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Hi. I recently secured this little treasure, a Toran Kei Tsuba from the Kofun period. I absolutely love it, the antiquity, rarity, beauty and charm. It measures about 7cm x 5.2. The wording placed over the tsuba is my instagram account. Mark

Hi George, I appreciate kind words regarding and restraint in not posting my work. I will add the the pics of the tsuba in question myself for you all One of the most beautiful things inherent in Japanese art is the act of allusion and the culturally shared stories told in this manner. As for the eye, it is indeed inlaid with mother of pearl, but the iris is not black bronze. The method I was taught, have seen on antique pieces, and repeated myself in this case , was different. I carved thin the iris area on the back of the polished MOP to make it more transparent , and then blacken it with sumi 墨 before setting it into place. Please let me know if you have any other question as I would be happy to oblige. I hope this info is helpful!! Best regards, Marcus

Dear fellow sword enthusiasts, We would like to let you know that the Dutch Token Society will be present at the Japan Art Fair in Utrecht this weekend. If you are visiting the fair, please feel free to stop by our stand, have a chat, and share our passion for Japanese swords. We look forward to meeting you there! Kind regards, On behalf of the Dutch Token Society, Leen van Ochten Chairman

Hi nihonto community. Even though the USPS office of the inspector general is still looking for the Sanjo Chikamura blade, it still hasn’t been found. I have my fingers crossed that eventually it will be found and will find its way back to me! I do want to mention that Nicholas Benson has been a real gentleman throughout this whole process and we have come to a mutually acceptable agreement. As such, I am happy to continue to be one of his customers and have recently bought some juyo blades from him!

Leen and I had a wonderful time representing the Dutch Token Society at the JAF. Thanks to anyone who came to have a nice chat. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Greetings, Lex

Great summary Rob. My beliefs reflect your own. I am sure that I have shared my example below maybe in the leather covered thread; but here it is to add to the string discussion. I have an early Aluminum Type 95 (Variation#2, SUYA, serial number 7249), that has a string wrapped scabbard. It was applied with an incredible amount of care and precision. Note how the string is not tied at any place, but is rather tucked neatly into itself (see last image). It appears to be coated with some kind of glue or "hardener", I am not sure, but it feels like it's had something applied over the top. Its very cleanly done, and VERY tight. I have always assumed it was wartime, or immediately post-war. I rather like it, and think it adds some character. I do not know if it holds any relevance to the string discussion, but the scabbard on my sword is a unit armorer replacement and is unserialized. All the best, -Sam

More Pictures. Tom

行年七十才 – 70 years old 堀江興成 – Horie Okinari

I was looking through an old Sotheby's New York catalogue of the sale of the late Charles A. Greenfield. The sale was on 25th March 1998. It comprised of 133 lots of exquisite inro. The final lot was a beautiful Inro by Shibata Zeshin 1807-1891. Unfortunately, the reverse is not shown, rather surprisingly as this was the star lot. However, it featured a kozuka and fuchi in shibuichi, which judging from the tsuba on the front, I would love to have seen. The front featured this yasuchika tsuba. The estimate was $40.000-$50.000

Here you go @Geraint, and those of you who cannot open the link. I find the mimi impressive and interesting. I have not yet developed the “eye” that you tosogu folks have; but I find the piece attractive. I’ll have to practice a bit with Curran’s procedure. Could be a nice pickup for someone IF it were to sell for gimei prices. Regards, -Sam

Many of the swords people describe as "a good starter blade" or "an interesting study piece" are mediocre, in poor health and polish, and generally don't really offer anything to be learned from by examining them other than the experience of holding a Japanese sword. This, on the other hand, is the kind of blade I would have loved to start with; a maker of high skill and renown (considered the intermediate quality step between Tametsugu and Norishige, and with many blades that have earned Juyo), in good polish and health, and with plenty of activities in the hamon and ji. A blade like this will continue to reveal its secrets as you get better at viewing it and understanding what you're looking at, and in turn will continue to entice you to develop your skill and broaden your knowledge. Good luck with your sale!

@Marcin These are all images made by me personally; I do not use other people's photographs. The sword is not perfectly mirrored, as I have not figured this out completely yet, and this causes the ura and omoto side to not completely align perfectly, as you point out. The background was removed, which can cause some artefacting around the cutting edge, as I stated. The shift in the horimono is actually there on the sword, as I stated in my description. There are no alterations made to the image, except for removing the background. This can also make the hamachi area slightly vague. Greetings, Lex

I agree with "候". 出来宜敷候 * Deki yoroshiku soro.

I don't want to be that guy, and please correct me if I'm wrong but the wavy shinogi line in the nakago makes me a tad suspicious of this blades origin. There's also something off about the patina on the nakago, looks a little like it's been artificially aged. I hope I'm wrong and will defer to more experienced people but I can't shake the gut feeling that this is a modern reproduction.

Constructive criticism or comments are always welcome, no offense it taken. Just to address a few points above. Way back when we moved to this hosting, we already had well over 250K attachments. Now that number is likely far more than double. No mean feat to try and move hosting. It's not something you can quickly FTP across. I also want to host here in South Africa, so when I have an issue I can pick up a phone and actually call someone. Don't want to be tens of thousands of miles away speaking to a bot. Also, the cost of hosting overseas is more than we can bear, given the funds that come in. This attach has been inconvenient, but we will get through it, and things will get back to normal. If they don't, I'll look at other options. But again, everything comes down to money. The site is well known. Everywhere. Just type into any AI chat "What is the largest Japanese sword forum in the world" The problem is that many collectors are not young anymore. They prefer to collect in person, and many are old school. Even in Japan, it is hard to change that mindset. We would love more interaction, but people prefer what they know. The younger generation prefers Facebook...instant gratification even if the data is disposable and far less reliable. We have a good membership here, that ebbs and flows, but there is still more info stored here than anywhere else. I prefer to keep this mostly on topic. I don't want to cross over to the martial arts much. There are places for that, and they deal with it better than we can. We are about the study and preservation, not so much the use. Image uploading is more than sufficient. Really it is. We can't be expected to accommodate everyone who wants to take a 50MP photo on their phone and upload it directly. We don't need billboard size photos and people need to learn to crop and edit before they upload. Currently regular members can upload 3 megs per post. Since pics can easily be brought down to under 500kb, you are able to upload enough provided you aren't trying to upload pics that are several megs each. PLUS you can then reply and do more pics, with the same limit in that thread, adding more pics. If people want more per post then they can upgrade to Gold membership. There you are allowed 7.5MB per post. More than enough. Pic max sizing is ample to view only. We don't need to scroll several pages across to see everything. I think the post limits are more than enough if people learn free image resizing and learn a little about DPI and what is sufficient. As for the customizable feed, see my post above. This is easy and worth playing with. We will be going to new software by the end of the year and there will be many more features and changes, and I think everyone will benefit.

I visited the exhibition second time this morning, as I will head out to other parts of Japan. Some additional thoughts. Unfortunately that is wrong Norishige Lewis. That is displayed as it has been donated by Nara Iwao to the museum recently. It is Jūyō Bijutsuhin and nice sword. However in my personal opinion the one passing Tokubetsu Jūyō is far better tantō, just a personal judgement. Nara Iwao donated spectacular items to NBTHK. In my personal opinion the hira-zukuri wakizashi by Yosōzaemon Sukesada he donated was every bit as good as TJ swords on display. Also I really liked the Fujiwara Nagasada katana that was dated 1868 that he donated. In my eyes it was very good sword, now it would never be "high ranked" but I dont care about that at all. *edit* forgot to add that the Tsunahiro wakizashi he donated was amazing. The Yasumitsu is one of my favorite items on the display. Even though it is slim and slender in form while I usually prefer the big monster swords. I am not sure if there will be photos of it as photography isnt allowed for TJ items. It is very recent Jūyō, passing in 71, so when they release the book there will be bit more info on the sword. I really don't like the extreme closeups as to me they are not something I personally see when looking at item, and I am not one seeking extremely fine details. Of course I understand that some people love these extreme details. I saw few Japanese with big cameras shooting closeup shots of the few reference items that were allowed to photography. When I am at home next month I should be able to match the majority of the swords to Jūyō level sessions. For the few mumei items I might need to wait until TJ book is released so I can match the item side by side. *edit* While I understand the multiple tier process I am not a fan of it. All of the items that passed the TJ shinsa are incredible items and display characteristic traits and experts would most likely identify them easily. If you would see any of these items with Hozon papers for example you wouldn't think about the paper level but how incredible the actual item is. I think it can be sometimes bit misleading as we talk a lot about these tier levels while I think the actual item would be more important focus point.

I can see why so many were impressed by the Norishige tanto. Thanks once again to Mr Shiotsuna

Piece of paper and the sword in question are unrelated. The sword you have is in mounts that are usually associated with better quality wartime blades. Sometimes star stamped traditionally made Gendaito. In this case, I actually hope it has the original Gendaito blade, as they can be nicer than an average out of polish antique blade. But you'll only know when you take it out of the mounts. CHAT GPT is not a great source of info, and in fact can be irritating with its hyperbole. "...to preserve its massive historic value" is just plain silly. Take off the handle and let's see what you have there. Not a treasure, but appears to be a nice sword. One of over a million wartime swords that ChatGPT deems to have massive historic value Hopefully you have a nice Gendaito worth $2000+ Btw...someone needs to inform the clueless AI that hundreds of thousands of nondescript antique blades were repurposed and purchased for low value during the war to outfit military swords. Not every antique blade was some family blade lovingly taken to war.

And the last pictures. Tom

And more pictures. Tom

More Pictures. Tom

Speaking of katchu this was easily the standout piece with a price to match. Just superb And in a similar vein the talk on Menpo was very educational. I learned a lot from John's presentation

It's always been my understanding that piercing wasn't necessarily the goal. A spear thrust carries a lot of momentum, and even if it doesn't penetrate armor, that force can still knock a man from a horse, dent metal, damage joints, crack bones, and/or incapacitate a person. It's probably worth noting that this is not the predominant shape of yari that we encounter, which leads me to suspect it could have a more specialized use. It's easy to speculate, but let's not forget that these items are from a long time ago from a culture we may not entirely understand. Speculating is fun, but short of some good data or expert input, it's just that. All the best, -Sam

https://tokka.biz/fittings/TS291.html https://www.seiyudo.com/tu-080813.htm https://www.lotsearch.de/lot/a-french-watch-case-repurposed-as-a-nanban-style-tsuba-38922103

Wangata are mounted opposite to a basket hilt the cupped/indented side faces the blade not the grip. There is a theory that the design keeps water and dust from getting into the saya [just a theory IMHO] Most Wangata tsuba would not fit very well into the hand if mounted like European cup hilted weapons- the size would tend to cut into the hand, the exception being the huge example seen below A HUGE novel mounted example [recycling a childs Kasa or Jingasa] and a more conventional mounted piece. I have at least four Wangata examples. Similar theme and design [A bit more "up market?"] https://tsuba.jyuluck-do.com/TU10197.html Video link: https://www.google.com/search?q=Wangata+tsuba&oq=wangata+tsuba&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MggIARAAGBYYHjIKCAIQABiABBiiBDIHCAMQABjvBTIHCAQQABjvBTIKCAUQABiABBiiBNIBCDczNThqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4d96ccfc,vid:ZZQ6A-pRfqA,st:0

Something similar? https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1101293589# This one looks like a rough wire wheel has been run over it! This is mostly ruined and not worth the asking price. Seeing a cloud dragon is generally viewed as a powerful, auspicious omen but there is also the Divine Emperor Myth: Historically, early Japanese emperors were believed to be descendants of dragons. Because the dragon was viewed as an incredibly divine, celestial being, it was a common belief that actually seeing a full, whole dragon would cause a mortal to perish from its sheer power. So parts of the dragon were obscured or could only be seen on the opposite face. It might be a liberty but most large collections will likely have a similar example ["dragon" collectors may have several]

Am I posting too many tsubas to talk about? Should I have put this in the auction section? I'm not planning to bid, I just want to talk about the Tsuba. I haven't seen a Tsuba colored like this one before, I imagine it's uncommon but not unheard of? Very striking design. Almost feels like a halloween theme with the bat and the halloween orange/black jelly bean coloration. It's being auctioned (in about ten minutes) in Vienna at Galarie Zacke. I'll reply later with what it sells for. Auction text below. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/232258999_tenkodo-hidekuni-a-fine-and-rare-suaka-and-shibuichi-bats-at-dusk-and-dawn-tsuba-vienna-vienna

In fact I also had a kogatana in my collection of a similar fashion. Quite nice, very finely made. Best,.Alex

Curran's approach is the same as what I was taught about sword kantei - look at the sugata, jigane and yakite - What does that tell you about time period, smith tradition and maybe swordsmith?. THEN look at the mei and see if it fits. Many of the Japanese books about swords and kodogu are limited publication or privately published, so very little of that knowledge has been scanned into online digital records. So yes, reference books are still required. For signatures, here are a few standards. Probably the most recent and exhaustive in English, but no images of actual mei. I believe it came with searchable files in .pdf format. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b760-the-index-of-Japanese-sword-fittings-and-associated-artists-by-robert-haynes/ Anything by Wakayama is highly regarded. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/?s=wakayama My go-to books with images of validated mei. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b672-toso-kodogu-meiji-taikei-by-wakayama-with-english-index/ Another by different authors. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b755-kinko-meikan-by-senichiro-masumoto-kenichi-kokubo-with-translation/

Kanemori seems to be the mei, and the date is 'showa juhachi nen', 1943. Pictures like this should be shown with the point uppermost so that the mei can be read vertically. Also, best shown against a black background.

Hello Nazar, Good picture.....this 'string binding' of sayas has been mentioned before, maybe on the leather combat cover thread? I believe many of those seen are period, in fact I have a copper 95 with the tell tale makings of old (long gone) string binding. Of course, both metal and wooden sayas had leather covers in the combat environment but what happened if you were transferred without the benefit of a leather cover or yours simply rotted off in the tropics.....string? My belief is that it may have been done to both camouflage and also, possibly more importantly, to reduce any noise occurring from the steel saya hitting the many other metal military objects carried. Sound carries! Rob

Hi again! I'm sorry if my first reply seemed impolite. I only compared your sword to other more easily accessible online sources, like Osaka Shinto Zufu, then came to my initial response. I should have explained my guess with more concrete evidence. Here are some examples from my copy of Shinkai Daikan. I'm not sure if this is against NMB's policy on intellectual property, and I would remove these if so : ( Notice that none of these signatures has this kind of chisel strokes sticking out on the top of the 井 character, a Tekuse (手癖, an act of habit, in this case, when chiseling signatures), no doubt, by the counterfeiter. It's always just two lines from top to bottom in the 井 character with genuine Shinkai's work. So yes, I would agree this is not a Gimei (fake signature) of maximum effort, unfortunately. (The wavy shinogi line and off-looking patina are also telltale signs, as said above.) Edits: Anyway, let's not get hung up on this Mei (signature). This still could be a nice sword in many other aspects. To tell the quality of the work, however, requires much better photos of the sword. I think there are many guidelines on how to take pictures of a Japanese sword on this forum, it's just I can't find any now orz

Unfortunately what you appear to have is a relatively recent sword (late 19th century to early 20th century) where fairly poor pieces (by Japanese standards) were made for export to foreigners. They often feature elaborate (but simple) Koshirae that would appeal to the foreign buyers with little knowledge who bought up all sorts of Samurai wares to decorate rooms or whatnot.

SASANO-SENSEI used pointed tools made of antler, bone, ivory or bamboo to scrape off red rust on iron TSUBA (see below). He also exposed TSUBA to humid air by hanging them out on a string. After some time, he rubbed them with clean cotton and carried them for a long while in the pockets of his trousers. He said the moisture evaporating from the body and the very light rubbing of the fabric resulted in a good and natural patina. On the other hand, Mrs. SASANO was angry with him about that method as she had to mend his worn-through pockets ever and ever again! He also recommended to handle iron TSUBA with bare hands while soft metal TSUBA should be handled with cotton gloves.

I'll admit that I was confused by your original post and reply too, as so much ground was covered historically and geographically that it was not easy for me to formulate any kind of consistent reply. At the propect of all or nothing, I kind of gave up. By the same token, this was a subject that I had not really thought about. Some self-defense requires use of the pommel, and it was also pushed with the left (armo(u)red) hand on occasion. It makes sense that the kashira pommel in particular would have taken repeated knocks when either worn, in action or in transit, and anything truly artistic could have been spoiled or ruined. Horn and iron would show less damage at first glance than soft, delicate (precious) metals, and scratched or chipped horn could be rounded off and buffed out.

At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is if you personally like the sword. As long as you are not going through this process expecting financial gain or a certain level of NBTHK papers, then you won't be disappointed.

Greetings everyone! Please see the attachments for a sword I have that was made in 1993 by sword smith Yamamura Takeshi (Soushu Tsunahiro: 24th generation Masamune). Sadly, Yamamura Tsunahiro passed away on Dec. 9 in 2023 at the age of 80. Best Regards, Robert

Without seeing the blade, there is at least one sign that "points" to it being fake. Look closely at the mei. You'll notice all of the characters have rounded ends on the strokes. This is clearly made by a rotary tool. If you see that, you know immediately it is fake. John C.

Buying a blade is completely a personal thing. I like the idea that the blade chooses the owner rather than the other way round. As such one blade that tickles the fancy of one person may not tickle the fancy of others. I for example am a Soshu fan (probably the most popular category of sword collector) and others think Soshu is nice but prefer the more obscure smiths like @Jussi Ekholm. Some love blades according to their rating preferring the higher grade blades, whilst other prefer the provenance or the story behind the blade and still others (probably most again) just fall in love with the look of the blade or the smith. I can completely understand that when you start looking your list can contain blades that stretch from 1-35 million Yen. This is where the study and research into each smith starts and as such it is the start of a wonderful journey. If you do have big money available to spend then it is certainly worth being patient - there are a lot of good blades out there and the best are listed for only a short time or through friends of friends. Don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket. Find out what/who you like. Keep your ear to the ground (ask those more connected to do the same.) Follow the great apps like NihontoWatch by @Hoshi. Please do continue to share and ask questions. DM those in the community members who show the most knowledge around what you are looking at... Getting an opinion like @Andrew Ickeringill is also really worth it if you are keen on a blade. His keen eye after years of polishing great blades will give you an honest review. I can promise you most in this community are willing to share their knowledge and will help point you in the right direction. There is a blade waiting for you and I can promise you when you see it you will know. Your journey will lead you there. Excited for you bud.

Hi! This is 西陣住埋忠重義 Nishijin Umetada Shigeyoshi.

It was a great fair! Met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. Much to look at, learn and touch!

I forgot to mention that any successful sale will also result in NMB donation.

That’s a good idea, but it’s not easy. Aside from what Sam just mentioned, a lot of Type 95s were sold into China, including non-matching ones. Usually, sword dealers will have someone grind off the serial number on the scabbard, re-stamp it to match the blade, and sell it as a matching set. That being said, the original number on the scabbard is gone forever。

Here is an article by T.C. Ford that outlines some of the characteristics of a retempered blade. Since you have the blade in hand, walk through his points and look carefully at the blade. You may or may not find some of those characteristics. Also, he estimates that 10 percent of the blades in the US are retempered, so there is a 90 percent chance it is not! John C. retempered blades.pdf

The Showa smith Kanenaga was known for making Tanto with similar extensive script Horimono.

For the first tsuba, this part is not asked. But the reading is incorrect. 竪木瓜形 * Tate-mokkō-gata

I think I have seen these before? I have an image of one with the rim removed. A common theme but each seems unique?

The different colours are achieved via a boiling process in a carefully formulated patinating fluid (once they have been meticulously cleaned and prepared) The different alloys assume their respective oxide colours all at the same time due to their differing alloy compositions. Shakudo….bluey black, copper….reddish brown, shibuichi……greyish tones. Gold and silver do not react and retain their original colour. Thats a very brief outline of a very skilled and complex procedure.

You may be looking too far ahead and counting your chickens before they are hatched. A katana? The immediate decision is whether to have this blade polished and would it be worth the considerable cost. A joint work is however a nice little background bonus.

Several new Koshirae added to the site. You can see them here: https://yakiba.com/koshirae/