Geraint

Dear Dale. An interesting group, some of which I guess will have to end up as generic. However number 5 might be Kumagai, compare here, http://www.nihonto.us/HIGO JINGO 2 LD.htm You don't indicate thickness but if thin number 2 might be an early plate with later decorative additions. 16 Echizen Kinai? I am sure others will have ideas for you. All the best.

Dear Jeremy. This is not a Japanese sword, as Jean has suggested. No point trying to make kanji fit. All the best.

Dear Bob. Oh , how I wish that were true! That part just jumped out from the photograph. By the way another lovely tsuba. I love the positive/negative aspect of the design. All the best.

Dear Bob. Have I missed something? This one is also signed Echizen ju. No? All the best.

Dear Steve. As you say you have embarked on a lifelong journey of discovery and learning, this sword will give you plenty to work on. It's in polish so you will be able to see what the sword has to offer and as everyone else has said the koshirae is very nice. One observation is that with three seppa it is possible that at some time the tsuba has been swapped out, the present one looks like a sanmai tsuba, something to look into when it arrives. Enjoy the moment of opening the parcel! All the best.

Dear Bob. This set, https://tokka.biz/fittings/FK207.html The description would suggest that the phrase references the design rather than shape of the tsuba or artist. Love it by the way. (And I don't think I have ever seen a winged tiger either.) All the best.

Dear P. Some more information here. https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tsuba/sanmai.htm All the best.

Dear Grev. I think in this context it means something like, "Take your hand away from your wallet, take it away quickly and no one gets hurt!" All the best.

Dear Johan. OK, I'll bite. The lack of response may be because you are seeking meaning where none exists. Dating a saya such as this is almost meaningless, the only useful guide is that good black lacquer takes on a deep brown tinge over time. Japanese lacquer at it's best is stunning. At the other end of the scale it is tawdry. The quality of the work on the example you post is not great, I do not think that can be accounted for by wear. The weed is quickly done and without great precision, the fish are delineated crudely and the octopus looks like it has been out of the water for rather too long. To summarise, the quality of the decoration is low. There is the possibility that this was a perfectly plain saya that has received the attentions of someone trying to tempt the Gaijin in the late 19th century or early 20th. This idea would be supported by the rather nice horn fittings. All the best.

Dear Jason. In this case trust your eyes. All the best.

Dear Dan. You are basically correct, tachi would be signed on the opposite side if not shortened. In effect this is a katana in tachi koshirae. The style of koshirae is not uncommon and is generally suggested to be for Imperial celebrations at the very end of the 19th century or the start of the 20th. The fittings are usually brass, engraved with floral designs and often silver plated. Here's another example. All the best.

Dear Jayden. Your first to picture show the swordsmiths signature which is Tsuda Omi no kami Sukenao. The other side is the date which I can't quite make out. This is a big name and there is a probability that this signature will not be genuine. However don't do anything in the way of cleaning at all and take a few more pictures for others to asses. Whatever the consensus this is a genuine Japanese sword and deserves looking after. One to compare here, you can see why I suggested a fake signature, http://www.samuraisword.com/nihonto/Hozon/Sukenao/index.htm All the best.

Dear Barry. Nice kaigunto. Photographs of the entire nakago, both sides would help. All the best.

Dear Danielle. Your sword is signed, "Kazusa no Suke Fujiwara Kaneshige". This is a smith named Kaneshige who was working around 1660, there are two possible smiths. As with all art works the possibility of a forged signature exists but I don't think it likely in this case. It is in samurai mounts and although we can't see much detail they look attractive. You don't give a length, which is measured from the tip to the notch on the back edge where the habaki, (blade collar) sits, but I am guessing that it is katana length, i.e. 24" plus. It's a nice thing and should be cared for. It looks in quite good condition. Do not do anything to it, very important. Don't be tempted to clean the tang or anything else, it is just as it should be. Above all don't touch the blade with your bare hands. There may be a member of the NMB who is near you who can give you a hands on appraisal but most of us would like to see a shot of the bare blade without the fittings. All the best.

Dear Dale. For what it is worth I see too many differences for these to be called a daisho, apart from the base material and the seppa dai design. e.g. detail of the tail at one o'clock, carving of the mimi, detail of the dragon head at 12 o'clock, sinuosity of the tail at 9 o'clock and so forth. I would suggest that the kinko version is a pale imitation of the quality of the iron example. Not all daisho koshirae have what we might call a true daisho pair of tsuba. I can recall a daisho where the smaller tsuba was a lacquered pair to the larger which clearly had been done when the daisho koshirae was produced. I think you are right when you suggest utsushi or what in other circles might be called school of. All the best.

Dear Stephen. Love it! All the best.

I see what you did there! You could really do with a shot of the whole blade but if you are thinking of buying it then go for what the kyugunto is worth and anything else is a bonus. Let us know how it turns out. All the best.

Dear Bob. Another beauty! I love the face. I think he is wearing a mino, cf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mino_(straw_cape) All the best.

Dear Nicholas. Once you enter the territory of gimei then there are a whole host of possibilities and in the end none of them matter. If the sword was by the smith we are discussing then he is a big name, and, as you might expect, his work commands big money. One option is that the smith who made it did not have a reputation and so was tempted to up his asking price by adding the great name, another is that a later dealer had the same motive and had the name added. If you read around the area of faking in art generally then one of the most powerful motives is the grievance that as a maker you do very good work but nobody will pay you what you deserve, instead they throw stupid money at some guy whose work is, in your opinion, no better than yours. A successful fake gets you decent money and gives you the confirmation that you are as good as the guy with the big name, plus you are smarter than the people buying the stuff. Financial reward plus a psychological boost, what more could you ask? Now back to your sword. By any standards a well made Japanese sword is a piece of work. I would encourage you to show it to some experienced collectors before you do anything about it. They may think it worth having the mei professionally removed and submitting for papers. Not easy to tell very much from the pictures but you are on a learning journey and this is a good sword to get you started. As I said, enjoy. All the best.

Dear Nicholas. You are very wise in your statement. First, as you say there is an 'if' regarding the signature. False, or to say the least optimistic signatures are common. Second there are other possibilities in addition to Yasutsugu, have a look at this one. http://www.nihonto.us/ECHIZEN SHIMOSAKA WAKIZASHI DE.htm You could search for papered examples of swords with this mei and compare but do so with a critical mind, it comes down to the exact formation of the individual kanji and the handwriting, for want of a better term. Also worth getting in touch with a local sword group if such exists for you, and letting them look at it in hand. In any event it's quite a sword, especially with a nagasa of 30". Does it have koshirae or is it in shirasaya? Have fun! All the best.

Just to add, there is a kaigunto preserved at Dartmouth Royal Naval college, presented by Lord Louis Mountbatten. All the best.

Dear Bob. In reference to no.24 https://theheritagetrust.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/object-of-the-month-the-hare-of-inaba-leaping-over-waves/ All the best.

Dear All. While browsing subjects of interest I came across this little piece on YouTube, you only need to watch the first minute or so to see the presentation, unfortunately a bit grainy. It would be really nice to know what was presented and what happened to it. All the best.

Dear Johan. Just to amplify Brian's point, when we use the term chisel we assume that the cut will remove metal leaving a channel in the surface. In fact swords are signed in a manner resembling chasing, a shaped chisel deforms the metal leaving a channel but with raised metal on either side. In Japanese these are referred to as tagane makura, or chisel pillows. One way of observing the age of a signature is to note whether these are still present or have been rubbed down over time. They also feature when a mei is properly removed. As no metal has been lost when the mei was cut a skilled smith can move the metal back, effectively restoring the nakago to an unsigned state. The triangular shaped marks that you have observed are left by the point of the chisel which is held at an angle to the work and tapped gently. In the very thin metal and with the very small kanji these are easy to see. The characteristic line left by the tagane is one of the indicators that a blade is Japanese as most fakers tend to engrave the mei, cutting metal away and leaving a smooth sided groove. All the best

Dear Johan. Good to see someone who likes a challenge!! Minute kanji in a slightly chippy style on a kogatana blade! If you can't get this one I would not be too disheartened. May I suggest that you post it in the Translation section? All the best.