Geraint

Thibault, It's not much to look at but I will see if I can dig it out. All the best

With regard to the Vietnamese example, my very first Japanese sword was, and is, a koto Mino katana with an iron tsuba carefully remounted as a Burmese dha. I have no idea of the history but I suspect that it whether it was captured and repurposed in Burma either during or just after the war. I will try and get some pictures if anyone is interested. (Perhaps not, just remembered the mounts are in the locker under the armour.) All the best.

Dear All. Are we not getting carried away here? Is this not simply a copper tsuba with katakiribori of a type quite often seen that someone has decided to pretty up as Brian suggested? Hence my suggestion of silver plating solution, removing the silver plate would be tricky and all you would have is a copper tsuba which could then be repatinated if you thought it was worth it. Solid silver tsuba are found but this isn't one of them Delighted to be wrong on this one but.........check this one out. http://www.nihonto.us/RED%20COPPER%20TIGER%20&%20BAMBOO%20TSUBA.htm All the best

This would do it. http://www.kernowcraft.com/products/silversmithing-and-tools/sundries/item/silver-solution-c125

Hi Andrew. A lot depends on what you want in your sword. This is a shinshinto katana, in polish and with koshirae; so far so good. If the koshirae is original to the sword with perhaps a new tsuka, same and a rebind then not a problem. However if the koshirae is all new even if it uses antique fitttings, not so good at least from my point of view. Don't read anything into the fuchi and kashira having Tokugawa mon, there are a lot of these around and it does not add significance to the sword. You don't mention sizes so I assume that the sword is indeed katana length but as I am sure you know the value if it were shorter than this would be much less. So you have a genuine Japanese sword in pretty good condition, signed and in koshirae. You don't mention price so it is hard to say. If you want something to hang on your wall, fine. If you want to start a collection then this is better than most for a first time sword but a lot depends on the price. Whatever you decide enjoy! All the best.

Dear Klaus. Lots of worries on this one, walk away, walk away quickly! I don't think the habaki has anything to do with the sword, the area around it looks worrying as do the signs of fire scale and the damage to the edge of the nakago. I would be looking for signs of an added nakago but as the sword is out of polish anyway I would be throwing this one back. I'm sure others will add thoughts. All the best

Hi James. The third kanji up would be the fune part of Osafune. You are right, once you start to recognise the basic kanji it does get a little easier. All the best.

Hi Flemming. Check out this link, you will find it useful. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanji/nengo.htm All the best

Hi Darius. Can't help with the mei I fear. No doubt others will. There is no connection between the mei on kogatana and the mei on the sword in most cases. The habaki is a Kaga style but I don't think the sword is necessarily from Kaga. Have a look at this. http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/habaki.html I don't think the tsuba is saying anything apart from maybe, "I'm tired!" All the best

Hi Frank. Welcome, (just for forms sake add your name to your posts so we know who we are talking to please.) I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is nothing about this sword that is Japanese. If it came home in 1949 then it is possibly a locally made copy. There are several web sites that will show shingunto as they should be and if you look at these you will soon see the signs that this one isn't. This does not mean that it is of no value to you and your family, simply that it wasn't what you thought it might be. If you are interested have a look at this site. http://www.guntoartswords.com/or have a browse through the sites under Links at the top of the page. All the best

Ah Darcy. Truly it is said, "He who converses with tengu speaks to the breeze". (But thank you for trying.) All the best.

Dear Mike. Have a look at this, http://www.nihonto.com/abtartuchigatanakoshirae.html If you are going for this style then plain and simple is the way to go. Any search for Tensho koshirae wil yield many results but as always not all are to be taken seriously. Enjoy.

Jean. I think this was what Nakahara intended to focus on. John, I do like the fittings, what are the rest of them like and, second question, is the sword ubu? The nakago looks quite clean to me from what I can see in your picture. All the best.

Gentlemen, We are getting confused over nothing. John, you quote from page 61 which is a section devoted to considering sori, here Nakahara is making the point that sori should be judged by looking at the whole sword. If you look at pages 13 - 16 you will see that he uses the conventional definitions of length for blades though he perhaps holds to them somewhat less rigidly than the current collector market does. For what it's worth I don't think anyone would classify this as a kodachi, but that's another debate. All the best

Hi John and welcome. The good news is that you have found the right place, the bad news is that from your images this gives every indication of being a cast copy of a tsuba. As such I'm afraid any attribution is a waste of time, this is essentially reproduction. Have a close look inside the edges of the cutouts, it looks very much as though there are what I would call flash, sharp edgers where the two halves of the mould have leaked a little during the casting process. Original tsuba are not cast unless by a group called kagamishi who used the techniques for casting mirrors to produce tsuba, this is not one of those. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Keep looking. All the best.

Hi Rob. Can I recommend you get a copy of "Japanese Spears: Polearms and their use in old Japan", by Roald and Patricia Knutsen? They trace the development of yari in relation to the class structure and changing military tactics from the Onin War through to the Edo period. I think you would find it interesting. All the best.

Have a look at this Gordon, scroll down for the image. http://www.dekoele.nl/Samurai%20de%20krijgers%20uit%20het%20oude%20Japan/Samurai%20de%20krijgers%20uit%20het%20oude%20Japan.html Carried between two people with a pole through the appropriate handles. I believe that one of our members has an external cage with handles that would have held an armour box without them so that it could be carried in the same way. All the best. ("Snap!")

Dear Tim, Some of the clues for this cast tsuba centre on the seppa dai and nakago ana. The seppa dai hs a strange surface texture and slightly rounded feel to it. The nakago ana shows no sign of having had any adjustment and has an unusual shape. There are some flaws on one side of the design that might indicate casting errors but the colour and general rounded quality to the design are always worth checking carefully. The mei will have been cast as well and so you should probably not assume that this was cast at the time the mei suggests. Here you should look carefully to see further signs that the mei is rather blurry and rounded off rather than crisply cut. Casting lines are pretty simple to get rid of in most cases and so are not always evident. Hope this helps. Enjoy the sword and should you wish you can keep an eye out for a replacement tsuba that will add to your enjoyment.. All the best.

Hi Alec. At the risk of repeating myself forget Nanbokucho for this sword. Shinogi zukuri wakizashi blades are not a feature of this period. Those shinogi zukuri blades you find called wakizashi from this period are shortened from longer swords and yours is ubu, perhaps machi okuri but not by much, and signed so it's not a shortened sword. Given the o kissaki one would then look at Keicho shinto or shinshinto. Given what we can see of the hada my inclination would be Keicho shinto but that is far from certain. There were quite a number of smiths using this mei, as it is only a two character mei your chances of being able to pin this one down are almost zero unless you want to submit it to shinsa. Take note of the yakidashi and the midare komi boshi in your search. I don't think you overpaid for this nice wakizashi in koshirae and there is much to learn as you examine the blade. Have fun!

Dear? (Board rules require a personal name on your post, easy to add) You certainly did well with this but......... O kissaki in 1660 would be unusual as would midare komi boshi. 1660 one would expect Kanbun shinto sugata and hamon, this sugata suggest either earlier,Keicho shinto, or much later in shinshinto, as does the hamon in the boshi. Some research to do and a fountain of knowledge just waiting for you. The sword itself is nice and will repay much study. Enjoy your examination of it and your journey. All the best.

Hi Kevin. Not sure if this book is still available but you might enjoy "Samurai Undressed" by Jacqu Carey.1995. Jacqui spent some time exploring the braiding of Japanese armour and wrote this little book with some explanation of how she was using the techniques. In addition the bibliography would leads you to other sources. As the techniques are being explored by other crafts people you might also find some useful links on YouTube and PInterest. Looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts. All the best.

Dear Marcello. Your translation is correct but the second kanji is unusual for this school, you will have to do some research. There are many generations but don't hold out too much hope for the reasons that Dirk has given. Just to start you off have a look at these, http://www.aoijapan.com/?s=Yoshimichi Have fun.

Dear Matt. Thanks for the pictures, just as a matter of interest is the koshirae all complete? I can't make out in one photo if the tsuka is fitted and there is a spare tsuba or if they all belong together. I think this is a nice find! As regards the generations, well Darcy has quoted from Fujishiro that the third generation cannot be found, I have conflicting information from a variety of sources and have not yet found a definitive. Hawley suggest first two use Harima Daijo, third nothing and fourth Used Hyuga. Some sources state that a Kanbun shinto sugata must make it a third generation because the second only worked in an earlier period. I suppose we are doing well to have the sort of detail that we do from this period but sometimes a definite answer would be nice. I keep an eye out for papers that specify the generations and always have a look when I come across a blade by this lot but so far haven't been able to satisfy myself on this one. Let me know what you find out and enjoy the sword. All the best.

Hi Matt. I would love to see some photos too. Spent some time digging for Shigetaka and found some information in the past. Suzuki, in his book on tanto says that Yasutsugu was his teacher, there is a katakiriba blade by Yasutsugu illustrated in "Cutting Edge - Japanese swords in the British Museum" . Nagayama Kokan suggests Seki Kanenori as his teacher. Bath Nakaharu and Kokan say that katakiriba was seen in blades from this period and again in shinshinto. Unokubi zukuri are also seen, one here, http://www.japanszwaard.nl/z22.html which supports the use of somewhat unusual blade shapes by this school. Hawley lists several generations going on into Shinto but only the first two sign Harima daijo Shigetaka. You don't mention the size of your sword but if this is a wakizashi or tanto one would expect to find "Echizen" on one side of the nakago and the rest of the mei on the normal side. The mei of the first generation is signed with slightly larger kanji while the second tends to be smaller and much more constrained. Not sure how well you can see it but here is an image of one to check with. Looking forward to your pictures. All the best. Shigetaka.docx

Dear Peter. Another example of the grinding wheel is illustrated, alongside the three ingredients for gunpowder, in the rather nice catalogue from Matsumoto Castle called "Teppo Gura". (see p25) Apparently the entire collection was donated to Matsumoto castle by Michishige Akahane and includes a wide range of guns as well as accoutrements for shooting. All the best