Geraint

Dear Curran. Could you please expand on what you mean by pre-cut? I know that some have suggested that some inlay is pre-cast and some cut from sheet but as a metalworker I have a hard time getting my head around how one might tell the differrence. Is there anything that might be detectable or describable here? Great photographs, Luca, thank you for posting these. All the best.

Dear Glen. As you say I struggle to find any current reference to Heianjo sukashi and is the link I posted has any value then it seems to be very difficult to determin which is Heianjo and which Kyo sukashi. I have had a sukashi tsuba for years and never found a satisfactory school to pin it to which is what cued me up to Heinajo sukashi when I found an identical example in Tsuba Shusei. Of course it's hard to look at black and white images and see the subtleties so it may well be a case of similar desing, different school. However I would agree that a lot of tsuba that are currently slotted into other schools might indeed be Heianjo sukashi. The link I posted seems to suggest that all three, Onin, Heianjo and Kyo sukashi are interconnected, Onin prdating teh others which then merge. Complicated isn't it? All the best.

Dear Khalid. Just for the record splitting up an original daisho is a terriible idea. At the point that the koshirae was made, or some time before, a samurai paired these swords and had them mounted, you have a complete and historical daisho. Swapping out a blade because at the moment you find it under whelming, (and bear in mind that the longer you study swords the more likely you are to appreciate what does not neccessarily float your boat right now), destroys that historical entity. Add to that each koshirae is custom made to fit each blade so you would have to at the very least have to have the tsuka and saya re made, again destroying any historical context. Better by far to have the daisho and keep it as it is and purchase other swords that you like at the moment. Or hold out for a better daisho. Several available here, https://www.japanszwaard.nl/uk/zwaarden.html Of course it's your money and if you buy them they will be your swords but we have a historical duty to these wonderfull articles, they were created by outstanding people many years ago and will survive us by several hundred years, all being well. Sorry, rant over but I sense that you are feeling your way into this fascinating area of study and collecting and there may be some useful bits here. All the best.

Dear Jesse. Given John's translation, (and if that's quick and dirty one can only imagine subtle and refined), then I am coming to the conclusion that we should place weight on the description as Heianjo zogan, in other words a description of technique rather than a school attrubution. I am just getting to grips with Tsuba Shusei and the Onin section has a variety of brass inlay designs whereas the Heianjo section has sukashi tsuba without any inlay at all. It's an older text now but if you read on a bit in the link I sent you will see that it refers to the overlap between Heianjo and Kyo sukashi tsuba, suggesting that Heianjo workers were prone to work either in sukashi or the brass inlay that we are talking about. There is also the possibility for the tsuba you posted that someone inlayed the insect onto a plate from another source. Complicated isn't it? I'm only just getting to grips with this so others will have more to add/correct no doubt. (indeed Piers already has.) All the best.

Dear Jesse. Just to start you on your enquiries regarding brass inlay. https://www.shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm#heianjo All the best.

Dear Khalid. I agree with Dan, these are nice swords in good polish and worth having, thogh at what price is up to you. However I also agree with Jimmy. Most daisho are so because of the matching koshirae, they most often have blades by two different smiths. From what I have seen it is rare to find two blades that were made from the start as a daisho, ie made by the same smith at the same time specifically commissioned as a pair of swords. Obviously it is far less difficult to find a katana and a wakizashi by the same smith at different times and then bring them together. If you wanted to spend a lot of money on making up a daisho, (and why would you do that? They will always be a made up daisho.) then I suppose these would do nicely. If I were to by these, and it's never going to happen, then I would consider myself as having bought a nice couple of swords by an intreresting smith but not a daisho. As a matter to note these two blades have different shirasaya and different habaki, so what really makes them a daisho? All the best.

Hi Dale. I would sugest that this example fits with the suggestion regarding yari converted to tanto that Jacques made above. As you say there is nothing to suggest that the guard is anything other than Japanese but it would make perfecct sense as part of a tanto koshirae to accomodate the square tang of a yari. All the best.

An interesting anecdote here, http://www.ksky.ne.jp./~sumie99/episodes.html#grinding Scroll down to number 4 All te best.

Dear Lee. Welcome to NMB! Your specific question has been answered but overall this is a nice package for where your interest lies, good condition, all fittings present and a surrender tag. Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Fred. Nice find. The mei escapes me but given the way it is cut and the proportions of the nakago I would expect Shinshinto for this one. Let's see what others come up with. All the best.

Dear George. I'd be very pleased with that. Here's a katana for comparison, you have to scroll almost to the end. http://www.sho-shin.com/edo-echizen.html Enjoy! All the best.

Dear Ed. Your sword looks like Nagamura Kiyonobu, the saya looks like it might be lacquered wood rather than the ususal. All the best.

Dear Ash. It might be Bishu ju Masayasu saku, compare here, https://collectorsmilitaria.com/imperial_japanese_gunto_mounted_gendai_katana_062108.htm All the best.

Good find Uwe, I wonder if the blade Tom posted is the same sugata as the one you found? All the best.

Thank you Uwe, that would make more sense given the rest of the mei. All the best.

Dear Tom. The later half appears to read, 'Bizen Osafune Yokoyama Sukesada', I have not come across any of the school signing on the blade like this so probably an added mei. Others will help out with the rest. All the best.

Dear Chris. Please go very carefully with this, avoid the urge to clean it other than a wipe with some thin oil. Cleaning can devalue a sword very quickly. I am guessing that you know that Tenbun is a period in Japanese history from 1532 to 1555, that Bishu is a short form of the province Bizen, Osafune the village at the centre of sword production and Sukesada is the name of the smith who made it. There were a lot of Sukesada in this area making swords. Can we see photographs of the whole blade and did it come in mounts? All the best.

Morning Bryce. I am sure that you will get lots of replys to this but just to get the ball rolling........ Aoi Art produce really good images so you can see what the sword is, the sugata is wonderful, if you look at the enlarged view on their site you can see that the hada is very clear and consistent over the whole blade. Now imagine forging and folding steel over a blade of this length and doing all that with such great control and without a single flaw. The hamon is also consistent over the whole blade and very attractive. By the by, here I do not think the oshigata does the sword justice, look out for the sunagashi that Tsuruta san mentions, it also is uniform and very controlled. The sword is ubu, it's in great condition and it is clearly done by a master smith. Now, the smith. There is some information here, http://sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p1774.html to add to what you already have. So if Naotane is arguably the best Shinshinto smith and if he mastered all five of the gokaden, (pause for a moment and imagine that you can not only forge a sword like this example but you can do it just as well in four other different ways), and if he was the best at Bizen den and if this is his masterpiece...... See where this is going? The shear technical skill to be abe to produce a sword like this is extrodinary, the ability to do it under such control that you can generate exactly the outcome that you intended without a single, tiny mis step is staggering. OK, I'll shut up now. Thanks for bringing this up, it really made me look at the sword. It's all to easy to skim, isn't it? All the best.

Dear Alex. At first glance this looks like a sanmai awase tsuba, composed of three layers, a central core and two much thinner embossed faces. If this is the case then you should be able to see the layers on the inside of the nakago ana. Some information on this type here, http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tsuba/sanmai.htm If not then others will chime in with attributions. All the best.

Dear Oliver. Lovely find! Try Hiroshige. All the best.

Dear Aliaksandr. An approximate translation is, " Run far, run fast!" All the best.

By the by, Aoi Art site says that this item sold at auction................. All the best.

Dear Mark. Not sure how you viewed this sword but here is a link for a much more comprehensible version, https://www.aoijapan.com/tantokanefusanbthk-hozon-token/ There are some detailed arguements on the NMB about how collecting works but for most people buying is for rewards otherthan investment. If you are hoping to invest in Japanese swords then you need to put in some hard miles learning what is valued and why and then predict what is going to happen to the market over the longer term. Have fun with that! This particular blade is papered, by a well known smith and in quite nice koshirae, from my point of view, and that's a particular one, it doesn't do it for me. I'm sure many others would disagree with me and that you wil get several opinions. All the best.

Dear Alban. To answer your question about the tsukamai then yes indeed it might be lacquered leather, or lacquered fabric or even paper. Many different materials are used, personally I find the style on this sword attractive. If you are interested there is quite a bit of information on tsukamaki on this site, http://www.tsukamaki.net/ All the best.

Just for information the seller is up front about the fact that the tsuka has been added and says the metal is soft metal so copper is a good guess. All the best.