Curgan

Courtesy is a virtue especially when providing unwanted advice and making arbitrary assumptions...

What is the cover length? I 'd be interested.

I wonder who on earth was fooled to bid that much...

As a former lawyer my knowledge is that, according to the greek law (and I think most continental law systems), if an item is sold by a person that as a profession sells similar items or is displayed at his store that sells such items this can not be considered a private sale, unless explicitly stated so and can be proven so. And in this case it shall be in writting. Otherwise all means of consumer protection apply... Now for antiques another question is risen. Is the seller obliged to deliver an item with a healthy hamon and without age flaws? It all comes down on the agreement and description of the item. If one sells an item as " healthy blade with no fatal flaws" and it has some kitae ware then it is ok as they are considered compatible with age. If there is a hagire then it is a clear case of misdescription. In order to be able to provide a safe assumption more of the agreement and item description must be provided. Like the Romans said "Da mihi facta, dabo tibi jus"

I 've been wanting to order an iaito from them, but their correspondence was in Japanese and I couldn't read it...

By far the most intelligent comment for the occasion (and the best way to reply without leaving any doubt). Thanks for the good laugh!!!

I just wanted to quote Barry and thank all the people here at the NMB for their educational and entertaining contribution at the forums. A remarkable community as said before...

Hi all! I recently got from a forum member a kanenaga koto katana in shingunto mounts (nagasa 27.69"). The saya had a leather cover but it was torn 2" from the koiguchi. Then I got (from a forumite also) a kanemitsu showa era blade in shingunto mounts with a black saya in poor condition and no cover(nagasa 24.96"). I am thinking of taking the kanenaga cover and converting it for the kanemitsu that's shorter. Then finding gunto saya kodogu for the kanenaga and thus having a blade with leather cover and another with the green colour. However, I am not sure about it. I am sure though that some forum member will have encountered my dilemma in the past and provide me this great idea I am missing. Thanks P.S. My thanks to Joe and Kevin for the excellent cooperation

What a pleasant group of fellas they were...

There were red/brown ornate for generals, red/brown for field officers and blue/brown for company officers. Orange is either a forgery or a low quality tassel. just my 2 cents

Morita san, if only you posted and the translation (or wrote the kanji for us to babelfish!) :D

Ah, it is hard to find a honest seller these days... that's why I prefer dealing with forumites.

Steve, if the saya cover is in an acceptable condition I 'd be interested in it ...

red also (the light might make it seem like orange)

it's quite heavy, I estiamte 130-140gr. I 'll weight it at a drugstore on Monday

Ford, you are a school by yourself.

By all means Ford... your authority on the subject is always most welcome. The "seppa dai" line is lost at some point and the nakago and hitsu ana don't have casting lines on them. What do you assume of it? P.S If you 'd like more pics of the "inlays" I 'd be happy to provide as much "unpleasant" that might be...

I got this tsuba a few days ago. Based on the seller's pics, I thought it was a shibuichi one and was amazed to discover it was a silver one. I asked and a jeweller for confirmation and he concluded it is indeed silver. It seems that silver photographed with flash turns to grey. Anyway,since it isn't what I 've been looking for, I will list this tsuba for sale soon at the price of purchase, but first I 'd like to know what fellow members think of its school and era. The tsuba is made of silver with gold peonies and butterflies. Dimensions 7.0x7.4x0.4 cm. There are something that looks like a strass on the gold. The nanako continues on the rim and there are some signs of wear in areas. The marks at the nakago ana and the blackening at the hitsu ana interior reveal that it's solid silver IMHO. The person who sold it to me mentioned that the original Japanese owner bought it 25 years ago from a museum. After his death his widow sold it and eventually ended up with me. Thanks everyone for your opinion...

Wow!

Even if I had the money, I wouldn't pay that much... PS the last two bidders must be really desperate for the tassel.

Autosuggestion (especially when combined with ignorance or superstition) is a mighty power...

In either case thanks to your advice I bought the book! Thanks!

Any opinions on "Tosogu no Kigen" by Sasano Masayuki regarding its educational value regarding tsuba appreciation?

I think we are trying to interpete Japanese culture with our own "western" standards. According to the "western" point of view the inanimate have no "energy", soul, karma or anything. They are just objects. The Japanese are a whole and completely different culture. They write with kanji not alphabet, they sit in awkward positions, they place their words in a strange (to us) order, they forge their swords with religious ceremonies, they practice martial arts in front of a shrine and they greet their swords when holding or using them... Anyway, it is common knowledge that traditionaly the Japanese associate swords with religion. The article does nothing more than to describe this association. Strange may be for a "westerner", but totaly normal and logical under a Japanese point of view. I think these differences make Japanese culture so fascinating to many of us

Exactly! :D