Geraint

Dear James. It is not entirely unusual to have gold menuki, what you do next is of course up to you. I would love to see a picture of the entire koshirae but the really nice wrap is going to need redoing and you need to find someone who can do it justice. While this is happening you could remove the menuki and replace them with similar shakudo examples. For me the decision would hang on whether the koshirae was original or not, I note that it does not seem to have seppa, do you have a feeling that this has been put together or perhaps the tsuba has been swopped out? The tsuka appears to be original and attractive so my perspective would be re wrap just as it is including these menuki. Dealers and collectors have always been inclined to swap fittings, more money to be made selling the boxed fittings and putting together a koshirae. Personally I would regard that as heresy and would want to retain anything original about the sword. If the seppa are indeed missing then you might have to change the Namban tsuba for something thinner, add seppa, and that would change the dynamic somewhat. Looking forward to a picture of the whole thing and what others have to say. All the best.

Dear Chris. Now that Mauro has confirmed the translation of the mei it is time to ask yourself whether such a maker would fit tanzaku in the rather crude way that these have been secured and indeed if he would fit one of them right over them top of the broken peg. Regardless of your conclusion they are very nice menuki. All the best.

Dear Florian. Just some thoughts to add. Like you I have etched soft metals but this link, https://needlewatcher.com/marketplace/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CN_Sugaie-Dragon-tsuba.pdf suggests the aqua forte or nitric acid approach for iron. It is perhaps the case that a generalised use of the term lacquer here might be less than helpful. The term I am used to is stopping out varnish and this is a much softer medium than Japanese lacquer and can be removed with a solvent thus avoiding the use of heat. I attach images of a tsuba I own which shows an etched design, there is something quite distinctive about the outline of the etched areas which would suggest that this one has been etched but then not subject to yakite which would give a much more nuanced surface and design outline I feel. All the best.

Dear Rieker. The same answer applies I'm afraid. Not Japanese and not old. Hope this doesn't put you off altogether and that you are not into them for too much. Have a look at the dealer section toward the bottom of the menu and check out some of the swords there. All the best.

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.