Geraint

Hi Brad. I can't narrow down the generation of this smith for you but there are five generations listed in Hawley from 1624 to the 1700s. The later ones Hawley lists as signing simply Yoshinaga but the five character mei is a trait of Hizen smiths, and many others, so perhaps best not to assume that this restricts it to just the few. You may find it impossible to narrow this down unless you can compare the mei to one of the smiths via an oshigata in one of the reference works which I don't have but I am sure someone here will have. The crack in the same is almost universal if you mean the vertical slit. It is the join where the same is wrapped around the core of the tsuka. Regular horizontal slits are also common where same has been cut and matched from smaller pieces, the join often under the ito. The shaped seppa and fuchi, seppa seem to be silver foiled by the way, are designed to make it possible to draw one of the two implements stored in the saya, the kodzuka or kogai. I can't see from your images if there is a corresponding pocket in the saya for either of these but the shape of the ana cut in the tsuba usually suggests a kogai. Lots of references to sword mountings around, have a search on here. All the best.

Hi Brad. Gets pretty tricky quite soon, this game. Your translation was right, Hizen kuni Yoshinaga. There are several characters for Naga used in swordsmiths signatures and several generations used this mei. Images of the rest of the blade would help members comment. Certainly looks interesting. All the best.

Hi Alan. Nice photos, looking forward to seeing the whole koshirae. Dragons are often depicted in crashing waves in Japanese art so this one certainly fits that convention. Have a look for dragon tsuba and you will find many renditions to compare with yours. Happy New Year.

Agreed Thierry, but at the size quoted Ken's tsuba is approximately one thirteenth as thick as yours. :D

Hi Ken, 0.23mm? That's really thin!

Hi, might not help you too much with the age question but this might be of interest, http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/echizen%20kinai.htm All the best.

Dear Keith. I cannot speak for Jean but I think you may have misunderstood his intent. I don't think he is suggesting that your sword is gimei, merely pointing out that the sword itself is the thing to be studying. You have found a nice sword which is worth preserving and restoring properly, congratulations. If it lives up to it's promise then it is a really nice find. I think the message is enjoy and explore the sword, don't worry too much about the signature yet. It is perfectly understandable that you want to find out about this smith and your hunt for information is leading you down some interesting paths but what will really fire you up is what is in the blade. Something to look forward to. Enjoy the sword and have fun.

Hi Andy, In the meantime have a look at the sword in this thread, second image. http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... =15&t=8923

Woah! Easy everyone. The original response regarding books was I think directed at the reply which suggested that this was a kyu gunto. We all agree that once you start to learn about nihonto then you would be well advised to spend some money on books but let's not pile in on that one just yet. Andrew, our expertise is often in limited areas of the subject, hence what you might see as conflicting advice. Some people are very interested in swords of the type you posted, others specialise in gendaito, others will have a particular period or school that they are devoted to. Everyone wants to help, just that some advice is better than others for any particular topic. This is a rare mount and should be preserved as such but fitting a blade to it will not do anyone any good as several people have pointed out. It is well worth collecting from the point of view of those interested in military swords, many collectors would not be interested as their focus would be the blade itself. Someone has removed the blade, possibly because it was damaged beyond repair, possibly because they thought they would get more for the blade alone, who knows? Stick with it and this is a fascinating hobby whatever avenue of collecting you decide to go down. All the best.

No Donny, look up Shitahara school. There is a structure to sword signatures, have a go at the mei now that you know what it says and see if you can work it out, it gets easier over time. Slowly I grant you. Have fun. By the by, it would be nice to see some picture of the blade........ It may be gunto mounted but........

20 minutes each? That's a bit hasty Curran. Back to the topic. We all know that tsuba ko used design books and I have a photograph in one of my books of wooden templates or design models used to explore designs before committing them to metal. The picture shows tsuba and solid fuchi kashira in white wood with inked designs. I don't know if these were used to show customers but it is certainly true that designs are repeated, sometimes copied by other schools and so on.

Perhaps we could allow ourselves the leeway to say that any thought of having it remounted by anyone should go straight out of the window as it is a relatively scarce item and should be preserved exactly as it is.............

Brilliant link, thank you James.

What does the other side say, Gary? Sorry, missed your other post!

Hi Jason. Really sound advice here that the signature is not the most important thing. Learning to spot quality is important. Try comparing your fuchi with this, http://www.nihonto.com/4.26.12.html Your fuchi is not bad and would look good mounted but compare it to this kozuka and you should start getting your eye in. All the best.

Hi Curran. Kevin can get them. http://www.ryujinswords.com/tsukaito.htm Hope this helps.

Dear Gethin. Your first tsuba has had the nakago ana filled and then drilled but from my very limited experience all the small sword shell guards and rapier hilts that I have seen dismounted have had square or rectangular holes for their tangs. You mention some marks, if you are going for better photographs could you capture those? All the best.

Or perhaps more specific.

Hi Alex. There is a thread somewhere in the Izakaya about 3D printing. I guess the answer is, "Not yet!". All the best.

Hi Dan. I think the "upright copper object" is a tree or post that the boat is moored to. I would guess that the birds are geese. All the best.

Hi Jeremy. Several Bungo Takada smiths signed Nagayuki, Hawley only lists one who signed as yours is, working circa 1596. I would love to see more pictures of your sword. All the best.

Hi Robert. Not so simple. at least one authority said that a tsuba without a seppa dai was never intended for use..... On many tsuba the design uses the space between seppa dai and mimi but quite often the design does run through the seppa dai, sometimes blanked and sometimes continuous. Any generalisation is subject to argument but I associate this more with kinko tsuba. Often the design runs through the seppa dai in the form of engraving rather than anything else though I have seen one sword where the seppa are sculpted to fit raised designs on the tsuba. By the by, some tsuba really seem to change when mounted on a sword, tsuba makers who knew their game must have taken this into consideration when designing their work. All the best.

Hi Bernard. Are you sufficiently bitten to start adding to your father's collection? He had a good eye. This one depicts scarecrows, rather imaginative ones at that. Another lovely tsuba. All the best.

Hi Robert. I suppose it depends what you mean by non functional. I think we conceive a sword guard as something to protect the hand and in that case soft metal raises questions though there are many European swords with brass or bronze guards. As I understand it the function of a tsuba is more to locate the hand and prevent the grip slipping onto the blade than to parry a blow from an opponents sword so the strength of the guard becomes much less an issue. Also of course the function of the tsuba is to say something about the owner, the side of the tsuba most readily visible when the sword is worn would be on clear display. All the best.

Hi John. Late to the party with this, it's morning here. I didn't mean to suggest that you were challenging anyone, just curious as to why you were looking for Bizen smiths. It will be interesting to see what comes back from shinsa with this one, please let us know what the outcome is. All the best