bomulder

Thank you so much, Curran, for taking your valuable time and knowledge to help identify the Goto. I now feel initiated here as I was solicited by "you-know-who" and forwarded the spam to Brian. With each turn this is getting more interesting and more complex, just like an old tree, and apparently a loquat fruit tree . Again, thank you all Bo

Thank you Brian! Also thank you for this great message board. I have learned so much by reading the information available here. It is mind blowing and super fascinating to us (me and my girlfriend). We love learning so much more on this aspect of Samurai-related history. We are also getting help from a long-time friend that is knowledgeable on Japanese swords (he teaches Japanese sword fighting) and is asking his local friend that has a recognized record for identification and authentication of Edo period swords. I will share more here when I get more information from him. I'm sure it will be interesting. Meantime, any additional information from you guys here is much appreciated. Hopefully others can appreciate this journey as well. Bo

Thank you so very much for your help Curran. I have become very appreciative in the last week of learning what I can about Japanese swords from sources as here @ Nihonto. It started by accident. Our car was going to be in the garage for service and we had to borrow my girlfriend's fathers car for a few days. Upon returning it we decided to clean the trunk of the car for him which was full of his golf gear and other miscellanea. The car had a huge trunk and while crawling in the back my girlfriend found this knife stuck in behind the back seat. She showed it to me and neither knowing anything about Japanese knives. But, we are both big fans of the old Samurai culture since Tom Cruise's movie. I saw the inscription on the "pocket knife" and decided to ask her dad to allow me to do some research on it. He told me it was given to him by his late brother and supposedly came from Japan. He had forgotten about it being in the trunk with the golf clubs and knew not more about it. Being an enthusiastic photographer with skills in close-up and product lighting, I wanted to have some good pictures. After wiping the blade with a cloth the small inscription on the handle came to light. I posted the mei on my facebook and a friend helped me with the initial interpetation, although he knows little on swords. Through Googling I found this great message board and have been reading up on much of the great information available here. I'm not a sword collector, although I'm totally fascinated with all what I'm learning. The blade belongs to my future Father-in-law and I'm just helping him on more identification and possible appraisal. He just wants to keep it as a memory of his brother unless it ends up being worth a Cristie's auction item....LOL. Researching this blade has provided a huge education and appreciation from me on all the small nuances in Japanese culture and swordsmith craftmanship. I guess that is what this is all about, the appreciation of something simple as a little knife for what it can represent from the past and record for the present and future. Anyway, for those that are contacting me and trying to sell me their "private" collection of swords, I'm not interested. I'm only interested in finding out more about this blade we found. That's all! In the meantime I'm enjoying the education on Japanese swords and a growing appreciation of the workmanship of this knife :D. It looks authentic, but I will not be disappointed if it turns out to be fake, modified or worthless. I have no financial investment in it, just education time and that is not a loss but a gain to me. Bo

The leaves certainly look like that of the Eriobotrya japonica. Is there historical significance to this exotic fruit in the Japanese culture? Is this design an indicator to the swordsmith or certain time period? Thank you all for your input so far. Bo

Sorry I misunderstood first, but here is a close up of the kotsuka. I find it absolutely beautiful in detail and craftmanship. Some of the details, like the beats in the gold flower buds, I did not see till I saw the pictures blown up. https://picasaweb.google.com/1003972495 ... 0368326146

Thank you Grey. As you asked I uploaded 2 more pictures of the full blade and it's handle next to a tape measure for size indication in US inches, and showing both sides of the handle. The blade mei is on the decorative handle side, while the handle inscription is on the opposite inside towards the scabbard. https://picasaweb.google.com/1003972495 ... 9991656178 https://picasaweb.google.com/1003972495 ... 4753651826

Thank you Markus For clarification: The two Mei are both on the Kozuka. One on the blade facing out when insered in the Saya and one on the handle (the handle side facing the side of the Saya of a Wakizashi). Is this normal? Am I correct in thinking this maybe early Edo period (1600's) versus late Edo (1800's)?

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/p ... directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M ... directlink A friend that reads some Japanese says the blade first three characters are a name, Inoue Hisashi and the last character is Sadao (also a first name?) My friend also translates the handle inscription as "kô onna dai" or kô chi dai". The first would literally mean "(great) work of a woman" or "work of a (great) woman". The second one doesn't make sense to him. One character he identifies as "guarantee" or "insurance". It could be someone's name or poetic name or a seal of some kind. Can anybody here confirm the above information or provide additional information to help properly identify this Kozuka? Any help be much appreciated. Thank you! Helping a family member. Bo