Geraint

Dear Dirk. You may already know these links but they do point to a significant level of interaction/influence between Kozenji, Mino and Kaga works. https://www.legacyswords.com/portfolio/kozenji-school-fuchigashira/ https://www.legacyswords.com/portfolio/owari-kinko-tsuba/ Given the associations then it might indeed be a close call. I would be interested to know hat in particular sparked your question? All the best.

Dear Luba. Welcome to NMB! As you probably already know this is a lifetime pursuit in terms of learning and understanding so be prepared for some serious addiction. Some of the information you are looking for can be found under the FAQ system tab at the top of the page, including suggested reading. You might also spend some time looking at the Nihonto info tab and the Downloads tab, a lot to get your teeth into. I think most people would suggest that looking at bad swords or fakes hurts the eyes but to be able to distinguish fake from real go to Browse and scroll down, there is a section devoted to fake swords. To see good swords look to the dealer section or you might try NihontoWatch which you will find at the top of this General Discussion page. Feel free to ask questions, there is a huge ammount of hard won wisdom at your disposal here. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Erik. I am not sure if this article will add to your understanding but here it is. https://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html Information relating to fake papers is near the end of the article. All the best.

Dear Marcin. While I can understand the sense of connection with the mon I would ne very cautious about pairing this zutsu with a shingunto. The metal saya and fitings of the shingunto are almost bound to do damage to the zutsu which is quite a rare thing and should be preserved. Indeed you may find that the shingunto koshirae does not fit as most zutsu taper down after the tsuba space and do not allow for hangers on the saya. A lovely thing to own and perhaps to display alongside the shingunto? All the best.

Dear All. Surely not! https://www.bonhams.com/auction/32016/lot/304/a-pair-of-mixed-metal-tsuba-edo-period-19th-century-2/ Apologies for hurting the eyes. All the best.

Dear Jonathan. Just a couple of things to consider. The last photograph in your first post shows what looks like a hamon with no discernable activity and spots in the top of the gunome. Both these features might be seen on an oil temepred blade, specifically Showato. However your sword has yakidashi, a feature that I have not noted on Showa blades. You mention that the sword does not have masame hada which puzzles me, certain specific schools do have this hada but from Shinto it is usually evident in the shinogi ji whereas other forms of hada are evident below the shinogi. If you can discern ko itame hada on your blade does this run over into the shinogi ji? It might be useful to know what you can see in the boshi, is it midare komi? With the sword in hand what activities can you see in the hamon? For an oil quenched sword one would expect none, but that could also be a feature of a Shinshinto sword so this may not help. All this assumes that the sword did not come with papers but if it did please tell us what that says.I am looking forward to other opinions on this one. All the best.

Dear Dean. Just in case you don't know it is in Naval or Kaigunto mounts. I am sure we would all like tosee some more images, perhaps posted in the Military Swords section. All the best.

And one to compare here, https://www.sho-shin.com/shinto-mino.html (Scroll down to the third sword.) Can we have a name to address you by please and more photographs of your sword? All the best.

The figure on the kashira would generally be classfied as a South Sea Islander and they are often depicted on Kozuka towing or dragging a branch of coral, which would tie in the coral insert at the lower end of the saya. Love it! All the best.

Dear Khalid. I believe that Brian, in describing such a sword as one of his Grails was referencing the Arthurian story of the search for the Holy Grail, something much desired and sought after but virtualy unobtainable. In other words I don't think he has one yet. I stand to be corrected and I am sure that Brian would love to be able to do so. All the best.

Dear Maxime. The tsuba is a Nagoya mono, one of the designs that occur frequently. A useful thread here, All the best.

Dear Kent. Welcome to NMB! My first reaction to your tsuba was that it waas a modern reproduction and, sad to say I then found this, https://auctionet.com/en/4546742-a-metal-tsuba-mokko-street-unsigned-second-half-of-the-20th-century Auction houses are oftennot the most accurate with their descriptions of tsuba but I fear that in this case they are broadly correct. Please do wait for others to chime in on this one and don't rely on my assessment but if this is a reproduction then it raises questions about the expertise of your source. Please don't let this put you off persuing this fascinating field of art. To help you get your eye in do have a browse through the third thread in this section, 'A series of fittings'. All the best.

Dear Kahlid. Look carefully at the curvature of this blade, what do you see? Then have a look at the habaki. All the best.

Dear John. I am sure that it could have been however I suspect that it is a late Meiji creation for the export market. Whatever it is it is certainly quite a whopper! All the best.

Dear All. I think I have posted this before but just out of interest here is another variation. All the best.