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With reference to the replies now moved elsewhere: Guys, this is NOT the place for this, and it sets a really bad precedent. I do not want this sort of thing happening in sales posts, if we allow it then it becomes a free for all. That said, we are here to protect the community and also cannot just ignore it when sellers or buyers have an issue, and they need to hash it out with right of reply and people can make up their own minds. I have a Catch 22 here. Allow it and open the forum for fights on every sale post, or delete it completely and then we are not looking out for the community. So I am going to take the middle ground and continue with the policy of not allowing this sort of thing in sales posts. BUT I am shortly going to split this into a new thread and put it in the Sales/Sellers section, where people can discuss good and bad deals with sellers. I hope everyone understands that is best compromise I can come to right now. Shortly this will be moved, and will formulate a title there where seller/buyer can discuss this and lay out their case.

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

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share this easy option for displaying your tsuba on your desk. I got these acrylic glass light boxes for about 15 Euro on amazon and I think they make a pretty neat display. I would love to see how you display your tosogu!

関住兼松一則作 – Seki ju Kanematsu Kazunori saku (Kazunori’s family name is Kanematsu.)

I thought you might want a picture of my railroad tassel. Tom

I was talking to Ray Singer about this yesterday. The problem here, as we discussed, is the connection with the Tokugawa. That association is such that few are going to ever say it is a fake, even to this day. Cultural respect, etc. But the fact that sword has no official status -- not Kokuho,Jubi, JuBun or any flavor of Juyo -- is telling. So it appears to be exactly as labeled: a sword signed Sadamune that was owned by powerful member of the Tokugawa family. No more. No less.

Sa blades attributed to specific smiths tend to be highly valued blades. They are considered a big step above the more numerous Sue-Sa and O-Sa Ichimon attributions, and thus are prized. Yoshisada has to his credit 56 recorded blades, including two Jubis, four TokuJus and 42 Juyos. Not too shabby by any standard. That said, top tier work like this is not that common and the setsumei is certainly very positive about the attribution and the quality of the blade. For me, a Sa School lover, I think the price isn't unreasonable at all especially with the current exchange rate for a Juyo work from a good session and great setsumei. And comparing the quality to other Soshu-adjacent schools and smiths, I think they represent probably some the best value in Nanbokucho Soshu works. The value of Sa blades within the Soshu pantheon was something that even Darcy commented on. And while Yoshisada's works are not as well-regarded as some of the other inner Samonji circle such as Yukihiro (my favorite) and Yoshisada's older brother, Yasuyoshi, his work is considered closer to his father's (Samonji) work style than is Yasuyoshi. (Kunihiro mentioned above was also good but was later and not necessarily among O-Sa's inner circle of children and early students.) Yes, there are lots of options at this price range, but if you are looking for a Juyo blade with excellent Soshu pedigree and supreme clarity of the steel and such a wide bright habuchi, I am not sure you are going to find much better at this price. Just my humble opinion. (And FTR, the only reason I didn't jump on it is these days I only collect tanto. My safe and closet are grateful!)

Hello! I had wanted to add a Kaga tsuba to my collection for a long time, and recently Okan finally convinced me with his wonderful example that was shown here not so long ago. Recently I came across this tsuba. It depicts the classic theme of drying fishing nets, and in my opinion the Kaga inlay is perfectly suited to the delicate nets. Overall, the composition is quite refined. The tsuba itself is made of rich and expensive shakudo, although this is somewhat hidden beneath the dark patina, it is especially noticeable when viewed at an angle. The plate is perfectly polished and shimmers beautifully in the light. I would also note the beautiful sekigane - it was probably mounted on two different swords.

The Toyama Sword Research Society brings together young people and women from all over the country. In recent years, the Toyama Sword Research Association, a sword enthusiast group based in Toyama Prefecture, has seen an increase in its membership among young people and women. Due to the influence of online games such as "Touken Ranbu ONLINE," the number of young people becoming interested in swords is increasing, and the company has made great efforts to make the game more approachable for beginners and to spread the word on social media. This initiative, which is rare nationwide in the world of swords, where middle-aged and elderly men have been the main fan base, has paid off, and the sword is becoming a popular choice for "sword beginners" from a wide range of regions, not just within the prefecture. The Toyama Sword Research Society was formed in 2017 by Yasunori Sawada (57) (Nanto City, civil servant), an enthusiast and former director of the Sword Museum (Tokyo). He holds sword appreciation events about five times a year and visits art museums both within and outside the prefecture. The study group, which began with around 20 members, has now grown to 220, 70% of whom are women. By age group, the most common age group is those in their 30s, followed by those in their 20s and 40s. 40% of people live in the three Hokuriku prefectures, with many in the Kanto, Kansai, and Chukyo regions. Some members are from Hokkaido and Kagoshima prefectures. In order to encourage young people and women to join, the study group has put in place a number of measures to make it easy for beginners to participate. This new sword study group has proven itself to be very successful and is quickly showing the way forward for Japanese Sword Societies in local communities.

When the sword was initially procured and priced, the FX rate ¥/$ was close to 100. So, you were looking at c.$25k back then. Currently the FX rate is closer to 160, which means the $25k would be nearly ¥4m. Furthermore, the Japanese dealers in the last couple of years overcompensated for the yen depreciation somewhat. While previously they used to think purely in yen, as their inflation has been next to 0% for decades, lately they started mentally converting to $ and pricing accordingly, as the sword market internationalised in the last 10-15 years beyond recognition. I remember decent TJ perhaps 8-10 years ago was in the ¥14-15m range, then that became ¥17-18m, now you are looking at ¥20m+. A famous dealer complained to me a few weeks ago about former customers also demanding extremely high prices from him for the swords he had sold to them years ago (but that is a different story for another day…). So, the maths for this sword: You add to the aforesaid ¥4m (the historic price) then the ¥0.75m-¥1m koshirae, the cost of the polish, the fact that the seller probably wants some return to his investment and you get to ¥5m. The sword is rather nice, albeit not my cup of tea. But indeed in the last 15 years the floodgates of information and access have opened, so one naturally has a lot of choice. Just go to Chris’s Nihontowatch website and see what AI has enabled in the last few months. He has put a tonne of valuable (and monetarily rather expensive) information in there - for now for the benefit of people. But such access and info should really be premium….. One important thing: buy what you like and resonates with you emotionally and do not get swayed by people’s likes and dislikes in Sa or Nanbokucho shapes, or more/less nie etc. And measure and weigh carefully options, opinions, facts.

Come to https://www.japanartfair.com/ (No taxes from dealers from Japan, btw) . For this price I would first learn more about Nihonto and second only buy after personal viewing.

It must be a typo. 純正眞鐵入鍛 I do not know its correct reading either. Junsei magane nyutan (?) - Forged from genuin iron.

入隊時の中隊長殿（十九年四月一日） - The company commander when he enlisted (1944, 4th month, 1st day). 陸軍中尉　堀米昇殿 – Army lieutenant, Mr. Horigome Noboru

藤次郎作 – Tojiro made 白紙 – Shirogami Tojiro is a trademark of the following kitchen knife manufacturer. TOJIRO Japan I More than just sharpness Shirogami is a brand name of carbon steel made by Proterial, Ltd.

Mark, the sword has a mei of Kenryushi Sadaharu. You can see the entry below from Markus Sesko: SADAHARU (貞晴), Keiō (慶応, 1865-1868), Settsu – “Naniwa-jū Mizuguchi Kenryūshi Sadaharu saku” (浪華住 水口剣龍子貞晴作), “Settsu Ikutama ni oite Kenryūshi Sadaharu kore o tsukuru” (於摂津生玉剣龍子 貞晴造之), “Naniwa-jū Kenryūshi Sadaharu saku” (浪花住剣龍子貞晴作), student of Gassan Sadayoshi (月山貞吉), his gō were Kenryūshi (剣龍子) and Kensaishi (剣斎子), we know blades from the Keiō to the Meiji era (明治, 1868-1912), mostly a magnificent sugata with a wide mihaba and an ō-kissaki, dense ko-itame or masame which tends to muji, suguha-hotsure, notare, gunome, he works in the style of his master Sadayoshi, he also added a koku´in seal in the form of the character “chū” (忠・忠) , chū-saku

Keisuke Nakamura gave an interesting treatise on the subject of these 2 blades exhumed from Mitsutomo's tomb. By comparing horimono carving styles with other Sadamune attributed blades and historical oshigata he is a little skeptical and reserves judgement. https://note.com/katana_case_shi/n/ne850e4972025

Yesterday's meeting and update indicated that 78 people have contributed JPY2,430,000 so far, just shy of the 2.5 million yen they are initially aiming for by the end of this month. A plan for the polishing of the Odachi was also handed out, to take place over the first three cold months of 2027 when rust will not be too much a problem. I had a chance to see their Muromachi period blades display, including upstairs a 1499 Katsumitsu/Sadamitsu joint-work naginata that Jussi might recognize. Photos: A B C

Very true, and that only comes after doing the hard yards researching the literature and more importantly experiencing high end swords in hand. Elias, since you are in Germany you should seriously consider attending an NBTHK-EB meeting either in Solingen or Manching. There are many members in Germany who have some magnificent Juyo and up swords, and are only too happy to share their knowledge and collections.

While historical sales are not good indicator of current prices due to several factors of which we have discussed previously at NMB too. You can see Aoi Art had this same sword for sale without koshirae in 2021 for 2,500,000 yen https://web.archive.org/web/20210802211856/https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-mumeiunsigned-attributed-as-sa-yoshisada/ So you can see koshirae has not been historically with the sword. Also new habaki and shirasaya have been made for the sword. To me the workmanship of the blade seems very good but I am not after that in swords. Size and shape of the sword are the factors that would put me off from this purchase. If I would be in position to purchase a Sa school blade some day I would want it to be of the imposing Nanbokuchō shape in which there are plenty of Sa school attributed blades.

Up for offer is an extremely large (95 x 95mm) and impressive Myochin tsuba. Some tsuba-ko replicate the image of a kabuto, but this one is made in the style of a suji-bachi kabuto, consisting of 25 individual plates of iron, containing 50 rivets. The size and technique give this a dominating presence amongst other tsuba and would be the central point of an iron tsuba collection. An Akita Shoami coiled-dragon tsuba is given for comparison (and not for sale). It also comes in an unusually large deluxe box. SOLD

This seems fairly simple if someone can post a link to the original sale thread. Either the flaws pictured above were clearly stated in the original sales post or they were not….period. This is a contract dispute fellas, either the description of the sword was accurate or it wasn’t, this has NOTHING to do with how anyone “felt”.

With that many sales listings you would hope for a gold membership to support the forum.....

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.

Yes, probably this is the habaki on the Kanemitsu.

The square inscription that looks like a seal reads 大明成化 (Dai ming sei ka), or, if you use the Chinese pronunciation Da ming cheng hua, alluding to Chinese emperor Chenghua (mid-1400s) It's apparently a motif that was used by Japanese ceramic artisans to give their wares an air of antiquity and authenticity. I think used by Imari porcelain artisans in the late 1800s.

I remember chatting with Markus about this maybe few years ago when it was displayed first time? I can't say about the legitimacy of the item, I just accept it as genuine piece as Tokugawa Art Museum seems to accept it. Now what is interesting about this item that it is maybe not intended as a weapon in my eyes. Markus would be the best one to write his view but I think there could have been some perhaps ritualistic purpose for these extremely wide wakizashi that few shrines have. The historical Masamune (NBTHK demoted it to Tomomitsu) that currently resides at Yasukuni Jinja is another example of these, and there should be few more such wakizashi if I remember correctly. This is of course my personal view but I cannot see any actual advantage in usability when the short swords are extremely wide.

This is the kind of thing that makes me wish I lived in Japan... A famous sword appreciation event co-sponsored by the Toyama Sword Research Association and the branch e-Sword Research Association will be held on the 30th May. At the sword fittings exhibition, you will be able to see the sword fittings that came with the mountings of Satsuki Amee and Atsuto Shiro. This time, the sword lineup is also luxurious, including Bizen Saburo Kunimune, Shindo Go, Masamune, Norishige, Go, Hidari, Kunitsugu Rai, Naotane Daikei, Dewa Daijo Kunimichi, and Kashu Kiyomitsu, and it's already packed to capacity. Getting to hold and examine this calibre of sword is the stuff of legend. No wonder it is already fully subscribed. Sounds like the kind of meetup that Honma writes about in his memoirs. The next one is in July - for those interested and able to get to Toyama.

D E F

Seals for the calligraphy are: top left: 臨済正宗　(Rinzai Seishu) bottom right, upper seal: 黄檗主人 (Ōbaku shujin) bottom right, lower seal 大雅法印 (Taiga-hō-no-in)

Jigane is probably very attractive itame. I love Sa hada and it should be a good example of such. The work seems to be very homogeneous, not tired, pristine, without kizu. However, Sa hamon is choji always tends towards ko nie or even nioi. It is a very attractive shade of nioi, but on the blades I really like this is further accented by strong nie activities. Inazuma, patches of nie along the ha, strong chikei. I think this blade is more towards just ko nie. Still very attractive though.

There are many options at this price, if you're prepared to pay that amount it could be a better idea to travel to Japan to inspect some first class swords in hand.

Hi Elias, Welcome to NMB. I'm assuming this is the one AOI has on hold. Nice tachi koshirae if you like blingy mounts. Believed to be a student or son of O-Sa. Not the best of the nidai smiths but still highly rated at jojo-saku. I prefer Sa-Kunihiro. From Sesko's eSwordsmiths. YOSHISADA (吉貞), Jōwa (貞和, 1345-1350), Chikuzen – “Chikushū-jū Yoshisada” (筑州住吉貞), “Yoshisada” (吉貞), “Yoshisada saku” (吉貞作), “Mononobe Yoshisada” (物部吉貞), Sa school, according to tradition the son or student of Ō-Sa (大左), there exists a tantō with a date signature of the Shōhei era (正平, 1346-1370), no tachi are extant by Yoshisada, his tantō have a wide mihaba and some sori, the jigane is an itame-nagare with ji-nie and thick chikei, the hamon is a slightly undulating notare mixed with gunome and sunagashi, the bōshi has a rather long kaeri, we know smaller and larger signatures but it is assumed that they go back to the changes in the active period of a single smith because nothing indicates a 2nd gen., jōjō-saku As to value you have to also factor in the ~20% importation tax so after shipping costs its more like 6mil JPY you'll be paying. I personally would not pay that figure for this blade.

長曽祢興里入道乕徹 - Nagasone Okisato Nyudō Kotetsu

Here you are Time span to 1340, Soshu school Short blades separately and long blades separately

Please post the Original Sale Description

Calabrese (Hokke) above, hit the nail on the head.

Sudden resurrection :D Nice T98 with crest. Habaki rising sun pattern. Looks neat. Don't ask for mei it's like 95% fake.

The Toronto Tōken Kai will be hosting a display of Japanese Swords and other items of interest as part of Toronto Doors Open at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre this Saturday and Sunday (May 23 and 24) from 10 am until 5 pm. This event is open to all and is free of charge. Come by and see us! The JCCC is located at 6 Sakura Way in Toronto, Ontario. Take the Wynford Drive exit from the DVP and go west to Sakura Way. Some map software may still list Sakura Way as Garamond Court.

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

Thank you for the update Piers And of course the pictures of the naginata too I should be able to see that one next month. It might be crazy but seeing that one is more exciting to me than many of the National Treasures... It seems their Kanemitsu tachi with very long signature is on display too, will be great to see that one too.

Urushi on fabric is a well known Japanese Armor trick. You will find all sorts of pieces this way. It makes them strong and water resistant.

The yosegaki hinomaru that wasn’t… sorry for putting this here. Seemed the most logical of the forums. This short monograph is about a flag I bought, or more appropriately the box it came in. I’m sharing this as a small example of rudimentary translation, historical research, and how the potential story can mean more than the item itself. So if interested, get your favorite beverage, sit back and relax, and read on… While perusing an online auction site, I came across this seemingly uninteresting Japanese flag (hinomaru 日の丸) in a box. What intrigued me was the number and variety of labels on the box. I assumed the flag was a modern one. But intrigued none-the-less. Fast forward two weeks and the box arrived. The first thing I noticed was that the flag seemed original – possibly silk or Rayon, silk himo cords on the corners with leather corner stiffeners. A quick measurement confirmed this suspicion with a Silver Ratio of 7:10 Y to X ratio and the center “sun” being 3/5Y (see Nick Komiya’s articles about yosegaki flags on Warrelics.com for an explanation on what this means). So the flag was from the time period; a pleasant surprise. Next, was to tackle the various labels. A dream for practicing a bit of translating and research; though a bit frustrating as it turned out. I do not speak, read, or write Japanese. So I use a technique that I suppose many use, however I wanted to talk a little about it for those who struggle as I do and need a method. As shown in the pictures, there were 4 labels, writing, and a stamp all over the thing. To affect the translation, I started with pictures of the individual labels. I then take screen shots of the labels and, in some cases, part of the labels or individual characters. I drop those pictures into the Google search bar and hit the translate button. Here’s the tricky bit – you can’t trust the translation. It’s always something weird. But it can point you in a direction. So the next step is to reverse the process. I ask google “XXXX (whatever the words were) in Japanese kanji.” I then match the results to the kanji on the label. If it matches, great. If not, then I start putting in the individual characters and repeat the process. Sometimes I use the drawing app to draw the kanji and get an individual word. Eventually, I get to what I believe to be the closest meaning to what is written on the label. I know, it would probably be faster to just learn Japanese. But teaching an old dog new tricks and all that… So get to the results, you ask. Okay, here it is. The first question is whether or not the box is as old as the flag. And I think it is. The writing on the front says “National Flag” and the stamp says “Great Japan National Flag Association.” (大日本國旗協會). The long vertical label in the center translates to Chief Priest of Meiji Jinju Admiral Arima Ryokitsu.” That’s interesting. Why is that there? More on that later, however he lived from 1861 to 1944 so if the label is period, that’s good. The round label translates to roughly “Humbly made by the Japan National Flag Company, Ltd. (日本国旗株式会社)” and their address of Tokyo City, Kyobashi-ku district, Kobikicho (a neighborhood). The important part of knowing that is because the Kyobashi district was merged into another district in 1947. More evidence the label is period. The horizontal label, says “Great Japan National Flag Association.” This was a nationalistic group that promoted the military, nationalism, and the use of the hinomaru flag. If you look at the two sets of kanji marked by arrows, you’ll notice on both labels that those characters are the old style characters used prior to the 1946 revision. This further points to the labels being period. Now to the small label on the back. The kanji means “stop”, however when combined with the .25 yen it most probably means “discontinued” or what we might say in the States “clearance.” The whole package paints an interesting potential picture. An unmarked period flag in a period box labeled with the Greater Japan National Flag Association and the Japan National Flag Company with the label from Chief Priest of Meiji shrine Admiral Arima Ryokitsu. How does it all fit together? Well, Admiral Ryokitsu was the Chief Priest of Meiji Shrine from 1931 to 1943, which matches the period for the box, labels, and the flag. Additionally, flags were sold, and sometimes blessed as an amulet, by various shrines to citizens to be used as yosegaki (寄せ書き) flags. But this flag has no writing and it has a clearance tag. So here’s my theory: the flag was made by the Japan National Flag Company Ltd. for the Greater Japan National Flag Association who donated the flag to the Meiji Shrine sometime before 1943. As it’s chief priest, Admiral Ryokitsu’s label was attached. But the flag never sold. So when Admiral Fujita took over as chief priest in 1944, the flag went on clearance. It must have sold at that time because US fire-bombing destroyed the temple in Feb 1945. And for whatever reason, the flag was never used. Disclaimer: The translations, and therefore the theory, may be completely incorrect. And of course, the true story of the flag/box may never be known. John C.

Aiden , your Naval sword ,as has been pointed out, is junk however your Army sword is definately genuine and could be quite a good one . The presence of the owners name in the silver plaque and the lacquered scabbard are indications of the blade possibly being a good one . You really need to get the handle off in case it is rusting underneath and it is this rust that is preventing you getting the handle off . I would remove the peg completely ,pad the tsuba with cloth or leather then start tapping the tsuba with a block of wood . If you don't feel comfortable doing this seek out a collector who has done it before and get them to help .

The chiseled characters on the tang are imperfect because of wear and tear. But I think that the second kanji looks like 継 (tsugu). The name may be 義継 – Yoshitsugu. FYI: yoshtsug.jpg (91×250)

Thank you very much for all the information and insights you shared with me. I’m genuinely grateful for it, especially because I’m still very much a beginner and have only started learning about Japanese swords relatively recently. The more I read comments from experienced collectors, the more I realize how large the gap is between beginners and people who have studied Nihonto for many years. You notice details, ask questions, and consider aspects that honestly would never even come to my mind to research or evaluate on my own. That is exactly why comments like yours are more than helpful to me — they help me avoid mistakes and learn how knowledgeable collectors actually assess swords beyond first impressions, papers, or historical age. So I truly appreciate your time and willingness to share your experience. Thank you again — your advice has been very valuable to me.

Very interesting Jussi. A couple of things that immediately raise a few red flags. The setsumei states the blade has iori-mune, but the AOI description says mitsu-mune. It's lost 5g of weight and gained 3mm motohaba. Obviously these discrepancies, especially the mune should be clarified, as the staff at AOI have already shown themselves to be prone to errors. That said, the current oshigata clearly shows mitsu-mune. The blade appears to have been polished between 2021 and 2026 as hadori(?) finish and oshigata look very different. Makes one wonder why the owner felt it necessary to have work done to the blade post-juyo shinsa.

Trystan did a little writeup on these some time back. The blades were made in the Soviet Union and the rest in PRC. @BANGBANGSAN

That article is misleading. The first pic appears to be a fake too. The hada you'll see on unpolished swords or ones not fully professionally polished looks nothing like that. In fact, it's barely visible in most cases. And looks nothing like layering. The closest you'll find is visible hada like on Gassan ayasugi hada etc, but in most cases it will appear more like this... There are high end sword oils recommended, but for the average sword that is found out of polish and has been cleaned with Isopropyl, a few drops of any decent gun oil will work to prevent rust. Don't pour oil on the blade or leave a thick layer. A quicj spray or a few drops onto a clean soft tissue, and then wiped over the blade in one direction will leave enough film. If you can see pooling or droplets, you have used too much.

Could the third character be “真/眞” as well? Thus we would have “純正真鐡入鍛” ??