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The tsuka and saya are carved from poplar due to ready availability and low cost. Honoki is traditional, but can only be sourced from Japan at a high cost (~$100+ for a katana saya). Future efforts will use alder. Over the weekend, I planed two pieces of poplar with a traditional Japanese flat plane ($25 Amazon.com, below left) to allow the two halves to be eventually glued together without any gaps. Then I traced the outline of the blade and then 1/4" around the blade that will form the outer dimensions of the 32" saya. An oil collection slot is carved at the tip. Again, I've had to scrap the result of my first attempt at carving with a specialized saya-nomi ($169, square-tipped bent chisel made by Walter Sorrell) because it takes practice to achieve control of the depth and extent of carving of the walls for each half of the saya. The bent configuration is crucial for this undertaking. The challenge is that since the sword blade is "triangular" in configuration and must be seated perfectly between two halves, the depth has to be adjusted along the entire length. This can be readily seen in the pic of the habaki seated at the opening. A piece of wood was inadvertently carved off, which ruined the work. However, the learning curve is extraordinarily steep and rewarding. The whole experience of carving is meditative. I don't feel the pain from chronic neuropathy of my left neck and arm that is otherwise my constant companion during every waking moment. I've saved this failed saya carving attempt so that I can glue the two halves together and practice shaping the outer surfaces of the saya before I tackle a successful carving attempt. A small radius plane ($100 Amazon.com, below right) is used to shape the convex side of the saya. The initial investment for good tools cost about the same as for the bare blade.

靖國神社謹畫 – Yasukuni shrine respectfully paints. 靖國奉賛會美術部謹製 – Made by the art department of Yasukuni shrine support association

Good evening everyone I hope everyone had an amazing christmas and got safely into the new year. Since my last post in october of last year, I was sort off burnt out on the topic of Nihonto. Probably trying to learn everything at once over the past year was not the right choice, like it is with university exams. Now, since a good 2 month break I finally have motiavation to dive back in. Over the past few days I reread all of the comments below my last post about photographing Nihonto as well as Darcy´s guide to find out what the most key points to improve are. But as last time, the results this time are far from perfect, although a good bit better than last time in my eyes. Setup For the setup I tried to copy Darcy´s guide as much as possible, using a glass floor from a shelf as the display base, with a warm white LED bar as the light source laying on it to provide equal lighting over the full lenght of the blade. Also, I covered the floor below it with near black (a very dark blue) cloth and had the glass panel a bit above it to create a sort of clean blackground. This enabled me to move the sword across rather than moving the camera. Speaking of the camera, it is still a Sony A6400, although this time fitted with a cheap makro lens I picked up not too long ago, namely the Peargear 60mm f2.8 MK2. I have been using it for nature photography over the last week and for the low price I am quite happy with this lens. I also got myself a tripod, giving me more freedom and flexibility in positioning the camera; especially compared to the music stand I had it strapped to last time. The Nihonto is still my Tensho era Wakizashi attributed to Noshu den Kanesaki. It is unsigned and not a masterpiece by any means, but it is fun to experiment and study with. This time, I mainly focused on the flaws of this blade. I was aware of all of those as I was informed by the seller during my visit at their shop as well as in our email converstations prior to the appointment, so there weren´t any bad surprises (fortunately). It is mainly a bunch of inactive rust and lots of little scratches. Although, there is what I think is a big scratch along the hamon on one side, please let me know if it is something else. Also, while reviewing the pictures in Lightroom, I noticed those little blue streaks, which I have never seen before, but I think they are longitudinal chromatic aberrations and not a flaw in the blade. I will try to fix those in the future. I will leave pictures of the flaws (and some features ) of the blade down below. If you have tips on what to further improve, I am looking forward to any kind of feedback :D Best Regards Erik

Photographing nihonto is one of my most enjoyable aspects of the hobby. A good macro lens mounted on a tripod is definitely the way to go. The lens sees more than the eye although as Brian says the flaws appear far more significant than to the naked eye. Try different light sources, incandescent vs LED vs high intensity metal halide or halogen. Each will bring out different features on the blade. Having access to high quality photographs of swords only helps us to appreciate the finer qualities. I recommend people to check out FB "Shiotsuna" who regularly posts high quality photos of masterpiece blades and koshirae from major exhibitions in Japan. This koshirae for a Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto owned by the Date Clan is a case in point. Incredible workmanship.

5-3 Kiri Mon. After derusting I discovered that each paulownia ‘imprint’ is carved out in fine detail, not stamped. Three on front, two behind. Detail

No need to get them authenticated. They are real. No real benefit to getting papers imho. 1st one...yes ko-kinko I think. Right Curran? Both tsuba appear to be legit and decent. Nothing too high end, but not low quality

Hi All, Craig from NSW Australia, have been following and interested in Nihonto for quite some time. only recently in 2025 made my first purchases after studying the pit falls through collecting. I am here to enhance my knowledge and possibly chat with other collectors in my region.

Hi Greg. Here is a write up that I took from my website: "The vast majority of his works were calligraphy from the Jubokudo lineage of Shodo established by Wang Hsi-chi (Wang Xizhi), a Chinese calligrapher of the 4th century. Yamaoka created a calligraphy manual based on the 154 Chinese characters of a poem – “The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup” – by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712 – 770 A.D.) that is still practiced by the Chosei Zen Rhode Island Zen Dojo in the US." Part of the difficulty with translating Yamaoka's brushwork is that it is highly idiosyncratic, although extraordinarily consistent. He also mixed kanji with katakana in many of his works. Although his "calligraphy manual" is useful, it is only 154 characters long. It is often said that to read a Chinese newspaper requires fluency in at least 2,000 characters. And if we suspect that the work on the panels that I posted is taken from ancient Chinese poetry, we are now talking about this language in the hands of (e.g.) Tang dynasty poets! The only person I know of who was truly an expert translator of Yamaoka is John Stevens. I still mourn his recent passing. No longer can I reach out to him for help with translation. However, I continue to work on these panels whenever I see something familiar such as the kanji for "wind" as the second character in the last column. It gives me a cross reference. Interestingly, the Chosei Zen shodo practice uses the Yamaoka manual as a template for learning calligraphy as part of and to enhance zen practice. Breathing and form are very important in shodo, as they are in zazen and budo. I originally came into contact with Chosei Zen while seeking assistance with a Yamaoka work. No one there can read a complex Yamaoka work. In fact, I'm more familiar with Yamaoka's usage and range. As it turns out, they practice shodo without needing to know the meaning of the calligraphy--even purposely ignoring the meaning of the kanji in the process of focusing on the act of creating a beautiful brushwork that reflects the state of their minds in samadhi. So, I disagree with your statement that "calligraphy without translation is mere decoration, devoid of meaning." One of the remarkable qualities of a work by Yamaoka (or Otagaki Rengetsu for that matter) is that it is readily apparent that they were the work of a martial artist. His execution of characters on this particular panel is a perfect example. The columns and character spacing are perfectly aligned, one character flowing into the next without a break. The hand is sure, fast, and perfectly controlled as if he were engaged in a sword duel. His calligraphy has been analyzed under microscopic examination to reveal the absolute confidence in which the ink has been laid down on paper. Like a fortress, there is no way to attack or penetrate these lines from the outside. The panels are over 6 feet tall and stretch out to nearly 12 feet. When you stand in front of them, it is simply overwhelming. It feels like it a face-to-face encounter with Yamaoka's life force. Of course I would love to know the meaning of the poems on these panels. They will lead to other levels of meaning. Merely decoration? I don't experience them that way. One last thought. Here are two examples of the same Hanshan poem, brushed by Rinzai Zen master Gako (Tengen Chiben) and the Obaku Zen master Baisao. Their calligraphy reflects totally different pictorial styles separated by about a century and with different intentions--both admirable. Same poem/meaning. 吾心似秋月 (Wú xīn sì qiū yuè) - My mind is like the autumn moon, 碧潭清皎潔 (Bì tán qīng jiǎo jié) - clear and bright in a pool of jade, 無物堪比倫 (Wú wù kān bǐ lún) - nothing can compare, 教我如何説 (Jiào wǒ rú hé shuō) - what more can I say

Yes, there was a Koshosen Nagaharu Kinko around Bunkyū, who was Shuei of Kyoto Gosho.

On the right, I guess 幸照撰 – Koshosen?

Assuming for the time being that these really are Korean (i.e. not Chinese.) With poles…

Nice clear and well definite close-ups. Flaws always look so much worse in photos.

PS Just found a great video, with unearthed examples of Korean long guns of this type, with very similar inscriptions.

I thought I had a better picture of it but I guess this is the only one I took.

I'm finally getting around to posting this pictorial diary of the creation and assembly (in real-time) of the fittings for a folded-steel damascus onokubi-zakuri style shinken blade that was made in China ($262 on eBay, 27.5", 744 gm including habaki). Alloy fittings made in China tend to be of poor quality and appearance, but the sword-making quality has been impressive. Only a few merchants on eBay sell just bare blades. It is intended for tameshigiri with a lighter blade my other shinken to supplement my iaido practice. A deep bohi runs along ~1/3 of the blade from the tang after which the spine (mune) thins until it reaches the tip (yokote) and widens again. A thinner 2nd bohi runs the entire length. These features lighten the blade, produce a pronounced a high-pitched tachikaze due to increased turbulence when the blade travels through the air in a straight cut, and lend aesthetic appeal.

After a little further reflection, it makes more sense for my collection to have a couple of opposing weapons of the type that the Japanese would have faced in Hideyoshi's (mis?)(ad?)ventures over the Tsushima Strait.

bahaha I actually joined way back in 2013 because I was doing a bunch of research on them at the time. They're my dad's swords and we tried to get them looked at back then, but not a ton learned sadly. I just started thinking about them again recently, and someone mentioned getting the tsuba looked at because apparently there are collectors just of that, and its possible the furniture had been swapped out over the years. I appreciate the leads! I'll get to digging! thanks a lot!

The tsuba ($112, 116 gm) is an excellent cast steel replica of an Ono school iron sukashi tsuba with bamboo and bracken shoot motifs. The solid silver fuchi-koshirae ($165) feature a bamboo motif and the solid silver menuki ($60) feature a tiger in the bamboo grove motif. The tsuka is lined with genuine black ray skin same and the tsuka-ito is genuine black leather ($20) and is in the process of being wrapped in the katate maki (battle wrap) style with hishigami folded from traditional mulberry paper (Amazon.com). Since this is my first attempt, I fully expected and am confirming that I am not entirely successful on the first try. The battle wrap is a bit ambitious. I didn't recognize at the start that the two halves of the tsuka-ito need to be separate lengths because the longer strand alone will be used for the "spiral" wrapping for the middle 1/3. The shorter strand is cut after the first 1/3 is wrapped to allow the longer strand to transition to parallel wrapping. It needs to transition again to two strands when the wrap resumes with crossover folding. I ended up with too little of the "longer" strand to complete the wrapping, and an excess of the "short" strand. The details for the wrap are from "The Art of Tsukamaki" by Dr. Thomas Buck (see diagram). So now I'm waiting for another 4 meter length of tsuka-ito to arrive. Items from China appear to come slowly, but so far no tariff has been charged since the de minimus exemption was ended a month ago.

Hello folks It would be nice, if anyone can help me with this translation. wooden boxed WWII original Yasukunishrine hanging scroll padded in the box with an old newspaper from 1938 ? Thank you in advance!

We have a thread running titled ‘Chinese Cannon’, but no dedicated thread for old Korean guns. The other thread can be found below for those that have missed it so far. Any further Korean updates can hopefully be found here in this new thread. In the meantime that thread is still open for Chinese cannon or gun candidates. Korean cannon were supplemented by smaller pole weapons for infantry, single or triple-barrel guns set off by a lighted fuze/fuse. (What we think of as matchlocks probably first started to replace these older weapons as the Koreans defended the peninsula against Hideyoshi’s armies in the 1590s. There is a Korean matchlock example in the Gun Museum on beautiful Tanegashima Island, just south of Kyūshū.) Today I started work on making a disposable haft for the bronze long gun, and the video gave me some hints. (It’s in Korean but sufficiently visual to follow to the end.) The bronze socket is 20mm in diameter internally so I sourced a suitable pole, whittled it down and stained it. There are two holes in the socket so I drilled a hole in the whittled end of the pole to receive some kind of mekugi or locking pin. Length of pole? The records talk about overall length including socketed barrel of 110~200 cm, but if you think about it, loading needs to be done with the muzzle upright. The pole cannot be too long for the average gunner. I made it short enough to load easily when standing in a ditch or behind a rampart. Counter-weight? Some records suggest these guns had a blade on the other end of the shaft, so the weapon could still be used as a club or a spear if you were to be caught while trying to reload. The barrel is really quite heavy, so I would be happy with any extra weight added to the other end of the haft, anything, even an iron ishi-tsuki from a spear for a start. (A blade could be dangerous for friends passing behind you.) Ballistics Although the video shows insertion of pachinko balls and patch material, the records mention it was mainly arrows that were used, either in bunches, or as single bolts with rounded feathers and flat enforced ends.

Not a ton to go on especially for the second one. These are photos I took when I was visiting my dad. I was asking someone about the actual swords, and someone told me to get these looked at if at all possible. not sure if someone could give me an idea of how to find out more about them, or if there's a process for getting them authenticated. both of them are attached to swords that are at least 300 years old, with the more wire-y one having an ichimonji school gold inlay on the inside. sorry that's the best I got as I don't really know much about this art form. any help is greatly appreciated though!

Here’s an example of a shallow Nagoya (名) blade stamp found on another genuine example. You can imagine how it might look after being chromed

A little tough to see, but the bohi and kissaki look good to me. On a lot of fakes, you see the fuller (bohi) end early, sometimes a few inches before the kissaki

Not my sword, just letting you know it appears to have sold on ebay already.

I would have to sell my Triumph Bonneville to raise the money for it. I'm newly retired and not quite flush with cash. If something good happens to me...you'll be one of the first to know!

That's a really beautiful piece of art! Good luck Mark. I'm sure someone will snatch it up.

Looks like the habaki was painted gold and some got onto the blade. I suppose that could be a reflection though. I’d like to see how the bohi terminates near the kissaki. Typically that’s a big tell for fake blades. I suspect the blade was buffed before being chromed. Just a theory, -Sam

I don't like the blade and the habaki. The Habaki is shinny and looks like the same as on the polish replica. Maybe it is assambled together from parts and the blade is fake whatever. Or it is what it is.

Daniel, The smith is Yoshifusa and the sword is dated March 1945. As Bruce suggested, the blade would originally have been in the fittings pictured above.

here is a better view of both sides

As amazing as they can be to look at, I'm not really a huge Soten fan precisely for this reason! They're like sensory overload haha

Thank you very much for looking at the puzzling inscriptions, Trystan. You have given me a couple of ideas. It’s always good to have another set of eyes to help zero in. Toyotomi Hideyoshi gathered his guns and his troops and invaded Korea in the 1590s, and they found themselves facing single- and triple-barrel guns much like the ones above, so a bronze gun dated 1583 would not be so strange. The bore is 1.55 cm, which is a decent size of ball for a battlefield gun.

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.

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.

For $895 I think you could get a pretty good and untouched example. Id steer clear personally. While I don’t agree with much of the feedback on Facebook, I think that their reaction to the sword will be repeated if you were to ever show it off, or try to sell it someday. Which can be a frustrating reality with these swords. People are quick to skepticism. But for that price some nice examples are out there; and if you’re interested in the Type 95, I think you can find a good one if you shop around. All the best, -Sam

Hi Nick, I agree that it looks genuine to me, and I’m sorry you’re getting such a mixed response on Facebook. There’s a lot of nuance with these swords that few people fully understand. I’d like to address a few of the points that were raised there: 1 - All nagoya stamped blades have the serial number oriented this way, with the edge up. This is standard and not upside down. 2- The iron ferrule did not take stamps particularly well, and this specific range of Type 95s is known for weak or poorly struck markings. 3- There is some variation in serial number fonts, and the one shown here looks consistent and correct to me for this range. 4- the Nagoya blade stamp does look very shallow, but that’s also been observed before, and could be exaggerated by whatever has been done to the blade. What I think we’re looking at is an example that received some buffing, and then maybe been chromed; although I’d like to see better pictures of that spot for any level of confidence diagnosing what that is. I generally agree with Conway, that there are better examples to be had, unless the price is “too good to be true”. -Sam

Hi Nick, What Ray said, and here you will find care & cleaning, which you should read twice. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey And if you have a bunch of questions and would appreciate talking with someone who is not an authority but has been at this for 40 years and won't try to get you to sell the sword to me, feel free to call sometime. Grey 218-340-1001 US central time

Happy New Year Everyone, The next meeting of the Southern California Japanese Sword Club (Nanka Token Kai) will be on the 9th of January, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the usual venue. Club Sensei Mike Yamasaki will be unable to attend, so there will be no formal agenda, but feel free to drop by. If you have any documents/items and you would like to know what they say, bring them and I will take a look. Steve Meeting Details: Location: Gardena Valley JCI, 1964 W. 162nd Street, Gardena, CA 90247 Day/Date: Friday/January 9, 2026 Time: 7:00-9:00 PM

Here is one for you, John. Comes from Leo Monson’s collection.

@BANGBANGSAN @Conway S Apologies for the late replies. Thank you both very much. Here is the latest serial number tally. I believe this may represent the most published serial numbers for the Meiji 1892 (38 as 5-12-25). 325, 487, 575, 1539, 1996, 2379, 2522, 2930, 3397, 3587, 4077, 4429, 5578, 5988, 6251, 6784, 8170, 8572, 8782, 9090, 9536, 9777, 10123, 10781, 11393, 11448, 11871, 13121, 13197, 14013, 14323, 14408, 15383, 15773, 16019, 16065, 16416, Unk serial number sold on Worthpoint. John C.

There's one for sale on eBay right now for what seems to be a decent price. From the pictures though, it looks like the latch may be a little loose or bent. Type 25 Japanese N.C.O. cavalry Sword, #2930 Tokyo art. arsenal stamp

John, Here is the one I currently have. I don't keep any records of serial numbers, but I would say what makes them difficult to research online is that many people don't know these are a distinct model so some examples get labeled online as just NCO, cavalry, or Type 32s. I also think you should ask Brian to repost this thread in the military section for better visibility. Conway

Hey Dan, i think those are not the same mon.

Thanks Sam! Very cool kiri (the Paulownia tree and the wood of the Paulownia tree) leaves kamon! I found those kamon in my kamon book (picture attached). Thanks for sharing!

For the love of the KIRI

Honda Aoi Mon

Thanks Dan for showing the other kamons linked to the silk spools - I noticed one eight point "star" with clipped points that matches a tanto guard I have. It may well have started life with a rim as the images show but I can at least think it still may represent that kamon now.

Well, my friends- Added with my previous posts, this just about does it for my collection of kamon tsuba! Pictures of tsuba and corresponding picture in kamon book displayed. Throughout my posts, I have tried to only display tsuba that have a kamon shape or a large kamon incorporated in the motif (I also have several tsuba that display small kamon or parts therof – but felt no need to include those here). Onward! With respect, Dan

All - Took me a while to figure this out. Here are photos of my Shikomi-zue; a mumei piece papered to Hojoji Masahiro, extremely light wood, not sure if it is honoki which has been carved to look like bamboo and then covered in what appears to be cherry-bark. Hopefully from the photos you can see the seam that runs the length. Also it has an iron tip. FWIW -t