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Prince Yasuhito, note the parade knot on his Type 94:

For reference, the Jūyō setsumei for this sword describes the kissaki as midare-komi, hakikake, kaen on the omote, and round turnback on the ura.

Army Surgeon Lieutenant Kamisaka Yoshinosuke

I thought this one was interesting , a naval officer with a Shinto gunto

Glad it arrived safely, Matt. This tsuba perfectly exhibits the Tea aesthetics of Furuta Oribe, the leading Tea Master in Japan in the second half of the Momoyama Period. For such aesthetics, Yamakichibei sword guards (the genuine ones ) are at the top, IMHO. Remember, Matt: right of first refusal if you decide to part with this piece! Cheers

Officers with Type 94, again note Kyu Gunto knots:

After looking for a YKB tsuba for a while, finally found something just perfect. I picked up this wonderful “Low-cross bar” YKB tsuba from Steve Waszak. Thought I’d share. About 7.1 x 6.7cm x 4mm. The tekkotsu and yakite are excellent.

I have had the hosts increase the CPU useage and paid to upgrade the RAM. Please post here and let me know if you see increased speed or performance or if there are still issues. Thanks.

Thought I'd put a post here to raise awareness of a very good article put up by Danny Massey at his website: https://www.nihontocraft.com/Problems_Buying_Swords_on_the_Internet.html I've seen umegane and airbrushed ware/hagire before, but this is my first time seeing putty being used to fill openings. With several folks recently asking for opinions on swords offered by Japanese dealers, as well as some discussions around a particular dealer potentially being more "dodgy" than others, this is a good wake-up call that the Japanese market is no stranger to dodgy dealings and lies by omission, and this is hardly restricted to any one dealer. Unlike Western dealers, who typically have to balance the need for profit with the responsibility of educating and promoting interest in the field, Japanese dealers have a thriving, established and competitive market and have less to lose from the usual unethical practices you see in any other market of that nature. Always remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Dealer claiming that because sword has early Torokusho registration papers (ca. 1951) it was previously owned by a daimyo family Attribution drag Dealer suggestions of attribution fluidity eg "Because he inherited his master's style so perfectly, it is a consensus among sword scholars that many works attributed to Shizu were likely historically regarded as original Masamune blades"

Aside from the main things (faked papers, kicho papers, photographs and descriptions that hide flaws, horimono in odd locations that cover up flaws) here's a few other "reading between the lines" things beginners and intermediate buyers should watch out for: Sword with papers and described as being from a famous smith, but if you check the papers themselves, they specify a different generation or area (e.g. kyodai Kanemoto or Seki Kaneuji) Sword with papers and described as being from a famous smith, but the papers specify a period that rules out that smith (e.g. Magoroku Kanemoto - late Muromachi) Sword with papers and described as being from a famous smith, but the mei matches that of a different smith with the same name Sword described as former daimyo/officer property without any proof of provenance Sword described as showing all the hallmarks of a big name smith, when the papers are only to his school Sword with a very thin motokasane, munemachi or hamachi Damage from mishandling being advertised as kirikomi A particular section of the sword not directly appearing in photographs "With a high ranking polish, the sword should paper as <big name/school>" (so why hasn't this been done yet?) "As this is the first time this sword is on the open market, it is being offered at a low price" (so why didn't the dealer buy it and put a markup?) "The sword is in an acceptable polish" (acceptable for Hozon? TH? Juyo?) or "the sword has been polished" (when? the Edo period?)

The best advice is always to buy the blade and not the papers. The internet makes that very hard and many of us are no novices to what you said, the lies of omission, downplaying of kizu, and romanticizing the blade to discount its flaws. A good buyer should know that the fluff is just that. Fluff. Even papers, which are supposed to be a certificate of authenticity aren’t always the source of truth many claim to be. I’ve seen faked papers posted here. I’ve also seen blades faked to match real papers but with a different sword posted here from a notorious Jauce auction. And most disappointingly of all, I’ve seen real swords pass Juyo Shinsa with fake mei to grandmaster smith’s showing that even Shinsa judges have been duped by nefarious means. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as we are in a hobby where gimei blades are abundant and we have a saying “green papers are no papers. Even then, right now on eBay I can go and purchase the only other extant daito signed “Sa” in the world besides the Kokuho daito! My Samonji collection would then rival that of the TNM and most seasoned collectors for only a few hundred bucks!

I’d like to share some visual material here on the forum about the wearing of Japanese military swords (guntō). Special Navy Landing Forces staff staffmember Esaka Wataru, KIA at Tarawa 1943

Im in the US but I get mine from Robert Benson in hawaii. I would think they can ship it worldwide. bushidoswd@aol.com. Mr Bensons wife Rita handles orders and emails. She can ask her son Nicholas to make one. I just ordered one last week and it was made and shipped the following day

Yoroi doshi is pending payment Open to offers on the gimei Cheers

I guess we'll never know. The seller got the sword from someone that got it at a flea market. It will be great to know if it was a vet bring back. But very well it's just something someone bling it. Still a very cool sword and I will keep it as is. Thank you all for feed back

Hi all, I WTB a tsuba or menuki, papered at Hozon level in either a tiger or wild goose theme. Price is below 700 USD. Thank you Jake

Thank you both it was confusing for me Any idea for the kanji on the reverse?

White light LED

Hi @M Ubertini, I'm going to relocate this to the TOSOGU section. That's where most of the tsuba and fittings people hang out; and they will like to see this one. Lovely looking piece, congratulations! -Sam

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/saito-makoto-1858-1936-1589-c-e6e9ce8f25?objectID=202806750&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=766a104cadbd61662fc74eecc2847237

明珍式部 - Myochin Shikibu 紀宗定作 - Ki no Munesada saku

IMHO its a fake. The figures are too stick-like and the mei is wobbly and all over the place. FYI attached is a mei on a kozuka I have. It is identical to my eye to a second kozuka I have with the same theme of people. BaZZa. Here is the kozuka - I apologise for the poor shot. I've been 'gunner' upgrade the hasty photos... And here is a mei that was on a kozuka on the internet some time ago: Here is that kozuka: And here is the text for the kozuka immediately above: Hosono Sozaemon Masamori (細野惣左衛門政守) worked in Kyoto in the early Edo period between Genroku and Kyoho (1688 – 1736) . He used Kebori and Katakiribori mixed with Hira Zogan and often filled the whole plate with his motives of landscapes and rural life. For his time he was quite progressive as he not only depicted sceneries which had been famous from history or favoured by the noble class but chose to show the life of the working class people. Thus we often see workers or farmers going after their daily job in his work. This Kozuka depicts the eight views of Omi province (today’s Shiga Prefecture) also called the eight views of Biwa lake as all the views concentrate around the southern side of the Biwa lake. The theme was derived from the Chinese ‘Eight Views of Xiaoxiang’ (11th century) and came to Japan in the 14th century when it was used in poetry by Konoe Masaie a prince of Hikone. Later it became a subject for artists like Suzuki Harunobe or Utagawa Hiroshige. I do apologise for the brevity of this post, but I have been late to put my two kozuka into a substantive article. Regards, BaZZa (aka Barry 'Gunnadoo' Thomas)

Thanks….yes found it on Dale’s link to Jauce👍. (Never been on that site before!) they do not mention the alloy/metal that it is made from and the first thing that struck me was that the faceplate looked like it had been overcleaned at some point. It is a totally different colour to the back (that in itself may not be problem as many kozuka are made from different alloy plates) but imo it is shibuichi judging from the backplate colour. Also the copper colour in the design looks weak…..but that could be a trick of the light. It is an amusing composition but not technically challenging. i don’t think it’s a modern fake I will leave the Mei to those that have far greater expertise than me. maybe ask seller what it is made from? his Haynes entry…..

This is my experience as well, including with Giheiya. If there's nothing new to say - they won't say anything.

The story of Tokyo in the 20th century post Meiji Restoration is as much a story about Japan as it is about the city. This video documentary by NHK captures the story beautifully and with the help of video footage from the day captures the spirit of Tokyo - the city that is first to meet the rising sun.

I also thought it was unusual, or at least uncommon, to see a staged photo using a type 95 (the pic above - seated soldier with picture of palmtree in background). John C.

Unusual to see one posing with his sword drawn.

Two more.

Original photo of Lt General Homma:

Officers with Type 94 and Kyu Gunto dress knots:

yes, please.

Not sure, but i don't think this is a good idea