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An example from the Ashmolean museum EA1978.250 The size of the hole may have been altered even more, to be used as a maedate "crest" but I think it was first used for a practice sword. Another opinion of the useage here: http://www.nihonto.us/ONIN NAGAMAKI TSUBA.htm But I think it more likely these were used on wooden practice swords as others have stated This one - is anyones guess - not suitable for a practice sword - maybe a maedate. [or a bottle opener ! ] one in this group of twenty https://www.jauce.com/auction/x1224304881 [probably the only one of any interest!]

One of mines with a Kogai ana cut in a shakudo plug of an original ana.....

I am not a fittings guy but my guess would be it had been fitted for wooden sword, bokutō/bokken.

Of course as Jussi says. A cheap iron TSUBA in not so good condition was repurposed as BOKUTO TSUBA. Not common, but not very rare either.

John, I am asking basics to help assess the blade. A signature does not tell all that might be necessary, and if you want competent comments, we need good photos in the first place. As we strongly object any DIY polishing attempts, the actual condition of a blade is of interest and importance. The little that I can see on the less than ideal photos (maybe due to my old eyes) lead me to suspect that the blade was not traditionally polished. Usually, this leads to severe damage and loss of value. So please excuse my critical questions, but I think they were justified to come to useful answers to your inquiry.

Such is the demand to see the Yamatorige that the Museum has lifted its capacity restrictions for the first time ever, meaning that they now have 3x as many people seeing the sword at the same time. This is a new normal. You can read more here.

Hi Klee, For me it's just for the enjoyment.

@Jussi Ekholm @ROKUJURO Thank you for your input. This is also something I have considered and I do agree that the last bohi is something that puzzled me too. Another possibility could be that this blade is an utsushimono/"sword in the style of", made during the shinshinto period.

Colour me impressed. Always admire a westerner who has mastered Japanese

The seller is right it is probably made in the 1940's . The second opinion giver knows nothing .

No. I got it for 10 dollars, which is why I decided to buy it. At first I thought the medallion had been altered into a netsuke so I wasn't going to pony up too much. But for 10 bucks I thought it was interesting enough to get. John C.

Just picked this up. A 1934 paper weight commemorating the birthday of Crown Prince Akihito. John C.

Hi all, I would like to share three tsuba that recently joined my collection: an Umetada tsuba with karakusa design (perhaps Momoyama?), a Kaga piece, and a Momoyama Heianjo. Each has a different taste and gives a slightly different feeling. Any thoughts or observations are very welcome.

The Yamatorige is coming out of storage for 2 very short viewing periods in 2026. Both times it will be on display at the Bizen Osafune Sword Museum. Click here for more information. It went on display on Friday, 20th March and will be on display until the 29th March but will come back again at the end of April. They have set it up with a stand that allows you to view it from both sides - which I think is brillaint! Expect big crowds as they have linked up with Touken Ranbu to promote the event. Images from @yoimachi95, @gasmask0821 & @kentaro9614 on X. If you happen to go... please drop some photos here.

Here’s a pic or two I took about 7 years ago. The nick

I do have concerns about the sword. In my opinion, it looks severely altered or messed with. The proportions make me wonder if it’s been machi-okuri, and the nakago looks like artificially accelerated aging rather than natural patina. That makes me question whether there might have been an effort to obscure a stamp, or make it "look" older than it is.

One of our NBTHK members is a Bizen potter and after much effort he eventually succeeded in making a full-sized version in fired clay. Another member creates detailed exact-scale copies in wood, down to the nick in the blade edge. These are not cheap but there is a waiting list for his work, the Sanchōmō and other famous blades. Even the Mei are faithfully chiselled in.

Impressed.

WW2 sword. Forget fantasies about it being older. Also would likely have another nakago ana if it was refitted. Nothing there suggests older. The hamon appears that way because it has an amateur cleanup/polish. It's just showing the hardness difference. Fairly typical WW2 sword in fair condition.

Agree with Ian, this is clearly a WWII period made blade. The significant rust (likely from being submerged in water) gives a much older appearance.

The mei ( signature ) is so freshly cut that it is obvious that this is a showa era blade , you are deluding yourself if you think otherwise

Well that is a great price for something of historic value. As a talking piece alone I think you have done well. [I have an overly large collection of "tsuba" paperweights myself - still interesting things ]

This is an introduction to the Hiro Naval Arsenal, and it does not mention sword production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiro_Naval_Arsenal

Please see the pictures. I am not sure the purpose of this item. My guess maybe a pole arm? I am hoping someone has seen one before. The center opening is flat on one side and beveled on the other. and not sure why there is a small opening on one side, doesn't seem you would need a kozuka or similar any thoughts appreciated mark

@Bruce Pennington Yamamoto guntoya https://ebay.us/m/odtyGq

The green ( old ) nbthk paper doesnt really have any value today unfortunately. If resale was a concern then a new NBTHK shinsa submission would be wise but that would put this blade at well north of $4000 usd in investment which is equivalent to some very nice signed Hozon/Toku Hozon wakizashi in todays market so I personally dont think it s worth it. Plus you d be waiting about 4-6 months for the blade and paper I would just stick with the NTHK paper if you love the blade and plan on keeping it

Indeed for a wooden sword.

Images designed to make it look dramatic without really showing anything (as Uwe says above). That alone makes me very suspicious. Also the black finish on the shikoro does not look like old lacquer. Also the “gold” plates on the shikoro are heavily worn but the lacing looks brand new. Also the missing rivets holding shikoro to hachi suggest it does not fit correctly…..possibly a marriage? I am also a novice collector of armour and my opinion is worth little but I try to look closely at images to spot things that make me nervous. To my uneducated eye this looks highly dubious. Parts may well be old but………

@John C Thanks for the tip on the field grade ranks. That was the start of the writing on the tag. I found that Sasebo is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture. Nagasaki is where my neighbor’s father acquired the sword.

It is nice looking item, and an interesting one. I am definately not a Sōshū fan, so I cannot identify the small details. However I am shape and size guy and to me the hi at the bottom is throwing me completely off. I do think in my references I should have hundreds of examples of this type of horimono and I cannot remember single one that would have another hi under the main carving, as usually the placement for this type of horimono is pretty standard. The presence of the lower hi would also indicate the sword would have been much longer than it is in it's current form. I am liking the item but I admit the carvings have me completely puzzled out.

I do think it is a tricky item. It supposedly has a Hon'ami Kinpun mei to Horikawa Kunitomo. However I don't think either organization sees that one as legitimate. You have the old NBTHK papers just stating there is a kinpun mei Kunitomo, this often (not always) sees them questioning the authencity of the kinpun mei. Likewise NTHK mentions the kinpun mei in their paper but in their opinion their attribution is to a different smith. Horikawa Kunitomo is very good smith, and unfortunately I wouldn't see this as his work either. I do like the size and shape as I like big hirazukuri blades but the quality and details for what I can see from the pictures would not push me towards good smiths of Horikawa lineage. I am not good at kantei and I think most of my references are for the very good smith 1st Sadakuni but they specify 2nd generation in their attribution.

I hope you didn't pay more than these? https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/Japan/tw/auction/yahoo/input/e1017827423/ or https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1017827423 SOLD 2,000 yen or you could pay ten times the price! https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/Japan/tw/auction/yahoo/input/h418421872/ or https://www.jauce.com/auction/h418421872 still running BIN 20,000 yen [OUCH!] Something similar https://www.myday.com.tw/a_myday/product_view.php?apiname=api_japan_yahoo&itemcode=k1119341799 or https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1119341799 SOLD 32,100 yen!

於駒橋元近作之 – At Komahashi, Motochika made this. 佐世保市浪瀬免三一番地代五班本郷盛馬 – Sasebo-shi Namise-men 31, the 5th group Hongo Morima

Here's the one I got, quite happy with it. I would have loved number 27 or 58, but the bidding went up too quickly. Here's mine, from the Tenhô school.

I would have liked to buy the Onin tsuba but too much for me I won this one. Nice to recent papers #218

Well, it is the other way around. Soshu was inspired by Ko-Bizen and Ko-Hoki…. So Soshu occasionally looks like KoBizen and KoHoki. When I phrased my pseudo haiku I had exactly that TB quote in mind… Well done to Rohan for following the clues! In fact, for those in Japan currently or passing through, if you visit the NBTHK JuBi exhibition, there is a Norishige which looks like a Ko-Bizen blade (except that the jamón shape in the upper third stabilises similarly to an Osafune hamon). Even the label in the glass window talks about how Norishige was inspired by KoBizen when making that blade.

I once caught a similar remark from Kurokawa-san that stuck with me: the more you study swords, the more you start to appreciate the older blades. By the time your “education” is complete, you naturally find yourself drawn to Ko-Bizen. ... But that’s not the whole story. If you look closer, things get more fascinating. The very best Ko-Bizen, when observed carefully, can almost look like Soshu—just a stone’s throw from the Masamune or Sadamune...

Shachihoko with perforated mimi - NICE!

The classic quote from a Thomas Buttweiler essay: There are perhaps 500 Ko-Bizen swords left in existence today. About 200 of these have been awarded Juyo Token status or higher [ca. 1980]. The vast majority of even these recognized examples are in greatly deteriorated condition. Nearly all of these have been polished down to a point where they retain only a hint of their former elegance. In many cases, the Boshi is incomplete or missing altogether. Many of the remaining blades have been burned or re-tempered. Even so, the desirability of such blades remains undiminished. The words of one elderly Japanese connoisseur while examining a blade with all of the above faults, are classic. He held the blade at arms length for a long time and turned, smiled, and said, “But, it's Ko-Bizen.”

These are my tsuba from the auction. And, well, my only regret was not having a bigger wallet... Seeing all those tsuba together was like finding Santa's sledge parked in the backyard for a kid... The second tsuba has a paper, but it's a minus, not a plus... guess what's the attribution?

The JuBi Mitsutada Ken (only known by him) has a sort of Awataguchi finesse and feeing to it. Not a particularly exciting hamon for a Mitsutada but sublime jigane …

Some great photos and video of the Mikazuki starting to appear online... the start of this video catches the tiny Mikazuki just beautifully in the light. What a wonderful sword! Mikazuki.mp4

When I visited a year ago they had an extraordinarily healthy Rai Kunimitsu sword in the display booth. A couple weeks later I saw it in hand as part of a special NBTHK-EB event at the Museums research centre and took this video. It had marumune and Hon'ami Kochu Kinzoganmei

Multi-tone Kaga works like your #2 are getting to be very rare. When you do see them, they are often rubbed damaged due to the raised shape of the seppa dai. Please take good care of it. On my very short bucket list is a trip up to Kanazawa area for a few days to take in the spirit of the Maeda lands. A really good Kaga Kinko or Kaga Goto tsuba is on also on my tsuba wish list. That and a good Nobuiye of design that suits me.

I have made them in the past, but they are a bit of a fiddly thing to make. The Japanese are very clever and if there is a hard way to do something, they will find it. I reverse engineered an old bag and found that it is double lined with a thin layer of padding inside. None of the seams are visible, even when you turn the bag inside out..!.. Basically you have to make the outer and the liner (both inside-out of course to be able to sew them) which are then sewn together on the top of the bag - at what will eventually become the opening of the bag. This is when I also attach the manufactured ring (using the same material) for the fusahiso cord. Then you have to turn one half inside out and then pull the other through it, also turning it inside out so both seams are 'inside' the bag - for want of a better explanation... It is difficult to explain and its a fiddly job. BTW, the liner should be slightly smaller (half inch all round) than the outer so the seams don't bunch or cause creases in the liner later on. Each time I make another bag, I have to sit down and basically re-teach myself the process.. My wife won't touch them..! I used modern materials and sometimes brushed-cotton for the lining of the Koshirae bags, because I could not bring myself to cut up and old Kimono. It is time consuming, but oddly rewarding. I couldn't make them for a living. Of course you can cheat and have the seam showing/ visible inside the bag which is fine, but that is not how they are made. They certainly are worth trying to make though, but study an old bag first. Good luck. Barrie.

Hey Ray, I have the number version dyscalculia, maybe that's why I'm always skint!