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I came across a picture of this beauty! Isn’t this pure art?

I have this tsuba for years in my collection and never succeeded to determine precisely what school performed this excellent work in carving. I was hesitating between Shonaï and Hamano schools. What are your views, please? Thank you

Congrats to the buyer. This is a lovely set, and I know a ton of time, money and effort went into putting it together. Great deal. Sorry to hear about your son's passing Stephen. I am sure we all send you and your family condolences, and best wishes.

I found this image from an old ebay sale "Copper 1800-1849 Asian Antiques" no other information on it sorry - I just thought the style and material were similar. [I think yours is far superior though] This one has a very close ura side design but the Katakiri-bori carving is a totally different technique to the omote view of Bruno's. https://www.proantic...eriod-1808-1912.html

UPDATE: Didn´t expected to make an update so soon but it seems that koshirae is almost done, some touch ups and sageo is still missing, but yes for anyone interested, quality of the completed koshirae is just astonishing. Adding detailed picture of the saya and overall picture. ENJOY

Matt kindly sent us this photo of that serial number, for the record. The katakana is partially struck, but it should be SE 2431 of 1944 Spring.

It looks not Japanese to me with cast fittings, most likely made in China.

A very classical one of mine

My Understanding is there are 2 types of these buttons see examples attached, hope this helps.

I will get measurements later. Please note how well the copper plugs are carved to match the motif of waves - really cool work. I get Owari Fuatgoyama vibes with this one, feel free to correct me (Curran? Please?). Needs some TLC, is wakizashi size and really nice. HOLD ($200) incl. shipping to US and EU, Paypal fees blah blah blah, wire transfer preferred.

For sale this beautiful piece of nagamitsu. It has nbthk papers and is totally impeccable. No stains or scratches. Status is 10 out of 10. I leave the link from when I bought it. I can send more photos taken by me. The price 4700 euros https://www.samurais....jp/sword/23120.html

This horimono with red lacquer was examined this week on a koto era mumei katana recently acquired by a friend. I would call it a rain dragon and ken. I don't recall every seeing this horimono on a sword before. It looks original to the sword and has been polished quite a number of times. I wonder if there is a specific name for this dragon. More important, does this design if horimono point to any specific group of swordsmiths? Any information would be important. Thanks Ron STL

I would like to ask a question to those who know more than me about Japanese swords. I understood the concept of the sword born "mumei" and of "suriage" and "o-suriage". The shortening was used to shorten swords that had become too long for the fighting style on foot and no longer on horseback and therefore (if I am not mistaken) it is seen on "tachi" type swords or on "old swords" ("koto"). What I would like to know is what sense a "suriage" or "o-suriage" makes on new ("shinto") or later swords. Could there have been and if so why? To perhaps adapt the sword to the smaller stature of a new samurai owner? Or for a breakage (but then only if the blade was damaged not at the tip but at the back). Please explain to me, I would like to know how to relate to a "Shinto" / "mumei" sword with "suriage", they are not valid as they are considered if it is with "Hozon" certificate?

And finally, Jacques, (as I really do not need to adduce any more evidence beyond the Taikan, the Facts & Fundamentals and this), here is an extract, together with the English translation put together for your convenience, of the Fujishiro Koto volume. And a master polisher such as Fujishiro will know what he is talking about…. So, please let us put this to bed and move on with life.

If it bothers you, do not buy it. Was it done to deceive??? If not, why? A rabbit warren. Many people will offer their opinions on the reasons for Shinto or Shin-Shinto shortening, but such a blade will never satisfy you more and more. Probably less and less, until you are bored or disgusted, unless the work is so stunning that the critics are all blown away like flies.

Customizing to the user's needs/desires/koshirae. https://nihontocraft...hinsa_Standards.html Shinto swords should be ubu, have no flaws, and be signed. Anything other would explain why it only received Hozon level origami, aside from quality.

A few quick thoughts. We need to keep in mind that form follows function. As time passed, fighting styles changed and with it the shape of swords either through manufacture or modification. Following this point, we need to be aware that throughout time the shape of earlier swords were being copied, but that sometimes what was being copied were modified swords. This holds especially true when entering into the Edo period. It is one reason we see familiarities in Shinto swords like that of shortened nambokucho or other earlier period swords. For example, look how often we see what is thought to be a naginata naoshi only to find upon closer examination, "nope, it's simply a Shinto period shobu zukuri wakizashi." The study of the origin of shape is essential for a complete understanding of nihonto.

Dear Ste. To add a little to that Nakahara lists two reasons in 'Facts and Fundamentals'; first that Daimyo conforming to rules laid down about the wearing of daisho yet still wanting to be known as carrying a great blade would shorten earlier masterpieces for such use, second that the Tokugawa, seeking to reward someone, took to giving swords instead of land and running out of great names shortened lesser swords and had them attributed to a great smith by the Honami. A form of social agreement enters into this, something along the lines of, 'Your actions deserve a Norishige but I don't have one so this shortened Uda tachi with a Honami attribution will do instead.' Followed by, 'Thank you for recognising the magnitude of my service with this magnificent sword.' I have also often heard swords described as, 'the top of an old tachi.' The suggestion here is that at some point an old sword was damaged and rather than waste it someone turned it into a wakizashi. In most cases this applies to a rather skinny blade which has seen a lot of polishes and is inelegantly shortened. I think the change from mounted to dismounted fighting has more to do with the sugata of the sword as made, though I also think that the shorter samurai argument holds water. The last point I would make is that deliberate fakes abound and some smiths were known to work in a style so close to a great but early smith that it was quite the thing to take one of their swords and either shorten it or remove the mei to pass it off as the work of the earlier smith. As to the Shinto/Shinshinto question collectors seem to work to the rule that these swords are relatively plentiful so if you want a Tadatsuna katana it is possible to find one with an untouched nakago so that you can appreciate the sword in its original form, why would you settle for osuriage and lose the original sugata and nakago complete with mei? Because of this a mumei Shinto begs the question as to why it was not signed, and there are reasons offered for this happening, However a mumei Shinto which might be papered to a certain smith would be less attractive than a signed example also papered. Forgive the lengthy ramble and I hope I have answered some of your questions. Others will add to this perhaps. All the best.

Dear Lewis, here some info especially regarding the Nabeshima Go: https://swordsofjapa...go-yoshihiro-katana/ Good info also in this post. Kind Regards, Giordy

Dear Rasmus, more detailed photos of the blade and nakago would be needed, but from what I see I agree with Christian's opinion.

Dear Ron, this is from Sesko kantei, check also the pdf at the end for comparison. kurikara (倶梨伽羅) – According to legend, the guardian deity Fudô-Myôô (不動明王) once had to fight a deity from another religion, the dragon king Kurikara, written with the same characters as stated above. He changed himself into a flaming sword but Kurikara did the same and the fighting went on without a winner. But then Fudô-Myôô transformed into the dragon Kurikara, wound himself around the opponent’s sword, and ate it from the top. Also referred to as kenmaki-ryû (剣巻龍, lit. “dragon winding around a sword”). There are quite many kurikara interpretations but basically we differentiate between three approaches that follow the shin-gyô-sô mentioned at the beginning, i.t. shin no kurikara (真の倶梨伽羅, “full” or “realistic kurikara”), gyô no kurikara (行の倶梨伽羅, “more or less abbreviated kurikara”), and sô no kurikara (草の倶梨伽羅, “abbreviated,” “stylized,” or “abstrac kurikara”). A shin no kurikara is often seen on blades of Nobukuni, Heianjô Nagayoshi, of the Sue-Bizen school, at Awataguchi Ikkanshi Tadatsuna, Hizen Tadayoshi, Echizen Yasutsugu, Higo no Daijô Sadakuni, Suishinshi Masamune, Hosokawa Masayoshi, Taikei Naotane, and at the shinshintô and gendai Gassan school. A gyô no kurikara can be found on Nobukuni and Heianjô Nagayoshi blades, at Kagemitsu, the Sue-Bizen and Sue-Sôshû schools, Echizen Yasutsugu, Kotetsu, Hizen Tadayoshi, Taikei Naotane, and Tairyûsai Sôkan (泰龍斎宗寛). And a stylized sô no kurikara is typical for the Hasebe school, Nobukuni, Heianjô Nagayoshi, the Kanabô school, the Sue-Sôshû and Sue-Bizen school, the smiths around Osafune Kanemitsu, Awataguchi Ikkanshi Tadatsuna, Echizen Yatsuugu, Hizen Tadayoshi, the shintô Hôjôji school, Ômi no Kami Tsuguhira (近江守継平), Harima no Daijô Shigetaka (播磨大掾重高), Yamashiro no Kami Kunikiyo (山城守国清), and Taikei Naotane. And please note that Heianjô Nagayoshi often combined a gyô no kurikara and a sô no kurikara or two differently stylized sô no kurikara distributed on the two sides of one blade. The same peculiarity is seen at the Kanabô school. But it has to be pointed out that sometimes it is hard to say if a kurikara is shin or already gyô or gyô tending to sô. A variant or certain characteristic interpretation of a kurikara is the so-called harami-ryû (孕龍, lit. “pregnant dragon”). Here, the body of the dragon is somewhat at distance from the sword and with a curve of the thigh which makes it look like as if the dragon is pregnant. Such a harami-ryū is often found on swords by Nagamitsu and his Osafune main line successors https://markussesko....mparisonkurikara.pdf

Dear all I am looking for reference material on F/K by Nara Toshinaga which do either show monkeys/eagles or which are signed on the right side of the fuchi. Let me explain the background of my somehow strange request. I have in my collection a wakizashi koshirae which has formerly been owned by the now closed Tosogu Museum in Tokyo (sold via Christies in the early 2000s). The koshirae has undergone a restoration in the second half of the 20th century. As part of this restoration process, a new saya was made, the original menuki were removed AND the fuchi/kashira WERE REPATINATED. As a result, they look rather new but could in fact be much older. As the fuchi is signed "Toshinaga Kao" and we all know that his mei was very often faked, I had dismissed them as gimei ever since the koshirae came into my possession. I still consider the mei to be at least critical BUT after studying the workmanship for a while I must say that they are really well done. In particular, the ishime ground is very appealing (I tried to focus on this feature in my pictures). The easiest way would of course be to submit them for shinsa. However, the NBTHK has become very hesitant in the last year and when it comes to one of the big names, I guess that my best result could be horyu. And that does not help me at all. That means that I have to trust my own (and maybe your) judgement and would be gratefull for reference material on F/K by Toshinaga (ideally from the book on the Nara San Saku). Kind regards and a big thanks Chris

The waves look shonai in style to me

I would like your opinion on the sarute of a Masatsugu sword I am buying: to me, it does not look Japanese at all, but more like something you would expect to find on a (cheap) Chinese sword.

I'm going to list this one as a souvenir as it has the date scratched on the blade "24 Dec 50", blade only, being sold on this ebay sale. I'm calling the painted number "37" unless someone has a better read on it.

Sold

Another fan theme tsuba from my collection to share.

https://archive.org/...SwordGuards/mode/2up

Thank you so much ! I hope to find the owner of this tsuba to associate the box to it !

Interesting reading, will always end in the clashing of horns, so to speak A simple way to look at it. A sword is only worth what someone ignorant or uneducated is willing to pay. Stick within your realms,

It doesn't look correct at all, carefully check the rest of the fittings to make sure they are matching.

Reduced to 2000USD + shipping (~100USD to the US). A donation to the board will also be made.

Chris's, more on Kanefusa and background:

From Japanese Sword Index: "The Kanefusa lineage of swordsmiths of Mino Province dates back to the Muromachi era in the 1400's. The 23rd generation Kanefusa worked during the WW II era and was a direct descendant of this famous line of swordsmiths. This lineage continues today with the 25th generation Kanefusa. The 23rd generation Kanefusa's name was Kato Koichi. He was born in 1900. During the Showa period he studied under Kato Jumyo and worked in Seki (Mino / modern Gifu prefecture). During the war years he made many blades for the military, both army and navy, and for civil officials. He won numerous awards in sword exhibitions and contests during this period. He was ranked 1st Seat (National Swordsmith) in the 6th Exhibition of Swords held in 1941 (Slough). He was ranked Kibin no Retsu in 1942 by Kurihara Hikosaburo at the Tosho Banzuke (J.Kim). Many of his blades are signed as being prize winning blades. Blades by the 23rd generation Kanefusa have received origami from the NBTHK or NTHK. This school of swordsmiths is noted for making a special style of hamon known as "Kanefusa midare". There are several blades known made by Noshu Seki 23rd Generation Kanefusa which have the kiku-sui crest carved as a horimono on the blade (not on the nakago). These blades were not made at the Minatogawa Jinja Tanrensho and have no known connection with it. These swords probably were a special order from a group of naval officers or a naval officer's club associated with the Minatogawa battleship. This same style Minatogawa crest is occasionally found on blades by Asano Kanesane. These are also thought to be special order blades and not associated with the Minatogawa Jinja. Among signatures on the 23rd Generation Kanefusa blades are: Kanefusa Fujiwara Kanefusa Noshu Seki ju Fujiwara Kanefusa Seki ju Ni ju San Dai Kanefusa Noshu Seki ju Ni Ju San Dai Fujiwara Kanefusa saku kore (oshigata shown left) Some blades bear inscriptions about awards or being prize winning blades. Sho or Seki tang stamps may appear on the nakago. Some of his blades were signed nakirishi mei. He forged both traditionally made gendaito and non-traditionally made showato using mill steel, thus each blade must be judged on its own merits. Kanefusa blades are found mounted in shin-gunto (army) or kai-gunto (navy) koshirae and shirasaya. The 23rd generation Kanefusa is listed in the Toko Taikan, in Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths, and the Nihonto Meikan. " Kanefusa produced medium to high-grade showato and medium to high-grade gendaito. As for which your sword is? It would have to be judged in-hand to have a proper opinion rendered. But if there is a noted lack of Seki or Sho stamps, then it speaks more towards the possibility of gendai but it is not conclusive on its own. The present of nie/nioi, hada, and other particle activities would be conclusive. Also, I recognize that you're new to this, so some terminology: Showato = mass produced, machine assisted swords made in a non-traditional manner. They are worth less than gendaito and are usually made considerably less well. Gendaito = hand made, traditionally made swords made of tamehagane. Made during the last few years of the 1800s and up to the end of 1945. They have all the characteristics of older-made Japanese swords and are worth considerably more than showato. I THINK I can see particle activities, but that call should only be made in-hand. You can directly message me if you need more assistance. ~Chris

Many thanks for looking Peter. No need to proceed further and risk damage to the habaki. The kabutogane looks to have a deeply struck 東, which would indicate an army contract blade from 1942.

Whomever did the ito on your koshirae did an incredible job from the braid behind the fuchi to the crossover of the menuki, and the fidelity-marriage knots at the crossover of the ito. Very feminine with a bunch of custom work behind it. Exceptional custom work. If I ever make another custom koshirae, I'd love to know your agent/dealer and who the heck did that Ito. Someone went above and beyond. You may not even know that.

Thanks, both of you. The best part is the story how I got to even get them. Almost 2 years ago i visited Japan with my girlfriend, now wife, and visited a sword dealer. He prepared some pieces to look at to choose as my first katana, i wanted to buy a sword just in shirasaya. And at the very end he also showed us some fittings and my wife goes "ooooo this is pretty can we get it and build the rest of the koshirae" And so we went from me wanting just a sword to having full koshirae built for our sword and along the way, since my wife was overseeing the fittings we want for the koshirae i stated that I want some tsuba and here we are 😁 And we already have new tsuka wrapped with gorgeous sakura theme, unfortunately we were not able to get a nice sakura tsuba for it in over a year of seraching but the one we have fits nicely.

Today I would like to introduce you to my Kurihara Akihide Subudai from 1945 I love the Hada

I agree with @Bugyotsuji's reading. Let me engage in a bit of wild speculation: could this be the sword's nickname? A literal translation might be "two difficulties at the same time" – or, more creatively, maybe something like "Double Trouble"? Note that the phrase 二難並 (simplified: 二難并/二难并) goes back to the early Tang-dynasty (7th century CE) work 滕王閣序 (Téngwáng Gé Xù = Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion) by the Chinese poet Wang Bo (王勃).

二難并 Ni (Futa?) nan hei… *If that is right I am not sure what it means or how to read it correctly.(?)

Copy of my answer on the katchû-forum! Hello Kevin, the pictured kote above are most likely late Edo period pieces, probably made of leather (nerikawa). As already mentioned, dating kote more precisely as Muromachi, Momoyama or Edo is in most cases very difficult. You can get closer if you have a mei (inscription of the craftsman who made the sleeves). Dated kote are very rare, so mostly you have to rely on referenced specimens or the mei itself. There are a lot of types made over a long timespan. Here some are listed: Shino-gote Tsutsu-gote Sashinuki-gote Tominaga-sashinuki-gote Fukube-gote (Oda-gote) Kusari-gote (Etchû-gote) Bishamon-gote Tsugi-gote Ubu-gote Namazu-gote (Yoshitsune-gote) ...etc. Do I got you right, you want to build your own kote based on an original model with the main focus on protection of the ellbows?! Then please bear in mind, the denser the armor and the more plates you have, the greater the restrictions on mobility....

Maybe they are using AI to write the descriptions 🫢

AI has a lot to learn. In my efforts to understand swordsmiths who combine both Yamato and Soshuden characteristics this is what ChatGPT has decided I need to know..... back to the books Here is an artistic rendering of a nihonto sword blending both Yamato and Soshu characteristics, as described. It captures the elegance and robustness of both styles. ....