Geraint

Sword and Same, p 79. Reporting what Masahide says. "In kwansei period, a sailor named Kodayu brought me a Russian sword, I had it polished and I found many rough niye, it cuts well; however, it is not so sharp as our swords, the edge is too brittle, and I could not find the boundary line (hazakai) between the yakiba and the jigane. This sword belongs now to the Katsuragawa family (physician with the title Hogen). The handle and scabbard are of leather attached with a cord, the back is about 2bu and the length 1.3 shaku." Any use?

Dear Peter. I believe there is a reference in Sword and Same to something along these lines. I'll see if I can find it. All the best.

Hi Jan. Let me start the ball rolling. A good polish, done by a respected Japanese polisher, should last longer than you will be worried about. I have seen it suggested that a hundred years is about right but at best that is only a guide. If you look at the FAQ section at the top of the page you ill find advice about caring for your sword. Depending on where you are located a local club may be a good place to learn and see other peoples's swords. The level at which you jump into a purchase depends on many factors, the example you give seems like a good place to start and from a respected dealer. Personally the idea of spending Juyo level funds for a first sword would seem like a mistake. Learning a great deal about a sword such as the one you have suggested will allow you to work out what you really admire and want to live with. Should you decide that you want more than just the one, and that will probably happen, then you might feel confident in heading up market. Koshirae do add to a blade if they are original and very good. Some collectors only have blades in shirasaya. Hope this helps. All the best.

Oh, that'a a shame. I suppose it just goes to prove the old saying, if it looks too good to be true........

I should think that anyone kicking an old jar head was likely to feel pretty bad in quite a short time!

Dear Ivo. I hope you have already acted on this one, the koshirae is lovely, gold and silver foiled seppa, fukurin on the tsuba and alls orts of other things. Go, Go ,Go! All the best. P.S. Not sure why this is in the Military swords section, nothing remotely military about this one

So, kogarasu maru no bo it is then. Not sure what else you might call it but attached is the image from the reference I quoted. Agghhhh! So many buttons, Apologies for multiple posts.

Hi Dirk. Lovely thing. I have only come across this sugata once before and have just been searching for it. Delighted to say that memory served me well. Christie's sale, June 97 Described as follows. "An Oaka school naginata no saki. Mei: Inoue Shinkai with chrysanthemum mark. Dated Empo Ninen ni-gatsu. (1674) An unusual elegant kata -shobu form socket type, (fukuro), saki zori, ryoha, forging pattern very tight itame, with ji-nie, tempered edge naka-suguha of nie to ryoha, the socket ubu" If you haven't come across it have a look here, https://www.pinterest.com/nihonnokatchu/naginata-and-nagamaki/ All the best.

Dear All. Two points; why are we discussing this as gimei when we have nothing to compare it with? So far all we know is that we have a nimei of Kuniyuki. Second I don't think anyone has mentioned that it is tachi mei. Given the condition of the nakago and other things this makes it seem even more likely a gimei but we don't have much to go on yet, unless I am missing something. Thirdly, (yes I know I said two points but hey!) the problem with the type of glue used for shirasaya is not confined to scratches, some modern glues seem to hold moisture in such a way that contact with the sword can cause rusting. Most woodworkers would tend to apply too much glue and seepage inside the saya can be a real problem. I'll crawl back into the woodpile now. All the best

Hi. Well, the good news is that the sword is Japanese and in spite of some rusting looks sound. The signature is another issue. Try doing a search for Inoue Shinkai. You will find many papered examples to compare to your sword but it must be said that the likelihood of this being a genuine signature is very small. That said, should the signature be false that will not mean that the sword is worthless, false signatures can be removed by experts and the blade may still be a good one. It is very hard to judge a sword from photographs and it may be that having two pairs of seppa indicates that the tsuba has been swapped but some more images of the koshirae would be nice. Hope that helps. All the best.

From Nohon To Koza, " ..for the time being, those of Enbun (1356 - 1361) and Joji (1362 - 1368) are considered to be the shodai, those later until Oei (1394 - 1428) are considered to be the nidai and those from Oei (1394 - 1428) to Eikyo (1428 - 1441) are considered to be the sandai, and I would like to study this further". Leaves some wiggle room between nidai and shodai for this date. In either case this is a very nice tanto and koshirae, must do some more saving. All the best.

Hi James The blade is dated and Nick gives it as 1421...................? However it seems that the dating of generations is not entirely clear. This example might help. http://swordsofjapan.com/project/joshu-nobukuni/

Hi John. I am guessing other than this one? http://www3.telus.net/sword/sword/index.htm/MyWebs6/Yoshimas.htm All the best

Looks right to me. The Inshu Kanesaki smiths are a little difficult to track down it seems. There is a tendency for them to use the Kanetsugu mei early in their careers before using Kanesaki, it seems. Have a look at this one, http://www.nihonto.us/INSHU%20KANETSUGU%20KATANA.htm I think this one would be before yours but the later Kanesaki smiths seem to have produced hamon that show their Mino origins but in rather restrained style as far as activity within the hamon goes, whereas yours is much more interesting from that point of view. As far as I have been able to discover the school begins with Mino Kanesaki in the very end of the Muromachi period. He seems to have moved around a little before settling in Inaba. The lineage then runs through to the Meiji period. Not directly connected to yours but the same school see this one, http://yakiba.com/Kat_Kanesaki.htm If you find out anything more about them I would be keen to hear it. I have been looking into them for some time. All the best. Promise I'll stop soon but here is another one of the lineage, http://www.to-ken.com/full.php?article=sr000090&type=swordRegister

Hi Harvey. Congratulations, you must be pleased. I take some comfort from the the assurance that there was something good in the blade. The big question is to whom or to which school did they attribute it? Enjoy yourself. Geraint

Hi Chris. The demarcation is at 24 inches or approximately 60 cms. At or above is a katana, below a wakizashi. There are subtleties but this is the general rule. That's measured from the tip to the mune machi. So if the length you quote is from tip to the machi then it is a katana. Looking forward to finding out what happens at shinsa but whatever the outcome enjoy the sword. All the best.

Hi Bob. I'm thinking that would be sosho....? Whoever got this one did well I think, from the photographs on the site. All the best

Hi Ian. Glad this turned out better than we all feared. All the best.

I agree with Brian, black horn is the way to go. Would like to see this one. All the best.

Dear Hamish. As in Kamiyoshi, Hirata Hikozo, Jingo? I think Higo school is a bit of a generalisation with too much variation between them to class as one thing. All the best.

Hi Guido. 20 years, but the blink of an eye in this hobby! All the best.

If you have not seen this link it might be useful. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/tsuba/tsubaid.htm All the best.

Well there you are, I just messaged you with the same offer. How good is NMB! All the best.

Dear Thibault. Not too difficult to do yourself if you have the tools. A thin leaf of spring steel and a brass rivet are all that is needed. Failing that it might be worth asking here: http://www.guntoartswords.com/ All the best

While most of these are pretty bad there is a range of quality with the best being superbly carved. These are not at that level but they are better than average. Have a look at the blade of the second sword, surely a true Nihonto. All the best.