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I have been advised of the passing of Brian Klingbile (Username Winchester) by his wife. She had this to say: "This is Brian's wife, Sarah.....Unfortunately, Brian has passed away. Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful forum. Brian was new to collecting, and was excited not only to connect with others with similar passions, but to have access to learning opportunities for his new passion. What you have here is amazing, and I wanted to let you know that you make a positive impact on people's lives even if you don't hear this on a regular basis. Thank you for being so welcoming to Brian. I have attached Brian's obituary in case you or anyone else was interested in it. I don't know who Brian all connected with (or to what level), so I will leave announcing or contacting others up to you. I am comfortable with this information being shared. https://www.zimmerfuneralhome.com/obituaries/brian-klingbile " Our condolences go out to those who knew him, may he RIP.

I think this is the swordsmith Munechika forging the blade Kogitsune Maru ( little fox ) aided by the Fox Spirit in the form of a youth . See plate 5 of Robinson's The Arts of the Japanese Sword

Hello fellow woodworkers: I wanted to share this shirasaya I made for a naked Monju Kanesada yari. Mostly because of the saya's unusual shape. The shape was inspired by an existing shirasaya I have on a Inoue Shinkai yari. The wood is aged (i.e., very low to no VOC's left from the tannic acid) hard maple with an ebony inset for the mekugi. What makes it particularly difficult to manufacture are the number of compound angles. There is a central peaked rib that runs the length of saya but only on the top, which makes it easier to index which way the top aligns to the bottom half. From the rib, the width is a flattened oval, widening out just after the mekugi ana to accomodate the extra width on the blade section and rounded on the back side. The rear end is also dome-shaped and the tip is sort of boat or airplane shaped. All of which brings me to the challenging part - this must all be done by hand. No power tools involved (with the exception of drilling the mekugiana to keep it straight). Just a kanna (Japanese block plane), some different sized oire nomi (chisels), a bench scraper, and some files. The finish is a standard woodworkers finish of boiled linseed oil followed by carnuba paste wax. Thanks to the various bench scrapers, the wood is extremely smooth and tactile. The Japanese do not usually use sandpaper so I didn't either. It's tough not to hold it! If you have any questions on the process, I will be happy to answer. John C.

Well, feel i have to add something positive here as folks seem keen on pulling Aoi apart. All i will say (in my experience), there are no special saint type dealers in this game. Every dealer will have sold something to someone that has ******them off. Its how they respond that makes the difference. My experience with Tsuruta San has been 95% positive, he accepted a sword back that i was not happy with, without making a big song and dance about it. Antiques in general is a minefield. Personally, i think there are far worse dealers to moan about. Lets face it, buying swords online is less than ideal.

I am excited to announce the release of a document I have been working on: Type 95 Military Sword Variations. It is now available in the download section for anyone who would like to access it. I am pinning this thread in place of the Type 95 Worksheet, of which can be found here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29722-type-95-gunto-worksheet/#comments My hope is that this monograph helps dispel some of the long standing rumors surrounding these swords and assists collectors in identifying the examples in their own collections. This work is purely educational and is intended to consolidate information from several sources into one comprehensive reference. I would like to acknowledge the late Nick Komiya for the huge amount of documents he shared on the warrelics forum over the years; without his contributions to the study of Japanese Militaria, this document simply could not exist. I'd also like to extend a special thanks to the following Nihonto Message Board members, who either directly, or indirectly through discussions over the years, greatly aided my understanding of this type of Japanese sword. I am forever grateful. @Kiipu @Bruce Pennington @Conway S @John C @drb 1643 Tom Foster, @robinalexander @BANGBANGSAN @Shamsy @Stegel @PNSSHOGUN @rebcannonshooter @Grimmdarkspire @matthewbrice @vajo @Brian . Please see the aknowledgements section in the download, and I hope not to have forgotten anyone... This is Edition #1, and I intend to update the download annually as new revelations arise and as serial number range changes are observed. It is formatted imperfectly, but to the best of my ability with programs at hand (I am an enthusiast and collector, not an experienced writer). Please feel free to let me know if you notice any typos or inconsistencies, and I will address them promptly. Feel free to use this topic to post information or questions about Type 95 Gunto. I hope you find the monograph helpful. Happy Valentine’s Day! -Sam

I stumbled across a great little read in the Token Bijutsu Volume 35 about the sale of the Iyo Saijō Clan's Matsudaira Masterpieces. The Iyo Saijō Clan was established with the fief of 30,000 koku as a branch family of Kishū Tokugawa by Matsudaira Sakyō-dayū Yorizumi, who was second son of Tokugawa Yorinobu ruling Kishū. When the new branch came into existence, some of the treasures in the Kishū family collection were transferred as heirlooms. Among the ten transferred swords, three of them were meibutsu, namely, Maeda Masamune, Tokuzen-in Sadamune, and Satō Yukimitsu. Others included two Juyo Bunkazai, a kodachi by Sanenaga and a ken by Mitsutadai. It is said that the magnificence of swords in the Matsudaira collection came next only to the Maeda, Shimazu, and Kishū Tokugawa collections. In the article it, it talks to the sale of a few of these great swords that we have discussed even recently here on this forum. It seems insane that some of these things have actually been sold but there you go. In 1918 or 50 years after the Meiji restoration, two of the Iyo Saijō Clan's Matsudaira meibutso were sold: 1. Torikai Rai Kunitsugu tanto - said by Dr Homma when he saw it in 1950 that he was surprised this was not elevated to a higher status (Juyo Bunkazai or higher) this sold in 1918 to a Mr Sugihara who paid 8,000 yen for it. To put in perspective. 1 yen was equivalent to roughly 51.5c USD back in 1918. So this means the sword roughly cost $4,120. To assess how much this was in the day, an unskilled labour earned you $1/day, whilst skill labour was $1.50/day. As such the salary of an unskilled labourer was $241/year or $361.50/year for a skilled labourer. At the time a larger, well-built, multi-bedroom home in New England cost between $2,500 and $3,500, today this home would cost over $3-4 million. Basically, if you look at the USD prices from back in the day, all you need to do is throw three zeros at the end for an roughly equivalent price today. 2. Kotegiri Gō wakizashi - Initially owned by Inaba Tanba-no-kami Masakatsu it was given official recognition as work of Gō by the origami issued by Hon'ami Koon in Kanbun 2 (1662). The origami also certified that it was worth 100 pieces of gold coins. Later when its ownership went to Hosokawa Etchū-no-kami the price was raised to 130 gold coins. It went back to the Inaba again with the origami certifying its new value was 200 gold coins. Finally it was put into the same auction in 1918 as the Torikai Rai Kunitsugu tanto and was sold for €3,338 or $1,719. In 1924, some 56 years after the Meiji Restoration, the remaining bulk of the Iyo Saijō Clan masterpieces were auctioned off, including their third Matsudaira meitbutso: 3. Tokuzen-in Sadamune tanto - named ofter the owner Maeda Gen-i who had the pseudonym Tokuzen-in. It came to the Kishū Tokugawa by way of the Shōgun Tokugawa, and it eventually went to the Matsudaira in lyo Saijō. It was at the time given the price of 300 gold pieces. It was placed in an auction in 1924 along with an aikuchi-koshirae with a set of mitokoro-mono made by Gotô Kojo. The three metal pieces are of the shishi (lion) design in gold. The tanto and the koshirae sold for 5,200 yen or $2,132 at 41c USD. Which seems a lot but this sword was made a Kokuhō or National Treasure on the 22nd November 1952 and is now held at the Mitsui Memorial Museum. The following is a list of some of the swords of major importance that sold at the 1924 auction: Bizen Kanenaga (unsigned) with shirasaya: 27,800 yen or $11,398 (even though it was not meibutso it became the highest priced sword at the time - we know it is not Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai as none of Kanenaga's blades are Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai. Would love to know what happened to it, is it one of the Juyo Bijutsu or Tokebetsu Juyo blades?) That would be almost $11.4 million in today's money! Norishige (unsigned) with shirasaya: 12,100 yen or $4,961 (People loving Norishige apparently is not a modern trend... Is this one of the Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai blades?) That would be almost $5 million in today's money! Tsuriganekiri Kuniyuki with shirasaya: 3,050 yen or $1250.50 or $1.25 million in today's money! Unreal! Enju Kunitoki tachi in shirasaya: 2,200 yen or $902 Yoshihiro tachi in koshirae: 1,650 yen or $676.50 Awataguchi Yoshimitsu tanto in koshirae: 1, 320 yen or $541 Rai Kunimitsu with shirasaya: 1,250 yen or $512.50 Awataguchi Kuniyoshi tachi in koshirae: 1,250 yen or $512.50 It is also known that more than half of the blades sold at this auction achieved prices above 1,000 yen or $410, that is over $410,000 in equivalent purchasing power today. If we consider the Dr Compton Auction at Christie's held March 30, 1992 as the highlight Japanese sword auction of our generation, then this 1924 auction would simply have been the greatest Japanese sword auction of all time!

Was going through the listings of a local internet auction when I stumbled upon this lacquer panel. And since it featured two swordsmiths working on a sword, I bought it. It came cheap, less than 50 USD including delivery. It arrived today and I decided to share it here. Is this one of those panels that came in pairs and mainly were for selling them to Gaijin? Also I am very curious about the headgear of the swordsmith to the left. The dimensions of the picture are approximately 307x232mm. I also found a round version of this picture here: https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0470-lot-494323?el=494323&lo=&pp=96

Couple more images I have on the same theme. The Kutani bowls is mine, picked up at auction. BaZZa.

Wanted to share an Aikuchi koshirae, entrusted to me by a very good friend. I've held it in my collection a number of months now, so thought it was about time I put together a short post on the piece. The koshirae once housed a Sunobi-Tanto. It must have been a blade of spectacular quality, to be paired with such a koshirae. Visually, the fittings themselves these are quite interesting. Each piece of the set is colourfuly adorned with crabs and water plants, set against a soft background of Nanakoji. Upon closer inspection, I suspect these "waterplants" to be wild ginger, or hollyhock; as stylistically they are similar to the 'cloves' seen on certain Kamon. I thought that this may have been an intentional choice; perhaps to celebrate family ties/allegences of the original owner who commissioned the piece. I feel that these being in *gold* of all things is no coincidence. Now onto the saya... I'm especially fond of this style of urushi; I particularly enjoy the inclusions of aogai and flaxseed/rice husks within the lacquer- it gives the piece a very "three-dimensional" feel. It must take a great degree of skill to achieve such a finish. I do not believe the kozuka itself is original to the set, yet it's subject loosely follows the "aquatic theme" The kozuka shows good workmanship. We see "Omori-esque" beads of silver set into the base, which is a nice touch. The tsuka itself is neatly bound in Jabari maki, black silk over white samegawa. Several sizable 'emperor-nodes' are visible. The selection of samegawa is a telling sign of the overall quality. Again, we see the nautical/riverside theme continuing into the Menuki, with a singular crab peeking through the wrap.

Hello, After some research in the Wakayama I found that most of the Hirata production was in shakudo. However 8th and 9th generation works also in shibuichi and made butterfly among other. So maybe ?! Sharing additionnal photos, just for the pleasure

One of NHK's more recent videos explores the use of Nihonto in Kabuki theatre. It explores the Japanese mindset around swords, how legends influence culture and this space through dramatisation. Nihonto have found a lot of interest through the recent Touken Rabu manga series which has now been brought to life in Kabuki. Animating the sword, makes the people associated with it come alive and makes the art form even more interesting. It was a fascinating watch to get an insight into the spirit of the Nihonto. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3025180/

@wakiboy yup!

Sam "Scogg" has just finished a monograph on the major variations of the Type 95 Military Sword. I strongly recommend that everyone looking to purchase a Type 95 Military Sword read and study this monograph before buying. This monograph can be downloaded via the NMB thread below. Type 95 Military Sword Monograph - Download Section Scoggin, Sam. Japanese Type 95 Military Sword Variations, 1936–1945. February 2026. PDF file, 71 pages, letter sized.

Great thoughts Brett - I think you should propose this to the NBTHK/AB, I am not sure the Japan office has thought on these, they really should. I will point out that one of your proposals is already a reality. The Northern California Japanese Sword Club and the Metropolitan New York Club both have reciprocal relationships via the NBTHK/AB we pay one fee for membership in both clubs. Also we still get the NBTHK magazines in the mail, it is the NCJSC that went digital and now produces its newsletter only electronically... -t

Thank you for posting this Brett, you have made so many interesting threads and it is always fun to open them as I know it will be a good one. I got in bit of a rabbit hole when trying to dig up the blades and ended up finding some great info but mostly left dry. I found out that the Torikai Kunitsugu was donated to Kurokawa Research Institute in 2016. The Kotegiri Gō has been in the collection of Kurokawa Research Institute. Like Brett wrote the Tokuzenin Sadamune is in the collection of Mitsui Memorial Museum, this is absolutely amazing blade in my opinion. I've said few times I am not huge fan of the golden age Sōshū but this Sadamune and few other Sadamune I have seen have been spectacular. From the info that I can gather Maeda Masamune seems to reside in private collection, last mention I have seen about it was 1961 exhibition. As I was trying to dig info about the other swords of major importance mentioned, I found out that the named sword Satō Yukimitsu of Matsudaira family was also sold if I understood correctly in 1934 for 1,798 yen (however another source mentions same person won it for 10,000 yen). It passed Jūyō Bijutsuhin in 1935 and listed owner was the person winning the bid for it. To my understanding it resides in private collection. For the Tsuriganekiri Kuniyuki tachi I was only able to find the person who bought it from that auction and it seems he had some very nice swords. Unfortunately that 1924 mention of the item is the latest info I found about it. Unfortunately for the rest of the items I cannot find anything certain. If I understand correctly the Matsudaira sword list that I have is from 1670, and there most likely has been numerous swords added to the family collection after that time. The Yoshihiro tachi is listed with characters 義弘 so it would be either Gō or Senjuin, however I have not known a single signed tachi by Gō and even for Senjuin Yoshihiro I know of only 1 and that is in Tsurugaoka Hachimangū collection. Also that Kanenaga is really puzzling one to me, also the mumei Norishige compared to other items in the list the prices of these 2 mumei swords seem way out there, so they most likely had super serious provenance.

I agree)

So that’s a little tough for me to guess with my level of knowledge. Especially with a naginata naoshi, as much of my studies has been with katana and tachi. Simply put, I’m just not there yet to give you a good age estimate. The thing with age, is that it’s generally assessed based on SUGATA and the form of the blade. When a blade has been shortened, much of that profile has been lost or altered. That can be said 2fold for naginata, because they’re often not only shortened from the bottom up, they are also often altered at the tip. Please see the heated discussion below. Lots of arguing, but also lots of valuable info: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52155-naginata-naoshi/page/3/ From what little we can see, I think koto is likely. But because of what I mentioned above - big grain of salt. -Sam

This is extremely complicated signature and I am missing lot of key information, however I think I have a grasp of the general idea about the smiths. 越前国□広□□為三十七歳□内□□□守 / 行年七十有二 同子 高柳加賀守藤原貞広 / 国継相共□正□ other side I would believe starts with 正徳二壬辰□三月上日 and there is a lot lot more to translate. This would be made by Kaga no Kami Sadahiro (signed as Takayanagi Kaga no Kami Fujiwara Sadahiro) at the age of 72 with his son Aritsugu while he was signing with Kunitsugu (国継) and the year would be 1712 as that matches the zodiac. I was able to find a reference piece that can be seen on page 11 here (unfortunately the pic is very blurry): https://www.yamasaki-bunka.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/kyodokaiho_063.pdf Both the item in this thread and the one above link, seem to be signed as at age 72 with son Kunitsugu and year is 1712. Markus Seskos swordsmith index and Nihontō Meikan both mention that there is a item signed as at 71 with son Kunitsugu (who was signing 27 year old to that sword) and year is 1711. I think it is extremely interesting item and I hope that you can get correct and proper translation on it, as there is so much that I fail to understand. I would feel the signature would be legitimate as it is such a peculiar one and extremely long.

As a wild guess, I would suggest “戸田彦左衛門” (Toda Hikozaemon)…

I didn't know Brian personally, but I had warm regard and I felt a connection, with Winchester. He often popped into my posts with an emoji and he was always understanding and encouraging.....never changed. Maybe (selfishly), he fitted my narrative, I don't know, but for someone I have never met or messaged, I just felt a connection.....he was a real gentleman. Thankyou Sarah for sharing this....thinking of you and Brian's extended family. We will miss him. Rob

General In 1944 it was realized that the decisive battle of the mainland of Japan was soon to be fought. There was a call for complete national armament and because of the shortage of weapons the study and development of simple weapons began. The purpose was to arm everyone in Japan both military and civilian, with some type of fighting weapon. Research was started in the summer of 1944 and was nearly completed by the summer of 1945. WRF Simple Weapons. Pistol Included among the simple weapons was a pistol. An example of which can be seen below. RARE Japanese Civilian Defense Pistol

Huge thanks for the Sacramento Japanese Sword Club in doing this, and for you Brett to posting it up here. I remember I used to have the Yamanaka books years ago as the red cover variants. I try to avoid the Sōshū timeline as I cannot really figure it out and to me it is not that important. There is just so much contrasting information it is difficult to know what to believe. For example if Kunimitsu died at that time there are still 1315, 1316, 1319, 1320, 1322 and 1324 dated blades. For me it is also very difficult to grasp that Shintōgo Kunimitsu pretty much always signed and sometimes dated blades, yet for Yukimitsu and Masamune it is quite rare and for Sadamune I am not sure if experts accept the extremely few signed and dated swords by him as legitimate. Then Hiromitsu and Akihiro and onwards the blades are pretty much always signed again. The sword in question might be Kotegiri Gō? It is in collection of Kurokawa Research Institute Some info on it can be found here> https://www.tsuruginoya.net/stories/kotegirigou/ Sometimes it is important how things are written out as meaning can be understood in various ways. To my understanding there is a one single Ōhara Sanemori blade that has the character 勝 on it, likewise there is one single signed item by Norishige that has the character. To me drawing connection to these to smiths and two items 150+ years apart would feel like extremely optimistic. Now if the character would appear on the majority of Ōhara Sanemori blades I might feel differently but as it is on a single blade by both smiths I would think it has a different meaning and does not connect the smiths. I do think it is good and interesting that theories are researched and suggested but sometimes it can be difficult to find reference examples to support the theories as this is especially problematic with Sōshū due to lack of signed works by some smiths.

Norishige is an interesting one... The Kiami-Bon Mei-Zukishi of 1351 states that Norishige was the student of 1. Shintogō Kunimitsu from 1308 to 1311 (aged 18-21). That was only 3 years which is not long enough to become a smith under normal circumstances. What it does not state is that it was only three years because Shintogō Kunimitsu got ill and shortly afterwards died. Meaning that Norishige needed a new Sensei and so we are told he moved to Toshiro Yukimitsu's forge to continue his study under him in 1311. As we know Yukimitsu is said to be the father of Goro Nyūdō Masamune and the most senior student of Shintōgo Kunimitsu, so this move makes logical sense in the context of the relationship with Shintogo Kunimitsu. FYI, Kunimitsu died a few months after Norishige left in 1312 - he was only 62. This move is captured in the Koto Mei-Zukishi Taizen who expands on Norishige's studies and states that Norishige studied for a further 15 years (18 years in total) and had a total of 3 more sensei after Shintōgo Kunimitsu. They read like the proverbial whose who of Soshu smiths: Sensei 2:⁠ ⁠Toshiro Yukimitsu (Time spent: 1311-1321) He spent 10 years with Yukimitsu and as such Yukimitsu can be considered Norishige's foundation smith (although he was just teaching him what Shintogō Kunimtisu taught him... Soshu Style. *As a side note, Yukimitsu was actually older than Shintōgo Kunimitsu by two years. That his first dated blade appears in 1319 makes sense in this context. "Saeki Norishige made this." Sensei 3:⁠ ⁠Gō Yoshihiro (Time Spent: 1321-1324) He then spent 3 years studying under Gō. Many assumed Norshige taught Gō but it appears the opposite was true. This is while we know Gō was 9 years younger than Norishige and died 1 year after Norishige left his forge in 1325. Norishige was clearly seeking knowledge from the best regardless of age. Sensei 4:⁠ ⁠Masamune (Time Spent: 1324-1326) After Gō, Norishige finally went to go study under Masamune and spent a further 2 years studying under Masamune - Gō died the following year in 1325. Norishige according to the Koto Mei-Zukishi Taizen literally learnt under the greatest smiths ever - I am not sure there is any other smith that can claim such an incredible lineage of sensei. If anyone was a product of Sagami/Soshu, it was Norishige. Unreal! It also shows the amount of thought and experimentation that was going on during this time - Norishige's blades are renowned for showing all his learnings and experimentations (some great and some not so much) and you can definitely more than any other smith track his progress and development through his blades. He was a keen learner and experimenter and wanted to learn under as many smiths as possible to find out what worked and what did not in persuit of the perfect blade. This included studying under his junior by age, Gō Yoshihiro, just like his Sensei Yukimitsu studied under a younger Shintogō Kunimitsu. It is therefore appropriate that the Etchu School of smiths can rightly be called the Gō School. It also shows how close and familiar all these Soshu smiths really where with each other. To explain the period I can only really compare it to the early days of Silicon Valley, everyone came in from everywhere share ideas, learn, experiment and build a brand new way of doing things. Because everyone was willing to share, everyone literally knew everyone! This is why this period really was the Golden Age. I also want to share a little side story here about Gō which is kind of fun in terms of chronology. From the above we know that Norshige studied under Gō in 1321, but what makes this date even more interesting is that it gives us an end date for Gō's studies with Masamune. That is Gō started his studies under Masamune at the age of 21 according to both the Kokon Mei-zukishi Taizen and Oseki Sho, this means if we do the math then Gō only studied for a total of two years or so, from 1319-1321, under Masamune - as he was aged 21 in 1319. This means this kid somehow managed to download everything Masamune was teaching in just 2 years (creating blades that equalled his master) and then he went on to teach Norishige at just 23 years of age. This kid was a trip. Yup - mind truly blown. I also have some ideas as to what encouraged Masamune to start teaching as I believe Gō was one of his first students, but I will leave that for another day. What is not answered is how this boy genius already possessed enough smithing skills and gravitas to impress Masamune enough in the first place to allow him to study with him at age 21 (I am still researching this - was there a Yamato link, which specific blades suggest the link? Much to learn.) What we do know is that Mount Tateyama, in whose foothills Gō grew up and had his forge (Matsukura District) is one of the three Sacred Mountains of Japan and as such it is said to be the home of heaven and the underworld, so perhaps Gō on one of his hikes up the mountain did a deal with the devil? Would not be the first. Also explains why he died at age 27 like every other legend. I think he may actually be the first to join the 27 club? (I jest by the way - or do I?) Regardless, if the stories are to be believed then, the word prodigy in the ilk of Mozart or Da Vinci is deserving of this kid from Etchu and he definitely deserves to be one of the Tenka-Sansaku. 🤯 Here is a image of a cross section of one of Gō's Tokubetsu Juyo Masterpieces where the Hamon looks remarkably like the reflection of Mount Tate in the Mikuriga-ike Pond. If I was to guess, this kid Gō clearly loved this mountain - he is said to have climbed it to get it's iron sands for his swords from the streams as close to the source as possible. That the quality of his blades have lasted 700 years, some as fresh as the day when they left the forge, speaks volumes to the secret knowledge he had managed to collect in his short life.

By the way, the idea of using a peg to hold in a cord like that is neat, but I haven’t seen any evidence that the holes in the pinch flaps were used for that purpose. It’s an idea, and a small pin could serve to stop the cord blowing away at ignition, but cords burn constantly and need to be moved forward with every shot. A locking pin for carrying then, to prevent misplacement or loss of one’s match cord? Many serpentines do not even have holes there. There is also a theory that they were to allow air to permeate the cord, helping to keep it alight. Or were they simply decorative? Anyway just something to think about, as the answer is not yet clear. We’ve had this discussion before. The answer must be out there somewhere.

I'll try go through them point by point over the weekend. But some of them are excellent ideas, and others are limited by what the software can do, and I can't do it all manually. Some of the stuff there can be done in the new software that I am waiting to update to, but we aren't making much progress towards the $500 that the major update requires, so a lot of it is pending along with a ton of other features people will like. As far as hi res image hosting etc, that would likely also add another $100 a month to the hosting bills so I would need to make sure we don't go backwards. We already have a crazy number of attachment files hosted, well in the high hundreds of thousands, and most hosting comments have been "what the hell....you have allowed HOW MANY files uploaded??" Yeah, 18+ years sure does increase the number of attachments, especially when they are fairly unrestricted. The rest, I'll go through later, thanks for the comments.

This one is signed Gotō Hōgen (aka Gotō Ichijo), made at 78 years of age. This would place the date of manufacture around 1868-1869.

I did receive a scanned page from a Japanese textbook (Nihon Gunto Zuroku by Shindo Susumu?) I'm not familiar with that book.

No, definitely not.

Now the auction just ended, and the tanto was sold for 180,000 JPY. The problem of the blade is much worse than gimei. Its registration paper is a forgery. That means that the blade is not registered and the blade itself is illegal. I guess that the blade was illegally made in Japan or illegally imported to Japan. The mei on its omote-side is 伯州住延秀 – Hakushu ju Nobuhide. I can read the erased signature under the date on its ura-side. The old signature is also 伯州住延秀 (Hakushu ju Nobuhide). Again I guess that the faker originally intended to make an illegal blade with the mei of 伯州住延秀 (Hakushu ju Nobuhide), but he made a mistake and chiseled the mei on its ura-side at first, and then redone the nakago.

I agree with @uwe. Ref. 日本刀販売専門店　銀座長州屋　鍔　鐔　販売品　阿弥陀鑢桜透鍔（鐔）　銘　戸田彦左衛門, 鍔, 尾張鐔工

I'm just a new guy here, but I've had a broad taste for various historical items/collectables over the decades. I always tend to do research on educating myself about a type of item I wish to acquire a couple of years in advance, if not more. That said, when something strikes me and ticks all of my boxes, I will impulse buy. However, that does not mean I don't know exactly what I'm buying. I also tend to buy just one example of an object I want, then move on to something else. In very rare cases, I become an extreme niche collector of a VERY specific form of a thing and over decades will acquire as many as I can of it. Anyway.... Caveat emptor always applies, and most everything has a variation of a compromise, even if slight, unless you have unlimited funds AND patience. I knew about a decade ago that I one day wanted a Sengoku period nihonto. Over time, casually researching, I found myself drawn to a certain style of hamon, and jihada especially. Then via more in-depth research, I found which regions and schools and in what time periods I would narrow my search to. After this, I compiled a list of dealers/websites to monitor. Over time, I noticed trends and browsed posts online about them. All of that to say, I believe a buyer should always do their due diligence (or hire an expert curator to acquire it for them) so that they can identify attributes of an item from all available sources (written, pictorial, documentation, etc.), often contacting a seller to request additional info due to gaps they may perceive in an ad/auction/etc. It's already been said in this thread that simply over time and volume, most sellers will exhibit patterns in their listing details and feedback. In the end, it comes down to the buyer's education and the seller's integrity, should there be an issue. I made a purchase almost 5 weeks ago from Aoi, and thus far, I've found the seller to be extremely responsive, professional, and accommodating. I found the listing details and images in my swords case, to have been comprehensive enough for me to make the purchase without further inquiry. I more or less knew exactly what I was buying (signed, dated, NBTHK, condition, etc.) and anything else was just a bonus. In my case, I found the koshirae (particularly the tsuka and tsuba) to be non-offensive and complimentary. The saya didn't even matter to me at all. When the sword arrives, I expect it will be just as shown, but if there is a problem for any reason, I'm also confident this seller will not "ghost" me if I reach out with one based on our correspondence thus far and having not seen any reports of this occurring to others. Which is good enough for me, what more could you ask of a business? Of course, there are always people who will buy whatever, totally uninformed, simply based on desire in the moment and at face-value of what a listing states (truth, lies, omissions, and all - just trust me bruh). More often than not, those people are totally happy with what they receive and never think twice about it. Mostly because they just don't care or sweat the details like most of us do. At the end of the day, no one is twisting your wrist to buy anything you don't have the warm fuzzies over. If you spot something that feels off, trust your instincts and move on. - But keep in mind, even the most terrible seller could one day come across exactly what you are looking for, then what will you do....

The Honno-ji Temple Museum DAIHOUDEN (The temple where Oda Nobunaga died), has been hosting an excellent exhibition for the last 8 months entitled "Valuing the Invaluable Symbols of the Warrior Class". This has been an excellent exhibition that saw a large attendance. Here they did something more than just show the sword. They also produced life size Oshigata of the whole sword and displayed this below the sword with explanations so the people visiting the exhibition could compare it directly with the sword so that they knew what they were looking at. Basically like looking through the eyes of a Hon'Ami appraiser. This was a great idea. They also provided the valuation according the Hon'Ami based in Gold Coins of how much each sword was said to be worth at the time in gold pieces and converted this to today's value. They gave only one value but the truth is that there are three values that could have been provided, the Gold Price, the Rice price and the Labour price. The most valuable is the labour price whilst the rice and gold price has not really kept up with inflation. Their price appears to settle somewhere in the middle. For example the Masamune Tanto had a price of 50 pieces in 1639: - In terms of rice this would be worth around 2-3,000,000 yen today. - In terms of gold this would be worth around 20,000,000 yen today. - In terms of labour where 1 ryu was equivalent to roughly one year's wages of a labourer. The this would be worth around 200-300,000,000 yen today. These are what the museum estimated today's value* equivalent would be from lowest to highest: - Hirotsugu Katana: 20 million yen (approx. $133,000) - Enju school Katana (attributed Juyo): 35 million yen (approx. $233,000) - Sekishu Dewa-ju Naotsuna saku Tachi (Juyo Bijutsu): 50 million yen (approx. $330,000) - Hasebe Kunishige Wakizashi (Hon'Ami Kōjō origami): 60 million yen (approx. $400,000) - Rai Kunimitsu Tanto: 80 million yen (approx. $530,000) - Norikuni Tanto (Juyo & Hon'Ami Mitsutada Origami): 100 million yen (approx. $665,000) - Masamune Tanto (Hon'Ami Koon Origami): 100 million yen (approx. $665,000) - Rai Kuniyuki Kodachi: 150 million yen (approx. $1,000,000) - Bizen Osafune Kanemitsu Tachi (Juyo Bijutsu & Hon'Ami Mitsutada Origami): 200 million yen (approx. $1,330,000) - Rai Kunitoshi Tachi (Tokubetsu Juyo & Hon'Ami Kōjō Origami: 300 million yen (approx. $2,000,000) This was very interesting and if correct it again confirms that we are living in the 安刀時代 (Era of the cheap sword). 日本刀の美 made a great video of this exhibition that you can view here and you can read more about it here on from Tamaki Joji Togishi's blog post. *I never attended the exhibition but did a quick google and found only one post but without any photographic evidence I could not corroborate these numbers and I could not find anything else so if you did attend or are going to attend before the exhibition closes this weekend, please confirm or deny these numbers. Thank you.

For those who have no idea of what we are talking about... here is an article from 2018 about the craze that started in 2015, such is the popularity of the game that it is still a thing today.

Thanks for the response. Admittedly, I'm only starting out on the journey of Tosogu collecting- I'm still very much in the "honeymoon phase", which may come through somewhat in my writing. I have no doubt that more seasoned (and wealthier) collectors can aqquire much better. I know it's subjective, but for me this is among the nicest I've handled. Just wanted to offer something to the forum, other than my usual reel of questions.

This is an example that you need to compare oshigata with photos. And the matching text. https://www.transfernow.net/dl/202602097pJBrlkZ

Maybe it's just me, but one particular tsuba of mine always gives me a bit of a laugh. It's this little shrimp/prawn and the way it's little mouth is rendered just is quite humorous to me. What do you think...does it qualify for the laugh if the day? Damon

Norishige was also said to be the preferred smith of the Moimoi which makes sense if you are the best smith in the Province. I would love to go back in time to have tapped Albert Yamanaka's mind regarding all of this to get his thoughts or Homna Sensei's or even Darcy's. Man so much knowledge and thinking now lost to time. Of course much of what was not written down is because there is no historic proof and therefore it remains in the realm of theory or speculation but it would have been such a lovely conversation to have had just to hear their thoughts on historical events specific to the the various smiths. Best we can do is read what they left behind (these newsletters being a major asset) and hopefully we uncover a small nugget that helps us understand more. If for nothing else, this is why I love this forum - it is a treasure trove of knowledge and thought.

越後守藤原國儔 – Echigo no kami Fujiwara Kunitomo 但シ一部折返銘 – However, it is partially an orikaeshi-mei. 生國　日向飫肥 – Home country, Hyuga Obi 山城國堀川住 – Living in Horikawa of Yamashiro province 信濃守國廣門人 – Pupil of Shinano no kami Kunihiro 時代 - Era 元和頃 – Around Gen’na (1615-1624) 刃長　貮尺参寸余有之 – Blade length is a little longer than 2-shaku 3-sun. 平成五年極月吉祥日　謹研磨之 – Polished this on an auspicious day of December 1993. 研師　眞津仁彰 – Polisher Manatsu Hitoaki

For everything that has been said about the Bristish Museum in the run up to its latest exhibition... Samurai. Here is some footage from inside the British Museum's first exhibition of their Samurai collection. It is a visual effects tour deforce. If I was to describe it in terms of fashion I would call it "Samurai - The Retrospective." And I think that is what this is, a fashion show that would make any Parisian Fashion House proud. It is visually stimulating. Introducing Gen Z to the Museum World. Is it meant to be a exhibition that truly explores the history of the Samurai? Probably not. Does it try to make Samurai Art/Fashion cool and hip to a new generation? I think yes. I think Gen Z would walk in and say... this is pretty cool. So what if some of the facts may be muddled - they are not reading the boards anyway. This is a selfie moment and it looks cool. And subculture is important. Therefore anything that can be done to break into that is a positive. We need to remember the general theme of museums for Gen Z is... boring. This exhibition is not. Would not be surprised to see strong Japanese themes in the next summer lines coming though Tiktok. The exhibition ends with a Samurai Riding a rubber duckie... this is the high light of the exhibition. Social Media remember. I am sure if Tokugawa Ieyasu was trying to reach Gen Z to promote his Japan, he would approve. Ok, to be honest I am not sure what he would say... This is not a serious, stuffy exhibition for Japanese sword nerds! But it is a lot of fun! And like Touken Ranbu, this does introduce a new audience to the wonderful world of the Samurai. And for that... I think we can count this as a win. (If they really love it they will do their own research anyway!) https://youtu.be/Gk8M78g_FXA?si=tBXqAsTvDeQaIwnh

It’s Japanese. Colours are wrong for Chinese. Porcelain body is a bit too “blue”.

Those are pretty egregious examples. The second one is comical. One also needs to be very careful with papers. A couple of years ago there were 2 'Juyo' blades by Go Yoshihiro and Awataguchi Kuniyasu with altered nakago and hamon to match the NBTHK oshigata from stolen papers. More recently this fake Sadamune. It's a minefield out there.

You can also put some padding into the sleeves (kote) so that they get a more “arm like” shape. Cut two cardboard tubes of about 8-10cm diameter, length normally 20-25cm, and wrap the shin guards (suneate) around. The shoulder guards (sode) are sitting a bit high. That’s probably because the bar of the stand is too long. It should be about 36-38cm… Guess that will enhance your display!

If the date were authentic then around 624 years old, however my impression is that the mei is not an authentic example of Oei Bizen Yasumitsu. https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=51f7e736cc3ae313&rlz=1C1YTUH_enUS1164US1164&sxsrf=ANbL-n5ZA1YvSe7fFuacZEAz9Ky50sgU8w:1770829463352&udm=2&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKpaEWjvZ2Py1XXV8d8KvlI3ppPEReeCOS7s1VbbZz2TLt2sOibMbYx2XAHg-v8xM5VF21PBaI65iLKFQqYKyuNIrDnm7F1EBiwvvxej7VarpUVOsmaAouY6YfTb0P07uvJ1kSkBvJv3ZPqOgqj5jRBD5oez8Cr0DJEYrGkGqbLAnVBWawLvlnnreVGZ3Efk-KXWnq72g&q="備州長船康光"+"応永"&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizqvvo9dGSAxUvhIQIHXlgCJMQtKgLegQIExAB&biw=1085&bih=790&dpr=2.5

Some photos of inal result with bayonet.

For the sake of not creating new topics, here is a bit of offtopic about 3D printed tools. The very first tools I designed and 3D printed were habaki removers for my navy dirks. I have a couple of them and with each I experienced the very same issue: habaki was impossible to remove by hand. Sure, there is a traditional method for removing habaki, yet dirks' habaki are tiny and thin compared to those of swords, so I was afraid to damage them. One of the diks demonstrated that this fear wasn't baseless as one of previous owners already slightly damaged the edge of habaki. So I designed a bushing with a hole whose shape corresponds to the cross-section of the dirk' blade. This bushing serves as a support and provides maximum contact with habaki. With this bushing a tap of rubber mallet on nakago jiri was enough to get habaki removed. In this way none of the dirk components were damaged.

Regarding defects, everyone has their own perception of what they can accept. Some want only perfection, while others don't mind the signs of aging. Often, this is also related to financial resources. The key point, however, for me remains awareness: If you're not aware of what you're buying, you risk overestimating the item. Just to give you some food for thought on the blade you posted: - The fact that it's 500 years old (to be verified) doesn't make it valuable or rare. That's when the most blades were made, and the high demand is generally synonymous with poorer quality. - The signature needs to be verified, but generally for Bizen blades beginning with "Bishu Osafune" isn't synonymous of quality blades, but rather with blades made for purely utilitarian purposes, which are called kazu-uchi mono. - The blade seems hard to read in this condition; you can see little or nothing of the "pattern"—hada, hamon, activity, etc.—the cost of a restoration (If possible) will be around €2.000 (€ 20 -25 per centimeter is the average cost of a professional polish), with the real risk that the restoration's value will be greater than the value of the blade itself. This is just to name a few things. Based on this, as I said, you might still be convinced to buy it. I don't want to convince you otherwise...the important thing is that you're aware. Giordy

It’s fun following this discussion. I agree with Jussi: some of the theses feel a bit simplified, while others seems romanticized (“Silicon Valley” analogy :)) – though, it could just as easily have been a harsh, Spartan-like environment, separated by hundreds of kilometers of mountains, quite the contrast to the elegance and aesthetic refinement of Kyoto. Some of the counter-theses are also deliberately exaggerated (“whether and which swordsmiths ever even met”), not to make them easier to refute, but to show how the scarcity of reliable sources allows for a huge variety of interpretations – and I think that’s part of the appeal for many of us. These stories feel like little windows into significant folkloric influences, carrying an undeniable charm. Anyway, from this conglomerate, the very pinnacle of the Japanese sword as we know it emerged. I’m especially curious about Gō Yoshihiro. What else is known about him? We seem to know that he tragically died at the young age of 30 – perhaps at the peak of his fame – (which fits the Japanese poetic notion of yo no naka). I’m surprised he’s not better known, given that his life and work seem to embody that quintessential Japanese image of “falling delicate cherry blossoms.” In such a short life, he apparently left some of the finest examples of swordmaking, like the Shinano Gō katana. Do people consider Gō Masamune’s top student because his blades are especially faithful to Masamune’s style? And if he really was a samurai himself, how might that have influenced his standing and recognition as a swordsmith? Historically, samurai were not always considered noble; they were often despised, combative warriors who served the aristocracy for centuries as their "retainers", maintaining order and settling disputes across the provinces and the capital. It’s also fascinating that Gō was younger than Norishige, yet Norishige is said to have studied under him. In a society so focused on ritual, hierarchy, and tradition, that must have seemed pretty unusual. I’d love to hear from anyone who knows more about Gō Yoshihiro – his life, his work, or his influence. I’d be really interested in other perspectives and any sources you can point me to!

大和守口口作 - Yamato kami blank blank saku. Looking down the list of smiths with the title "Yamato Kami" in Sesko's Compendium to try to fill in the blanks, a plausible option might be Ujinaga (氏命) based on the shapes I imagine I'm seeing but it's a bit of a guess. Do you have a better photo Peter or can you do anything to highlight the strokes in these kanji to make them a little clearer?

The dealer I purchased my sword from was good enough to provide me with a high-quality photo of the 1958 Torokusho registration. I know it has to be surrendered upon export in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to print it out life-size on to some cardstock to keep with the sword. I think it's cool to have. I've also done some further research on the craftsmen who signed the fuchi, Maruyama Sōzan. It looks like he was active from the Kyōhō to Hōreki era (ca. 1730s to 1750s). The Maruyama school was known for producing high-relief, sculptural fittings that combined traditional themes with a refined sense of balance. It's possible the tsuka has been re-wrapped since then, and it's in hineri-maki style. All of the mountings are a common and coherent motif for mid-Edo; dragon in clouds/waves (representing celestial authority, power, and dynamic force) on the fuchi and kashira, abstracted futatsudomoe forms (associated with natural forces such as wind and water) as the tsuba, and abstract vegetal imagery (evoking growth, vitality, and the sustaining rhythms of the natural world) for the menuki. I found this info in the Haynes Index and Markus Sesko's Signatures of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists. It's been a real joy diving into these little details and learning about them. For me, this is what it's all about when I buy an antique.