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The yoroi-doshi arrived exactly as described. Alex was an absolute pleasure to deal with. Marius thought it was 3rd or 4th gen Fuyuhiro, with the possibility of it being gimei. After doing much research I am leaning towards shoshin. The jitetsu and deki is a good match for late work by the 3rd gen swordsmith in Wakasa, (only he and 2nd gen signed sanmei), so Marius' hunch was spot on. The muneyaki to hitatsura Yaki-ire is a sign the sword was made by an experienced and competent smith. Very proud to be the new owner of this honest, workhorse of a blade.

Signed Izu no Kuni ju Sadayoshi saku kore (no date) but with a very fine carving of a ken attesting to his background in the Gassan tradition...

This is wonderful and quite profound, Jan. The phrase is what we call a "capping phrase," which is employed by a master to challenge the student in the coarse of koan training. In the Zen context 學人 (Xueren) means a student or practitioner who seeks enlightenment; it is a common way for monks to refer to themselves when asking a master a question. Similarly, 轉身處 (Zhuanshen Chu) is literally a "place of turning the body," but is a crucial Zen concept referring to the point of spiritual transformation or turning point. It is the metaphorical place where a practitioner "turns around" from delusion to enlightenment, or the pivot point in a koan where one must make a leap in understanding. 會麼 (Hui Me) is a common Ch'an expression meaning "Do you understand?" or "Can you grasp it?" Putting it all together, the master intones: 學人轉身處. 會麼口取 "Here is the point where you must turn from ignorance to enlightenment. Do you understand? Now, express that understanding directly, right now!" Ch'an master Dayi, when asked "What is the student's place of turning?" he replied, "In the streets and alleys" (meaning it is everywhere, in everyday life). Right here. Right now. The master is not asking for a philosophical explanation of what "turning" means. Instead, the master is pointing to the present moment and demanding that the student manifest their enlightenment through a word, an action, or a gesture. The "mouth" (口) can be the instrument for that immediate, living expression of truth. However, the moment of breaking through a koan is an experience that occurs before language is formed. It is in fact ineffable. An idea about enlightenment is not enlightenment. Maybe this capping phrase is intended to specifically instruct on how to approach Joshu's Mu koan (無 no, nothing, not one thing), the famous and notoriously difficult-to-penetrate Case #1 of the Mumonkon (The Gateless Gate) koan collection: A monk once Master Joshu, "Has a dog the Buddha Nature or not?" Joshu said "Mu!" When a student responds, the master will know it is a breakthrough if it embodies a deep, personal, and immediate experience that is ultimately transformative. A teacher may ask if what the student has experienced has changed some other aspects of his life. This is because enlightenment is expressed through action (i.e. it is inacted). Does it enhance your capacity for compassion towards family, friends, co-workers, the dog, or the environment? Is your relationship to the world fundamentally altered?

Hi BP. First a forum technical note. If you actually go by "BP", then never mind, but if that's not what you go by, please go to your profile page and add a first name. It's NMB policy and we all like to talk to real people. Thanks! So, for decades the collecting community have held the all-brown tassel to be a late-war army tassel (Navy is all brown, but it's a richer, darker color and of course found on kaigunto). Even the reference books call it that. However, a couple years ago, a respected researcher found the 1943 Uniform Regulation Change that spoke of the brown tassel and said that it was assigned to the Gunzoku. I asked Nick if the wording would have allowed that the tassel was already in use by the army, but was now also assigned to Gunzoku. Nick answered that due to the wording, it would have been specific to just the Gunzoku. That's all I can say. If you would like to read his discussion, see this: The All Brown Army Tassel - Nick Komiya

Excellent production values, descriptions and offers a good appreciation of the multitude of steps needed to create these blades. Enjoy

Not bad for a repro! It’s easy with the sode. You only have to make sure that the kōgai kanamono (ornamental plate at the back center) actually pointing backwards. The only problem is that you have ō-sode attached, so you can’t fasten the cord/ cords on the back of the dō because the agemaki no kan is missing (a device on the upper back of the dō).

There are a number of photos of Meito on sho-shin.com that are noted as being gifted to Emperor Meiji, a few of those mentioned above show up if doing a site search. Chogi Haito Sword of Emperor Meiji Chogi Nagasa: 71cm Sori: 2.3cm Standing Itame Hada with JiNie, Chikei and standing Utsuri. Bo-Hi and Sobi run the length. Gunome-Midare ba moves inside a Notare line. There is Ashi and Yo and Kinsuji through the Mid. Yakiba widens in the Monouchi. Boshi is deeply set O-Gunome Midare mound turns to an abrupt Kaeri. Suriage Nakago has two Mekugi-ana and Bo-Hi resolves in Marudome. Signed in the Ji at the bottom: Bizen-no-Kuni Osafune Ju Nagayoshi (Chogi)

I was looking at a bring back sword in type 98 fittings for a friend today and helped him get it apart and was very pleased to find an Emura signed blade underneath. The books and references I’ve seen posted all have his longer mei references or “Emura Saku” but I haven’t seen many references to just a 2-character mei except for a small handful of posts here. Someone said that blades signed just “Emura” might be made by Emura himself and not one of his prisoner swordsmith apprentices? Any confirmation on that? The blade is in rough polish and the monouchi area has nicks and chips in the ha but it is stout enough that I think the owner might look at a polish for sentimental reasons. I was pleased to still see a pretty bright suguha based hamon with lots of nice small activity throughout even through the old polish. The saya is the most damaged part of the package and is missing a lot of parts and probably needs a restoration or just a new saya to complete the set. The other fittings are all stamped 231 and match the paint marks on the nakago which was good to see.

海軍燃料廠 – Navy fuel factory 製油員 – Refinery operator 里村清吉 – Satomura Seikichi 第三蒸溜工場 – The 3rd distillery

The second most expensive sword I have found so far; the Kokuho Bungo Yukihira which was sold at the Nakayama Takamaro Estate Auction in 1919 to Hosokawa Moritatsu (first president of the NBTHK) for 21,000 yen or $8,610 USD in the day. Today that would be the equivalent of $8,610,000.

Hopefully it's not taboo to post about repros in this sub, I did see another thread on the main page that was so I figured why not lol. I just bought a full suit of samurai armor that appears to be a modern example of gendai katchū associated with the Marutake / Kōnin workshop tradition. The armor came with documentation describing the workshop history and identifying it as a modern handcrafted suit rather than an antique piece. From what I understand, the Marutake workshop began producing armor in the 1970s under Shinobu Tanoue using the art name Kōnin. This suit seems to fall into that lineage and is likely a relatively recent production, somewhere around 2006/7 I believe. The set appears complete with kabuto, menpō, dō, sode, kote, haidate, suneate, and the yoroi-bitsu storage chest. The chest has a gold inscription and crest on the exterior, which I’m told is typical of modern presentation sets rather than historical armor where signatures were usually hidden. One thing that stood out to me about this workshop, compared to cheaper reproductions, is the materials and construction approach. Marutake armor is generally built using lacquered metal plates, real silk odoshi lacing, and traditional assembly methods rather than the synthetic cords, thin stamped steel, aluminum, or plastic components that are often used in lower-end decorative suits. The fittings and hardware also appear to be properly made rather than cast costume parts, which gives the armor a much more authentic weight and structure. Another interesting aspect of the workshop is that they have produced armor used in Japanese film and television productions. Their work has been used in several historical films and NHK Taiga dramas, including productions such as The Last Samurai and Sekigahara, which I thought was a neat connection between traditional craftsmanship and modern media. Although this example is firmly a collector display piece and not a prop or museum quality recreation. What really drew me to this one was how cohesive the whole suit is, but most especially, the color palette is spot on to my taste. The lacing, lacquer, and fittings all match well and the overall look is very striking when assembled. It has some light handling and storage wear, but overall presents well. I know it won't be everyones taste as the suit is a bit of a mish-mash of periods/armor types for sort of a greatest hits suit of armor. I paid what I think is a good price so I'm happy with it all around. For me, buying a real katchu would divert funds from other collectables, and I'd rather not be the caretaker for fragile textiles that are hundreds of years old. I’ll attach a few photos below showing the armor and some close details (sadly the forum won't let me attach the high-res files). I also purchased an armor display stand. I have the perfect spot in my living room for it right next to my sword display.

Found this video by one of the curators of the new Samurai Exhibition opening this week at the British Museum and was quite excited to watch it. He starts off explaining that the British Museum has one of the largest collections of Samurai artefacts outside of Japan. Unfortunately if you visit it you would not know as the permanent collection on display is rather poor. But hopefully the Exhibition will right this wrong... Unfortunately it appears it will not. The curator goes on to explain sword history but shows only one sword but does not even mention the smith and then focuses on the Koshirae of the various periods. Kind of like the Louvre explaining French history by their choice Louis Vuitton hand bags - cause they are pretty, rather than showing the Imperial collection. I guess it is interesting for a newbie but I was left very disappointed. I fear if this is the level we are engaging for the Samurai Exhibition, then unfortunately this Exhibition will leave the enthusiast and even the general public with a lot to be desired. Nice if you like unusual pretty things but otherwise very frustrating as they continue to hide the good stuff in their warehouse. I hope to be proven wrong.

A little while ago, I gave myself the task of learning more about Gyobutsu swords, or the swords personally owned by the Emperor of Japan. When I first embarked on this research, I did not think it would be a very arduous task, like other designations or provenance it just meant doing a little digging but little did I know. Straight from the beginning I got a little unstuck as my first task was to find a comprehensive list of Gyobutsu swords – surely, this would not be that hard to find with so many greats before me, someone must have created a list, written a book, right? Nope, well certainly nothing I found until well after WWII and even then there is no proper definitive Gyubutsu list of swords that were owned by the Emperors of Japan. Emporer Meiji – son of heaven You see back in the day, as a living descendent of the gods, the Emperor was subject to no one and no thing and therefore what he owned was never catalogued in a public way… ever. It was not necessary and certainly not appropriate for the time. Records did exist but they were strictly for viewing within the walls of the Imperial Court. This as a result makes this designation of Gyobutsu probably the opaquest designation that can be given to a sword and the same can be said for Imperial Provenance because whilst some of the records are easily accessible now – most even today are still not. Two swords that fall into the latter category of not having accessible records are the two previous Gyobutsu swords by Gō Yoshihiro. From the Japanese Sword Encyclopedia by Fukunaga Suiken (R.I.P.) we get this information: Kitano-Gō: This sword, crafted by Gō Yoshihiro, is listed in the "Kyoho Meibutsu-cho" (Chapter of Specialties of the Kyoho Period). Hon'ami Kosa and Komasu purchased it from Sakai in Senshu. Kotoku, who had been named after Yoshihiro, attached a 1,500-kan (approx. 1,500 kan) origami (signature). The centre features gold inlay "Emagami Kotoku (monogram)." These characters are said to have been written by Hon'ami Koetsu. In September 1614, Maeda Toshitsune travelled to Sunpu to express his gratitude to Tokugawa Ieyasu for his succession to the domain. Hon'ami Kosa followed him to Nagoya, claiming to be celebrating the succession. Having become lord of the domain and feeling cocky, Toshitsune generously purchased the sword. Years later, while Toshitsune was in Kyoto, he stayed at the residence of Shōbaiin, the Shinto priest of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, and had the sword tested on the banks of the nearby Kamiya River. Because of its excellent sharpness, the sword came to be called Kitano-Gō, after the place where it was tested. By the time the Kyoho Meibutsu-chō was compiled, the sword's value had risen to 5,000 kan. The Maeda clan kept it at their Edo domain residence. There is a record of Hon'ami Nagane having it maintained in March 1812 (Bunka 9). Marquis Toshinari Maeda On July 9, 1910, Emperor Meiji visited Marquis Maeda's residence and was presented with the sword. The Kitano-Gō is currently kept at the Tokyo National Museum. The Kyoho Meibutsu-chō lists the blade length as 2 shaku 3 sun 5 rin (approximately 69.8 cm), but Maeda family records state it as 2 shaku 3 sun (approximately 69.7 cm), which corresponds to the current length. The curvature is 6/8" (approximately 1.8 cm). The surface has a flowing itame grain pattern and is slightly raised. The blade pattern is a curved straight blade with a small five-point pattern and frayed edges. The blade has a small rounded edge. There are four notches above the monouchi. The center is heavily polished and there are three mekugi-ana holes. However, judging from the burnished blade pattern, it does not appear to have been polished very much. Nabeshima-Gō: This is an unsigned sword written by Gō Yoshihiro of Etchu, listed in the "Kyoho Specialty Book." It was first owned by Nabeshima Naoshige, the lord of Hizen Saga Castle. The sword was passed down to Umitada family from this family, who made an oshigata of the sword. Afterwards, the Umitada family presented it to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is probably the same sword that was named the ``Koboshikiri-Gō'' presented by Katsushige Nabeshima in 1600. In November 1618, it was gifted to the Bishu Tokugawa family as a so-called Suruga gift. According to the records at that time, there was a slight nick on the blade about 3 inches (approximately 9.1 cm) below the side. It is decorated with a 75 pieces of gold origami, the edges are made of shakudo, the menuki is made of gold-free taku, it depicts a lion with two lions, the tsuba is made of shakudō, the habaki is double-layered, the bottom is covered with gold, the top is made of gold-free gold, and the face and quail eyes are made of gold-free gold. The back of the koji is walnut, and the front is a carving of a lion with three cubs. The small handle was made of shakudo and had an image of a shell in water. Koen Hon'ami has also seen this. On September 21, 1636, when Shogun Iemitsu came to the Bishu residence, Yoshinao presented this sword to the Shogun along with Rai Kunimitsu's tanto. On June 18, 1651, the sword was given to Iemitsu's fourth son Tokumatsu, the future shogun Tsunayoshi, as a relic of Iemitsu. The theory is that the Bishu family gave it directly to Tokumatsu is incorrect. In the second year of Kyoho (1717), Omi no kami Tsuguhira obtained the permission of Shogun Yoshimune and had the shogun's storehouse swords stamped. Among them, he listed as ``Nabeshima-Gō' but it had two mekugi holes and was completely different. Since then, it has been handed down as a treasured sword of the shogun family, but on August 10, 1891, it was presented to Emperor Meiji under the care of Tesshu Yamaoka. After the war, it became state-owned. The length of the blade is 2 shaku 2 sun 65 rin (approximately 68.6 centimeters), Honzukuri, and Iori-bu. The front side of Jitetsu has a large grained texture and stands out, but the back side has a small grained grained texture. The hamon is rich in small shapes, with a mixture of gomoku and kanji. In the ``Kyoho Specialties'' book, there are several places where ``Yubashiri'' is said to be ``a little bit grilled for both Taira and Ho.'' The blade on the front side has a straight edge and is long and curved, but the back side is jagged, sharp, and crumbles, as the ``Kyoho Meibutsucho'' says, ``Kogiri Feng, Odeki.'' The center is highly polished, unsigned, has one mekugi hole, and has a sword-like shape. As you can see first hurdle crossed Fukunaga Suiken has kindly documented evidence that these two Gō Yoshihiro swords were gifted to the Emperor Meiji, a keen sword collector: Nabeshima-Gō presented by Tokugawa Iesato to Emperor Meiji on August 10, 1889 as documented by the Tokugawa Clan. It seems reasonable that the then 26 year old, Prince Tokugawa Iesato, head of the Tokugawa family would document this – at this stage his family was no longer the Shogun for some 20 years, but he was a Prince and the Emperor had just signed the 1889 constitution in February that year, formalising the himself as head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty. Iesato an Eton educated Noble was keen to stay on the right side of the Emperor and apparently he did as he was made a member of House of Peers when it was established a few months later in 1890 and later became its president from 1903 through to 1933. Portrait of Tokugawa Iesato Kitano-Gō was presented by a 15 year old Marquis Toshinari Maeda to Emperor Meiji on July 9, 1900, when the Emperor Meiji visited the Maeda residence in Komaba Park in Meguro, Tokyo, only a short 8km carriage ride east from the Imperial Palace. The Emperor Meiji visited the 15 year old Marquis Toshinari Kōshaku Maeda on this day because less than a month earlier on the June 13, 1900, Toshinari had been adopted as heir of the main branch of the Maeda clan by his father, the former Daimyō of the Nanokaichi Domain in Kozuke province (modern day Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture) Maeda Toshiaki, even though he was the fifth son. He was named Shigeru at birth but changed his name to Toshinari at his coming of age. As a new Marquis of only 15 years of age he had only ever known the Empire of Meiji and was never exposed to the times of the Shogunate. As a major family in the Empire the Emperor had come to congratulate the new Marquis Maeda. Former Maeda Residence at Komaba Park Great, so we have two confirmed Gyobutsu Gō Yoshihiro blades… so what happened to them, where are they now? Well, both thankfully, as Fukanaga points out, are still very much around with both being stored and occasionally displayed at the Tokyo National Museum but their ownership status is no longer listed as swords owned by the Imperial Family. The official database (ColBase: Integrated Search System for National Museum Collections) lists them both as belonging to the Tokyo National Museum. Colbase: Katana Unsigned (Famous Nabeshima-Gō) Colbase: Katana (Gold Inlay) Emagami Kotoku (Seal) (Famous Kitano-Gō) So what happened? How did these two swords lose their Gyubutsu status and how did they land up at the Tokyo National Museum like so many other swords from the Imperial Collection? The answer, World War II. To understand what happened we need to dig deeper into the story of war debts and restitution after WWII. After WWII the Allied Forces took control of Japan under the command of General Douglas MacArthur who was the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). His office, referred to as GHQ which stood for General Head Quarters, became the defacto Ruler of Japan from 1945 through to 1952 as the Emperor and Government had to adhere to this office’s orders and instructions. General Douglas MacArthur & Emperor Hirohito, US Embassy Tokyo, September 27, 1945 During this time, we have now all heard about the confiscation of swords that took place and of course this attracts the most attention due to the horror stories of lost National Treasures but this policy of confiscation did not affect the Imperial collection of swords in the same way. As such none of the Emperor’s Gyubutsu swords were confiscated by this means (although many of Emporer Meiji's newer military swords were) but that does not mean he got to keep all of his treasure swords. In fact, as we will see he did have to give most of them away for two reasons: 1. War Reparations through Property Tax 2. Rearrangement of the Imperial Status where the Emperor became a constitutional monarch Let’s talk to War Reparations through Property Tax. After the Second World War, the Imperial Family found itself subject to the new "Property Tax Law" that was enacted in 1946 under the GHQ. For the first time property taxes were imposed on the Imperial family's property, so payments were required to be made. It was a sizeable sum: 3.3 billion yen, or 90% of all the Imperial Family's assets valued at the time. The sum was so large that the Imperial Family could not pay it and they certainly could not take out a loan that large to do so either. So instead, the only option they were left with, being asset rich but now, incredibly cash poor, was to make payments in kind in the form of restitution through the giving away of Imperial possessions, including prized property, art, furniture and treasure swords. The exercise of claiming this tax was carried out by the GHQ through the Japanese tax office. As such the Imperial Family was forced to act with some haste in terms of giving over these possessions. This meant that a lot of the normal procedures and paperwork associated with documenting changes to the Imperial possessions were simply abandoned – the Allied Forces did not care to wait on protocol. The Americans however were not devoid of documentation and as such somewhere in the archives of the GHQ (held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland, USA) or perhaps even the Japanese Tax Office there will exist documents today that detail the specifics of the Imperial possessions and their individual values as payment in kind against the property taxes the Imperial Family owned. NARA at College Park, Maryland It is also almost certain that the Imperial Family will also have some sort of record for this payment, but we will likely never to see any of these documents for a very long time, if we ever, due to the sensitive nature of these taxes and the estimated values of these possessions. It would invite too much scrutiny and pain digging up such a painful part of Japanese history. As a consequence, today there is little to no data publicly available of this historic transfer of wealth and treasures from the Imperial Household to the Nation of Japan. All we know is that a deal was done between the Imperial Family and the GHQ/ Tax Office so that Imperial possessions including many treasure swords of which Nabeshima-Gō and Kitano-Gō forms part, were used as payment in kind to cover the Imperial Family's tax burden that had been levied on them after the war in 1946 and in so doing these two swords and many more treasures were transferred out of the Imperial Collection to the Nation of Japan and were held at several museums including the National Museum (now known as the Tokyo National Museum.) For more details of this tax burden and payment in kind click here. So now we can see that property taxes were the primary reason why the Japanese Imperial Family lost 90% of their Imperial possessions. It is also how many swords including the two Gō Swords, Kitano-Gō and Nabeshima-Gō lost their Gyubutsu status and became the possession of the Tokyo National Museum as care takers of the treasures for the Nation of Japan. This all seems pretty terrible but the story is not over, let’s look at the second loss of Imperial possessions through the unwinding of the 1889 constitution and the establishment of the Constitutional Monarchy. A year later in 1947, the Emperor’s rights of sovereignty given to him in the 1889 constitution were revoked and new constitution was established where the Emperor of Japan became a constitutional monarch. In so doing the Emperor and the Imperial Family became ceremonial figure heads of the state requiring him to relinquish the remaining majority of his imperial possessions under the new arrangements, so that they could be managed by the Nation of Japan. This came into effect on the 3 May 1947 with the establishment of a new Imperial Household Office under the control of the Prime Minister’s Office so that the old Imperial Household Office no longer fell under the control of the Emperor meaning that it was no longer a part of the Imperial Court but instead became a government depart managed by the Government of Japan. Staff were also transferred out of the Imperial Court and numbers were reduced from 6,200 to less that 1,500 staff. The Imperial possessions transferred to the Imperial Household Office therefore were no longer the property of the Emperor but the property of the Nation of Japan. The Imperial Household Office subsequently became the Imperial Household Agency in 1949 and in 2001 this government department moved from the Prime Minister’s Office to fall under the management of the Cabinet Office. These transfers of Imperial possessions in 1947 saw hundreds of Gyobutsu swords moved to the National Museum where they have remained ever since and became the property not of the Emperor but of the Imperial Household Agency on behalf of the Nation of Japan. This transfer left only a fraction of the original Imperial Treasures in the personal ownership of the Emperor and how this was managed remained undetermined until 1989 when the Emperor Showa passed away and just under 80% of his remaining 4,600 treasures including more swords were “donated” to the national treasury under the ownership of the Imperial Household Agency and housed at Sannomaru Shozokan. A set of two Folding screens part of the Imperial Household Agency collection at Sannomaru Shozokan This has left the current Emperor of Japan Naruhito with a very small personally owned Imperial Collection compared to the past. This includes the 3 Sacred Treasures (which without which the Emperor cannot be Emperor), 20 Accessories of Her Majesty the Empress’ formal attire and 50 Imperial Properties that are made up of scrolls, art works, folding screens and 28 Gyobutsu swords that are considered Historic Objects and as such are not subject to the laws requiring Imperial possessions to be transferred to the Nation of Japan but instead will continue to be allowed to be passed down as part of the Imperial Throne. The Three Sacred Treasures of the Emperor; the mirror Yata no Kagami, the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama For your benefit listed below are these last 28 Gyubutsu swords confirmed as of 2019’s coronation ceremony: 1. 治天皇御料・今上陛下 山城国久国御太刀 先帝例祭（黒田清隆献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Yamashiro Hisakuni Tachi from the Former Emperor's annual festival (presented by Kiyotaka Kuroda) 2. 明治天皇御料・今上陛下 相模国正宗御刀（名物 会津正宗） 旬祭三殿御拝（有栖川宮献上） Emperor Meiji's personal gift, His Majesty's present Sagami Masamune Sword (Meito Aizu Masamune) Shunsai Sanden Gohai (presented at Arisugawa Palace) 3. 明治天皇御料・今上陛下 備前国助平御太刀 元始祭（岩崎弥之助献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Bizen Sukehira Tachi for the Genji Festival (presented by Yanosuke Iwasaki) 4. 菊御作御太刀 昭和天皇即位礼（黒田長成献上） Kiku Mitsukuri Tachi presented at the Enthronement Ceremony for Emperor Showa (presented by Nagashige Kuroda) 5. 明治天皇御料備前国真長御太刀 春秋皇霊祭（藤堂高猷献上） Emperor Meiji's gift, His Majesty's present: Bizen Province Masanaga Tachi from the Spring and Autumn Emperor's Residences (presented by Todo Takayu) 6. 山城国吉光御太刀 神嘗祭（権大納言徳川茂徳献上）　※一期一振 Yamashiro Yoshimitsu Tachi from the Kanna Festival (presented by Gon Dainagon Tokugawa Shigenori) (Meito Ichigo Hitofuri) 7. 大和国天国御太刀（小烏丸と号す） 新嘗祭（宗重正献上） Yamato Amakuni Tachi (Meito Kogarasu Maru) (presented by Muneshigemasa) 8. 備前国信房御太刀（十萬束と号す） 元始祭（徳川家達献上） Bizen Nobufusa Tachi (Meito Jumanzuka) Genji Festival (presented by Tokugawa Ietatsu) 9. 山城国国永御太刀（名物 鶴丸） 歳旦祭（伊達宗基献上） Yamashiro Kuninaga Odachi (Meito Tsuru Maru) Saidan Festival (presented by Date Muneki) 10. 山城国宗近御太刀 先帝例祭（酒井忠道献上） Yamashiro Munechika Tachi from the Former Emperor’s Festival (presented by Tadamichi Sakai) 11. 上皇昼御座御剣備前国長光御太刀 昼御座御剣 Bizen Province Nagamitsu Tachi, Retired Emperor's Daytime Throne sword 12. 上皇小御所出御御剣備前国包平御太刀 御寝間御剣（徳川家重献上） Bizen Tsunehira, Retired Emperor's sword from his small palace, sword for the sleeping quarters (presented by the Tokugawa Ieshige) 13. 古今伝授大和国天国御太刀 御代々古今伝授の節御佩用 Yamato Heavenly Sword, a sword of transmission from generation to generation. 14. 菊御作御太刀 昭和天皇即位礼控（元田永孚献上） Kiku Gosaku Tachi Copy of sword for the Enthronement Ceremony of Emperor Showa (presented by Eifusa Motoda) 15. 明治天皇御料備前国景光景政御太刀 祈年祭（川村純義献上） Bizen Koku kei kōkei Tachi Meiji Emperor's gift from the Prayer Festival (presented by Junyoshi Kawamura) 16. 大正天皇御料相模国行光御太刀 神嘗祭（伊藤博邦献上） Sagami Yukimitsu Tachi Emperor Taisho's gift from kan’nasai (presented by Ito Hirokuni) 17. 山城国国綱御太刀（名物 鬼丸） 新嘗祭（御取寄せ） Yamashiro Kunitsuna Tachi (Meito Onimaru) from Niname Festival (made to order) 18. 前国則宗御太刀 祈年祭（浅野長勲献上） Bizen Norimune Tachi from Prayer Festival (presented by Asano Chokun) 19. 備前国友成御太刀（鶯丸と号す） 歳旦祭（宮内大臣田中光顕献上） Bizen Tomonari Tachi (called Uguisumaru) from the New Year’s Festival (Presented by Mitsuaki Tanaka, Minister of the Imperial Household) 20. 備前国長光御太刀 旬祭（伊藤博邦献上） Bizen Nagamitsu Tachi Shun Festival (Presented by Hirokuni Ito) 21. 光格天皇御料 相模国正宗御脇指（名物 小池正宗） 賢所御神楽（徳川家斉献上） Sagami Masamune Wakizashi (Meito Koike Masamune) Emperor Kokaku's imperial offering Kashidokoro Kagura (Presented by the Tokugawa family) 22. 後白河天皇御剣 東宮御相伝　賢所御拝 Emperor Goshirakawa's Katana, the Crown Prince’s Sword 23. 豊後国行平御太刀 東宮御相伝　賢所御拝 Bungo Yukihira Katana, the Crown Prince’s sword: Worship at the Kashikodokoro 24. 豊後国行平御太刀 昼御座御剣 Bungo Yukihira Tachi Hirumoza no Tsurugi 25. 備前国長光御太刀 御寝間御剣 Bizen Nagamitsu Tachi, sleeping sword 26. 孝明天皇御料 相模国総宗御脇指 賢所御神楽（津軽承昭献上） Mitsuru Emperor Komei's Imperial Offering Sagami Soshu Wakizashi Kashikodokoro Kagura (presented by Josho Tsugaru) 27. 大正天皇御守刀美作国正守短刀 天皇陛下御枕刀（御誕生の節進ぜられ） Bizen Masamori Tanto Emperor Taisho's Talisman Tanto, (presented to celebrate his birth) 28. 山城国吉光御短刀（名物 平野藤四郎） 皇后陛下御枕刀（前田斉泰献上） Yamashiro Yoshimitsu Tanto (Toshiro Hirano) the Empress's Makura sword (presented by Nariyasu Maeda) As you can see this is a far cry from what was once said to be hundreds or even a thousand plus treasure swords owned by Emperor Meiji. In fact, many serious private collectors of Swords, including many international, now hold even more swords than the Emperor, something that boggles the mind. In my ongoing research I still have not managed to find a definitive list of pre-1945 Gyubutsu swords anywhere. We have scattered sources of information for example the Gyubutsu Tokahu Mei Oshigata by Sato and Numata, that lists the tangs of the Imperial Household Agency owned blades housed at the Tokyo National Museum but these are a snapshot from 1958 when they were already the property of the Nation of Japan. The list of the swords transferred from the Imperial Family to the Imperial Household Office that went on to be stored at the National Museum can be found in a book published by the Tohaku entitled; Tokyo National Museum Centennial History, but again this was published in 1973 which is some time after the swords had been transferred from the Imperial Family to the museum. The Tokyo National Museum Home to many of the Imperial Household Agency’s Collection of Swords In the end no definitive list of Gyobutsu swords pre-1945 was found and as such the quest continues to some degree. (Please feel free to drop a line below with any sources you have found in your time.) Unfortunately, as no Gyobutsu sword past or present will ever be sent to NBTHK (unless the Emperor perhaps allows it) we will never get their expert opinion on any of the swords in any formal way other than commenting on them perhaps in articles by people who once had the rare privilege of seeing and maybe even touching them. This also means we are unlikely to ever see them in any of the current Gyobutsu swords in any formal way. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs is also unlikely to ever publish a list of former Gyobutsu swords due to the nature of how these swords were transferred to the Nation of Japan. So, we are where we are… for now. Before I wrap up, I would like to acknowledge those who helped me with this exercise especially the curator of meitou.info who has been a wealth of information and has been so patient and accommodating with all my questions. We are lucky to have such a wonderful person and resource in this space. I would also like to thank @Hoshi who helped prod me. Finally, I would like to state that this is all my own research and therefore all the mistakes or inaccuracies in this are my own and no one else's - if you feel you have something to contribute or share that I have missed or want to correct anything above please do so below - it will definitely help everyone, especially myself, learn. Thank you.

Hamon photos:

Looking for a solid iron tessen, i.e. non folding. I know they are pretty obscure and don’t pop up too often, but figured there might me some lurking out there. Only stipulation is that it needs to be in the US since I refuse to participate in this tariff nonsense. Thanks

Thanks for pointing that out. I did notice the missing gyoyo, and I emailed Marutake to enquire about purchasing a replacement (or close matching pair). If I can't source a replacement or set, it honestly won't bother me that much. I don't see much on their website about the artificial ageing/patina process that has been done to mine, but I have read that they offer it. Would be a bit ridiculous to have a brand new looking gyoyo. Far as how the sode are attached, something did seem off with how they were tied/held up, but admittedly I don't know the right way to attach them yet, so I'll have to research that for when it arrives. Here are some more images

Quite nice Alex 👍 Two remarks. One gyoyo is missing and the sode are wrongly attached!

Partially edo and modern?

Thanks for letting me know about the naming preference. Happy to make a change. I read through what you shared, thanks for that. So from what I can gather he got a sword from the civil division equivalent of an NCO and it was mass produced. Thank you for the information I suppose any other info to be gained would be from removing the handle part and looking at the metal to see if there’s any stamping or names placed. Thanks. Ted S.

Apologies, Curran and everyone, I did not mean to mislead. It's the same copper tsunagi. I suspect it's a copper alloy because there is none of the usual copper oxidation. The color in the photos is pretty close to the real thing. The previous post was about kanji on the blade portion, and I got some very helpful info from Jan. This now is about the nakago portion, and thanks to SteveM for the translation, which seems to make sense even though it is not in the "standard" form of a mei on a sword. Regrettable that there's no Natsuo, Ikkin, Yasuchika, etc, Ian. I have no idea what the original blade was, or if there was one. The shape of the tsunagi (hira-zukuri with sori) suggests to me not earlier than Nanbokucho. I'll post a photo when I return from travel. Les

Having a particular fondness for brass-inlaid tsuba, I eventually added several pieces from the Washida school of fittings makers to my collection. This sparked my interest in learning more about the school and its production. Over time I gathered a fair amount of information and eventually decided to compile it into a single document, which you can find in the download section of the board: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/files/file/210-the-shōnai-washida-school/ I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. As I mentioned, given my particular weakness for brass inlay, the document is somewhat biased toward the work of Washida Mitsunaka! Just as an example of the Washida production here are the pieces from this school (or supposed to be from this school) in my collection: NBTHK Hozon to Washida. Dimensions 85.4 mm x 85.3 mm, thickness 3.9 at seppa dai, 4.2 at mimi. NBTHK Hozon to Washida. Dimensions 85.3mm x 79.2 mm, thickness 3.6 at seppa dai, 4.0 at mimi. Identical to tsuba attributed by NBTHK to Washida. Dimensions 87.2 mm x 82.2 mm, thickness 3.7 at seppa dai, 4.0 at mimi. Signed in kinzogan mei Kyozan Mitsunaka with Kao. Dimensions 87.2 mm x 77.6 mm, thickness 2.6 at seppa dai, 4.2 at mimi. Dimensions 83.5 mm x 78.6 mm, thickness 3.0 at seppa dai, 4.1 at mimi. Dimensions: 96.9 mm x 13.9 mm, thickness 4.7 mm. REgards Luca

This is my display case, I’m still finishing it and need to hang it on the wall. It is almost hermetic, and has an hygrometer and a silica gel compartment to control humidity.

Late Muromachi or Kambun shinto are default attributions if its not Showa or shinshinto... Basically 90% of the remaining blades will fall into those categories. Sugata here is kind of generic. The nakago shape with its width, no sori... that existed for a long time and made its appearance now and then. Nakago ana is a bit off-circle. Its a good indicator its koto. Patina... I just dealt with Nambokucho tanto who had such patina. I've seen shinto blades with darker. So nothing conclusive, but early shinto-late Muromachi is within realistic. It has considerable ware all along the blade, it looks like masame is strong here... hamon has some hotsure, so most likely this is something in Yamato line. It does not have typical deep thin kaeri which we see on a lot of work like Owari. The only factor that remains is yasurime. And this one is a bit garbled, but it almost look higaki... or takanoha. Higaki or takanoha with earlier work would tent towards Yamato, with later towards Mino. If its not higaki, I would lean towards something like Bungo.

last batch

When a tomobako looks like this, you know it holds something good The box itself is a work of art. Just look at the beautifully executed corners of the box as well as the lid. Even the wooden peg is cut to follow the contour of the box. Jan

The guard looks very similar to a type of gunto guard with the rim removed - except that the majority of these have a locking hole - the guard in question may have been given a "texture" recently if it was in fact a WWII altered piece but the colour is not what you would expect either. Could you give us some dimensions for this piece?

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

Thank you brett, great work! I would highly recommend reading the book "Honma talks" - I think Markus has a translation available. It gives many details on the "behind the scenes" of the Imperial collections an many other high-ranking collections. The challenge with Gyobutsu is that the majority of them do not have any designation from either the NBHTK or the Ministry of Culture. Items of great scholarly importance, such as a zaimei Masamune tanto, or a tachi signed by Kagemasa and Kagemitsu as joint work, or a Mitsutada with a complete long signature, and many others - are not documented anywhere else. it's crucial to keep track of these important and undocumented pieces. Even if they have lost their status post-war due to the tax regime change that ruined the Imperial family and its Junior branches, these blades do not carry any official designation and are thus the 'dark matter' of Nihonto. On another note, the post-Nambokucho blades in the collection can be eyebrow raising - there are many lower quality works there, and Honma remarks on this. One thing that is incredibly interesting: the vast majority of their holdings consists of signed blades, and with a clear statistical preference for Bizen and Yamashiro over Soshu, which perhaps reflects a certain disdain towards swords produced to the taste of the Kamakura warrior class. From the Meiji to the pre-war era, there was a great re-evaluation of schools such as Ko-Bizen, which has remarkably low origami valuation by the Hon'ami family compared to where they sit today in the elite hierarchy. Figures such as Imamura Chogi were instrumental in shifting the balance of taste amongst the elite. Honma Junji did not hold Imamura Chogi in high esteem, and takes a number of jabs at him in his book. Emperor Meiji's collection was probably the peak of the Imperial family's sword holding and accumulation. During the Meiji restoration, many great industrialist families heading the powerful Zaibatsu have gifted Emperor Meiji incredible blades. Best, Hoshi

Hi Jean, Only moderators or admin are able to relocate threads. Brian has already commented on the post and could have moved it if he felt it was necessary. Since the topic is about selling the item online, specifically on eBay, it doesn’t seem to be significantly out of place. Also, given the content of the posts, this new member may not be a frequent contributor, and we generally try to allow new members a bit of leeway as they get familiar with navigating the forum. All the best, -Sam

Some pics

Miranda: We don't generally do valuations here, however I can give you some info for your description. I believe the sword is signed Kanesada saku kore (respectfully made by Kanesada). The stamp above the signature is a Seki Cutlery inspection stamp. It also indicates the sword is semi-forged but not traditionally made. Traditionally made swords are made from tamahagane steel and are water quenched. The painted numbers (762) are assembly numbers. In addition, the fittings are not high quality and are missing parts. The tassel is also missing. This makes your sword slightly less valuable on the collector market but still has military/historical value. Folks on ebay tend to list these for crazy prices. I recommend using ebay completed auctions and search for "ww2 Japanese sword". Find similar examples and it will give you an indication as to what these actually sell for. John C.

Maybe 2 smiths? NAGANOBU (永信), Keiō (慶応, 1865-1868), Izumo – “Naganobu” (永信), real name Takahashi Rihei (高橋利平), it is suspicious that is listed with the homonymic smith and first nam as Takahashi Naganobu who wrote his smith name with the characters (長信) and his first name Rihei with the characters (理兵衛), so maybe this is a double-entry NAGANOBU (長信), Tenpō (天保, 1830-1844), Izumo – “Unshū-jū Fuyuhiro (雲州住冬広), “Unshū Takahashi Naganobu” (雲州高橋長信), “Unshū-han Fujiwara Naganobu” (雲州藩藤原長信), “Un´yō-shi Takahashi Rōshi Fujiwara Naganobu” (雲州藩藤原長信聾司藤原長信), “Tōto ni oite Unshū-jū Takahashi Rihei Fuyuhiro Naganobu” (於東都雲州住高橋理兵衛冬広長信), “Edo Kōjimachi ni oite Unshū-han Takahashi Naganobu kore o saku” (於江都麹街雲州藩高橋長信作之, “made by Takahashi Nahanobu from the Unshū fief [= Matsue fief] in Edo´s Kōjimachi”), “Chōshinsai Fuyuhiro” (長信斎冬広), real name Takahashi Rihei (高橋理兵衛). He had studied under the 4th generation of the Izumo-based Fuyuhiro lineage (冬広) and was eventually adopted into the family whereupon he succeeded as 5th generation Izumo Fuyuhiro, the 17th generation after Wakasa Fuyuhiro (若狭冬広) who was the founder of the Fuyuhiro line. He used the gō Rōshi (聾司) and Chōshinsai (長信斎). By the way, the former gō means literally “the deaf officer. ” In the first year of Tenpō (天保, 1830) he went to Edo to study under Tsunatoshi and made his smith name Naganobu out of the first two characters of his pseudonym Chōshinsai (Naganobu is the Japanese reading of the characters Chōshin). At that time he lived in the Sannō district (山王) of Edo. Later he was hired by the Matsue fief (松江藩) of Izumo province which he signed using the colloquial name “Unshū fief” (雲州藩). With this employment he moved to the Edo residence of the fief which was located in Hirakawa (平河) in the Kōjimachi district – 743 –(麹町). However, in Genji one (元治, 1864) the fief ordered him back to Izumo because of the bakufu campaign against the Chōshū fief where he died on the 20th day of the fifth month of Meiji two (明治, 1869) at the age of 64. His workmanship is similar to Tsunatoshi’s. His blades show a magnificent sugata but he also made smaller blades with western-style refined steels. Most of his works are in the Bizen tradition. The jigane looks soft, the jihada is muji but tends sometimes to masame, and the hamon is a somewhat slanting ko-chōji-midare with hard and dark spots along the yakigashira. But he also applied a suguha or tōran-midare. Because of the gyaku-sujikai yasurime it is assumed that Takahashi Nakanobu was left-handed. Sometimes he signed in kaisho block script (楷書) on the omote and in gyōsho cursive script (行書) on the ura side, but in later years he also signed both sides in cursive or rather grass script. There is the urban legend going round that one of his blades cut through the barrel of a machine gun during World War II. jō-saku nice blades btw!

Congratulations on getting a nice sword. In the book Osafune Chōshi, history of Osafune smiths there is actual data on 1,040 dated Osafune swords from 1232 to 1595. While 2nd and 8th month have always had the auspicious aura, there is actually big shift when Ōei ended in 1428. After Ōei Osafune smiths pretty much dated only to to 2nd or 8th month. In the 4th bracket of the table that is late Muromachi period from 1504 to 1595, there are 323 dated swords. From all of those 174 swords (54%) are dated to 8th month and 140 swords (43,3%) are dated to 2nd month. So there are only 9 swords that are dated to other months. Now for comparison during Nanbokuchō period 1334 to 1393, 19,2% of swords were dated to 8th month and 15,6% were dated to 2nd month.

I was inspired by Katana case shi and had a local manufacturer make me such a showcase Dustproof doors - I have my blades displayed in a showcase for a long time without oil and since we are a inland country, there is no problem with the blades at all

This is my custom made cabinet. I have been displaying my sword like that for over a year and there is absolutely no signs of any rust. I oil it once a month and clean with isopropyl alcohol and oil once every 3 months.

I finally put the finishing touches on my display. It serves as both a display and a safe, which is close to air tight; the glass is clamped to the frame via magnets so it is removeable. The inside is lined with Aspen, and the fabric is vintage Japanese silk. I installed the light bar and a hygrometer. I also carved katanakake inserts for storing in shirasaya in the summer months when I'm away.

Hello, Here is my homemade koshirae display case. I made it myself and made lots of mistakes (glue stains, scratches, littles damages on wood... I was not used with DIY) but I like it. Glass is very thin UV protective polycarbonate to prevent discoloration by day light (same material as hothouse). there is a sake cup with water inside to maintain humidity. Lighting by led ribbon connected in invisible grooves back of the backboard. That costed me less than 400€ and I could have done cheaper (I took thick plain beech for the backboard). Blades are in shirasaya and cotton bag in the white furniture below. It that is made of paulownia, to maintain dryness (pure luck that I had this paulownia chest of drawers before my interest for nihonto). But the drawers are a bit short, I'm thinking to make a katanahako in paulownia like one I saw on Jauce, maybe adding a locking system. Kakejiku are changed according to the season. The bokken is there for it emotionnal value : cheap, twisted and 20 years old but that's my first one.

here a nice preview of their ‘expertise’

I visited the ‘show’ today. i am shocked about the many wrong datings… elementary knowledge is absent, and this for such an institution. if you visit the expo, which I recommend, let the items speak for themselves, and forget the text on the labels.

Hi Jan, Beautiful box indeed! Ok, I'll bite - what's inside?

@Toryu2020 Yes, precisely.......since you decided to play such a dirty trick and dangle the unattainable carrot, will you be so kind as to at least provide me the details of your piece?

Sorry to say NFS but I'm sure this is what you're looking for...