Bungo

yes !! that's the fish I ate. milt

thanks, Nobody san, Didn't realize ayu could be a big fish, always thought they are small......... so what exactly I ate at Himiji ? they were very small, grilled with soya sauce and sold in " bundles " from a cart on the sidewalk ? milt

thanks dudes , seriously how can ole po tells who made the stuffed fish and who made the koz body ? Also, Bugsy, since you live in the land of the gods, how do they serve ayu ? grilled ? in soup ? steamed ? Milt

wharever it is, the workmanship is very nice. Sure better than the Yokohama export tsuba. Milt

I don't care if this is gimei , I must have the ayu !! Best grilled with soya sauce with a touch of auslese honig !! Yes, the " panel " with the fish COULD be a " replacement ". Still for less than 3 shares of AAPL ( today's closeing ), it's worth the risk. follows is the seller ( yes, Ole Po ) description........ " The Suaka-Shibuichi Kozuka handle is decorated with Suemon, silver-Shakudo inlay, Silver-Suaka Iroe, on Ishime-ji, ( Kin-Iroe, Kesho-Yasuri, on the other side ) design of a Big Sweetfish, signed Utsushi-Nyokyu, Motohide-Kao. Sweetfish was desined by Umetada-Nyokyu, Motohide Sato was a famous craftman of Oyama school, lived in Mito on Bakumatsu. " milt

What if the European and US branches of the NBTHK take over the NBTHK ? Would that still be considered a Japanese organisation and be accepted by the natives ? Milt

so what's the score with NBTHK ? heard through the grape vines it's going belly up ? milt

" Nomonhan incident " ............ that's would be interesting, I thought they got their butt kicked by the Ruskies pretty bad, rumor had it one imperial prince ( Uncle to the Tenno ) was captured alive and they had to " negotiate for his release ". Talking about re-interpreting history. milt

" by golly... if they would excavate the ancient imperial keyhole shaped mounds.... " I think they just recently allowed some scholars to cross the moat to take a look see. BUt......... I know someone who shall remained nameless have preceded them abnout 60 years ago. milt

" what could these round things be on this blade? " instead of the long rectangular ones we see, this look like round repair. milt

milt

amazing, a Japanese taller than a gaijin. milt

that makes it so much " easier " for us " strippers ".................... milt

first impression............... Shinkai Doubt it's the real deal.................... milt

" Guido, my friend, you must have French ancestors to know as well French (un) civilization " Most likely his great grandpapa served under General Albrecth von Blumenthal of the Prussian 3 rd Armee in 1871 milt

I like the f/k, the tsuba ? not so much................ so there's no unifying theme to the koshirae then ? So everything has to " match " is just a Gaijin's invention ? Milt

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0295949069 shoshin ? milt

http://cgi.ebay.com/1041-J-P-sword-Sign ... 286.c0.m14 milt

Anyone has any idea how to date the kogai ? Just by the wear/design of the decorative elements ? Shape of the component , eg. shape of the ear cleaning end, the narrow " neck " ? This example is late Edo ala 19th. century....... I like the ume design milt

" I almost expect you all to start singing this " ................. be sure to read /leave a comment after listening to that sickly sweet song. Ford, you may be a great metal artist but you can't bloody sing. milt

" how the hell am I supposed to become a hermit now? " Brian, go change that to the " drinking Prince ". Ford, no sake but plenty of beer at the crane season opened thread where TWO interesting tsuba await your comment. Main question is ... is it a deliberate effort , can the tsuba maker actually control the grains to depict a design...or it's all accidental ( like becoming a father ) ?? milt

" I think you are hinting that the one tsuba looks modern and "cookie cutter" mass produced. That is my take on it anyways, and my opinion too. " ............. Brian, your opinion is wrong. The " cookie cut out " is my way to say it's not interesting. The design is ok but one tends to get tired of it very fast as there's not much to see beyond that....plain flat, polished iron ground. The rust pattern of the seppa dai area indicates it was actually used by some " low end samurai " who just revived an ancient thread somewhere else milt

Yes, look at the top as there is a mountain and a heavenly body rising above it. You might not be able to see it clearly though as it is quite soft in the picture but it is there. The course grains at the bottom give a sense of perspective to it, as if the water is flowing towards you ................ umm, I do see what you are describing but I have doubt that it is deliberate. Wait till Der Despot of the Northern Court see this message....... I think he'll say nothing unless we claim to see Mother Teresa. milt

you mean the flowing grains in your tsuba is a deliberate effort/effect to depict san sui ? Milt

ok, Ford, listen, I'll vote for the Elephant party if you get out of lurking mode..........offer expires on Mid-night Nov. 3rd ,2008 milt