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Today I had a chance to see it again, luckily at a time when there were fewer visitors, so I tried some different shots. A B

Here was the original before polish

蓋同銘中無出其右者 (Kedashi domeichu sono migini derumono nashi.) – Perhaps, among the works with the same mei, it is second to none. As for “盡忠則命” on the box, I think that we do not have to be too bound by the word on the box. I guess that the order of the kanji was Kanzan’s own understanding only because he did not know the original four-character idiom 忠則盡命. The attached article was written on the premise that the word was 忠則盡命. Ref. 忠則藎命図鐔　銘　三信家

Just wanted to share this for anyone looking at Moses for polish - I recently received back a Taikei Naotane that was originally polished by a very elderly togisihi in Japan that had many problems. Finger stone marks left, hazy ji, a very scratchy surface etc. Now it looks incredible to say the least. The pictures do not do it justice, but I would highly recommend Moses. These pictures are very much a blue tone as his camera white balance must have been on the cooler side, but to the naked eye in real life, the hamon has a beautiful shade of light blue to it.

Just bear in mind those download links are to illegal downloads that break copyright. Tempted to remove it...not because I'm a stickler for law, but because I'm wary of the forum liability in sharing stuff like that. Hmmm....I need to think about this for a bit

Dear all This little hamidashi tsuba just landed on my desk as an aside in a deal with a fellow collector. Dimensions 55.9 mm x 41.4 mm, thickness at seppa-dai 4.5 mm, at mimi 6.1 mm. It is made of concentric layer of copper and shakudo. Unfortunately there is significant delamination between the layers and the center of it is a little loose. It is decorated with a design of waves with very small gold drops, the ten zogan is very well executed. Without this defect it would have been a very nice piece. I have as few questions: The it can be classified as mokume-gane even though it just a made of concentric stripes of alternating metals? A tsuba with a similar layer arrangement in the collection of the Ashmolean collection is classified as mokumegane (https://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/object/EAX.11192). Based on the design, workmanship and the use of mokumegane to which school it can be attributed? From a cursory research mokumegane was used by the Akita Shoami artist Shoami Dembei or by the Takahashi school (高橋派) a branch of the Edo Akao School. Any information is welcome, thank you in advance. Best Regards Luca

After checking it out, there doesn't appear to be a full download, and you can only preview a very limited number of pages. So I expect that one is ok and legit. I know there are full pdf's of the book floating around, I'd be more concerned about sharing those. This one should be fine

It might not be real - BUT I WANT IT! Dalek tsuba- WHO could resist!

My wife helped me translate Jitsuden's calligraphy: 繙經參月心 (fān jīng cān yuè xīn) Translating/reading the scriptures, contemplating the moon-like mind (literal meaning) or Turning the pages of the sutras, I contemplate the mind that is like the moon (poetic meaning) It's difficult to discern whether this is also a rejection of a reliance on "words and scriptures" like the work known to be by Sokuhi in which the monk is reading the sutra in the moonlight. Or could it be that Jitsuden is suggesting that study of scripture can be a tool for achieving direct insight and awakening, much like koan study is used in Rinzai Zen practice for this purpose. If the latter, it would be a departure from traditional Zen belief and understanding. Would Sukohi have contributed the painting if this were the case? Perhaps this work is a deeper exploration of the role of study in facilitating the direct experience of kensho or satori. 繙經 (fān jīng) — Engaging with sacred texts, but not merely intellectual study; "turning over" implies intimate, repeated handling, suggesting devotion or deep familiarity. 參月心 (cān yuè xīn) — In Chan/Zen Buddhism, "contemplating the moon" often refers to looking beyond words to direct insight. The famous metaphor says: the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon itself — teachings (sutras) are the finger; the enlightened mind is the moon. Here, cān yuè xīn suggests using scripture to investigate one's own original, luminous, and still nature — "mind-as-moon."

I have a kozuka signed Sukekane on the blade. One of our NBTHK members questioned it with the sensei, who took one glance and said 'genuine'. Another kozuka has a rubbish-looking wildly inscribed (Kunisada?) Mei on it, but after polishing the hada and hamon on the other side are totally beautiful. I still have no idea who chiseled the Mei or why. So, as expressed above, the exceptions do sometimes seem to prove the rule!

I downloaded my copy via the link below. According to Bruce, it was a JSSUS article. Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey

A bit more on the Bizen side of possible

Interesting blade. Maybe late nambokucho period. But die pictures should be better. I wonder why all that interest is in the fittings. Its a nice old blade.

Quick follow-up. Further requests from overseas have nudged them into finally expanding their web page to include bank details in order to accommodate donations from abroad. Quote: (On second thoughts anyone interested please find the details from the QR code in post#2 above.)

Suishinshi Masahide had a message - Edo period and everything associated with it was bad, it was better before and way better in late Kamakura. That was not unusual thinking towards Bakumatsu, whether the subject was economy, governance or sex life. How realistic is it when applied to swords is difficult to say. Overall Japanese ones are much harder than European and conversely are very prone to chipping. Great cutters with exceptionally short lifetime. You can chop a dozen iron nails with a saber and all you are going to get is the edge being shinier in places. But saber is not going to do nearly the same damage as Japanese sword. If what you want is a cut from above against say human target, I would go with shinto. More consistent steel content and grain size distribution. More weight for the same size is not going to hurt you but makes the technique more forgiving. Will shinto be more prone to fatal damage under such conditions - this is not my experience and I have an issue finding any concrete evidence confirming it is so. Early soshu is just as hard at the edge as Sukehiro. But early Soshu was battle proven... Its a big statement with not a lot of known quantities. Battle proven (very) often means we have X money, Y people and therefore we are going to make the weapons to fit the bill, nevermind all other considerations. Or it can mean we have one guy who survived a famous encounter 20 years ago and we continue making weapons according to his vision, until 20 years later people start believing in something else... And if you are an actual weapon designer, being guided by soldiers is not going to yield a fantastic weapon. There are many reasons, including soldiers not realizing the tradeoffs between performance, reliability, cost and manufacturability, while navigating those is the key to being great weapon designer. A LOT of them will have memories of the fighting itself distorted to the point of being completely unrealistic. Or driven by a single event which drove them nuts. So you are looking for a feedback of someone experienced, intelligent, calm minded, objective with knowledge of how the technology works. How many such people exist, especially since everyone who really fights rather than participates runs the risk of being killed which if not 50% then at least 10% Back to swords, frankly speaking they all have nearly the same effectiveness, +/- 15%. Its not the kind of technology or environment where you kill 100 people and then elaborate on how it felt with say Bizen versus Soshu. In this case, "fashion" becomes important. Somebody with influence likes o-kissaki - everyone tries to copy and be cool. Then another guy says - its all hubris, traditional sugata is better, and in 10 years - nothing changed on the battlefield but we are back to shapes from 100 years ago.

So reading through the forums, and talking to older enthusiasts(as well as reading literature), there is obviously an established notion that koto swords are just higher quality and better swords then shinto/shinshinto/gendaito/shinsakuto. Usually it boils down to activity in the jigane, "long lost smithing techniques", regional steels, or that they were made for battle. However, there has not actually been any actual testing done to see what makes certain swords better then others. Basically all of this information is anecdotal. For example, in suishinshi masahide's report on sword damage, much of his tales are based off rumors. There is not any note of any pre-existing kizu on the sword, or if they may have had a hagire to begin with. To add to this, survivorship bias could be playing a huge role here. Of course koto swords would be better when all of the bad koto swords broke with use. Shinto and shinshinto swords did not see any mass conflict that would thin their ranks(besides maybe ww2, but nowhere near the scale of the sengoku, nanbokucho, onin war, etc.), so a lot of the "bad" swords are most likely still out there somewhere. What do we know for certain? Well not all shinto, shinshinto, or gendaito smiths made the same work. For example, Inoue Shinkai made both swords with chu suguha hamon, some of which are rather normal in their temper thickness, as well as wider gunome midare and notare hamon. Specifically in Ohmura's accounts, he talks about how Shinkai's blades performed badly. He mentions this repeatedly. However he leaves out what could arguably be the most important information: What temper line did these Shinkai blades have, and what kizu were present(if there were any). Another funny thing about Ohmura is that he has endless praise for Sue Bizen, Hizen, and Onizuka Yoshikuni blades ironically enough, but I will get back to that. Another good example of this variation in work you see in shinto and shinshinto swords is Suishinshi Masahide himself. Plenty of his early work is in toran midare, wide hamon that he would later go on to criticize, while in his later work you see alot more chu suguha. Another common point I see that is always brought up here is that the shinto swords and shinshinto swords were sold for their looks, not performance. Honestly this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read on the topic, especially with the prevalence of saidanmei and the existence of wazamono ratings. Completely ignoring the slew of accounts of destructive sword tests that individual han undertook as well as individual smiths. Regardless of era, the majority of swordsmiths were trying to make the best sword they could functionally, while also making it artistically valuable. If this was not the case, every other contemporary of Suishinshi Masahide would not have followed his trend of reducing temper width for the sake of performance. Were there smiths that made swords which mostly server as art work? Of course, however one could say this is not specific to the edo period, especially if the definition of "art sword" is something with a wide hamon(which it usually is). Examples of swords made for use can be found in basically every province during the edo period. I will go back to Ohmura's fondness for Hizen and Yoshikuni. He specifically recalls accounts of soldiers with 30 yen(this is most likely military yen, currency produced during the war) Hizento being able to cut through barbed wire and ammunition belts without the swords breaking. At the same time he mentions Shinkai blades getting cracks the size of red beans performing the same tasks. For one, swords in general are not great at cutting through metal. Should they be able to do it without breaking? Yes obviously, but there is a very good reason most kenjutsu ryuha have very few edge on edge techniques. It is known to not be very good for the sword. Assuming the shinkai blades in question were harder, it makes sense they would get large chips when used against steel objects. This is not very indicative of the quality of the sword, as long as they do not develop hagire from doing so. A harder edge is known to chip easier than a softer edge, with the tradeoff being that the harder edge will hold a sharp edge longer while the softer edge will have to be touched up more often. Another interesting point when going over Ohmura's accounts is that there are very few cases of the shinto swords outright breaking. He lists the percentage of which they return to receive repairs, but even makes a note that most of these swords being returned were work of second or third rate smiths. He also includes an account of an officer who had a large oei bizen tachi in shin gunto mounts use it and get a large chip in the edge. However none of these tests are scientific. Even Ohmura's accounts are anecdotal: he does not provide specific details, and there are not any control groups present and obviously the environment that these tests were recorded was not consistent. This can be said for all of the stories surrounding koto swords. We have similar accounts of blades from some smith breaking, of blades from another smith bending, while also having surviving examples of swords that saw use and held up nicely. However the lack of use that shinto and shinshinto swords saw does not somehow mean lack of quality. If they were made during a major conflict, I am sure you would have similar blades around riddled with kirikomi, shinae, or chips in the cutting edge. Basically the lack of these survivors does not mean that there would not be any. I know this post is kind of just a mess of thoughts, but just thought I would provoke some sort of retrospective thinking in other members of the forum of what constitutes as proof and what doesn't. Also I should state I am not trying to start arguments with people, more so promote appreciation of all nihonto, regardless of era that they were made. http://ohmura-study.net/133.html

If you look for GURI BORI, you will find the same technique that is used for MOKUME GANE. It is a very nice little TSUBA! Perhaps a goldsmith who is well acquainted with TOSOGU can solder the fissures without it being too obvious? MIssing Ford and his competence here again.....

Appears to be a "Sam Browne" clip type from the missing bottom attachment. It's difficult to say with these as original Japanese types have been found with the clip.

Could it be simply the way he cuts (I am assuming you are talking about the 3:00 mark). From slow motion videos, sometimes it looks like the blade bends downwards, but it's because the blade is more or less thrown before the hands. On the other hand, I have seen a bokuto bend upon strong impact (basically it straightens at the moment of impact before springing back into shape).

Hi, thank you! I must have missed it somehow

Copyright protects the interests of the very people who bring you such valuable information. Let your conscience your guide.

I have seen blades that had hagire have a helicopter-like forward spin when the hagire failed and the blade broke. It's why one must inspect their swords. The idea that a sword can have hagire and be "safe" for any kind of kenjutsu is a concerning label.

Hi John, as Florian states above, not having distinctive layers can be seen as positive, documenting a completely fire-welded TSUBA blank. Seeing three layers in the NAKAGO-ANA is probably more of a "relaxed" way of fire-welding, as in the context of protective qualities, it would not make much of a difference, so it is accepted as "typical" for many AKASAKA TSUBA.

Some more info at Omura http://ohmura-study.net/925.html "Sergeant Kako of a Guntō repair group is an excellent swordsmith. Since the operative of the forging factory in a unit did not have arms, there was a request which makes a sword as an object for self-defense. The old spring which is the useless article of a car was forged roughly, and it was considered as the form of a sword. Since full-scale hardening was not completed, it made the sword from the same manufacturing process as "Zōhei-tō" which puts a temper into the whole and is returned moderately."

Agreed with the previous opinions. There are many Akasaka-Tsuba without distinctive traces of layers. At least it means they are well forged. Visible or even open layers are often result of corrosion because the inner core is made of low quality iron. I would advise You to get a look on other Akasaka pieces to gain more experience how to recognize layers even if they are not clearly visible.

Hi John, Here you will find a care and handling brochure; you would be doing yourself and the sword a favor if you read it. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ We need better pictures before we can tell you much. Start with a dark, uncluttered background. Give us a shot of the whole bare blade with the tip at the top and another of the tang with signature, again with the tip of the sword up (your 1st picture of the tang is upside down). Grey

Thank you again, Steve, for your efforts in interpreting this hakogaki. It is possible that we will never know for certain. Perhaps Satō-sensei was not aware at the time of the meaning of the kanji on the tsuba, and simply recorded them one by one, following a clockwise arrangement as in scheme A in the image below. The correct reading follows scheme B, which is by no means a common way to read an ancient Japanese text, as far as know. This interpretation was possibly suggested by Itō Mitsuru in his 2025 book "Nobuie". On the other hand, an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper for the same tsuba describes it as 龍に忠則命尽文字図鐔, thus suggesting scheme C (尽 is listed as a variant of 盡). Therefore, I suppose I must accept a certain degree of uncertainty in my transcription.

Thanks, Hiro. I have emailed Komazawa University to try to get connected to a curator at the Museum of Zen Culture and History. The relationship of Jitsuden Kocho to Mokuan Shoto, both Obako monks seems to be confirmed in two separate databases now. Sukohi Nyoitsu appears next to Mokuan, which is a known association, as both were students of Ingen. There are numerous collaborative works, truly wondrous, by Ingen, Mokuan, and Sukohi (known as the three brushes of Obaku), including the one below that were donated from a single American collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The order from right to left is Ingen, Mokuan, and Sukohi. I saw these pieces in January while in NYC. They were not on display, but the assistant curator was kind enough to show them to me.

This appears to read Yukimitsu. Best regards, Ray

I had no idea katanas flexed like a whip on downward strikes like that. If you slow it down it really bends and snaps back right before contact.

Maybe it's kismet. Just today I had a sword go missing - sort of. Got a delivery notice from USPS that the sword was delivered to the porch. Nope wasn't there. I immediately got on the phone to the post office for my area and had them track it. Postman probably wasn't more than a block away. Within 5 minutes he shows up with the sword. "Sorry. I was thinking it was the other street." Moral of the story is taking the quickest action possible got the 1,000 dollar sword back. And while it's not always possible to be that quick, constant tracking and plenty of phone calls can in some cases yield results. John C.

Hi @Lewis B As much as I love Hokke work, I was never able to get a clear understanding of their origin. There are reliable sources that say Sukekuni early nanbokucho, Kaneyuki, and Ichijo early muromachi. The 1st Ichijo was also supposedly either the son of Masie or a student of Sukekuni but I dont think that timeline would add up The NBTHK on this one says Hokke Ichijo specifically so I would think around 1394 at the earliest. Aoi also didnt mention what was written on the saya but it doesnt looklike a sayagaki by anyone notable Either way this is definitely a nice piece that has a lot of the things I like. Very stout and rustic with textured jigane

Could be Nanbokucho. Founder was Kaneyuki and he started in Ōan (応安, 1368-1375).

Thanks for the info everyone!! I wish I could have taken more pictures but yeah, I was at a flea market and didn't think to take any more. I'll keep an eye out for a copy of this, thanks. I did manage to find an online version but I'd much rather a physical copy. Link to online version in case its useful to anyone https://archive.org/details/connoisseursbook0000naga

The percentage of ones fully forged, folded and with decent hamon are a very small percentage of the total seen, and when you see them, they are usually in shirasaya or apart from average kozuka. Yes, of course they exist, but look at the way yours is signed compared to the usual "chicken scratch" type mei we see on most. Now show me one like yours in full polish in that condition that is original to an average kozuka and mounted that way from the Edo period? Again, they exist, but best to always consider them gimei until proven otherwise. Once you see a hamon with nie and hataraki, you can start looking closer at the mei.

This is a Wakizashi from a rarely seen smith of the Osaka Shinto school, "Terumasa". He signed "Mutsu-no-kami Tachibana Terumasa" and was the adopted son of the first-generation Kobayashi Ise-no-kami KUNITERU in Osaka. His actual name being: Kobayashi Goro-Uemon. He became the head of family succeeding KUNITERU around Genroku (1688) era and his name changed to the title of Izumi-no-kami. He then moved from Osaka to Matsuyama city, Iyo province (Modern day Ehime pref. on Shikoku) to serve for Uwajima feudal domain. This Wakizashi was made in his younger years while he resided in Settsu, Osaka during Jyokyo era (1684-87). The whole Hamon consists of "Touranba-Midare" that was founded by Tsuda-Echizen-No-Kami Sukehiro and flourished not only among Terumasa or Oumi-no-kami Sukenao which were both in the same school, but also spread out to the other schools in Osaka such as Ikkan-shi Tadatsuna and Echigo-No-Kami Kanesada. Also this innovative "Touranba-Midare" had a strong influence to the future generations such as Suishinshi Masahide, Chounsai Tsunatoshi and Kato Tsunatoshi. Shape: Shinogi-zukuri, Iori-mune with nice thick Kasane. This magnificent wakizashi shows the typical shape and style of the time which flourished during Joukyo to Houei (1684-1710) era. Activity: Fine Itame with some indication of partial Mokume when examined closely. beautiful "Nie" combined with "Ji-Nie" and precise lines of "Chikei". Hamon: Hamon is Touranba-Midare starts with uphill Osaka-style Yakidashi, flamboyant O-midare which is made of large/tall Gunome and box-shape to generates the billows of "Touranba-midare". Thick sparkling Nie granules accumulate on boundary between Hamon and Hada. The interior of temper is filled with mist-like crystalline areas and thick Nie runs into the cutting edge. You will also spot lines and patches of Nie which make up "Sunagashi" which stand out nicely including what looks like Niju or Yo up near the Kissake. Boshi: Temper of Boshi forms straight of "Suguha" and medium circle turns back deeply. Nakago: The Nakago is UBU with original single Mekugi Ana. Horizontal Kesho file marks. The large, deep and freely chiselled inscription on Shinogi-ji ridge starts with the title of Mutsu-no-kami 陸奥守, name of clan Tachibana 橘 and smith name TERUMASA 輝政. Certificate: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon. Overall an extremely nice healthy example of his work in the classic Osaka Shinto style with beautiful steel, silky smooth finish and some very interesting an unusual activity to be shown, especially in the Hamon. This wakizashi is sold in Shirasaya and in good polish with Tokubetsu Hozon Papers.

My guess is that the readings of the individual kanji themselves won't change (jinchū sokumei), but I don't know why the order is rearranged from the order of the original Chinese phrase. Jinchū is a valid word (loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness), but "sokumei" isn't a word as far as I know. Maybe its an intentional pun, or play on words. Sokumei could be the kanji used for someone's name, so perhaps a retainer or disciple had a tsuba made using this phrase, but rearranged the kanji to mean "loyalty to Sokumei". ? Anyway, maybe that 3rd line in Kanzan's hakogaki gives a clue, but I still can't figure it out. I also note there is a phrase 無出其右 (mushukkiyu) meaning "unrivled", but I don't think it's used in Japanese, and while its temptingly close to what Kanzan has written on the box, those last two kanji just seem too far away.

Hi John, I'm sorry I can't help there, however, but it has been the received wisdom since I've been interested in the subject. The vast majority seem to not be high quality items and confirm that rule whereas the one you've shown is clearly the exception - it has a hamon, and is well finished on the side with the signature and the mei is well carved and is clearly something that the smith was rightly proud to sign. In my post I was careful to qualify what I said by use of words like "generally" and "probably" because, as with most things nihonto and I've made the error more than once before, the instant something is stated as an immutable rule, something appears that proves the opposite and there are undoubtedly good kogatana out there.

Tsukamaki gets messed with so frequently, it should not be the by-all-end-all identifier. I once found an Kamikura period blade in military mounts, and the tsukamaki was terribly done and super loose. A lot can happen in the 80+ years post-war. Like Vajo said above, likely an older blade converted for military use. During the war, to supplement the need for sword production; many older swords were sourced from the public to be fitted for military use. They did this by adding a hanger and leather cover to the wooden scabbard, or making a new scabbard with leather cover + hanger. You often see this type of configuration referred to as "Civilian Guntō". If you google that, you'll find some more similar examples. I think @Bruce Pennington has more understanding about Gunzuko and what they carried. There are many possibilities, it's hard to know for certain. -Sam

蓋同銘中・無出典在者 Not sure of the red, but my guess is that the meaning is "The meaning of the phrase on the tsuba (also noted on the lid) is unknown" (not listed in any published resources). Edit: Hmm, rethinking this, at least the 2nd part. The phrase 忠則盡命 is known (devoting your life to your lord). A reference to a Chinese classic, Thousand Character Essay (孝當竭力，忠則盡命).

Perhaps kirikomi might be an indirect measure of a blades ability to withstand structural failure. Hardly scientific but provides a degree of competency by the makers. They were fully aware of what manufacture methods leads to an effective and resilient sword under the harshest of battle conditions. Afterall it was in their interests for their patrons to return home alive. The Ishida Masamune has signs of a couple of massive impacts to the mune yet survived. So I'm not sure I fully agree with Kevin's statement "shinto/shinshinto/gendai sword would just about break any elegant chu/hoso suguha koto sword". Perhaps a late koto blade when quality of manufacture generally took a dive due to the increasing need to supply the Sengoku period conflicts.

Ive seen that before, as well as the obata kabutowari with what I think was a yoshihara if I remember correct. It's pretty difficult to do, especially if you like nihonto 😂

On Saturday Mr Koike told me they have already seen over 1.5 million JPY in donations towards the project. (One person alone apparently gave ¥1,000,000.)

I have a teapot made of clay I believe that most likely came from Okinawa in the late 90’s early 2000’s. I am looking to find some information on it or what it might be worth today. There is a small gold painted id marker on the bottom. Google can’t find it online. Can anyone help me out?

Hello, It looks like “Rinsai” (林斎) to me. This is a brand logo of a company that used to be in Saga Prefecture (the company has since closed). 三洋陶器株式会社「龍峰窯」 San yō Ceramics Co., Ltd.’s ‘Ryūhō Kiln’. I’m not sure if it has any connection to Okinawa. It seems they produced a variety of items. I tried to find pieces with a similar texture from among them. a teapot a platter I hope someone more knowledgeable will show up.