O koumori

Ko-Naminohira

Was thinking about the legend that Daruma's intense stare bored holes in the wall of the cave...

Interesting point! You can see two 'holes' on the bottom left of the obverse side.

Wakizashi tsuba with Wheel of Dharma and Vajra

You are correct - it is mitsu. My bad

Hi Susan, Nice quilt, but Grey is right about using a dark background for photos. The sword appears to be signed with a two-character mei. Unfortunately in the picture the top kanji is partially obscured by the seppa (washer) and tsuba (guard) and I can't make it out. The second character is "yoshi." The blade is signed tachi mei. It is in "handachi" mounts. The blade would need to be carefully examined for flaws and condition before being able to estimate a value. Your best bet would be to locate a study group or experienced collector and have it looked at. If you are not too far, check out the Indiana Token Kai; we meet monthly and would be happy to help out. Dan

Ah, so likely gi-mei. Thanks Ray! Dan

Hello, I could use some help with the last character of this mei on a small tanto. I believe that the first two are 'Minamoto Kiyo__' - but I could be wrong Thanks! Dan

Crickets...

$20 for the Shibata Mitsuo

Not collectable for me.

Hi Christopher, Depending on where you are located in Illinois, if you care to make the trip, the Indiana Token Kai meets the third Saturday of most months at the public library in Martinsville IN. Feel free to bring your sword; we will be happy to examine it and offer opinions and advice. We meet at 10:00 AM EST - but will be in Chicago this month

I have a daisho that has papers for each by Karabu Kantei organization, a group headed by Shibata. Although printed in Japanese, Shibata was a prolific author of books on nihonto and tsuba. Also see

Ghosts must exist too...