Justin Grant

Ian I am always impressed by your knowledge and willingness to educate. Thank you. Justin

That is odd. I'd wait for Ian or maybe Eric to comment on it. My limited understanding tells me the side attachments are a later addition. But, like most things, I am more than likely incorrect. I love the Zunari kabutos..

Eric daimyou54eb sent me a message through ebay the other day, maybe Monday. I replied but no response.

Light switch plate.

Photos from the Samurai Gallary (their spelling)

To make hidden files "visable" In the folder you are interested in, click "Tools" from the menu. Click "Folder Options", Click the "View" tab, under "Hidden files and folders", Click the "Show hidden files and folders". It may have more to do with the file association. If an "viewer" is not installed, it won't display the files, but the above steps will make the files show up.

Thanks guys- I am guessing, based on the initially translated part, this may be from an armory, and "stock" distribution gear for the low ranking Samurai, and the number is an “inventory” number. Any more information is greatly appreciated. The armor is in sad shape, all lacquer is gone, no odoshi , etc. It will be a future project.

I recently picked up several armor, and one had this inside it. Just wondering what it says. Thanks! Justin

I had this happen the other day. I was bidding on a Kabuto. All was well for a few day and I knew it would go up at the end. Two days before the auction end with no movement a bid came in and jumped my minimum bid up past my max by 200US. I wanted the item and rebid and the next day it jumped again 200US. I looked at the bid history and it was the same person with 0 feedback. I let it go seeing it was someone running up the price. It "sold" for the high price and I am sure it will be relisted. Just put a reserve on it, the fee is much less than selling it to yourself through a shill bid for a high price.

No expert, but looks like a South Manchurian Railway stamp (see topic above this one). Also looks like someone tried to drill new holes in the nakago.

No worries. My offer is valid and stands. This place is a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate the ability to read and learn. Justin

Brain- I am of no use in contacting Bry, but should you need to traverse the path of replacement, I would be glad to offer a Tsuba or $ to help. If of interest, let me know. Justin

For what it is worth, I was flipping through the Fuller/Gregory 1868-1945 book, and in the back, the oshigata section, had a blade with katagana on it. Said it was made during the war in Sumatra at a Japanese factory. Not sure if it is applicable here, but thought I would pass it along .

Peter, et al, These tsuba, and trying to see an image, are like the posters of the early 90's where you had to look at them to see some obscure image in them. I could never see what other saw.. Simple mind I have, I guess. Anyway, for us less gifted, would someone please highlight the "VOC" so I too can play along?

My uneducated guess ? RI I NA NO ? ?

Did this ever get figured out? I want to purchase a Kabuto and it will take 2-3 months. Any other options? Thanks Justin

Katakana has been around since the Heian Period. I am sure there are major changes but it has been around for a while. Grey, you can open your photos in Paint ( Microsoft Window Application ) and select. IMAGE from the tool bar and then select STRETCH/SKEW and in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes enter 50 and hit OK. It will reduce the images by 50% and you can use different numbers to change the %. But keep both numbers the same or it will skew the photo. Justin

Eric- That is great. Thanks for sharing. Justin

Here is my Gohonzon with the inscription as set forth by Nichiren.

Dakota- If you have convinced yourself that this is a rare and expensive "dagger", then I don't see why you posted your question. You have some of the best and brightest minds in the business and they all agree that this is not a national treasure, and more than likely, not Japanese. I get the feeling you wanted someone to support your opinion and since you did not get the answer you hoped for, you are sticking with your initial assumptions. I think once the reality hits that you don't have the next missing national treasure, you will then be in a position to start your journey. Until then, enjoy your purchase and I hope it brings you great joy. Justin

This one is listed as a 馬杓 Basyaku I have no idea if it applies to the topic at hand, just saw it today when browsing and remembered this thread. Justin

I was told October of 2011. Let's keep our fingers crossed! See the last post by Chris B. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9070

Thank you very much Moriyama-sama! I thought I read the seal properly, but my Japanese is not so good. You are correct when you say many English sites mislabel him. Here is one such site that sold the picture I now have long ago that attributes it to Kako Tsuji http://www.hanga.com/thumbs.cfm?ID=Tsuji&ID2=Kako . It does appear from what I read, Morita Kakô was an accomplished artist, and has works in several museums. Thank you again for taking the time to help me. My wife will be pleased.

I posted this before and received no response, and I really need some help. I purchased a woodblock print from a well-known shop in the US. It was listed as being painted by Morita Kako (1870-1931). It is called Beetle on Narcissus (Picture below). However, when I search for the name Morita Kako, I see several other pieces of his work, but very little in terms of personal information. My wife (this was her Christmas Present) started researching the artist and found that this work is also attributed to a Kako Tsuji and Tsuji Kako (1870-1931) with the same signature on the same work (found an old auction for the Beetle on Narcissus attributed to Kako Tsuji), and many other works in the same style with exactly the same signature. The Kako Tsuji and Tsuji Kako (either order) search produces a lot of information about him personally, but never ties the three names together. Here is a picture attributed to the Kako Tsuji, it is titled Grasshopper on Flowering Plant. To me, the signatures look identical, so I am asking if anyone can read these two and let me know what they actually read. I am not sure which of the 3 names is correct or if all three are correct. I don't know why I see 3 names for the same artist and no one in the art world (auction houses and galleries) seems to get this correct consistently. I am turning to you to see if someone can help translate the signatures into a reading. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I appreciate it! Justin

I have a blade that is still in great polish, and have not touched it in several months, other than to make sure it is not rusting once in a while. I want to oil it now, and this is the first time since having it that I will undertake this process with a polished blade. I don't want to put fine scratches in the polish and wondered what is the best, readily available cloth you can use to clean the blade of old oil before applying new oil? Will microfiber or other eye glasses cloth work? Will the use of rubbing alcohol aid this process? I have seen so many different processes listed, I honestly don't know. On my other blade, it is in need of a polish so I don't worry so much, but I don't want to accelerate the need for a new polish on this Wakizashi. Again, my main concern is putting scratches in the new polish so I want to know what the best material is to use to clear the old oil before applying the new oil. Thanks Justin