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I would like to present my most recent work accomplished with help from Spartancrest who chose the design, did the research to confirm dimensions from the collection curator at the V&A museum where the original is kept and provided the Kanji so I could have a proper mei. Dale and I did some careful planning to create this Utsushi and there are some details I wish to explain that make this work uncommon. As Dale describes it The spider is a problematic design done in this manner because it is difficult to place the legs in a way that make a usable tsuba. The design is based on the Legend of Watananbe who killed a great spider. The project took about six months to complete. All of the work was done by hand using only hand tools and finishing stones The eyes and stinger are Shakudo. The original of this piece is asymmetrical I went to great effort to make my work symmetrical as a way to distinguish the piece as a copy. Funny thing is though despite all the effort my piece ended up asymmetrical as well as if fate or karma predestines this design to be that way.

The smith we are discussing currently is Senju'in Yoshihiro (吉広). In all my research I have only been able to find a single signed and dated short sword by this smith. It is dated 1343, and in the item description it is said signed items by this smith are extremely rare and that it could be the only signed short sword by this smith. In the description there is a mention of old oshigata where 1341 dated sword is featured. I cannot read that part properly where there is thoughts about it so I typed it here Unfortunately I would feel that signature on yours would not be a genuine one. I would expect a tachi mei on the sword, and a different sized and shaped sword in original shape. Also the work style does not seem as Yamato Senju'in school to me at all. I would feel like Kirills guess of something like late Muromachi would be a good one.

A few of us have been training ChatGPT on Nihonto translations for the last couple of years. The results are very good. What people need to realise is that this is not AI as in autonomous thinking entity. These are just linguistic models with some inference and summarisation ability, but that is it. They can crunch through publications and summarise them eloquently for less esoteric subjects. However for arcane subjects like Nihonto, your best bet is only translations for now. ChatGPT still gets smith and location names wrong but the basic terms it has mastered pretty well now.

If he died in July 9th 1945 insted of July 7th，then could be during the Gifu（where he work)air aids 昭和20（1945）年7月9日、今日も一日無事で終われると多くの人が思っていた午後11時頃、人々の思いを裏切り、ついに岐阜市にも米軍による空襲が行われた。 　空襲は数時間続き、約130機のB29が参加し、1万発以上の収束焼夷弾と焼夷弾が投下された。 空襲の目標点として、市街地の中心であった徹明通りと金華橋通りの交差する地点が設定されたため、街は瞬く間に火の海となり、多くの建物が焼け、約900人もの市民が犠牲となった。 On July 9, 1945 (Showa 20), around 11 p.m., when many people thought the day would end peacefully, Gifu City was finally subjected to an air raid by the U.S. military, betraying their expectations. The raid lasted for several hours, involving around 130 B-29 bombers, which dropped more than 10,000 incendiary bombs and cluster incendiary bombs. The target of the raid was set at the intersection of Temmei Street and Kinkabashi Street, which was the center of the city. In an instant, the city was engulfed in flames, with many buildings burned down and about 900 citizens losing their lives.

Hi all, Yes, I have found many similar designs- most I would attribute to aizu shoami (or just shoami school). although, I have seen many examples from other schools that were more just copies from a design book. I agree with Ian that they are mediocre. I try and focus on other designs now but I do have some with similar look and feel. I also have tsuba that are the same design but each plate is a different shape. I do find it interesting to see them in a group together. Since these aren't great pieces I would be happy to keep them for you guys. Remember to send me your tired, your lonely mantis tosogou. For that matter, I'll take the in shape and happy pieces as well. All the best. Ken

Jussi, the Japanese sentence says roughly that “the nakago features in the ‘Kōtoku Oshigata’, but the actual object itself has never been seen.”

The top is the tachi tsuba, the lower is a tachi seppa. They look authentic Japanese to me...age looks late edo/meiji.

@Aethel_berht info on Tempo tsuba in NMB Downloads:

Hi Adam, Nice Tembo tsuba, I have a very similar one, size 86mm x 80mm, image below: My research indicates the mimi is maru with uchi-kaeshi at four corners, Saotome style carved rim. If you search 'hot stamps' in the NMB you should be able to identify the ones on your tsuba.

Hi unknown dude, In short you have a very neat example of a type 98 shingunto with a koa isshin mantetsu blade. All thought not a traditionally made blade still desirable and sellable. Prices range due to conditions. 1500 to 3000

Or he was sent to China as a battlefield sword repair smith. Some of the smiths returned to Japan, while others died there.

@pc3319 Paul, here is some background to Katsumasa from NMB Downloads:

The upper part of the inscription is covered by the fuchi, but the whole thing probably reads [信濃]守信吉造之 = [Shinano] no Kami Nobuyoshi made this

Yes, it is a real blade indeed and rather striking in real life. Not to everyone’s liking but shows that Yukimitsu could do the Shintogo subtle elegance and then the more flamboyant later hitatsura. I was so surprised by the workmanship that I had to document it…. Plus it is probably the rarest Yukimitsu blade in existence in terms of inscription too. AI translation of the text Short Sword Signed Kamakura [Jū] [Ie] Yukimitsu / Genten Second Year, Third Month (元享二年三月) (March 1322) Blade Length: 23.9 cm Slight curvature inward Late Kamakura Period (Genten 2, 1322) Private Collection In ancient sword manuscripts from the Muromachi period, Yukimitsu is noted for a variety of hamon (blade patterns), including straight lines, small and large waves, and irregular patterns. His work demonstrates diverse techniques. The present blade is mainly straight with shallow irregularities, and larger irregular patterns are not attributed to Yukimitsu’s usual style. This particular sword stands out as a rare example among his works, featuring a thick, layered hamon that mostly shows the notare (wavy) pattern. It also displays kinsuji (bright streaks of hard steel) and nie (crystal-like grains of steel), with yubashiri (a pattern resembling small islands of hard steel) and tobiyaki (areas of the blade hardened by tempering) interwoven, creating a complex and lively appearance. This work is consistent with descriptions in ancient manuscripts, making it an important example when studying Yukimitsu’s legacy. The fact that it is signed and dated further increases its historical value, making it indispensable for research on his school and style.

Dear Mick. I'm slipping, here's the sword from the Festing collection. Not Tadayoshi at all. Description: 'A Shinshinto Bizen Yokoyama Katana by Sukenaga, dated 1850. The blade of deep koshizori, shinogi-zukuri with chu-kissaki, gunomr-midare hamon of nioi and ko-nie with yakidashi, midare-komi boshi, ko-itame-hada, ubu-nakago with kiri-yasuri, mei Kiku-mon Ichi, Biyo Osafune Kyo, Yokoyama Kage (no) Suke Fujiwara Sukenaga, dated Kaei 3rd year (1850), 8th month; length 70.5cm, curve 2.4cms, in army mounts, inscribed MAde by John Latham F.S.A. Sword Cutler. Maj-General F.W.Festing, June, 1950, with a chrome and leather scabbard.' All the best.

Hi, I am still new to this forum but i want to share with everyone a unique piece, that is my absolute favorite among our vast collection, from the military history institute museum I work at as restorer/conservator. As the title, possibly somewhat confuzingly states, It is a amalgamation of a Japanese blade and Austrian officer navy fittings. I will post some photos but I just found out that the are not great, i can and will take better photos of the blade around monday next week. I will write everything we know about it plus some history toward the style of fittings it is housed in, and the blade was not removed from the handle yet, I have to get to it and find out if it is signed. I will write some history here: Austrian naval officer were issued navy sabers first in 1827, later in 1837 it was changed to more archaic straight blade "kord" or small sword in english. In 1846 new style of saber was adopted again, this model was based on frech navy saber. This model was used during revolution years of 1848-1849 by officers who joined the rebels. After their surrender loyal navy officers requested new type of saber since previous one was, as a symbol of the emeror, disrespected and loyal officers refuzed to wear it. New model 1850 was created with elaborate carving on the handguard, anchor and mermaids, and later in 1871 hangers were added to the scabbard. for refference i have link to our museum website with example: https://www.vhu.cz/e...rnictva-vzor-185071/ Ownership of thissSaber with katana blade was by previous museum staff attributed to heir to the Heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire Franz Ferdinand d´Este. It would be plausible given the quality of the workmanship on the golden fittings and the blade it self. Heir could have acquired it as a gift from Japan during his travels around the world between years 1892 and 1893. There is also some archival evidence (not sure if we have any photo evidence as well) that he admired the swordsmanship while visiting Japan beign avid and quite skilled swordsman himself, although proficient in saber combat only. Visited some showcases of sword combat and possibly participated in some form of friendly sparring. Unortunately this acquisition story is not supported by evidence and place of discovery. Current research by our curator of arms states that this saber belonged to one Hieronymus (Jeroným) VIII. Colloredo Mannsfeld (1870-1942) There are two pieces of information that suppor that it belonged to him, First: he held rank of Corvette Captain and was for quite some time stationed in Tokyo, later he became naval attaché in Berlin. He was overseeing Mansfeld holdings in Bhoemian lands including castle in town Zbiroh where this very saber was found, which is evidence number two. Either way, now to the saber itself: https://www.vhu.cz/e...ictva-vzor-185071-2/ Speaking about the condition, only damage is to kissaki, some light scratches and wear, possibly due to sheating and unsheating of the blade, othervise it is in great condition. This is the few photos i have so far, I hastily took some because there was not time to fiddle with it, we were close to opening the museum after years of renovations, so I had to put it back on display fast. What I will do next week is to get quality pictures of the blade so that everything can be viewed clearly. I know that Japan had many military swords that bore influence from European sabers of the time that were standart issue up until the return of the katana style of blades before Second World war, but i think this is very unique in that it is standart naval officer saber fittings fitted with nihonto. Photos may not speak to its quality but in person the quiality is amazing. I post this here as a curiosity and subject of research i plan to do with this blade, I plan to take it out of its fittings, probably will be first time since its creation. I hope you like my post here, would be nice if this could spark some good conversation or posibly any ideas of its origin, but I understand that without closeup of the nakago and quality photos of the blade it could prove very difficult. Maybye we can follow up at later date. Anyway thank you for reading this far, In near future I will take this off of the display and do some closeup exmination and share what I found. Cheers

Can anyone tell me about this sword based on these markings? Thank you!

Thank you to you all for your time and effort to investigate about my sword. Well it is not such a pleasant news but important of all is that we know more about it and I learned allot from you guys! Hopefully this can helps other future buyers to be extremely aware when buying a sword without NBTHK documents. Again a big thanks and appreciations for all your help guys!!!

Hello all! I recently came into possession of an iron tsuba. Based off what I've seen it's a Tempo tsuba and (probably) latter Edo Period. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

A June 1942 Hiromasa, sent to me via email from Robinalexander. Nakago only photos. Has the Yama Ho stamps. @mecox Just a reminder. We had been discussing a June '42 Masatsugu on another thread and it was said that it might have been too early for the RJT star to be present. After logging this Hiromasa, I was reminded of 3 earlier blades: STAR Blades 1941, Jun Gifu Kanetoshi, Murayama T98 Bangbangsan, NMB 1942, Feb Saga Masatsugu Ganko, NMB 1942, Mar Gunma Kanetsugu RS Ganko, NMB 1942, Spring Gifu Kanenobu RS Ganko, NMB 1942, Jun May Ehime Hiromasa Robinalexander, email 1942, June Saga Masatsugu Na Ho on mune Shuriken, NMB 1942, Aug Akita Chikamitsu 406 Peter(C),NMB 1942, Aug Saga Masatsugu Kapp/Monson,pg82 1942, Aug Fukushima Shigefusa Ho on mune MeCox, NMB 1942, Aug Tokyo Sukehiro 1525 Slough, pg 162 1942, Aug Saga Yoshitada ebay 1942, Sep Saga Kanemoto Na Ho on mune Zentsuji2, NMB 1942, Sep Kumamoto Morinobu 94; Ho Ho mune 1942, Autumn Niwa Kanenobu Slough So June '42 wasn't too early.

Hi Martin, I tried to provide that information but it wouldn't work for me...old age and lack of computer skills. In my post " Value of old German Book" Dale, it seems would be able to provide you with much more information, a lot of it new to me.. Also, I told you the wrong number of tsuba. Basically, it would seem, Rudiger the Baron of Biegeleben was selling his collection. Tsuba 607 - 725 were "linked" to the Archduke. Thanks very much Geraint, for some reason I had thought the blade was much older -perhaps I'm thinking of another of his swords mounted in that way.

This guy broke two main rules of a museum curator: a. When taking an item replace it with a copy. In this case its almost impossible to prove something happened and you can always claim what was sold outside is a poor man's copy. b. Never sell the stuff yourself on ebay. Have a wife drop it off at the local antique store, sell it to collectors you know, put it in auction as a property of a deceased gentleman, but just don't place it out there for years in sight of people who know more than you do. Stealing at western museums is phenomenal in scale. One of many reasons the institutions don't hire from the "outside" crowd and have an iron code of corporate loyalty. Money-wise the greatest offenders are weird purchases at auctions - those are considered a "fair market", and as long as the board preapproved the purchase funds there is no questioning in regards of why its so expensive. In modern art its a nightmare since a piece of dirty cloth can easily cost 100mil dollars, but even in arms and armor there are purchases which raise eyebrows... 400k for a pretty but run of the mill Edo period's armor suit... Next, in large museums there is also always weird deaccesioning where an item is sold from storage funds as "19th century copy" and a year layer it becomes a star lot at Christies. Replacing with copies or simply carving out individual diamonds, unless the catalogue has a very detailed picture of how the item looks like - it does not even register on the internal rumors radar. The culprits next to never face the actual prosecution: if rumors are getting into press the curator in question simply retires. By comparison, a system practiced in Krakow and other similar places while looking medieval does yield some results. You are not just supposed to be from the "inside crowd", but a proper noble from a family connected to a museum for multiple generations. It gets a bit funny, like directors of the two major museums are husband and wife, and the husband is not a noble so everyone jokes about it, but at least they feel the pressure not to bring shame to the family and end in a nasty manner a guaranteed, respected, though poorly funded multi-generational profession. You would think the system to be anti-meritous; in actuality its complicated. For example, nobility controlled museums can easily hire a Jew for a second-line curatorial position, though he'll never become a chief curator. Compare this to western museums which remain notoriously resistant to this brand of people, unless a particular candidate has every single i crossed. Ideally, reserving main positions for nobility means the nobility is not inclined to consider lesser staff as competition, and instead is interested in the actual talent so the works produced by the department could add to the family's prestige and reputation. I've seen however also the reverse situation - nobility staffed museum sound asleep, producing the required quote of publications just like a typical "western" museum crowd - such and such sword, this long and wide, plus six paragraphs lifted from the wikipedia and finished with some complexly worded and utterly irrelevant summary. Its hard to say what's the best system - I think in the end the issue is that no social construct can regulate itself long term and needs an external evaluation... Generally, I would consider putting a nobleman with some evidence of brain and ambition in charge as a plus rather than minus. In my personal experience aside from a Russian "court" which can be quite insufferable, I had it significantly better with counts and ritters compared to a riffraff whose brain got fried from a mere fact they are a Curator sitting in what used to be a duke's chair.

Very nice sword Ron. I would be proud to own it. Looks like you are off to a great start MikeR

I made few videos with overall view and from under microscope . I have an old (bit worn out) microscope but still doing pretty good. Had to be an artist to hold my phone straight to the lens to capture pictures and video´s. Not an easy job after drinking 3 cups coffee Not all video´s are perfect but hopes it is some helpful. Here is the link --> Youtube playlist Here some pictures:

Yes indeed. Shame I'm in Germany. This is a nice little amuse bouche before the DTI main course in Nov. I think Keichodo is Robert Hughes' business. They are even offering free appraisals and consultations.

If hotel is the main issue, one can arrange to borrow a museum's space though it will be much further to the east - there can be couple of good options in Krakow, smaller spaces in Warsaw etc. There is an issue things move slowly here - we were talking about running a high quality exhibit, but the results are so far disproportionate to the amount of alcohol I've consumed.

Here are more photos

Wow, thank you so much! That’s so interesting and paints a really dismal picture of Gifu that evening… It must have been a terrifying night. Much appreciated! It’s this history, and these kinds of stories that I find so fascinating about WW2 swords. I always learn a lot about more than just the blade. Thanks again, Cheers, -Sam

This thread was very interesting and enlightening, definetly took some lesons from this, even tho I am bit late to it. But still want to ask, (I know that hands on approach is the best way to train kantei) are there any literature recommendations for this ? On how to recognise nuances of each blade and then make an educated attribution ? I suppose Markus Sesko books are a good start right ?

There is some kind of ghostly outline that might suggest a star.

I see nothing on that picture. Its not there. No stamp.

Noshu Seki ju Kojima Katsumasa saku https://www.google.c...1034&bih=790&dpr=2.5

I believe this is: 備州長定 - Bishu Nagasada

Maybe this is interesting: Source -> https://ia804705.us....meitsukushv8oygi.pdf Page number: 29

A large part in how these language model interfaces (chatgpt and similar) works is that a large part of the training is done by humans, not just the massive calculations carried out by data centers. Actual humans sit down and give feedback on the answers the bots put out, so that they and their creators learn what language carries best when giving feedback to users (customers). Here is a experiment I think members of this forum is rather uniquely qualified to carry out - many members here are a lot more knowledgeable about nihonto then the average Joe. Ask chatgpt questions with variable degrees of difficulty on nihonto or any field you are confident in and you will see it is correct on many things, but also incorrect. When incorrect it will, until corrected speak, in other words "lie" with the utmost confidence worthy of any politician. This is one of the problems, for most people the answers about nihonto when presented with confidence by the allmighty AI will in many cases pass as facts, truth. This of course applies to any other field not just nihonto, wherein lie a tremendous challenge unless these systems are subjected to quality control and regulations.

Beautiful blade. I plugged it into google translate for my own curiosity. Apologies for the tiny font! But I hope this helps anyone interested. *Beware: google translations are not always perfect* Cheers, -Sam

Where do you see shintetsu ? I think you need dot learn hada. Last words about Rai hada, you can see chikei in this area can you see chikei in shintetsu ?

Nice to have an original copy though MIck Ian Brooks

Text Pdf available https://archive.org/...anischeText/mode/2up Plates Pdf https://archive.org/...ils/JapanischePlates Reprints from $22 USD https://www.abebooks...neten-9780331743/plp Originals can sell for $171 USD https://www.abebooks...21118&ref_=pd_hw_i_1 The Jacoby along with the Georg Oeder collection were taken by the Russians in 1945 - never to be seen again - unless they are hidden in the "Hermitage" in Saint Petersburg ? [Anyone with a link to get into the Hermitage collections?] I can send a proof copy of the Oeder collection with English translation to anyone who can give me a personal message with a home email address [the file size is too large to send direct through NMB] The Jacoby book was mentioned in the "Connoisseur" in 1904 and included an image of one of the book plates Taf,9. [plate 9]

Didier, its Taguchi Masatsugu, history & examples in NMB Downloads. (sarute likely a later non-Japanese replacement)

Tagging the legendary @Mantis dude as he may be interested in seeing this example

I think the fact that main core Sōshū works lack signed & dated work. from Yukimitsu, Masamune & Sadamune there are extremely few dated items and it makes researching quite difficult. Then For Hiromitsu, Akihiro and onwards you will find lots of signed & dated swords. I feel when making statements like in the link that "there are dated works by Gō Yoshihiro before studying with Masamune" it would be extremely important to give a source of that information or provide a reference item. I have all of these following items featured in my references. Shintōgo Kunimitsu 10 dated works 1294 - 1324 Shintōgo Kunihiro 2 dated works 1318 & 1324 Yukimitsu 1 dated work 1322 Masamune 1 dated work 1328 Sadamune 2 dated works 1335 & 1361 Norishige 6 dated works 1314 - 1328 And for the sake of this discussion 2 Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths that I have data for Yoshihiro (義弘) 2 dated works 1353 & 1358 Yoshihiro (吉広) 1 dated work 1343 One difficult thing when we are discussing lesser known smiths in English, that there can be several Japanese characters that read out same way in English. I checked my sword books for various Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths Yoshihiro (義弘) there are supposedly 2 smiths working c. 1350 , 1400 Yoshihiro (吉広) 1 smith c. 1345 Yoshihiro (吉弘) 1 smith c. 1350 Yoshihiro (義広) 5 smiths working c. 1230 , 1275 , 1335, 1345, 1469 However I believe when NBTHK etc. speak of Senju'in Yoshihiro (義弘) they would refer to c. 1350 working smith. I don't think I have any of the other Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths being referenced anywhere excluding the 1 (1343) dated work from the other smith.

I bought this book in 2014 at a French Auction House for € 50.

The original usually around 50USD if you look around a bit - seeing it's so old there's no longer copyright on it, so a new reprint copy can be had for half that price from various websites.

The sword is finally in hand after USPS misplaced it for 5 days. I cannot see the outline of the stamp -- it was thoroughly removed.

銘 “兼氏作” (mei - Kaneuji saku)

I think I can read KANEUJI SAKU

Jacques, That is not a valid statement in reference to Tanobe sensei writing a sayagaki for a gimei sword. He does not do that. At minimum, he would recommend gimei removal. Jacques - how do I know that? Well, I have been there personally in that situation…..If you have not experienced it first-hand and have no evidence, why are you making allegations? Firstly, he does not often disagree with the NBTHK. Quite the opposite, in the vast majority of cases, he agrees with them and his sayagaki supports the NBTHK certificate. Secondly, sometimes he goes a step beyond the NBTHK and attributes the sword to a specific smith within the school the NBTHK has appraised. Thirdly, the NBTHK itself changes its mind (between polishes, between separate shinsa) so why would Tanobe sensei not be allowed to have a different view to what is stipulated at that particular time on that specific certificate? Yes, occasionally, often privately, he might have a slightly differing view. Finally, as we know well, even experts disagree. There are swords which receive different attributions when submitted to the NBTHK and NTHK or even the same sword which went to different hands (eg Nisshu, Honma, later NBTHK certificate etc). Yes, sayagaki work is paid for but that does not impinge on its objectivity. Juyo certificates are also paid for. Private medical care is also paid for, etc etc. Please let us not contaminate this valuable thread with accusations of monetary benefit outweighing objectivity or whatever insinuation is being made. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Star stamped Rinji ,June 1943,平松正知 Hiramatsu Masatomo MASATOMO (正知), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Ōsaka – “Masatomo” (正知), real name Hiramatsu Danji (平松団次), born October 27th 1901, he studued under Morita Masamichi (森田正道) and worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō。