was a Yamato Hosho katana with Tanobe Sayagaki. It had really stunning masame, hakikake, and some itame/mokume that I understand is a bit uncharacteristic of the school. I really enjoyed admiring it. Right now I’m liking Yamato swords quite a bit. Cheers, -Sam

My friend, George. I don’t have any wooden menuki. But I have a daisho set from about 1580 that I know was owned by a poor samurai. The ito was worn in areas on the tsuka of the katana and he replaced the worn ito with wood shavings. The tsuba is inlaid with brass that could have been used in battle, daily wear, or court appearances. So, one tsuba for all occasions! I don’t want to get “weird” on you. But I have had “vibes” from some of my tsuba. When holding this daisho, it just communicates to me that the owner was poor. Picture attached of the daisho, although I could not download a picture of the tsuba. Hey, I am old and totally computer illiterate! Although the wood shavings in the ito are on the other side of the tsuka. Anyway, interesting stuff! Onward my friend!

One of my HEIANJO TSUBA:

Maxime, in my eyes it does not look like a serious battle scar, so probably an accidental cut.

Paris, this is a seriously damaged TSUBA, and it will not have much value to collectors. If the remaining material in the circular grooves is brass, then it might have been made as HEIANJO TSUBA ( https://varshavskyco...tion.com/onin-tsuba/ ). This is not a school but a style. The heavy corrosion is not helpful to determine the age, but in case I am correct with the above, it could have been made in the 16th century. Unfortunately that does not help the value.

Paris, You might get your answers on this forum, but all the tsuba guys hang on on this forum: Tosogu - Nihonto Message Board (militaria.co.za) You'll find the answers to the "2 hole" question here:

Hahaha, true Rob, I forgot myself. I am 50+ so on 30 collectors the average age stays on 50. Been a collector for 40 years but Tsuba only a few weeks. A real virgin once again!

I'll surely do, thank you. Best regards, Éric VD

Hi George, agree its unlikely they will ban antique swords but who knows, one day may need a license to own them. For me the issue is importing swords, its being killed off slowly but surely. There just isn't enough for sale in the UK to keep me happy. As time moves on collectors can get extremely picky and the chances of finding what they want in the UK, is zero. However the market in the UK seems ok, folks are still buying up what comes available. Some folks in fact will only buy in the UK and that is understandable.

True, but so long as the government don't outright ban antique curved swords here again, we should be alright! All of my Nihonto have been from auctions because of the price issue, and while risky, it is quite easy to find low/mid grade swords and while it has got more expensive to ship nationwide, it is still doable with UPS or dedicated couriers. I think the major hurdle for newcomers (as has already been mentioned by others here) is information accessibility. Younger people lean more heavily on the internet rather than books, and this forum is basically the only large-scale website with detailed knowledge. As a hobby we probably need more outreach on YouTube, Reddit, Instagram etc and at the very least some more cheat sheets compiling some of the basics/mid level info.... If I had the time, one of these days I'd very much like to set up a simple website with that basic info (my job literally is building those things anyway). Might be a good way to actually force myself to learn more about the schools now that I think about it (Edit: shout-out to https://www.Japanese...ndex.com/nihonto.htm for also being an invaluable internet resource - it is exactly this kind of thing but with better mobile support and more images we need)

53

57, started 20 years ago

That is 50 year average on 22 collectors.

64 Been collecting militaria for 50 years, mainly edge weapons these days, only been studying and collecting Nihonto in the last 5 years.

So, I have a question relating to my SADAKATSU I posted on Friday. It was made in December 1933 to celebrate the birth of Japan's Crown Prince, who became Emperor Akihito. Including mine, I have only seen or read about 3 that are in existence, including this one. One was for sale at the 2019 DTI, for 3.4 million Yen, and one that was in the possession of Gassan Sadatoshi for 3million yen. My question is, how many of these swords were made (the best answerer I heave been given is "only a handful"). Also, is it known how many still exist, assuming some were Gunto mounted or even lost? I have been told that as many as 10 celebration TANTO were made, but these 10 were the majority of his work to celebrate the birth, rather than katana or tachi. I have been trying to find out this info for years, any help or guidance would be appreciated.

30+, 10 years of proper collecting but a lifelong fascination.

Not sure why anyone has an issue with exact ages, but each to their own. Me: 57 I do believe the above statement is a huge reason for the older average age of collectors, but not necessarily the average age of those who are interested in the subject though. While I have been interested for a long time, it has only been the last few years I have been able to afford some nicer quality items and also have a few items polished and restored.

I saw a few people drop a few thousand in cash for some purchases. I imagine for something like the Katayama Ichimonji that’s for sale would be handled via check or wire transfer.

The correct kantei discipline or process is to consider the mei as the last factor. Kantei is first based on: Sugata Jigane Yakiba What does the assessment of the above factors say about time period and swordsmith group? THEN look at the mei. Is the mei in alignment with the above assessment? This process cannot be reliably done by looking at pictures (especially with an important name). Since the consensus of the thread is not obviously gimei , then it needs to assessed in-hand by a knowledgeable person. A common error is to get excited by the mei and then try to rationalize the sugata, jigane and yakiba to fit the mei. I have done that myself when I was first starting out so I am offering this observation as a caution.

Linking 2 similar 32s over at Gunboards: Type 32 Japanese Sword Question Type 32 Sword and Type 30 Bayonet - Paint?

Saw a lot of really amazing swords and fittings. It’s awesome what people are willing to let you handle on their tables - it’s really an incredible opportunity to handle swords; and the dealers and artisans are very kind, helpful, and educational. A big highlight for me was meeting fellow forum members to chat swords @Kyoto-13 @atm @nulldevice, it’s a lot of fun to chat Nihonto with other collectors. Another was the Nambokucho Bizen display and lecture. There were a couple TokuJuyo swords on the table that were absolutely stunning. What an opportunity! And Thomas’s Morisuke is really impressive! Anyway, I’m traveling back home now. All the best, and until next year! -Sam

One other museum has some questions to answer. In 1907 the Metropolitan Museum of Art was gifted three tsuba from the Goda Masa Uji collection. Two of those guards caught my attention. Accession Number: 06.1265 & Accession Number: 06.1266 You can see from the images that both had ategane at the time they were given to the museum, however sometime before 1924 both of these guards had the ategane removed [or stolen?] Both guards remain on display in the museum to this day - but what happened to the ategane? If you read the rather heartfelt letter from Goda himself on why he gifted the guards, it is very sad that his trust in their care was so let down. "On July 29th in the 38th year of Meiji (1905), Prof. Bashford Dean, Curator of Arms and Armor of the New York Metropolitan Art Museum, together with Mr. Amagasa Isao, a student of law of the University of Kyoto, called at my residence in the latter city, and stated that he (Dean) had learned in Tokyo that I possessed a large collection of Japanese armor and arms and expressed his desire to be permitted to see them. I consented and thereupon brought out and exhibited to Prof. Dean various articles of armor, etc. Among the things shown were six tsuba made by Kaneiye. These he asked me to sell him, but I declined to do so. Then he requested me to sell him three of the number, but this also I declined doing. Subsequently he called twice upon me and again on the evening of the 20th of October, 1905, when he requested me to loan the three tsuba for a period of five years to be exhibited in the Museum for educational purposes. This, however, I also felt constrained to refuse, yet when I reflected over the persistent zeal exhibited I could but admire the same, and considering that the request was on behalf of an American institution, while unable to consent to receive any compensation, I determined to make an offering of the desired objects rather than exhibit them as requested, and I stated that such was my desire. To the inquiry thereupon made by Prof. Dean as to my motive in this act, I replied: That at the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate I was a military attendant and resided in Osaka at the Castle. When I was yet a child eight years of age Commodore Perry came to Uraga, Sagami, for the purpose of opening our ports to foreign trade and commerce. A promise to that effect having been obtained by him from the then government, from that time on until the present Meiji period our intercourse has spread far and wide with all foreign nations, and that our honored flag should float to-day over all the seas was largely due to the friendly offices of the American Republic. Again during the recent conflict between the Empire of Japan and that of Russia thanks to the warm and friendly attitude of the President of the United States in his successful action in putting an end to that deadly conflict by bringing about the Peace Conference at Portsmouth, with results yet to follow though still unknown I felt much gratitude for the many and valuable services rendered by America to my country. So therefore when Prof. Dean continued to express so great a desire for some of the objects in my treasured collection, I consented to part with the same and send them to the Art Museum of New York as an evidence of my warm personal regard for the American people. Upon this, my statement to Mr. Dean, he was and expressed himself to be extremely gratified, and said that upon his return to America he would bring the same to the knowledge of his Government and that upon receipt of the necessary notification to be sent me by the Governor of Kyoto after a request to that effect by the proper Japanese officials thereunto moved by a communication from the Embassy of the United States at Tokyo, I should forward the articles offered. This was entirely satisfactory to me. Meanwhile as I was growing old and at any time I might be overtaken by death, I had the promise of those of my household surviving me to execute and fulfill my undertaking to the letter. On the morning of 2Ist October, 1905, Prof. Dean left Kyoto and returned the following year to his country passing through India. I saw him off from the Kyoto station, bidding him farewell. On the 26th of January of this year (1907) I received a communication from Ambassador Wright offering kindly to transmit through his office to America the three Tsuba referred to herein." (Signed) GODA MASA UJI Samurai Masaouji Goda died in 1917

I believe it is: Bishu Osafune Sukesada Eiroku ni nen ni gatsu hi

The thickness of the plate reminds me of Satsuma School but the overall size of the the tsuba is I think a bit too large for a Satsuma School tsuba. The Ono School has tsuba I have seen all have a thick robust plate and openwork like this tuba but would not have the soft metal inlay decorations like this tsuba has. All the Ono tsuba I have owned and examined showed strong well defined iron bones (tekkotsu 鉄骨) along the rim or even sometimes on the surface of the tsuba. I have seen nice robust signed Myochin School tsuba with later decorations done to the plate. @Tohagi Eric VD I hope you find this information helpful to your tsuba.

I looked for the widest tsuba in my book and it is Myochin = 7.9mm No where near yours but may be of interest

I was taking some better photos of the tsuba this afternoon during today's minivacation, before I was pulled away from the photo editing due to a home emergency. Don't worry, I didn't lose a fish, but sadly I no longer have a home aquarium.

Here’s one from my collection