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Just wanted to share some images for study that Keisuke over at https://www.katana-case-shi.com shared with me today during a chat. In the order from the title.

Two generations Moto Oki with cutting tests Wakizashi Top one - 2nd generation dated 1839 with body tested at the Senju execution grounds. One body cut in half by a listed test cutter. Sword made in soshu style. Bottom one - 1st generation dated with one body cut in half by a listed tester. Sword Test done at the Senju execution grounds.

Yesterday, my Christmas gift to myself finally came. It took almost five weeks from AOI Arts to me, though the shipping time was less than two weeks. It was accompanied by a better quality KIRIBAKO which did not fit the rather smallish MEKUGI-ANA (!). I am quite happy with it. It is a typical TEIMEI/SADANAGA TSUBA (unfortunately MUMEI) in acceptable condition, featuring two carpenter's squares as motif. These TEIMEI TSUBA are often very simple in design, showing sometimes unusual motifs, but are very well made and were reliable accessories for SAMURAI.

As for Togintei Sato Yoshiteru, Ive found a Juyo set of daisho tsuba, a few more Tokubetsu Hozon tsuba and one more tsuba on the Japanese cultural heritage website. I've also found other fuchi, menuki, and various fittings with his signature on it as well as a few metal storage boxes bearing his signature. The Boston MFA has a few kozuka but their images don't show the signatures and just show the front panel only. The only history I can find on him is from old auctions saying he studied under Araki Tomei from the Goto Ichijo school and Sato Toho later taking the Sato name after marrying into the family. From Jussi's juyo index I can see the following Juyo items: Juyo 34 - Daisho Tsuba Juyo 35 - Daisho Tsuba Juyo 44 - Chiisagatana Koshirae - Fuchi signed (Yoshiteru – 義照彫之) Juyo 47 - Daisho Koshirae (I believe this may be the daisho koshirae in the above photos) Juyo 58 - Daisho Tsuba Below are the zufu for Juyo 34 and 35 Daisho Tsuba

The extra material around the Sarute looks to be based off a particular style of mounts often found on Koa Isshin Mantetsu swords: https://www.artswords.com/Mint_Imperial_Japanese_Generals_Gunto_Mounted_Katana_020308.htm

The dimensions of the tsuba look funky to me; the circumference seems small. The drilled mekugi ana seems unusually placed. The kobutogane has some extra material around the ana for the sarute that I’m not familiar with seeing. All that being said, I’d still like to see more photos… You do see some weird stuff sometimes with WW2 swords. I’ll relocate the thread to the military section for some more eyes. We can always move it again if needed. Sincerely, -Sam

Shotoku Taishi holding a sashigane. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hs=jbFp&sca_esv=24bda720f578b1cc&hl=en-gb&udm=2&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKp9lEhFAN_4ain3HSNQWw-mMGVXS0bCMe2eDZOQ2MOTwnRdx8cTjotWVyC2QMTVww_YBFX02fOeR-h4YTkfXLtUjsbkEQ71TRGYdTT7QocLO7g195D6ib_0dpEb3QJhPc8RuH5fi-Zj0WZCt67f8e5UnyfeSxo0pAD9Pd3ZdooYNG4m6TtZkeX60E_yiJ6whrL47XaLA&q=差金骨董&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi86_Tgx6-SAxX8slYBHdUTMLEQtKgLegQIFBAB&biw=390&bih=699&dpr=3&aic=0#sv=CAMShgUa5gQKkAIKuQEStgEKd0FNbjMteVRsdWdUcE1xMUJpWUxLRW1hRnFqbC0taEE0NzluekFPbHpHRi1ySHgwOUstLVVZeWNDRHJRVUdrNEh4WHlkZmthSkMwMlpoUzVYT2J5dVdPajJuLXBqaTZ5VlVwbEFvOUlhMC1tZkF3NkNPOEFJQ1hvEhc5cko2YWM3WklMeUEycm9QdU8yQm9RURoiQUpLTEZtS0ZrZGp3OWlQQm1sQTU0NEFFWkFpdWd5RkZ6dxIDODQ5GgEzIhEKAXESDOW3rumHkemqqOiRoyIHCgN0YnMSACIuCgRlcWxkEiZDZ0lJQUJBQUtBRTZCQWdCRUFGQUFVZ0JWVjJYWVQ5dFZ1b2ZQdxK-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

I too thought it was not legit on first instinct. The kissaki looks like the wrong shape and the tsuba, while fat, looks too fat and does not have the right shape. There should be more of an angle from the flat center of the mimi to the edge. But never say never with military swords..... John C.

And there is the difference between collectors! That is my kind of tsuba, old and rusted! If I could have purchased it for under $150 U.S. all I would have done is clean it with gun bore cleaner, dipped it in mineral spirits, dryed it off, put a nail in the wall, hung it up and called it good to add to my collection and enjoy! But that is just me!

G'day Guys, That does not look legit to me. Cheers, Bryce

I have often thought that tsuba represented a cheap art form compared to many other collectables. Looking at those shakudo tsuba in my collection with good blue black patina I assume that these were made of shakudo with about 5% gold. Poor quality shakudo, with little or no gold in the mix (nigurome), tends to show a lot of brown in the patina. Comparing the price I paid for these tsuba with the current cost of gold (£122 per g) I find that, overall, the gold content is worth about 60% more. Probably dissolving the copper in nitric acid would allow recovery of the gold, but it is not something that I am considering. Pics of a couple of nice examples are attached. Just a thought, John

It seems the tsuba is its own standalone piece as it doesn't fit the Junishi theme but the rest of the fittings seem to form a 5 piece matching set which according to Touken World is called a itsutokoro-mono. These aren't seen much if this is indeed a 5 piece matching set.

And finally the kashira and better photos of the tsuba

I have had this one for over 30 years. Way back when I started collecting and knew nothing. Now I have many books and tsuba and still know nothing.

Thanks, Steve. When trying to ID a blade, and weed out fakes, there are a few things we can look at. 1. Do the machi line up? Chinese fakes often have offset machi, like NCO Type 95s, that don't line up. Yours line up. However, some fakes get that right, so it clears the offset machi test, but still not sure. 2. The bohi - Fakes often get the bohi wrong, starting too far down the blade and ending poorly. Yours starts prior to the blade and ends with a clear shape. That's good. 3. Kissaki (blade tip) - Chinese like an anglular tip, Japanese nicely rounded. Yours is rounded, however like the machi line we have seen rounded tips on fakes. So, good, but not definitive 4. Hamon (temper line) - Though hard to see, yours seems to have one. Others might disagree, don't know for sure. 5. Nakago - Shape, yasurime (file marks), shinogi line (ridge that runs along both sides, full length of the blade and through the nakago), mei - Japanese nakago have distinct features. Fakes usually get all of these wrong. Yours has no yasurime and the shinogi is weak. The mei looks poorly struck. Overall - My first thought was that this was a zoheito (a particular style of factory blade made of one piece steel). But they usually are not signed (except by one smith), and the end of the bohi usually has a different shape. However I do have a zoheito on file with a non-standard bohi ending. What I think we have is a late-war blade, possibly a late war zoheito. Sesko lists one wartime Norimitsu and we are aware that there were many unregistered smiths operating during the war. I don't think this was the Nobumitsu listed in Sesko, as he was an RJT qualified smith, but it could have been one of the smiths we see that popped up at the end of the war. All that being said, it could be something made in occupied lands, and it could be a fake. But with the fittings and the points I see, I think the odds are in line with late-war work. Just an opinion.

I got an unused field grade tassel from John, still in the box. Upgraded my dad's Mantetsu!

Hello, I would like to share, new acquisition.

My Kishu Teimei Tsuba (Japanese books) regards,

My Kishu Teimei received today. Strong feeling....

I recently purchased this sukashi tsuba as Kishu Ju Sadanaga or Teimei. Owal shape , 74 mm x 72mm x 5 mm Comments are welcome Mikolaj

Since the question about kantei points came up, I wanted to post another Kishu Teimei tsuba with a sashigane design. I believe it was made by the first Teimei master because of the following reasons: - the rim of the tsuba is still rather small and strongly reminds me of older Ko-Kyo sukashi tsuba - there is plenty of granular tekkotsu on the rim and even some areas where I believe to see a technique called yakite (which is quite common on older tsuba from the Owari province but very rarely seen on later Kishu Teimei tsuba) - the iron surface shows some - what I can only describe as - ko-nie particles; in general the iron quality is much better than on the other tsuba I posted (from my collection) - the form of the hitsu ana (especially the kogai hitsu ana) reminds me of older sukashi tsuba I am looking forward to your comments! Chris

Thank you for your encouraging words, gentlemen! I have attached pictures of one of my own Kishu tsuba (picture number 4 is very close to the real colour). It has the typical Kishu Teimei measurements of 8.2 cm diameter, a thickness of 0.5 cm and is signed Kishu Ju Teimei (紀州住貞命). The design is called wachigai; it seems to be rather popular with Kishu Teimei masters (or at least one of them). As you can see, my tsuba resembles the one shown in the book in the very first picture. If somebody could assist with the translation, this may bring in some more light. Chris

Part 2 of the scans. Best, Chris

With the price of gold now - I am considering melting down my wedding ring! [Heck, she won't notice!]