Ron STL

Thank you very much Morita san. This is interesting to know this. Now the mei makes good sense. Ron STL

Examined an interesting sue-koto katana a few days ago (sorry, no photos) which was signed Fujiwara ju Yasutomo. While a very nice blade in original koshirae (possibly and only found in Hawley), I am puzzled by the "Fujiwara ju" part of the mei. As we know, Fujiwara is a clan name, but being followed by "ju" (resident of) seems strange. Hawley lists this fellow as from Yamato, but I can not find a town named Fujiwara. I'm hoping somebody can explain this for me. Meanwhile, Happy Thanksgiving! Ron STL

Mondo no sho Masakiyo...now I can see and clearly read it. I had my mind set on seeing "tada," not "sho masa..." Certainly not something made by Masakiyo, but still a pretty little piece. As you said Brian, probably a child's tanto signed with a big name. As for that $3 bill, I'll see if I can dig one up for you, Jeffrey. :lol: Ron STL

Folks, sorry for duplicate post...first attempt didn't seem to go through so I reposted it. Mondo

I'm posting this under nihonto instead of translation help (Brian, switch this around if you wish). We have been trying to figure out who signed this small tanto, but also if this would be a miniature copy or possibly a small woman's tanto. The work is very nice quality with notare-midare nioi hamon with clear nioi visiable with a loop. Polish is a little too bright to determine type of forging. The very nice shirasaya shows aging and it too is quality made. As for the mei...that remains a puzzle to me. I thought it might be "(something) naga tada kiyo" but the kiyo for example, lacks all the strokes it should have. My friend who ownes this thought it read (something) masa, masa being the bottom part of what I'm thinking is Tada. A pretty little tanto that the early owner appreciated judging from how it survived the decades. All comments appreciated, as always...especially the correct reading (and identification) of the mei. The tanto measures 14.55 cm nagasa. Ron STL

Thanks Ludolf, I do think that is the case, unrecorded fittings makers likely from a local area. Their work is quite nice and well carved. I'll record this information in the file for the Masaoki and who knows, perhaps more examples of these carvers will turn up one day. By the way, the kowakizashi smith, Masaoki, appears to be Echigo smith who later studied with Masahide, Hawley MAS-366 and 1207. The name is also listed as Masatomo (Oki and Tomo, same kanji). Attached is a photo showing the overall blade and koshirae. Ron STL

After much digging through tosogu mei, I am at a loss to translate these signatures. They are part of a koshira for a shinshinto wakizashi Masaoki. All matching silver fittings depicting waves and dragone, but made by different smiths. Masaoki is not a well known smith, so there is little about him. So, I suspect the fitting makers were shinshinto, local and again, not well known tosogu-ko. The tsuba mei appears to be MOTOSHIGE (kao) but I could not find anything on such a maker. The fuchi (kashira matches) totally stumped me and I could not find anything matching it. The kozuka was thought to be NORISADA (kao) or maybe TOSHISADA...but again, I found nothing convincing using those names. Maybe somebody will correctly translate these mei and, if I'm lucky, be able to say something about these fittings. The overall koshirae is quite nice albeit a little shinshito flashy, but what the owner ordered. This is a special order inscribed blade. Ron STL

Thanks Morita san, that exactly as the kanji is made. So I think the nakago of this sword is definitely understood now. From what I could find out from my books, neither the original smith Masatsugu or Naoyoshi, who shortened this smith were well known. Tomorrow, I will have the sword in my hands to see what quality there is in the sword. Meanwhile, I hope somebody can direct me to that earlier posting of this sword, either here or privately. That would be interesting! Ron STL

Where is this discussion located??? I'll search again, but I couldn't find it. I would guess it's under nihonto? The owner of this sword is not on NMB, to my knowledge, but he recently bought this somewhere locally. Hmmm...interesting! Ron STL

Peter, you're da man! That "mei" kanji just didn't register with me, inscribed as it is on a nakago. Sounds like it could be an interesting sword. I'm expecting to see it in-hand in a day or two. Now to see who Soshu Masatsugu was... Ron STL

After digging through my books, I remain confused with how this sword is signed. These photos are all I have, but they are hopefully clear enough to understand. The tachi side is clear enough: Mihara ju Naoyoshi (saku?) kore. On katana side: ko (?) Soshu (I think) ju Masatsugu. I wonder if this is a sword by the two smiths, or perhaps what I can't understand refers to Masatsugu cutting down the sword? I thought the Ko something was a town, but that doesn't seem correct. Hopefully somebody can explain what's going on here. Again, these two mei photos are all I have. No photos of the entire nakago or sword are with me. Thanks in advance, guys! Ron STL

My birthday comes up in December, Guido. :D Maybe just "copies"...but some of these works are terribly good! I'll show one that was passed on to me at the last Chicago show after he saw my Naokatsu display. Nice to have friends like that! Ron STL

Thought I'd add some (hopefully) better photos...having trouble with capturing true color. Also showing the page from Token Bijutsu 656 p.27 (corrected page number...p.27 is correct. Again, just sharing. Ron STL

Thought I'd share this with the group. While looking at an article on Naokatsu and his students who made tsuba - Token Bijutsu #656, p.25 -one of the tsuba looked terribly familiar. To my (pleasant) surprise, the tsuba illustrated as #8 (Naoaki - moon, waves, pine) is the identical tsuba recently purchased at the San Francisco show. What a nice surprise! Always nice to discover something that has been published, especially in something like Token Bijutsu. Again, just sharing. Ron STL

I traced down where I was told about this wood used on the tanto. Notes read: "This wood is called Tagayasan 驩・・譛ｨ(Bombay black wood), came from Indochina area . It was very precious wood due to difficulty of importation during old days." This came from a knowledgeable person, but Googling this name brings up site after site of fountain pens. Obviously this is/was used to dress fountain pens. Ron STL

Ah...that makes sense! That sounds like what I was told this wood was awhile back and that it came from China. If so, it would be interesting to know why this wood was imported and used on certain swords. Ron STL

Thanks for the very interesting replies! In Kajihara's Glossery an example is noted at "karaki tsuka." I suspect this might translate to "wood tsuka" and not the type of wood, but I couldn't confirm this. Anyone have a proper translation of this? Ron STL

We see wooden tsuka like these (attached). I recall being told this was a very special wood, possibly from China. Can anyone tell me the name of this kind of wood and if it is actually grown in China, or if it a Japanese tree? The one example is on a mumei yoriodoshi tanto, the other from a mumei Mino tanto. Thanks! Ron STL

What a great photo! Thanks for sharing. Ron STL

Thanks Chris, Morita san. Always great to get help with finding this kind of information. Yasuhide's early mei (different Yasu) must the Yasuhide in Gendai Toko Meikan, but without a photo. I wasn't sure about this since I could not read the text. As for the Horii family book, Enshi, I'm surprised I do not have this! I'll have to check it out and buy a copy, if available. Ron STL

Oops...intended to say this is similar to the Arisaka Yasuaki shown in the earlier newsletter. I'll show the nakago for reference. And yes, that splash of nie larger than what should be called ko-nei. The detail really makes it look ara-nei, but it's not that large. Hope you or somebody else can come up with some background on Watanabe Yasuhide. Still looking... Ron STL

Chris, sorry for the delay but I finally took some photos of the tanto. Tanto is slightly uchizori (1mm), 22.7 cm with 9.2 cm nakago, suguha that slightly widens as it approches the kissaki, bright nioiguchi, small ko-nie with a splash of larger (but ko) nie at the hamachi. It is dated and also carries the notation about Toshihide. If you or anyone has some background to share about the fellow I'll include it in the JSS/US article. As I said, a very similar blade to the Akihide used in the previous newsletter article. The owner thought it would be interesting to show another example by a Toshihide student. Ron STL

A friend has loaned his gendai tanto for a JSS/US newsletter article that I'm just beginning to pull together. A related article on Toshihide student Akihide appeared in the March 2010 newsletter. This smith is named Watanabe Yasuhide. I've noticed a number of WWII era smiths carry the name Watanabe (which is quite common in Japan) in their mei. Does anyone know why this name is used by these smiths? It would seem to come from some family/teacher origin...but I've not a clue. Thought it worth asking about. Will include a rough rubbing of the Yasuhide tanto. Ron STL

Thanks Dirk. Checking Fujishiro, shodai in 1672, nine years before the ken was dated to. The origami was from the Toensha (Japan) headed by Kosuke Murakami, with Dr. Suiken Fukunaga. The NCJSC hosted in August the 1976 Token Taikai and shinsa. Ron STL

Thanks Chris, but this link shows the early mei (Naotsugu) of sandai Naomichi c.1864. The ken should be the early mei of shodai Mishina Naomichi, c.1681. Maybe another example of this mei will turn up one day. The hamon is so unlike what one would expect from Mishina school. It could be a totally different Naotsugu for all I know. I'll attach a copy of the origami. I don't think I'm missing anything on the origami and is clearly dates the ken at 1681. Ron STL 1 Naotsugu origami.doc