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This JAF fair edition is something special for the Japanese Armor Society. For the very first time, a shinsa will take place outside Japan. 3 Japanese NKBKHK shinsa members will come over to evaluate armor related items. The team will be in contact with the Japanese jury during the evaluation. Unfortunately, the session is fully booked, I hope we can do this again in the future. For the record, since last Year the NKBKHK is recognised by the Japanese Governement.

@Sukaira Yea i ve accepted that I ll always have a Kiyomitsu 😆 And yes a lot of intense chikei and kinsuji.

Haynes lists a Meiju as a student of Araki Tomei (H09800) working about 1865-75 and that there is a relationship, or the same person as Inoue Akiyoshi (H00089) The kanji are the same. I have a tsuba signed Akiyoshi which was an early name used by Kiyotoshi (H03368.0, 1804-1876). Not sure if its the same guy. An entry in ‘The Early Famed Works of the Kyoto Smiths (Kyomono no Ko-Meisaku)’, tanslated by Gordon Robson lists a tsuba by Akiyoshi with a shakudo ground. The text states that ‘Akiyoshi is among the skilled kinko of the Aizu during the late Edo priod’ ‘There must be some connection with Kawano Haruaki, and because of his signature and kao, we can agree to such a conjecture.’ There appears to be a similarity between the kao on this tsuba and examples attributed to Kono Haruaki, so it looks like the artisan of this tsuba is probably the one referred to. Akiyoshi seems to have worked around the mid 19thC and changed his name several times Not sure if this helps, or just muddies the picture further. Best regards, John

Target practice? And yes, server was unreachable for the first part of the day yesterday.

It's all over the news here, and apparently is continuing. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/648580-massive-internet-problems-in-south-africa-2.html

Thank you @jawob 🙏 I cant believe how much attention this thread got . Very thankful of everyone who chipped in to help. I truly appreciate it and It made the process a lot more fun

Nice grab! I've enjoyed watching your hunt

Hi Ken, Sorry, I'm not going to be able to tell you too much about your sword, but lets start with what we can see. The sword is a real Japanese sword called a wakizashi, traditionally a sword between 12 and 24 inches. For Samurai it was a companion sword carried along with a long sword (katana). Merchants and non-samurai could carry a sword of this length, but not a katana. The sword was carried edge up inserted through an obi. I'm guessing it is a Shinto period sword. That is, a sword made between 1596 and circa 1780. The condition of the polish is not good, so no details of the grain or hamon can be seen to help us evaluate it. Hawley lists only four Tadayuki working in Higo or Hizen, all between 1661 and 1845. Perhaps one of our better sword evaluators will weigh in, and can provide a better appraisal for you. Hope this helps, Tom

Looks really good and the attribution is awesome. Nakago seems very well cared for and even though the pictures are not super high res, there seems to be great activity around the habuchi. Chikei for sure, maybe some hotsure and ashi? Super interesting suguha base though. Kiyomitsu seems to be in your destiny

Selling an uchigatana with signature of Hizen Koku Ju Musashi Daijo Fujiwara Tadahiro. Mei looks decent and the blade itself is definitely mainline hizen, but it is not papered. Has very nice nashiji hada, incredible nie-deki very typical of mainline hizen works. Discussed the sword with others and if its not gimei we think that it is probably a dai saku work from masahiro or another smith that made swords for shodai tadayoshi during his later years. Personally like the sword but I mainly collect nihonto in koshirae and do not feel like going through the effort or time to get koshirae made for this piece. Stats: Nagasa: 73cm Motokasane: 8mm Sakikasane: 5mm Sorii: .2 inches Motohaba: 2.8cm Sakihaba: 1.9cm Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dFZQFthXgDBUnDph8 Looking to get 3000 for it, price as always is negotiable.

Holly, better then previous one. Bring more such a pieces and ebay is over ;] So nice to watch it.

I experienced the shut-off as well.

I was told there was an issue but by the time I logged in, all was working fine. The whole of SA has had some serious internet disruptions the past few days. Apparently massive DDOS attacks launched against all the ISP's, and most have had some serious problems, so I'm guessing that was part of it. No-one knows why or by whom, but it's a large one, and taken down most of the providers for a bit. I expect there may be some lingering issues over the next few days.

That’s the stuff, yes. Functions like sandpaper. Also widely used for polishing lacquer. 砥草 Tokusa, often pronounced Togusa.

I was thinking tokusa! Dried and used to polish shirasaya?

Genbu of the north is the ancient Chinese tortoise upon which the universe stands. A snake appears from its rear end. Genbu is the black warrior of the north, chief of the four directional guardians. Genbu is painted on ancient tomb walls in Japan. Genbu later became Bishamonten, chief of the Shiten-no-o guardians. Bishamonten was the god of warriors and listened to their cry. For this reason the turtle Genbu has ears, although tortoises and turtles don’t. Genbu is the turtle shell, the brain pan, the crown, the 甲 shell of armour. 甲 the shell is Number One, the top/best, in the old counting system 甲、乙、丙、丁… Recently I bought a pair of Menuki with a gold-shell Genbu on a shakudo background. You can see the ears, …but the tail is from a Minogamé.

Maybe pics like this are of some use for You? https://ebay.us/m/PhyHll

Perhaps someone can explain their use better? For everyday use when burning charcoal for heating a tetsubin, yes, but also for the tea ceremony, to keep the ash ground neatly raked. (What I really wanted was the candle/wick pincers/tongs; all the rest were a bonus.)

Yes, essential part of your kit for lighting match cord for your matchlock(s). The Netsuké also act as bowls for protecting the lighting process. Yesterday on the main steps of Tsuyama Castle.