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Dear All. Very pleased to have received this one in the post today, much better in hand than the rather sketchy photographs would indicate. The patina appeared washed out in the photographs but is a lovely deep brown, there are scattered silver and shakudo inlays of shells on the carved wave background and the obligatory dragons and sacred gems. I have long fancied to add one like this to my collection but assumed they would be forever out of reach. Somehow this one slipped through the auction net and is now mine, just wanted to share it with you as I know some here are interested in this school. Enjoy! All the best.

Interesting, Marzio. Sgt. Jesse W. Scott. Born 1924, in Kentucky - enlisted in Ohio in 1943. Died 20 Dec 1996. The 873rd was an Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion that fought most of the big campaigns in the pacific and were stationed in Japan until 1946. They were primarily responsible for repairing bomb-damaged airfields. Looks like Sgt. Scott picked up the sword 13 Dec 1945. pic 1 = their unit patch pic 2= part of the battalion, probably the Philippines (Could he be in there?) John C.

I think the mei is: 越 前 住 Echizen ju 記 内 Kinai Dragon Tsuba? :-)

Very nice find, Geraint, very good condition as well.. Here is my tsuka:

As noted above looks to be (in Sesko) .... KANENAO (兼直) , real name Ishihara Kanenao (石原金直), born May 25th 1908, he studied under Amachi Suzuichi (天地鈴市) and worked as a guntō smith. He was from Gifu, Kamo-gun, Tomioka-mura (Mia-ji). Looks to have made both Showato and gendaito. Has blades with Seki and Sho-sakura stamps. Oshigata show mei of: Ishihara Kanenao saku (Seki); Seki Ju Ishihara Kanenao saku (Sho); Noshu Osugi Ju Ishihara Kanenao saku (Seki) [Osugi 大杉 maybe a village]. But looks like your blade was remounted is older fittings. There is also another Kanenao (in 1940 record: KANENAO Yasu Kyoichi (兼直　那須　京一) also in Kamo-gun, Tomioka, but probably another village. But no other record of him.

Hi all, Something a bit different, koto wakizashi length blade, 59.3cm nagasa, 1.2cm sori, mounted in nice fittings and same saya. Gimei to Soshu-Ju Masahiro. All fittings matching stamped numbers and on tsuka throat. Have to say I do love the same saya on some kai. Adam

Supposedly a gift from John Yumoto. https://www.ebay.com/itm/196519151172? John C.

Afraid not, confidentiality prevents me from giving out any contact details of any member. But I emailed him, pointed him here, and said if he's willing to contact you, he can do so here. That's the best I can do.

I believe that the blade is a genuine nihonto. The registration card in the first picture shows that the mei is 兼直 (Kanenao) and the blade length is 65.2 cm. I can see the same mei on its nakago.

The theme of moon and monkey is often seen on Niten Ichi Ryu koshirae, but as kodugu not tsuba. The iron moon and monkey tsuba have always puzzled me since they don't look Higo and are normally put into the "Shoami" bucket by the Japanese. Here are some examples of moon and monkey menuki. Also another menuki set in an article by Fred Weissberg, at the bottom. https://nihonto.com/miyamoto-musashi　/ And a set of kurikata and soritsuno in another article by Fred. https://nihonto.com/10-1-20/ The cult of Musashi has always been strong and continues today. I suspect most of the later Edo period Niten koshirae were commissioned by the Noda-Ha (Kumamoto branch) of Niten Ichi Ryu Hyoho, but also could have been created by the Edo Higo (Kumagai) kinko-shi for members of the two Edo branches of Niten Ichi Ryu Hyoho.

濃州住長光作 - Made by Nagamitsu in Noshu. 昭和十七年 - Showa 17th year (1942)

His name must be 遠藤公之 - Endo Kimiyuki. His smith name may be 一文字(Ichimonji) or 一文字天秀(Ichimonji Amahide). Ref. https://www.nipponto...swords3/KY328240.htm

長州萩住人 - Choshu Hagi ju nin 友次 - Tomotsugu

Hi there Ian! Why do you say that; should I be disappointed in the answers? Maybe it’s not what most people here want to see, and I do apologize for that if that’s the case - but ultimately it is or was a functional blade that someone clearly felt some sort of attachment to at one point or another and re-mounted in different fittings. Ultimately whether the stamp was removed for possession purposes, or the blade was fitted with antique or modern koshirae, or the blade was used for martial arts or not; I’m honored to continue whatever the humble story of this item might be, Showato or otherwise. One day I’ll get a Shinto or even Koto Nihontō, and I’ll be sure to ask or even purchase one from the community. But, in the meantime, I’m not disappointed by the answers, I’m just glad people took the time out of their day to help me

I'm not worried about the tassel GIs did a lot of strange things to them. Read up on how to remove the peg that holds the tsuka/ handel on. We'll walk you through it.

It could be the mark of Kuwantung Army Ordnance Branch Depot

I've sent this link to the email I have listed in file. If he has any interest, I am sure he will respond. Brian

This very much looks like a war time oil tempered blade with date and stamps removed, used for martial arts.

The source of the pictures you posted of Type 95, serial number 71, can be seen via the link below. Hope this helps. Type 95 Nco Copper Hilt

On the first tsuba, I think the device on the left is a Kamon of three kiku blossoms. This is a kamon of the Kusunoki family. Kusunoki Masatora was an official in the Oda Nobunaga administration (Papinot page 335). Here is another example.

No decorations based on rank except an original General tassel, without distinct provenance it's impossible to ascertain from mountings alone if a senior or junior officer owned a sword. The curved Tsuka is more often seen on early Type 94, as it follows the initial IJA specification drawing that was given to sword shops and Koshirae makers. An officer could bring in a sword to a shop and the Koshirae would be made to fit it exactly, it was a matter of money on what features would be included. Additionally senior officers were known to own multiple swords. Occasionally with some of the better makers, the owners surname will appear on the fittings.

尾州犬山住兼武 = Bishū Inuyama-jū Kanetake

I have only one pair of vintage menuki in my collection thus far. It depicts a famous Zen koan (see below) and appears to be shakudo, but is mumei. It's a motif that I hope to collect from depictions in paintings, tsuba, kozuka (Soryu antiques is offering a beautiful one), netsuke, and other Japanese arts/crafts. Josetsu (I can't confirm that this is "the oldest ink painting in Japan."

$595. After an online discussion with a friend last night, I decided to offer up one of my Hayashi Plum Tree tsuba towards paying down the Juyo tsuba previously discussed. Size: 78mm x 75.7mm x 5.6mm (taper to 5 at mimi). --For me, this is a favorite design. If interested, please PM and ask questions. Located in SouthEast USA.

I would like assistance in translating this mei. I have included a couple of pictures of the seppa-dai with the mei to maybe assist in helping to figure it out. Thanks!

Thanks, Peter and Mal, for the great assistance! Yes (Peter) it is a dragon tsuba that I purchased for about 150 U.S. (pictures attached). It looks like it is hand forged (although there are a lot of cast copies out there!). Your translation directed me to another thread on this forum which discusses the tsuba and the school- https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/46711-a-tsuba-with-ryu-design-kinai-school-signed-edo-period-for-your-comment-and-appreciation/ And Mal attached a download with a whole bunch of great information! Thanks guys!

A beautiful kai-gunto, that would surely deserve some closer shots. Thanks for sharing! Didier

I would think other Ichihara has very distinct chisel cut mei https://www.Japanese...rdindex.com/naga.htm

Good Morning Peter, I just got to tell you that I love this Tsuba. I love the perfect "imperfections" of the plants, and the crab's cool too. Tom

Dear Adam. Just a wild hunch but is it the same saya that you love? A nice sword indeed! All the best.

Dear All. Thank you for your contributions and to Okan for sharing his tsuka. If you are not familiar with Kunishige then this excellent article of Peter Dekker may be of interest, https://www.mandarin...ary/hirado-kunishige Edit to add: Alex, our posts crossed but I do remember that tsuba well. As for the dragon theme you are right, an NBTHK article says of him,'For an artist, Kunishige did not much vary his motives (sic) because almost all of his works show this subject of a tamaoi-ryu.' (trans: Markus Sesko) Having said that Okan's rather wonderful fuchi kashira show shachihoko, perhaps more suited to the space. All the best.

Very nice Geraint My avatar is from a Hirado Kunishige tsuba, now lives with Ken From memory, read dragons was a popular subject of that school.

These plaques are Meiji period and yes, they were made in large numbers aimed at the gaijin/export market. Your is most likely one of a pair (usually sold in pairs) as suggested by the figures both looking one way. It’s pair would show whatever it was they were looking at.. The one shown is of good quality The carving in the figures (Ivory or bone) is highly detailed. Many are surprisingly low quality made quickly whilst some are truly stunning…..this one looks to have all its inlay….often areas fall out and are a sod to restore. You will find quite a few in this link…. https://www.bonhams....uery=Shibayama+panel

That's exactly how I feel, Uwe. Thank you for wording it so well! Dee

Well, I finally made it onto Wehrmacht Awards and saw the other Hideki Tojo dedication sword posted there. It certainly appears there is currently a cottage industry of forgery going on in Japan; taking possibly genuine Gendaito - or more likely unsigned blades - and then inscribing both a famous smith and an even more famous recipient. I've already said I think the 'Yamato captain sword' is a total fake and outlined the reasons why. I also saw someone taken for $6K on Yahoo - hence this original thread. And now the one on W.A. It was posted by someone who was so very sure of it papering (because he knew "the leading expert on gendaito in the US" who had authenticated it, and then, when it got pink-slipped as 'gimei', whined about the validity of the Japanese Shinsa. 🤔 I truly believe that, if a sword appeared on auction "signed by Kiyamaro and dedicated to Freddie Mercury" some moron would still buy it for mega bucks.

Okay, I was completely wrong. Thank you John!

It appears to be mapping the Southern advances of the imperial army from the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo toward Shanghai going from top to bottom... This would presumably place the date somewhere between the capture of Shanghai in November 1937 and the Japanese surrender in August 1945. This was most likely produced around the peak of Japan's military dominance circa November 1937 - December 1941. Very interesting item you have found.

Thanks John! Very interesting infos and pics 👍 I just found a short summary of 873 rd campaigns

Wonderful piece, most enjoyable! Tsuba finds the owner. Thank you for sharing. Auguri,

Thanks to you all. As a small "bonus", hidden between the wood and the metal of the scabbard, there was this small note:

Some more that I found on an old NMB thread. Odd Mon Left Column 進藤 江副

The real daisho regulations really applied to the koshirae and the length of the blades. The names of the swords were not regulated and did not matter.

Yes, it does look like one of Tsunahiro's generations or someone very similar, Muromachi to early-mid Edo. I personally think its Edo generations.

Well Reinhard, I've already been accused of such by others on here so I'll tell you what I think. A woman joins a group of predominantly old men and when she doesn't act like Mary Poppins and fights back (admittedly sometimes being crude in the process) then 'she can't possibly be female and has to be an impostor'. That's about as sexist as it gets. Anyhow, thanks for your deep and meaningful insights about gimei. Dee

Gimei is gimei and that's that. "nihonto-museum" is no valuable reference at all. And yes: Guido is a real character, always was. Sadly enough he is not able to participate anymore. As for you , "Dee", I have my doubts who you really are. Playing the "Lady-bonus" here for somebody else ? reinhard

You did well. It's better than most Kinju I've seen. If it was Kinju, it would most likely express the rather regular gunome hamon in nie deki. This work is more interesting. It is aiming for Norishige school. There is conspicuous chickei, sunagashi, and rather coarse ara-nie. The relatively coarse ara-nie, thick kasane, and somewhat 'contrived' quality of the chickei does rather speak towards Shinshinto work that tries hard to emulate Koto. I think, with the signature, it was probably an entire package made with the intention to mislead. However... There is a chance that it is a healthy Koto piece. The photos doesn't show everything unfortunately, but I wouldn't rule out Tametsugu here if the work was mumei. In any case, to me, this is more exciting than some Kinju. Buying a Gimei blade? No, not a full blown gimei, not today. When I started, then certainly yes. As it stands in 2025, my limit would be "To mei ga aru" if the piece showed remarkable qualities. I like research pieces.

It depends on the item. But I am a historical guy opposed to an art appreciator. As my main interest in the hobby are ōdachi and old naginata, I am filled with joy seeing them. Last summer I saw several rusty and blemished ones at various shrines and other places. To me they were much more exciting than most of the National Treasures I saw in several museums. Of course if they have been restored to full glory then they are absolutely amazing. Still purely from my heart I would most likely choose a historical ōdachi over extremely amazing sword regardless of their status, or perceived difference in the skill of smiths etc.. It is quite extreme view and I am fully aware of that. Even for regular sized swords I have noticed I am starting to have extremely quirky things that I am looking for or avoiding.

Perhaps the finest depiction is by Kaneie, although I don’t think the one attributed to him below is by the master. Zen master Hakuin often depicted this story with gibbons. I just missed out on winning an auction of one of Hakuin's similar paintings.

“Monkey trying to catch reflection of the moon” is another famous Zen story I have seen depicted on tsuba. The state of unenlightenment is like a monkey who is trying to catch the reflection of the moon in the lake and falls in and drowns. Jauce (attributed to Shoami) Kyoto National Museum (attributed to Shoami)

Anyone who thinks the idea that de-tipping a knife is an effective solution is kidding themselves. The dedicated perp will just invest in an angle grinder and put a point on it themeselves. Its just crazy some of these knee jerk reactions that will have no bearing on knife crime per se. The problems are far deeper and embedded in the communities where these crimes are being committed.