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Hi everyone! I’m new to the forum and wanted to briefly introduce myself by sharing a recent acquisition - my first in this space. I’ve been studying nihontō for some time, with a particular focus on late Muromachi work that prioritizes functional integrity, honest construction, and historically grounded workmanship over overtly decorative tendencies. I’m not obsessed with excessively showy hamon, but I do value how all aspects of the blade appear and balance. You will understand what I mean when you really zoom in on the image of the blade. The katana I'd like to share is a signed and dated Bishū Osafune Sukesada katana, saku, forged in Tenshō 3 (1576) and certified NBTHK Hozon Tōken. It is a late Muromachi uchigatana-form blade and represents the Sue-Bizen tradition at a moment when Osafune production was operating under sustained wartime demand. This one is ranked Jō Saku. I was specifically looking for a blade that met several criteria including: A clearly documented Sengoku-era date. A form appropriate to infantry combat rather than earlier tachi conventions. Workmanship that remained firmly within classical Bizen-den practice rather than later Shintō reinterpretation. The blade measures 67.4 cm nagasa, with a wide motohaba, firm kasane, and moderate sori, proportions that read immediately as purposeful rather than exaggerated. The jihada is itame mixed with mokume, with visible utsuri that is consistent and legible under angled light, something I consider essential in pre-flood Bizen work of this period. The hamon is a gunome-midare in nie-deki, active but controlled, favoring durability and coherence over flamboyance. The bōshi enters the kissaki in a continuous midare-komi that holds together well at the point. The nakago is ubu, with two mekugi-ana reflecting long-term use and remounting rather than shortening, and carries the full inscription 備州長船祐定作, paired with a clear Tenshō 3, 8th month date. Both the mei and nengō were accepted without reservation by the NBTHK. I was particularly interested in a dated Bishū signature, as I regard dated Sue-Bizen work as occupying a materially different category from undated mass-output blades, both in intent and quality. Historically, the blade sits in a narrow window that I find especially compelling. August 1576 places its forging immediately after Ukita Naoie’s consolidation of Bizen and only weeks after the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi. This was not a transitional or speculative period, but a moment of active mobilization, when swords were commissioned with the expectation of use. The blade’s geometry, heat treatment, and overall character align with that context in a way that feels honest. – I’m an obsessive history geek if you can’t tell lol. The koshirae itself represents a coherent mid-Edo period remounting, with the tsuka, tsuba, and primary fittings conceived as a unified aesthetic program rather than an assemblage of unrelated parts. The handle fittings are signed by Maruyama Sōzan, an Edo-period metalworker, and display a consistent visual language across the fuchi, kashira, and menuki. The rabbit (hare) menuki are rendered in a restrained, naturalistic style with selective gilt highlights, emphasizing quiet alertness rather than overt martial aggression, a sensibility characteristic of refined Edo tastes. This motif is deliberately complemented by the iron sukashi tsuba, whose rotating tomoe-derived design expresses cyclical motion and natural force in abstract form. Together, the animal imagery of the tsuka and the dynamic, elemental symbolism of the tsuba form a balanced thematic whole, power expressed through harmony rather than excess. The matching materials, colors, gilt, patina, fit, and composition strongly indicate that these components were produced within the same artistic style and likely by the same hand or workshop, assembled intentionally as a complete Edo-period mounting rather than through later mixing. - All this was another big selling point, personally. This coherence underscores a later owner’s discernment, preserving the Sengoku-era blade within a thoughtful and unified Edo presentation. I’ll be adding an appropriate silk sageo, which is missing. Attached are some of the only photos I have so far, as it's currently pending the export permit. I’ll be absolutely stoked beyond belief when it arrives! The forum size limits are far too restrictive for high-resolution images, especially of the blade, so I'll link them from my OneDrive: 25445paper-1.jpg 25445-2.jpg 25445-4.jpg image 001.png image 002.png image 005.png image 006.png image 007.png image 008.png image 010.png image 011.png Anyway, it’s great to meet everyone and join the forum, and I look forward to learning and sharing! I'm not a collector per se, more of an admirer of the art, skill, and a history buff. I don't see myself buying another one as this ticks all my boxes already. I'm going to have it on display in my living room and I'm writing a full-color coffee table book on the sword to print. It will be an absolute honor and privilege being the caretaker for this nihontō and Japanese history. - Alex

Konichi Wa. Sundays are for sword cleaning 🫧🧽. Many North American antique collections are found in poor condition due to the lack of awareness on what it takes to keep steel pristine - following the ritualistic cleaning of swords by our predecessors. Pro tip: use a mineral oil specific for carbon steel, like for example Yoshishiro brand oil; it protects the blade and other parts of the steel from rust. Mineral oil is colorless, odourless, and you should regularly clean your blades depending on how often you are studying/exhibiting them. As a rule of thumb I will maintain mine every two to three months, as that is how often our Toronto Token Kai (Sword Club) meets, where I serve as director. I begin by wiping the old oil with a microfibre cloth, and then use rice paper to apply a thin, fresh layer of oil on each sword. This method ensures that the artifacts in our care are preserved for future generations. I also commit to this process out of respect for Japanese history and as a meditative practice. These swords left the battles long behind, and the onus is on us to preserve them for their eventual return to the shrines of glorious Japan. 🇯🇵

Due to the great age of the engraving, many of the characters are no longer very clear. I can only make out some of the Kanji, and even those may not be entirely accurate. 勝字八 萬曆癸未八月日 1583年8月 勝字小（藤）？五（斤/近）士 匠山守 （藤）？五錢 丸五 About 石火矢 Ishibiya According to 武用辨略 Buyō Benryaku, in 1551 (or 1576 according to 豐薩軍記 Hōsa Gunki), 南蠻人 Nanban foreigners presented ishibiya to the 大友家 Ōtomo clan, and 大友宗麟 Ōtomo Sōrin named them 國崩 Kunikuzushi. Regarding this event, 武用辨略 Buyō Benryaku gives the following account: In 天文Tenbun 20 (1551), a Portuguese ship anchored in Bungo fired ceremonial salutes toward a church. The tremendous explosions could be heard at Funai Castle. Alarmed, Sōrin and his retainers went to investigate. Thus, eight years after small firearms had been introduced in天文Tenbun 12, cannon arrived in the 大友 Ōtomo domain. Overjoyed, 宗麟 Sōrinnamed them 國崩 Kunikuzushi. Because these guns fired stone projectiles, they were also called 石火矢 Ishibiya, a term that continued to be used into the Edo period. In Sengoku-period records, the term ishibiya is almost always used. For example, descriptions of the ironclad ships built by 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga mention 石火矢三挺 “three ishibiya.” Judging from surviving materials concerning 國崩 Kunikuzushi, the石火矢 Ishibiya introduced by the 大友家 Ōtomo clan were in fact a type of frankish gun, also called 仏狼機砲 futsurōki-hō in Japanese. This has already been explained in detail in my article “Ancient Japanese Long-Range Weapons” and will not be repeated here. As for the 石火矢 Ishibiya imported by the 織田家 Oda clan, historical sources do not clearly record their country of origin. However, during the 安土桃山時期 Azuchi–Momoyama period, Portugal was Japan’s principal trading partner, and 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga himself maintained close relations with Portuguese missionaries such as Luís Fróis. It is therefore likely that most of these weapons were imported from Portugal.

The 4th character is not Seki.It is Ko. The characters read Mote yasugi ko. meaning made with Yasugi steel. Enjoy your Kanezane.

Hi All, I am hoping you can give me information on this now my 2nd Tanegashima . Lars you were so helpful last time I asked - I'm hoping you can oblige again please. So Length is 1300 overall , and barrel alone is 1300 , bore is 15mm . If you could please translate the Mei ( Believe me I have tried - but I'm useless! ) Also id like to know which clan the Mon is. I'll have to upload more pics to help you - help me so I will try to reply to my own message and add more pics hoping it works. Also ..back to rust - as you can see it is a little rusty under the barrel - so my aim is to remove as much with a copper penny and brass brush and then just oil with maybe Camellia oil or 3 in 1?..then again Ive just read ACF 50 is superior at controlling rust? Last but not least - not sure you can see - but there is an area where there seems to be a split- I don't think it is deep - but also you can see an area it has lost its brass inlay. Would it be worth while/wise to replace the brass inlay - if so is there any links on how to achieve this? Thank you in advance .

This is a commerce section though, people need to be convinced to give up their hard earned (or ill-gotten) money. All the stuff I asked are things I couldn't figure out from the photos.

西垣 二代勘左衛門 – Nishigaki, Kanzaemon the second 五代之工銘 – The signature of the 5th generation (of Nishigaki lineage)

I have one that is very similar, but there is no tekkotsu on mine.

A good example of a Sakai/Sesshū/Settsu/Ōsaka smallbore (are you *sure the bore is 1.5 cm?) long gun, the Mei saying Sesshū Jū Enamiya Ihei Saku’, i.e. made by Ihei of the House of Enami in Sesshū. I wouldn’t worry about the small piece of kirikane, unless you have money to spare and a friend with the right workshop to recreate it for you. There’s plenty to enjoy as it is. Normally these decorations come out of a drawer and these flashy guns were owned by rich merchants rather than Bushi, so no clan involved. There are two that you could be referring to as Mon, the eight-hammer wheel and the bamboo motif. You give both the barrel length and total length as 130 cm. *Guns like these do not exceed a bore of 1.3 cm as they are not military guns. Too flashy! PS 巻張 Makibari tells you the barrel is bound with iron helix twist.

Nice choice. Welcome to the edge of the rabbit hole. And to the NMB!

I will in fact *NOT* be using Brasso or Brillo pads. I'll leave it to Woody to give it the correction/care it deserves

If you want, post pictures of the Chinese characters and Trystan can possibly discern something we would overlook. I have learned the hard way not to ignore him! FYI, he is my official Chinese translator and occasional consultant on those very old Japanese characters long since dead. @BANGBANGSAN Old news for most, but see Joseph Needham's book. Bibliography of Early Japanese Firearms

Yves, this is called TEKKOTSU (= "iron bones"). It is a special feature of some TSUBA makers or schools. There is some discussion about what it is and how it is done. Unfortunately, most writers have no metallurgic background and try to approach the subject from the aesthetic side which does not lead far. Your TSUBA would be classified as HEIANJO style, in this case an earlier one with HIRA ZOGAN technique (flat inlay), most of which is still present. There are information that some TSUBASHI working in that style did not make the TSUBA plate themselves but bought them from more specialized smiths to decorate them afterwards. This may be the case here. Attached is an image of a HEIANJO TSUBA with another decoration style.

江府住 - Efu ju 正之 - Masayuki 正義 - Masayoshi

Hello all, First post here, looking for some help identifying this piece of armor (?) I recently purchased at a thrift/junk shop in the Japanese countryside. My initial thought was that it was a hitai-ate/hachigane, and the shopkeeper seemed to think it was the same (admittedly I am still learning Japanese so communication was limited, but he got the idea across that it was for the forehead and was attached to a headband). However, looking at images of other forehead protectors, I've only been able to find one similar looking one through a reverse image search. I'm by no means an expert though, so that's why I came here! So, my question is, what is it? Is it actually a piece of armor, or is it something else? It only cost me 2000 yen so if it's not the real deal it's not a huge loss haha. Any help is appreciated!

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/205749037590 Something similar? The one you are looking at is cheaper and better in my opinion - no idea what the theme is but another in Sasano's book 212. page 272 says Shimizu and described as "Butterflies"? [It is not particularly close in design though]

Wishing you a healthy, happy, and successful New Year! Just bought this small iron tsuba (6,31 x 5,96 x 0,38 cm - 77 grams). There is one little dot on the mimi. See following topic Any comment on this tsuba is more than welcome.

Nice

None really have a Japanese feel to them. All products of subsequent bandwagon workshops, mostly from China I suspect.

Sorry, still the same conclusion. All fake. Not sure extra images will tell us anything else.

Unfortunately they remove both now but I did download the image Cant post full res due to image aize restriction tho. I believe it went for well north of $100,000.00 USD

You ll see a lot of Sukesada blades come up. The quality after Eisho ( 1521 ) will be all over the scale. Many with poorly made loose hada. Some decent ones and a few nice Tokubetsu Hozon blades every now and then. The crown jewel of Sukesada blade was actually just on sale at AOI about a month ago. An insane work by the shodai Yosozaemon Sukesada

Nice blade @anguilla1980 Im a fan of sue bizen kiyomitsu but I do enjoy checking out Sukesadas whenever they come available. I did like that one when it came on AOI. This blade has a particularly defined jigane compared to other ones i ve seen in a while. Almost all swords from the sengoku , even high level zokumei blades will show tierdness in spots but even the core steel on this blade looks well forged for the most part. A very nice sword indeed with a very active hamon and boshi to top. Congratulations on the blade and hope to see more photos

Hi everyone! Currently I am in the process of adding this Kai Gunto to the collection, it is reserved for me. But before I bite the bullet, I would like to know what others think about this sword, and/or smith. I understand that his son became a Mukansa smith. I did notice the following: - Mei signed: IZUMO KUNI JU TADAYOSHI SAKU - I understand Neil has one aswell in his collection - Wrong tassel - Gives me an extra IJA tassel, but will replace with the correct brown IJN tassel - New NBTHK Hozon papers - White/brown-ish ito wrapping on a kai gunto? I dont see it that often, is this correct and possible? Or might that be because of the flash used on the photograph? - I also noticed that the birth and death dates are a bit strange of him and his son. Shodai Kawashima Tadayoshi is said to be born in 1929 and died in 1989, but his son is also born in 1929 and died in august 1989...That doesnt make sense at all, besides that Kawashima started making swords in 1934, when he was 5?... Not sure these dates are trustworthy I think it is a nice package. I've been looking for years for a nice Kai gunto with a Gendaito blade that I can relate to, and can afford This might be my chance Thanks in advance!

Dunno if this is main thread about Shodai Kawashima but I would like to add 2 more examples of his work. http://www.jp-sword.com/files/blade/tadayoshi/tadayoshi.htm and from recent auction (I hope that community would get a chance to admire this blade after restoration.

For NBTHK I think they are doing great job and it does support the organization financially. My only worry is the large amount of items that they do process through every year. I think the organization realized the problem and they did put a item number limit to Hozon & Tokubetsu Hozon shinsa quite recently, and it is now limited to 1,600 swords per session. Now as they do 4 sessions per year that would be 6,400 swords, then you add the Jūyō submitted swords and it would be 7,000+ swords. Here are NBTHK numbers I digged from magazines 5+ years ago (I had actually forgotten I did this ): NTHK (including both branches) is much smaller organization, however I do know for their international shinsa they have the minimum item requirements for shinsa team to attend. I know NTHK is not preferred by market but I still value their opinion highly too. As the item submission numbers are quite large for shinsa sessions I am left wondering how many minutes each blade gets? Now the time invested will of course vary from item to item. I do understand that experts can see fine details in swords very fast and in few minutes can tell interesting things about the item, I have seen this in European NBTHK meetings for example.

The length of swords has always followed the evolution of combat techniques (tachi versus katana) and the regulations issued by the shoguns. The vast majority of tachi were suriage so that they could be used as katana. Indeed, given the price of these weapons, it was better to shorten them than to make new ones.

There is a timeline problem with the attribution of item number 4. Kozori is actually quite specific attribution time wise and it is for late Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi. So if the sword would be late Muromachi as it would maybe seem to be, then it couldn't be considered as Kozori work. For mumei unremarkable Bizen stuff from late Muromachi I would feel Sue-Bizen would be the grouping I would be most comfortable with.

I would recommend re-reading and studying the concepts in the Sesko article again. And I’d avoid jumping to conclusions of laziness on the part of swordsmiths without studying a lot more on the subject of suriage and anything nihonto.

Yes, that is one of the crude theories, but it is ridiculously unlikely when you think about it. I am working scientifically on this TEKKOTSU subject and hope to be able to present results in the near future.

Here is the little dot: Can this be a kind of mei or mark or... ?

While I haven't seen this "study" you're referencing, I'm not sure your conclusions follow or derision makes any sense, at least from your description of it. Do you have a link or source setting out the methodology? More generally, any list of top wines is one person or panel's subjective opinions, and one wouldn't expect a different person or panel to reproduce it. It's not some list with objectively gradiating features that distinguish one from the other in terms of "quality" when clearly they are all good wines. This is why people into wine read reviews and rankings lists written by multiple people and learn to understand the tastes and preferences of the reviewers and how they match up with their own. The question I would have thought more pertinent would be whether the experts (who I'll assume were sommeliers, not just connoisseurs) could identify the wines, not order them based on the results of someone else's rankings. This isn't to say there isn't plenty of bunk in the wine world, but I'm not sure whatever it is you've identified here counts for much. Regardless, back to swords, and while I certainly can't speak to any requirements of assessors, nyusatsu kantei is very much a thing and one would imagine something they participate in regularly. It might be worth your checking out the regular kantei problems posted by the NBTHK (latest here: https://www.touken.or.jp/english/nbthk/swordjournal_December.html) and referencing some of the usual books on the process.

Forged in 2008 by Sukemitsu (Anthony DiCristofano). Beautifully forged, demonstrating the amount of skill and control required to create such a hamon on a small kogatana blade. Blade length: 5.25" (13.34. cm) Overall length: 8.06" (20.48 cm) Asking $1000 CAD. Prefer EFT, but will accept PayPal + fee. Free Shipping in Canada, all other countries please inquire.

Hi, for sale is this small nice Tanto from Yoshichika: YOSHICHIKA (良近), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – “Minamoto Yoshichika” (源良近), “Minamoto Yoshichika no saku” (源良近之作), “Minamoto Yoshichika kore o kitae” (源良近鍛之), real name Mori Hisasuke (森久助), his blades were famous for their supreme sharpness, he also made so-called sunobe-tō (素延べ刀), non-traditional swords of modern steel which were forged from one block of steel, his blades were tested by the famous sword tester Nakayama Hakudō (中山博道, 1873-1958) and marked with a special stamp which reads “Hakudō tameshigiri-shō” (博道試切証, lit. “Hakudō tameshigiri test seal”) (see detail right), but we don´t know how these blades were tested, it is assumed that the imperial guards ordered about 500 swords from Yoshichika, chū-saku Nagasa is about 19cm and it comes in Shirasaya and old NBTHK papers. It is in perfect condition. Price: 1500 Euro and its located in Germany. Please contact me via PM if you have any questions and also i am open for offers. Regards Oli

Not surprizing. How do you quantify "taste" or "liking"? With swords (or any other works of art), it is not much better. There are many facts and variables to learn and to consider when making a statement.

Kenneth, welcome to the NMB forum! Nice little collection there, but to comment on the items we would certainly need close-ups for the details. Please use a dark, non-reflecting background for a good contrast when making photos, and cut off what is not needed to show the object. Photos of the HIMOTOSHI are always important.

(1) 長州萩住 – Choshu Hagi ju 作之進友久 – Sakunoshin Tomohisa (3) 正阿弥 - Shoami 包矩 - Kanenori

last tsuba is Umetada

I was reading the way it was written on the tang. Here's some info from Sesko: AKISUKE (明督), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tottori – “Shikon Akisuke” (士魂明督), real name Yata Monji (矢田門二), born August 26th 1899, he was working as a swordsmith from about 1942 onwards, the prefix shikon (士魂) means “Samurai spirit” (see picture right) John C.

That picture of yours is stunning Kirill. When you combine high quality sword and high quality photography the result is amazing. I've been on a good roll on NBTHK monthly kantei but I must admit my real kantei skills suck. As I've been doing it for several years it is easy to catch some pointers that they sometimes use, had to check that I got that one correct. For example "The hada is visible and is a unique hada" in their English description points to zanguri. Usually that is pushing it to Horikawa and for 2 character signature I think Kunihiro is the logical answer. For me this is book knowledge that I have, in real life I could not say what is zanguri hada, as I don't have too high real life kantei skills. I saw this ōdachi at Nagoya Tōken World last summer, and it is my favorite Owari sword: https://www.touken-world.jp/search/127485/ maybe massive kissaki and strong width might hint that sword in OP could have been originally a big one like this one. Of course as I like ōdachi that would be my wishful thinking. I have seen the even larger 1620 dated Kanetake ōdachi at Atsuta Jingū few times but I don't like that much maybe as much. So far I have not yet seen the shorter Kanetake ōdachi of Atsuta Jingū, maybe some day I will. Of course NBTHK might have more than likely the most probable outcome. I just personally would wish they might have had more general attribution, like mumei Owari - Keichō-Shintō etc. Of course that is their style to go for direct attributions for specific smiths, I don't personally like that but I understand how that is what people actually want. Most would be probably very disappointed in just general attributions that would state roughly province and time period. Big thanks of all the comments and discussion, it is really much more fun to have discussion than just think about all the things alone.

It seems to be a nice sword with very strong masame. If trying for Tokubetsu Hozon, I would submit without the old paper from blank beginning. As the NBTHK has attributed it to Sue-Hoshō they see it as a Muromachi era sword. By default it would be that mumei Sue-Hoshō can only achieve Hozon level. There might always be an exception but so far all 17 NBTHK attributed mumei Sue-Hoshō that I have data on are all Hozon, even though some of would be good quality. Please send us pictures after Woody has worked on it.

Kabuto - 62 plate heavy . Iron Tehen and Agemaki ring. Edo period signed Saotome Ienari. This is a very well made helmet. Many thanks to Nick Ricupero for selling this to me.

You see original examples of Kai Gunto with army tassels from time to time, hard to know what is original now though.

I have received the sword and I must say I absolutely enjoy it. Just wow, really interesting and pleasing to my eye. I also did some research on that mon with the aid of a book that I have and I did found this design in there. Made some quick snapshots with my phone, enjoy(see posts below)

Interesting idea Bruce! I did some quick research and found some interesting mon's that might be something, like this example below. But it isn't quite right. Edit: This one seems to fit with the exact number of holes and in the same position: Apparently there is a Navy connection with this mon. The Kuki family served(in the navy) under Oda Nobunaga and later Hideyoshi(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuki_Yoshitaka). I find it interesting to put 1 and 1 together but that would be too easy lol! Even someone from that family was named 'Kuki Tadayoshi'. But who knows

Hi David, This is certainly a good buy as kawashima tadayoshi (both shodai and nidai) are excellent smiths. Attach pictures of my katana made by shodai tadayoshi, his picture ( person in the middle) and oshigata for your reference. regards Ronnie

Dear Friends, Please allow me to present an image I recently acquired. I am interested in early photos of even earlier swords. And in that pursuit I "found" the attached image. It doesn't fit what I was interested in, but I was bored and the whole Covina thing has us al running in strange directions, so I followed it there in the world's fleamarket, and.... I find this an interesting image.The photo has no marking beyond the name of the photographer K. Yamanaka from Nakatsu. I think that is a place in northern Kyushu. It is also undated, but I read it as either very late Meiji times or maybe even Taisho - that is a pure guess. Let's start with the sword the gentleman is holding. It does not to my eye look exactly like any of the gunto types I have seen. I don't think it is a Type 32 sword. It looks closer to what Jim Dawson calls a Type 8 Riding Sword altho the shape of the backstrap seems like less than a perfect match for anything he shows. And I would like to have a different perspective on the tsuka. Notice, too, that it seems to be equipped with a leather barrel sword knot. Moving to the fellow who is shown with the sword, it is fair to start by saying that he is holding NOT wearing the sword. He is in Japanese clothing so there is nothing like a sword belt. He is wearing a mon-zukuri haori and a couple of other layers. He has what looks like a billed cloth cap that might have a small central pip of some manner, but it doesn't look like any of the military caps I have bumped into. He is also wearing tabi so I assume he showed up at the photographer's shop wearing geta. All this to say that I don't think his fellow is dressed at all in a military or other official outfit - - right?? Now, let's look at how he is standing.First, he is holding this apparent gunto with edge up, as if it were a katana. And he is also holding a carpet bag. Together with hat and the rest of his outfit, this suggests that he was getting ready to travel. The fellow also seems to my - aging - eyes to be too old to be an active soldier. Could he be a "old soldier" who is getting ready for reassignment? Peter

I can think of a few scenarios ....he’s a retired soldier or he’s holding a deceased sons sword or the sword is the photographer’s prop