Geraint

Dear Nicholas. The linear tagane ato are, I think, in this case more to do with correcting the outline of the seppa dai than with altering the nakago ana. All the best.

Dear Caleb. For the first tsuba research Choshu landscape tsuba, compare here, https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30726/lot/104/an-iron-choshu-school-tsuba-with-a-landscape-edo-period-late-18th-century/ For the second your target is Echizen Kinai school, compare here, All the best.

Dear Pown. In your first post you show an image of the mune of your blade at the habaki which shows a considerable thinning of the blade just above the nakago. This suggest that as well as being machi okuri your blade has received several polishes. This may indicate that the blade is older or that it has received some damage and needed to be repolished quite harshly. In either case the shape of the blade now is not what it was when it was first forged. As the sword is out of polish we are not able to examine the boshi but I suspect that it would be very thin, a consequence of the kissaki being polished down. Polishing also changes the sori to some extent so drawing conclusions from this blade is problematic. Fumbari is a specific condition relating to the blade narrowing just above the habaki, this would be severely effected by either suriage or machi okuri. Using this sword to explore the features of tachi and katana is an interesting exercise but arriving at a definitive conclusion is not going to be an option. In it's present state most people would regard it as a mumei katana. Might it have been a tachi? Well, Colin pointed out a good reason for the machi okuri, the nakago does not suggest that it is suriage and it is mumei. It has seen quite a bit of wear and tear and we don't have indicators from the hamon and jigane so for me the most supportable conclusion is that it is a tired old katana. I hope that some of that helps. All the best.

Dear All. With regard to the small rectangular slot we have seen this before. It accomodates a slim spring catch which engages just like the version on an officers sword and is a rare feature on some tanto koshirae. We had a thread on this some time ago but I can't find it now. All the best. Edit to add,here is one somewhat like it but usually theu do not have the two part tsuba. https://thelanesarmoury.co.uk/shop.php?code=24348

Dear Lance. This is a Japanese sword in handachi koshirae, so far it seems perfectly OK. It is older than WWII and sadly neglected. The end of the nakago/tang suggests that the sword has been shortened from a longer blade. An overall picture of the mounts and the length from tip to the notch on the back of the blade where the habaki sits would be useful. All the best.

I wonder which tsuba of the two illustrated actually comes with this set? All the best.

Dear Travis. Just one more thought to investigate, menuki sometimes depict falconry accoutrements and while I am sruggling to fit the cane into that the tassels certainly would be in the ball park. All the best.

Dear Anthony. Have a look here, doable from Kent as the majority of the meetings are London based. Well worth joining up. https://to-ken.uk/ All the best.

Dear All. Just an opportunity to share a new addition. Hope you enjoy. (Not well lit, I'm afraid, the soft metals really pop in hand.) All the best.

Dear Anthony. Please see the coments on the tsuba in the other thread but please heed the advice about not cleaning anything. Stone is not your friend, please only rest on cloth or wood to avoid damage. From what we can see so far your sword appears to have been shortened as the nakago/tang is not the original shape and has threee mekugi ana/holes in it. To tell you more we could do with seeing overall photographs of the bare blade rather like the example here, https://www.aoijapan.com/katana：-mumei-unsigned-harima-daijo-shigetakanbthk-hozon-token/ The menuki/hilt ornaments are of bows and quivers, the fuchi kashira/hilt fittings seem to be of bats, are they iron? To confirm that it is a katana measure from the kissaki/tip to the mune machi/ notch on the back of the blade. Look ofrwaerd to seeing more photographs and for now just keep the blade, not the nakago/tang lightly oiled unti we can point you in the direction of more help. All the best.

Dear Anthony. Welcome to NMB. Might I ask, was it you who 'cleaned up'the metal inserts on the second tsuba? If it was then please resist the urge to do it again. The two inserts in the mounting holes for kodzuka and kogai are shakudo,a Japanese alloy that is treated to give a deep raven black colour, cleaning them destroys that patina though it might in time recover all on it's own. Steve suspects that the centre dot is mother of pearl but is it perhaps silver? All the best.

Dear Max. So you like swords with some sori and extended kissaki, the unokubi zukuri sugata is attractive. I can quite understand why you are interested. On the plus side is the sugata, the koshirae is pleasant and the price at present is quite low for a mounted and papered katana. I would not be surprised to see it go quite a bit higher during the auction. Tsuruta san is impressed with the hada and presence of chikei and has rated the sword quite highly. This sword hits a number of problems in terms of desireability. First, Bungo Takada school swords are generally considered to be functional but not artistic. How valid this belief is is open to question and I sense that well made Takada swords are creeping up the scale of estimation. Next, this is a Sue Koto sword, made at a time when necessity ruled and swords were in the main produced quickly to serve the needs of large armies and hence often do not represent the best work of a school. In addition this is mumei and while that is not a deal breaker in Koto swords in general it is a bit of an issue with a Sue Koto sword that has not been shortened. Last is the blade itself which while not showing any so called fatal flaws, such as hagire, has some quite visible forging patterns. Your money, your call of course. (Adam got there before me!) all the best.

Dear All. John's memory does serve, a thread here that discusses these, All the best.

From what I recall he used two distinct styles, so called kaku Tsuda or square and maru Tsuda or rounded. Clearly the sword in question is from the kaku Tsuda period if that helps at all. Some more information here, https://www.sho-shin.com/osaka-tsuda.html All the best.

Dear Grev. One discussed here, as with all things a precise classification leads you into ambivalent territory but generally speaking a curved blade shaped form with an integral hook. They are often signed with a spurious mei a little like kogatana, either that or Masamune had a prolific sideline in producing them. As you can imagine jitte are relatively easy to produce and so I suspect that yours is not of great age. If you look closely at the wooden haft you might be able to see scratch marks around the wood that suggest strongly that this has been turned and then sanded, it's a common thing to find in turned work and tells you that the maker did not think to finish the work by sanding with the grain. Of course it might simply be that the woodwork has been replaced. In any case enjoy! All the best.