Geraint

Dear All. Just to add a little to the theme, search for 'Hirata Donin' and more results will emerge which very much affirm the idea that this tsuba is not from that school. In particular there is a reference on an earlier NMB thread by Guido to this link, https://archive.org/details/cu31924023433349/page/n139/mode/2up Turn to page 102 for the school. Still interested to see where we go with any attribution for Jake's tsuba. All the best.

Dear James. You have posted images of two swords, does the signature relate to the one in the metal scabbard/saya? If so then there appears to be a small stamp above the signature which confirms that it is a WWII blade, as Ray has already suggested. The other sword with the leather covered scabbard/saya and the pierced guard/tsuba is perhaps rather different, do you have an image of the tang/nakago for that one? All the best.

Dear Nathaniel. I believe this is Echizen no kami Nobuyoshi,(but I had to turn the picture the right way up to read!) All the best.

Dear Alex. Just to complete the tale Kevin who used to run Ryujin Swords stepped back from the business a year or two back. It was a shame as his website was very useful. All the best.

Dear Alex. There are some few spots near the mimi where losses would indicate nunome zogan, is Kaga not known for honzogan? All the best.

Dear Mark. Good start, 'Bizen Kuni (no)ju Osafune'. That would be followed usually by the smith's name. Without seeing the whole of the nakago we can't add much but the ridge you note is almost certainly paret of the process of adjusting the nakago during the shortening process. The mei is quite distinctively cut so you just might find a match, it will take a bit of looking though. Of course we want to see more of the sword. All the best.

Dear Carlo. I do not think you will find a clearly defined nioi guchi on this blade, on some there is a clearly defined and uniform line which is consistent throughout the length of the blade. Your blade has a great deal of nie and associated activity and so might be described as a nie rich and diffuse habuchi. In other words the limit of the hamon is comprised of nie activities spreading up into the face of the blade so that there is no distinct boundary between the ha and the body of the blade. Hope this helps. All the best.

Dear All. As far as I can tell I have only heard the term naoshi used when the blade in question has had to be reshaped, not the nakago. As yari mounted as tanto do not need the blade to be reshaped then the term would not apply. I am also puzzled by those examples where the kerakubi would need to have been reshaped quite drastically as I have seen numerous examples where the kerakubi is untouched. Always something new! All the best.

Dear Mark. Please forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but all to often a single description is not adequate, especially as you are conflating the shape of the return, the outline of the boshi and a description of the activity within the boshi. Typically Japanese descriptions are more nuanced and one for this might say something like, ' ko nie dominant choji continues beyond the yokote in midare komi where the boshi is o maru and brushed with nie'. You will have to fill in the description of the kaeri. It is sometimes possible to see a particular boshi and use that to move towards an attribution, sansaku boshi springs to mind, but all too often a simple classification just won't do. It's best to describe what you see rather than seek to assign a specific categorisation to it. Hope this helps a little. All the best.

Dear Deanna. Good idea to point this out. Looking forward to seeing the Yoshinao when it arrives. All the best.

Dear Grev. Memory still OK, Ford does have a video about something similar but in that case the nunome zogan iron plates replaced the same beneath the ito. The example that John has seems to have distinct iron strips almost like elongated menuki. It's a first for me but thanks for sharing it John. Ford's video here, All the best.

Dear John. Thank you for sharing some more photographs, really lovely thing. For what it is worth I do not see this as a repurposed yari. It is a relatively simple thing to shorten a yari nakago and mount it as a tanto without reshaping the kerakubi. The way the hamon runs here, the association with a temple, both suggest that this was made as a ken and therefore, I think more desirable. I have seen that form of nakago once before on a ken though I cannot for the moment remember where, I'll keep looking. All the best.

Dear David. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your sword is a Chinese reproduction. The damascus pattern of the blade, the shape f the habaKI and the incorrect wrapping of the hilt are all indicators If you would like some more information then have a look at this section of the forum. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/forum/142-fake-Japanese-swords/ All the best.

Dear Chansen. Pace Jean's comments, this koshirae was not designed to have ito and is complete as is. While the mountings are not great it is an acceptable koshirae. All the best. (By the way, have you come across this site? https://bushidojapaneseswords.com/ I see it is on an update but well worth keeping an eye on.}

Dear Peter. This may be harder to spot but have a look here and see what you can see to compare with your blade.http://www.ksky.ne.jp./~sumie99/kissakimoroha.html Things to look at are the kissaki/tip and the hi/grooves. What sort of mounts does this come in? All the best.

Thank you for that Piers, I had missed it. I will reply on that thread. All the best.

Dear Peter. Every aspect of a Japanese sword is carefully made so the nakago/tang will be well finished. Also the signature on yours is cut by removing metal whereas Japanese mei are chased so that you can see a sweries of adjacent marks. Have a look here to see this. https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashitanba-no-kami-yoshimichi-osaka-3rd-nbthk-hozon-token/ If you can show photographs of the whole blade then we can perhaps point out some more indicators. All the best.

Dear Dennis. Moving somewhat away from the Sukesada but to address a point from your summary above it is certainly inaccurate to assume that Shinto swordsmiths reverted to shorter mei. Nagayama Kokan in 'The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords' states what most would recognise, that nagamei were a feature of swords in Shinto and after. Examples will be easy to find but mei such as Echizen ju Harima daijo Fujiwara Shigetaka, Hoshu Takada ju Fujiwara Sadayuki and others should make the point. Marcus Sesko has an entry of mei in his Encyclopedia but it simply says 'signature'. There is singularly little in Kanzan Sato's book about mei so the blogs you are referencing seem to have confused the issue. Hope this helps. All the best.

Dear Justyn. My vote is trust your instincts. The question I would ask is, 'Does this look like the work of a great craftsman?' Compare here, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamano_Noriyuki_-_Tsuba_with_a_Chinese_Immortal_-_Walters_51267_-_Mark_B.jpg I would call this muddy, sort of out of focus and lacking the crispness you would want to see. And don't get me started on the design! I am sure others will chime in here. All the best.

Many congratulations, Manuel! All the best.

Dear Lance. Just to get the ball rolling. From your photographs all genuine, the dragon is not a reproduction. The shakudo fuchi is pleasant, as is the dragon on iron for my taste but all have suffered over the years. The brass one might be described as Nara school, compare here, https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/tsuba-kodogu/r125-fuchi-kashira-nara/ Hope that helps a little. All the best.

Very attractive! Thank you for sharing it. All the best.

Dear Hai. Looks like a nice aikuchi koshirae, can we see it all please? All the best.

Dear Logan. If the seller is saying early Edo according to the Japanese Sword Society does he offer anything to back that up, papers for example? So far what we can see is an unsigned wakizashi with a very questionable hi,ouit of polish and with unattractive mounts that may, just possibly, be genuine. You don't say how much the seller is asking but whatever it is you can do a lot better. Unsigned Shinto wakizashi are not hard to find and you can get a lot better than this for not very much money. Your call but this is going to require quite a bit spending on it, assuming that you see something in it that justifies the expense, and given that it will always be an unsigned sword in a category where there are many examples to be found it is never going to repay your investment. Lert us know how this turns out for you and keep looking. All the best.

Dear Jens. Check the alignment between the grip and the blade. All the best.