Geraint

Dear Tristan. Just some thoughts to add to what has already been said. Everything depends on the fit of the parts, if this is good then there is every chance that this is how this sword was mounted the last time it was in Japan. It is quite common to find older swords mounted in various ways to serve as Gunto. In this case the leather seppa was probably fittted between the hilt and the guard and an extension passed through the tsuba to clip onto the stud at the top of the scabbard. The habaki is perfectly ok as long as it too fits the blade well, note that sometimes with an older blade the tang, nakago, is thicker than the blade because of repeated polishes, this sometimes means that the habaki does not fit snugly to the sides of the blade but it should fit at the edges. The two holes are not a problem, I have a habaki, no, thinking about it two habaki with the same design. I don't have any clear reason why the saya is white but it looks perfectly OK for what it is. All in all, given that the parts fit well I don't think this is a mixmaster but thank you for introducing me to the term. All the best.

Me too, Bruce. (Although in today's climate I should probably have phrased that another way). All the best.

Dear All. Come on! Let's start with the fittings, poor castings, wrong wrap, menuki, well! Then let's look at the sugata, look at the shape of the blade! Is the mei engraved, as most Chinese fakes are, or is it chased ? If the yasurime have been removed then how come it has tagane makura? I could go on. Okan called this from the first, the fact that this one has a recognisable mei doesn't change a thing. Roman, I'm sorry this is a fake, or at best a reproduction. Very glad to say it was only peanuts. Stick around and have a look at some of the stuff posted and enjoy discovering the stunning quality of Japanese swords. All the best.

Dear Steff. Is this affixed to the metal kojiri on the saya? I speak for myself but could we se the whole koshirae please? All the best.

Dear Bjorn. They are, I think, uncommon to find for a variety of reasons. Compare here, https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2079026 They appear sometimes in prints of samurai in armour. All the nest.

Dear All. two or three to add. Signed Echizen Kinai, nice shakudo plug. Similar design, Bushu? No idea on this one, been with me for years. All the best.

Dear Robyn. This is a veru thpughtful gift which I am certain will be much appreeciated. Piers has given you a good lead on the second, for the first I would lable it as a copy of the famous Shimizu Jingo design, see here, https://markussesko.com/2014/02/02/tsuba-with-the-bird-of-prey-catching-a-monkey-motif/ If you have any interest beyond this Christmas then spend some time browsing here, Bob has a good eye and you will learn a lot from what he has shared. All the best.

And one more to look at, https://www.sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p2288_Katana-unsgined-Niji-KUNITOSHI.html All the best.

Dear All. Scroll to the end of page 2 on this thread and there is a leather covered daisho, For the koshirae in the original post I suppose the test would be does it have a kurikata on the other face? If no then I think it's aleather covered tachi, if it has a kurikata then handachi with removaeable ashi. I favour the former idea as the kurikata, if present would be a pain when worn as a tachi. I suspect that given the condition this is a Shinshinto copy of an early koshirae, compare here for a more elaborate version, https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20802/lot/394/ Any chance of a better image Uwe? All the best.

Dear Uwe. For what it's worth I think this is a perfectly acceptable rig, leather wrapped handachi koshirae with removable hangers.Of course we are only going from one image but do some looking around leather wrapped koshirae and see what you think. All the best.

I hesitate to suggest this but have you considered Kanayama? Have a look here. http://www.tsubacollector.com/3.html All the best.

Fabuluos to see such work from a young maker! Please give him my congratulations. All the best.

Hi keith. The mei on your sword would read Fujiwara followed by the smiths name so the little bit left of the kanji is the start of the wara kanji. Pewrsonally I don't think this is quite the handwriting style of the Shigetaka smiths but I'm still looking. All the best.

Dear Keith. Love the koshirae, I can see why you bought this one. This is not exhaustive but generally speaking the Shigetaka lineage signs with Echizen ju as a prefix, often signing the first three kanji on the other side of the nakago to the mei. Noting on yours I suppose? A side by side comparison looking at the kanji in detail might help but if this were mine I wouldn't jump to the conclusion just yet. Let us know what you find and, once again, a very nice sword. All the best.

Dear Noah. Really hoping you've orderd Dawson and not Dawkins! You have a ton of reading ahead of you! Enjoy. All the best.

Dear Antonio. I reply just to get the thread picked up by others. Could we see a shot of the bare blade, the whole thing? So far my money is on late Koto, pre 1600. Others will chime in here. All the best.

Dear Darryl. In all our commenting about the sword we have omitted to mention that you have done an amazing thing for your son, a true Nihonto, in polish, with koshirae and papers. That's quite a start and I hope he appreciates what you have done. You don't mention his age but please do point him to the information on care and handling, and if possible get in touch with a Japanese sword society near you where he can see many others and learn. In this sword he already has a lead into a significant group of swordsmiths which in turn will move to a grasp of Shinto v Koto and also a signed tsuba which can generate another line of interest. He's going to have lots of exploring to do which hopefully he will love. He doesn't need all the answers and as Steve says it's where we are with the information. First and foremost it is the feeling when you hold the sword in your hand. All the best.

Dear Keith. The ones who spring immeditely to mind are the Shigetaka smiths but....... If you have a look here, https://markussesko.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/nihontocompendium-e1.pdf scroll down to page 83. The list is fortunatley npt that long for this specific title. Just down to searching for oshigata and matching. ( In this case the word 'just' should be understood in the context of nihonto where its meaning is ' endless hours of trawling the internet and all available books whose results will be deeply contradictory and prove to have a reliability factor of plus or minus 80% only to find that when you have convinced yourself of an outcome everyone you show it to will profoundly disagree with your conclusion'.) Have fun! All the best.

Dear Noah. For my money the short answer is no. However it's your money we are talking about so here's the thing. Let's say you get it for $120 and then put a whole lot of time and effort into it, and let's say you are really good and the blade has not been attacked by an angle grinder. If you do a really good job you are going to end up with a heavily restored version of this type which nobody much is going to want to buy. This one's gone. All the best.

Thanks both. Those are some lovely examples! All the best.

Dear Gary. I think Ed might have mixed up your blade and the wakizashi that you illustrated for comparison. I assume that yours does not have date on the nakago? All the best.

Dear RB. Could we have your name please? The mei on your sword is Kaneyoshi. All the best.

Dear Robert. I would say that your translation is correct, as is your observation about the number of smiths. Just a suggestion but assuming the sword is ubu the nakago jiri is a big clue. All the best.

Dear Ronnie. I do not think the silver mon is worn, I think the ground was gilt and the polished silver surface has tarnished a little, that's all. All the best.

Hi Grev. Are you referencing the original post or the idea of mounting a real tsuba on an iaito? All the best.