Henry Wilson

Yippee :D

I'll be there!!

I joined last week and have been treated very well with a nice warm welcome. I don't speak any Italian at all so what are you all waiting for :D Bravo to Lorenzo and his team for putting in the hard work....

Why?

Hi Steve I am no expert but this might get the ball rolling. Tanto around 30 cm Wakizashi Between 30 to 60 cm Katana 60 cm and over So broadly speaking they are length terms. Shin Gunto Shin means New, Gunto means Military sword. These are usually non traditionally made swords and are not true Nihonto The curavture of the swords suggest they were used for slashing and all were used for self defense at least. The WW2 swords were mostly used to boost moral I have been told. A bit like a bagpiper walking through the fileds of Flanders In the Edo period, the katana and wakizashi combination, known as Dai Sho, became a status symbol of the samurai. The masses of the Imperial Japanese Military who were eligilble to wear a sword (sergeant or above I think) would use a Shin Gunto. The more wealthy (usually officers) would use a true Nihonto in WW2 mountings. The navy generally were fitted with tanto blades and the miltary, katana. Also machine operators like pilots and tank drivers might have a wakazashi because they were shorter. To remove rust. Be careful as it might be best left alone. You could try something hard but softer than the bayonets materials. Bone usually works but again be careful as you could destroy the something.

I think nothing lurking, just a good honest guard at a very reasonable price, like all of Fred's stuff is.

Not to be missed http://www.nihonto.com/5.1.11.html

How about a kamakiri? http://tsanda.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mantis21.jpg I would say neither and all to be honest and just call it an obscure motif. I think the design, which is quite unusual would place it mid Muromachi at a guess... Nice tsuba.

I've seen Guido's Nobuie in person and it is very impressive. Nice water wheel pattern from what I remember and a signature to die for.

Nope Brian. I completely agree with you. There is much better stuff out there.

Nice tsuba Pete Here is mine. Not quite tosogu but close enough. The kozuka is here http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?t=6014&p=46643&sid=dbba854e0b93a5964aed805493bf0bb7&sid=dbba854e0b93a5964aed805493bf0bb7#p46643

David Well spotted!!!! It should at more of an angle I think.

I echo John's sentiment Hatanaka San. Congratulations on your business and I wish you every success with your shop. I live in Mitaka so you never know, I might be able to view your items some day. Best regards

That is a rather convincing gimei Ted. The hi would have made me suspicious as well, as Yasutoku did not do hi much (if any) I think.

Looking at the shop address, it appears to be an apartment.

Never heard of them too, but the stuff looks reasonable. Are you doing on impulse or are you buying because you collect those kinds of tosogu?

That was quick Peirs. Thank you for your reply. I would be very pleased if you asked around, as I am considering getting something restored and want to explore as many options, close to home, as possible. Cheers

Has anybody ever had any thing restored by Marutake? If so how were they? http://www.yoroi.co.jp/english/english/index.html Cheers

一六六　和　　野口 166 Wa Noguchi Noguchi is a family name. Wa can be read as Kazu if it is name of man, but because of the fact that 和 is written slightly smaller and off set to the side it could be a marker or a group title or something like that. If the saya is gunto the whole inscription could be a unit number and name of unit member.

The man on the bridge is probably Benkei fighting Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who is in the air. See this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sait%C5%8D_Musashib%C5%8D_Benkei The bad news is that the quality looks very bad which makes it either a fake at worst or a very bad shiiremono (mass produced tourist souvenir) made in the Meiji period. I hope this helps.

Here they are, running into injury time. They are flagging because Gazza got sent off in the first half. ... Or something like that Seriously, this is a Momoyama period, Nobuie tusba from the Tokyo National museum. The plate is in the shape of the ball (mari or 鞠 ) with a poem inscribed on it. I saw it some ago, can't remember the dimensions but remember it was very thick.

It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in Tokyo and the cherry blossoms are just trying to bloom. While researching I found this image which offers proof of nothing other than what you want it to prove. Being an objective observer, can we not just agree to disagree?

Hi Ford I'd love to know

Boris and I posted around the same time. (great minds working in unison :D ) This might add a bit more to what Boris says. 古甲冑師鍔 Ko katchushi would mean Old armour maker tsuba. This would be used for a tsuba that pre dates the Edo period. I don't think the tsuba in question does. 小透かし　Ko sukashi would mean Small cut out. The cut out on the tsuba plate in question is too large. Considering these definitions Marcello, I think the the term Ko is mis-used here.

That is a great scan Ian. Thank you for sharing. May I ask the source?