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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

Type (Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto, Naginata, Other) : Tanto Ubu, Suriage or O-Suriage : Ubu Mei : (Mumei, Signature) : Yoshichika 良近 Papered or not and by whom? : Kanteisho NTHK Era/Age : Taisho Periode (1912 - 1926) Shirasaya, Koshirae or Bare Blade? : Shirasaya Nagasa/Blade Length : 19,6 cm Sori : 0 cm Hamon Type : Suguha-Notare Jihada : Ko-Itame Other Hataraki Visible : Flaws : no Sword Location : Germany Will ship to : Europe, US Payment Methods Accepted : Paypal Price and Currency : 1950€ Other Info and Full Description : I would like to offer a rare tanto by Minamoto Yoshichika to make room for something new. You can find the most important information about this smith on the page by R. Stein: https://japaneseswor...dex.com/yoshchik.htm A wooden box is include. Let me know if you have questions.

No long commentary this time, would absolutely appreciate any thoughts you have on dating/attribution (I’ve done my own research, but frankly I better just defer to the experts) ————— Purchased a Nihontō on consignment, from Japan. I especially enjoy what appears to be the original koshirae, but I would love your opinion here too. Word of warning, the blade appears to have been polished multiple times, and the kissaki is chipped. Side note: I had such a hard time compressing the photos - the image quality (and thus size) was far too large…hopefully the quality turned out ok.

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to bother you. I want to ask if anyone knows the owner of this knife? Does anyone know his email address? I want to contact him.Please let me know if you have his email contact information. Thank you very much. I hope you can help me.

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!

More pics

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

Hi Adam, I love Kai gunto's too, and this looks like a good one! congrats! Tom

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

Never seen that article, cheers.

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

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

Okay, I was completely wrong. Thank you John!

Thank you Vincent, that looks genuinely Japanese now, please excuse my wrong assumption. But as others wrote, the blade may be quite late.

Sorry, my English is not good, so I often use the wrong words.

In my opinion this shape is typical of the navy dirks.

@Brian @Bugyotsuji I am thin ice and probably need my eyes tested but is that a left handed gun? The cheek rest is on the side for a normal right handed shooter as is the lock (only partially visible on the other side?) ….and is the geometry correct for a percussion lock? Is that a frizzen I see and the remains (?) of a cock with the top jaw missing but jaw screw intact Possibly depicted with the lock facing away to avoid all the work in actually carving the complex lock….or maybe the now absent Kogai had it facing the other way with lock visible. I know I know stop being pedantic🙂🙂 OK…I’m waiting to be made a fool of! 🙂

Agree, this looks like a British type flintlock converted to percussion. I wonder which artist saw one and decided to put it on a kozuka. Very unusual indeed. The whole left handed thing may be that the artist wanted it facing the other way and just copied the right hand features onto the left side. I guess we'll never know, but it certainly is interesting. Maybe one of a kind.

Yasurime is of late type (shinshinto and later, though yes, there were some Kanbun examples supposedly worked like this, but its exceptionally rare), it is also done very sketchy - the lines are not parallel, the cuts are shallow, there is not forceful look expected from shinshinto, it was not patinated when finished and since then though patina is present, there are areas which remain patina free. I vote for WWII production.

Thanks guys! I'd say he's happy with David's idea. He doesn't know anything about swords and is just happy to know it's old. It was in leather saya, but the tsuka was reduced to same' only, no metal fittings, no ito. So, I'm walking him through ideas on how to retro-fit the tsuka to something he would like.

Grandma used to always say "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"

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

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.

It doesn´t matter if it is Koto, Shinto or ShinShinto. All that matters is: it is a Japanese sword with an inscription and a fair price tag. And Dee likes it.

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.

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.

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)