Geraint

Dear Bryan. Trystan has translated the writing on the shirasaya and the sword matches this. Hoshu Takada ju Fujiwara Yukihisa saku. Forgive me if this is obvious but that translates to something like, Made by Yukihisa of the Fujiwara in Takada in Bungo province. In this case it is quite likely that the sword did not have any additional kanji though it is tempting to think one or two might have been erased above the ones that are there now. This means that it is an older sword made by a prolific school, the Bungo Takada school. My references list four smiths, working between 1480 and 1661, my personal guess would be that this is a Koto sword so perhaps one of the two working round 1570 - 1580. It is quite common for the sayagaki to be written well after the sword was made and in this case it was written to confirm the mei as Yukihisa but also to add that he was from the Bungo Takada school. All the best.

Dear Jean. It's a shape sometimes encountered in very late tsuba type objects made for export, some Shibayama tsuba show it. Which confirms your assessment that it was never intended to be functional. All the best.

Dear Gareth. Try something like, Bizen Osafune ju Yokoyama Kagasuke Fujiwara Sukenaga. Generally the smiths from this line have a particular style of calligraphy, choppy short strokes, and quite distinctive. By contrast this seems much more regular so do some checking with papered examples and see what you think. All the best.

Dear Mark. That doesn't look like a standard Showa blade from the single image, can we see more of it please? All the best.

Dear Mark. The marks on the seppa are from a punch that was used to spread the metal a little so that it would be a good fit on the tang, nakago. Jean's comments are bang on the money, just a side note that Uwe already translated the tsuba mei, " the tsuba (sword guard) was made by “大高寛長” (Ōtaka Hironaga), a late Edo artist from the Bushū-Itō school." Keep up the good work! All the best.

Here's one . Posted it some while ago. All the best.

Dear Mark. There is a lot to learn now you have embarked on this journey! Here are some thoughts to help make sense of what you have discovered so far. The tsuka or hilt is usually wrapped in tsuka ito, the flat silk braid that you will see on most swords. The sageo is another braid that fits through the kurikata and is used to secure the saya to the obi or belt. Japanese tradition makes it perfectly acceptable to have all these restored and to replace the koiguchi. From what I can see in your photographs the edge damage is not too serious and would in most cases be removed by a proper polish, rarely the polisher will opt to leave some if too much metal would have to be removed to get them out. They are almost certainly caused by mis use rather than combat for a variety of reasons. From what we can see your word is ubu, unaltered; this means the nakago or tang is as it was originally made. You have not yet told us the measurements, the most useful being the nagasa which is the distance from the tip to the notch on the back of the blade where the habaki or blade collar sits. It is not going to be possible to get an exact answer as to who made the sword and when unless you go down the route of polish and then authentication papers in Japan but there are some things we can deduce. Keep in mind that false or fake signatures, gimei, are a very common thing in the world of Japanese swords and that big names are especially tempting targets. You have already discovered that there are many generations signing this way and have ruled out the first two so we are pretty certain that this sword was made between 1600 and 1850. Have a good look at the boshi, which is the hardened edge or hamon in the kissaki or tip. If the line of the hamon smooths into a line following the curve of the tip of the blade then it is most likely a Shinto period sword, 1600 - 1800. If the line is irregular or in some way a continuation of the hamon pattern then it might be a Shinshinto blade. 1800 - 1860. Some examples here, http://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/info/boshi_patterns Enough for now? Others will advise you about properly trained craftsmen who can do the restoration for you in the US All the best.

Dear Mark. I'm fairly sure that Jean means noshi, originally strips of dried abalone cut and tied as a gift, now more often paper versions of the same thing. The tsuba seems very nice and all in all o does the sword. So far we are missing the hilt ornaments, the menuki, but the rest of the mountings seem to deserve proper restoration, as does the sword. The tang, nakago, has what are called higaki yasurime, these are the decorative file marks which match the signature and confirm the origin of the sword as the Mino tradition of sword making. The patterned edge or hamon also confirms this as it is in sanbontsugi pattern or three cedars which is classic Mino. Proper restoration is going to be a costly and slow process, take it easy and ask here for advice as you go. A first stage might be to source some good menuki and have the hilt re wrapped. Once that is done you have a complete sword to enjoy. Sooner or later you are going to have to decide whether to get the sword properly polished or not. This is a highly skilled and therefore expensive process. It would be quite alright to leave this and simply keep the blade lightly oiled, avoiding touching it with your fingers at all costs. A poor polish will ruin the sword, a good one is expensive so you might want to hold off on that and simply get the mounts done so that you can enjpoy owning the seord. All the best.

Welcome Mark! I am looking forward to more pictures especially as I think the fuchi is rather nice. Overall shots of the blade might help us date it a little more but it is very common for swords to be much earlier than the mountings they are in so it is quite likely that the blade is somewhat earlier than the fittings. More pictures please. All the best.

Dear Gwyn. If your question is a more general one then the answer is that as Japan modernised her armed forces at the end of the 19th century they adopted European style sword mounts, hence the Kyugunto. After experience in combat with these swords, (and I suspect the rise of Nationalism), they moved to Shin and Kai gunto style which are much more reminiscent of tachi. Forgive me if that is stating the obvious. All the best.

Dear George. Munetada, here's the thread. All the best.

Dear Bob. Re no 151, one of the nicest wangata tsuba I have seen. All the best.

Dear Matt. So I guess we all want to see pictures. All the best.

One here to start with, not papered so not guaranteed to be genuine signature. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24229/lot/17/?category=list&length=10&page=2 It is certainly a genuine antique Japanese sword. All the best.

Dear Mark. It is always hard to tell what exactly one is seeing in photographs. I suspect that the nakago has not been cleaned and that what makes it look as though it might have been is simply reflected light. The same might also be the case for the habaki, which, by the way, seems to be a well fitting and rather nice niju example. I know what you mean about the mei but not all smiths had a good hand with their calligraphy and given that this is looking like a sue Koto wakizashi one would not expect the best. If you search for comparable swords you will seee that there is quite a range in this regard. The koshirae is well past it's sell by date and was always what one might call workmanlike. There are significant differences between it and what most people would understand as Rebellion swords. (If you do a search there are threads discussing these at length). Typically these would have plain iron fittings, often the proverbial washer menuki, very narrow and thin ito wrapped in a distinctive style, whereas this one falls pretty much into the normal range. Hope that helps, if not feel free to come back to me, or perhaps Mathew can join in. All the best.

Dear Vincent. Welcome! Your sword appears to be signed Bizen Okayama Kunimune, which means Made by Kunimune from Okayama in Bizen province. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/KUN642 Japanese swords often bear false signatures so no guarantees at this stage. You give the overall length but the dimension that matters is from the tip, the kissaki, to the notch on the back of the blade where the tang starts. I am pretty sure this will be more than 600mms/24" so it is a katana. The shape of the nakago, the tang, is unusual, it may have been modified for a particular style of koshirae, mounting. It seems to be in shirasaya, a plain wooden mount to protect the blade. It is not in polish which means that almost all the detail is obscured. Don't attempt any cleaning at this stage except to wipe with some light oil. Others will chip in with thoughts soon. All the best.

Dear Alain. How wonderful to have an attributable armour like this, thank you for sharing it. Interesting to see a very functional Etchu zunari, the lack of sode and the very large pierced plate at the shoulders of the kote. All the best.

Dear Bruce, The text suggest that this is a koshirae in the making and that the maker has just swapped out the kabutogane for the chicken. Though I must say that I like the idea of a kabutogane cover, "The universal tachi, just wear your tachi around town during the day but when you want to spice it up for that special event just slip our kabutogane cover chicken head on it and away you go!" All the best.

Dear All. I hate to disagree with John but I think the 'Japan' logo has all the hallmarks, (forgive the pun), of being stamped. Not too difficult given that it is in the softer part of the blade and would not have needed heat. I have not seen it's like before on a sword but it reminds me of the export/import marks on other goods. All the best.

Dear Nick. If you go to the top of the page and click on FAQsystem there is a list of recommended books under the Buying and Selling heading. The first two would certainly be my go to suggestion. Enjoy! All the best.

Ah! OK. In that case you have done well in buying a papered sword as a first piece. It will lead you down a research route. As you investigate Soshu swords you will start to realise that swords have characteristics associated with the region of production, the school of swordsmiths and the time of their making. Origami or papers are issued by a number of groups who authenticate swords based on a great deal of knowledge. There are several types of origami and their credibility depends on who is in the group. Usually NBTHK are the go to standard but NTHK are well regarded. The papers your sword has are from an earlier time when the head of the NTHK was well known and respected. So much to learn and so much to enjoy on your journey, take it slow and feel free to ask questions. There is a wealth of expertise and study here to help you. All the best.

Dear Nick. I can't add to your attribution to a generation but the older NTHK papers have a yusaku stamp which seems to have the double border, this means a rating of 70 - 74 points. Apologies if you knew that already. All the best.

Dear Bob. With regard to no. 136, I am sure that you will already have seen this but just in case....http://www.shibuiswords.com/nobuie6.htm Keep'em coming! All the best.

Dear Jean. Thank you for your concern, I have long passed the stage of crouching over my work but I do find that I have to get closer to it than I once did. He doesn't look a happy chappy does he? All the best.

Finally got around to mounting and framing this pair for the sword room. I particularly relate to the tsuba shi, bit of a self portrait! All the best.