Ian B3HR2UH

Hi Gary , the placement of the date looks wrong to me. I quickly checked some of my books and in all of the mei by 1st gen Tadahiro that I looked at the date inscription starts above the mekugi ana . In yours it starts below the mekugi ana which makes me very sceptical about its authenticity. Karl is seeing things if he thinks that he can see mizukage in those photos. In reality mizukage is hard to see. It runs at a 45% angle to the machi and appears mostly in early works by the first generation . It just doesn't appear in the photos of your sword. I would also be troubled that as it purports to be a first generation piece the top stroke of the Hiro character is not the usual diamond shape Others will no doubt dissect each of the characters but to me the Tada also looks way off for a Tadahiro made circa 1630 Ian Brooks

I don't either Thomas. I think that you have come up with the correct explanation . Ian Brooks

Thanks Thomas that's an interesting photo . I think board member Alan from Sydney has one of these on his Kiyomitsu naval sword . If you read this Al you might perhaps remind me whether the cord is attached to the saya or sarute . Ian Brooks

Hi Ben , the "tassel" is a really unusual accessory . In about 40 years of collecting I have seen only one or two of these . The one that I can recall was on a shin gunto and like yours was attached to the sarute . Like you I had assumed that it was some form of tassel. It is interesting but doesn't add any value to the sword. Thomas if used as lock straps they must have been frustrating to use and were probably discarded as being impractical . Whilst I can see that it could be used to stop the sword coming out of the scabbard it looks to me like it would be a messy exercise if you wanted to get your sword out quickly with this " lock strap " in place. Am I right that getting the sword out would be complicated or am I missing something ? I covet a couple of your pieces by the way . Ian brooks

I have said it before and I will say it again , anyone who is foolish enough to buy anything off Komonjo deserves to be ripped off . I hope you haven't been Joel but I don't like your chances. Ian Brooks

I visited this museum about fifteen years ago and as Ian says it is hard to find but really worthwhile . The tanto on display were even more mouthwatering than the pieces Tony has shown . Another fine museum in Italy is the Stibbert museum in Florence . If you are ever in Florence and tire of renaissance paintings then Stibbert is a must . Stibbert was an English army officer, from memory, who indulged himself when it came to collecting . On his death he donated his villa and his collections to the city . He had a fantastic collection of arms and armour . There was also a large room full of Japanese arms and armour . Some of his pieces are also in the Russell Robinson book. Ian Brooks

In the fourth photo in the second set of photographs there is a worrying mark about an inch up from the machi . Is this a problem ? Ian Brooks

Klaus , you possibly have a top quality piece here . I am in Australia so don't know Dave Hofhine or his work . Some of the work on his website looks way better than many Japanese polishes that I have seen however if I owned this piece I would tread very warily. Ask lots of opinions and think along the lines of a Japanese trained polisher . Ken is right it looks in pretty good condition as it is . Take your time and don't rush into things . Ian Brooks

Flemming , don't you think that if you are going to collect Japanese weapons it would be a good idea to try and translate the characters yourself . It is not that hard. Buy a few books and have a go . Ian Brooks

This steel looks a little like that in some Amahide and showa era blades that I have seen. Could it be even later than Shinshinto ? Ian brooks

Interesting that this piece is already up for sale on e bay . If it was genuine I would give the game away . Ian brooks

Hi Rich , I will be blunt and tell it as I see it . The sword bears the name of a famous smith working in the mid 1800s . It is not made by him and it is a fake signiature. The sword is not made in the mid 1800s and was probably made circa 1940. The fake signiature was added to make it more saleable . To say that it "does not strongly match Munetsugu"'is in my view attempting to gild the lily.( and I am being overly polite in putting it this way ) This piece is a fake, it is not worth restoring and you should pass it on. Ian Brooks

For what it is worth there is a smith Kuniteru ( Ku 659 in the old Hawley ) working in Settsu circa 1688 who had the title Yamato no kami . I can find no oshigata of his mei for comparison . Hawley says that he is the same smith as Ise no kami Kuniteru however this Kuniteru's mei shows no similarities to your one. Ian Brooks

Yes I have a copy of the book. I find all of these accessories such as bags, belts hangers and of course tags interesting items. Ian Brooks

Chris , thank you very much for posting this fascinating sword and also thanks for reporting on the outcome of the auction. Ian Brooks

Hi Bob , I would save my money and not touch this one either. It is real but this style of mount is about as low, quality wise, as you can get. No one would put a good blade in these rubbish mounts . . Have a look at the nakago , the shape is poor as is the finish. Give it a miss . Ian Brooks

Hi Sergei, all of Kuninagas tsuba have this mokume finish so it isn't meant to depict wood. From memory Nihonto Koza says that he was a samurai who made tsuba . Ian Brooks

Hi Harvg , there are oshigata of ubu Yamato daijo Kanehiro nakagos in Kanzan Oshigata and Hizento Shiko . Both are signed tachimei . The chances of a genuine Hizen daito being signed katana mei is pretty slim although they do exist. Both tangs end in kuri jiri . Your nakago ending is wrong . Hizen mei are in my experience beautifully cut . In my subjective view yours isn't One is signed Hizen kuni ju and the other Hizen kuni Yamato ( ie one has ju in the mei the other doesnt ) I havent attempted to compare the way the characters are cut but the Kane looks way off to me Sorry but my conclusion is that it is Gimei . Ian Brooks

Hi Barry, I just purchased two of Marcus's books and received a 15% discount using the code that you gave us . Thanks for the trouble that you are going to. Ian Brooks

Perhaps I am getting more irascible in my old age but it bugs me the number of people who make no real attempt to read the mei . This is a pretty simple one and someone using John Yamoto's and Hawleys books should be able to work it out easily . Why do members so readily provide a translation when it is obvious that the poster hasn't even tried.? A grumpy Ian Brooks

This piece was offered on Ebay some six or twelve months ago . I contacted the seller requesting more photos . He pulled the auction shortly thereafter as he had been called to Spain on business unexpectedly. He then offered to sell me the sword at a too good ro be true price . I could pay this to skrill who would hold it in escrow until I got the goods. He would set up the skrill account . When I read up on skrill it appears that it is the buyer who sets up the account and not the seller. At this stage I figured I was being scammed and took it no further. I suspect the scam is that it is the sellers account you pay the money into and not skrills account. The guys activities ouight to be reported to the police. Lovely sword by the way you are lucky to own it Ian Brooks

Well the board membership is either maturing or developing some collective guts. Whenever this seller has been mentioned in the past an apologist has always popped up. Pleased to see no one raising their head this time . Anyone who buys off this seller deserves what they get. Ian Brooks

Good answer , thanks . Ian

Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to what school the tsube might be attributed to. There is a similar piece ( copper plate covered in gold foil with a wave and crest design ) in the Compton Masterpieces book ( Number 80 ) which the cataloguer suggests might be Goto Ian Brooks

Hi Bill , could you or another member who has seen the reproduction Generals tassels tell us what they look like .? Are they obvious fakes or close to the originals ? The Generals tassels I have seen seem to have either the metallic type thread, like yours, or a yellow silk thread about the same colour as the end tassels . On the subject of tassels has anyone seen a brown Naval one with a zig zag thread in it that ,I think from memory , Jim Dawson describes. I haven't seen one of these in over forty years collecting and would like to see a photo of one . Ian Brooks