ROKUJURO

In the long range, I hope this will happen. There are perhaps a few well-known smiths specializing in YARI which may narrow down the search. And of course, Ray and SteveM can read EVERYTHING....

Both look Chinese to me.

...and only one of all the Princes who had come from far and wide to take part in the contest could solve the riddle, and he married the King's beautiful daughter and later became King himself. And if they didn't die, they are still living a happy life.... That is a difficult task with these photos!

Hi Ron, it looks as if you got a beat-up WAKIZASHI - likely SHINTO/early EDO from the SUGATA - in former HAN-DACHI KOSHIRAE. As always, quality and conditition are what counts in terms of value; age is not very relevant. As George stated, it looks like a project sword, and your task as its caretaker would be to preserve it and prevent more damage. I don't see much rust which is a good thing, but a damaged SAYA is not a good protection, so have a friendly and competent NMB member near you have a closer look at your treasure and plan measures. Showing the sword to dealers on a sword show might be another possibility. Keep it dry and don't work on it yourself!

That is how we Westerners would see it. Japan is another world in which most people can do repetitive work for a lomg time without complaining. It is another topic, but you could compare that to medieval times in Europe when poor people were happy to have cereals/porridge to eat twice a day - and nothing elso for years! Coming closer to the subject, the apprenticeship in a forge in former times often consisted in filing workpieces by hand to exact dimensions. Sounds like boring work, but it lead to strong arms and shoulders and a good sense of precision in the work.

The stroke count will only help properly in case you know how to write. As an example, KUCHI (mouth) 口 is three strokes.

TACHI MEI trying to look like KANEUJI? Questionable positioning and execution in my eyes.

No one said so, at least I didn't. I wrote "....NANAKO-JI or ISHIME-JI was often outsourced and done by young non-artisans...". Please remember that many TOSOGU-SHI saw themselves more as craftsmen than as artists. In addition to that, a good TSUBA by a famous maker is not devalued in case the super-fine NANAKO-JI was made by an apprentice or employee. Of course, we would never know.....

It's nothing I 'invented'. Ford told me, and I think I also read it somewhere. To me, it makes sense as this is repetitive work that can be learned (as well as tool and workpiece preparation). Ford did not say it was always done by helpers, but when the eyesight of the elderly masters diminished, it was even necessary.

Good bargain Peter!

As we know, texture/plain surface decoration like NANAKO-JI or ISHIME-JI was often outsourced and done by young non-artisans. They were just workers with a steady hand and a good eye, and they were trained for that special work. This is not unusual in other fields of arts and crafts as well. MICHELANGELO had helpers to fill in paint in larger areas which did not need his gifted hands, and in large quantity ceramic production in the olden (pre-industrial) days, trained workers did the painting decoration. This was done in the East as well as in the Western world. Making texture on traditional TSUBA can be learned, and its quality depends on the tools and the training. The use of machines is not needed, and of course it wouldn't make any sense in a unique item production. Today, with a serial production outside of Japan, this is of course different.

That is all new Chinese stuff which has nothing to do with your above shown 19th NBTHK HOZON TSUBA.

George, how do you personally define "old" and "modern" in TSUBA, and what kind of machine do you imagine to produce an ISHIME-JI (= "stone-like") texture on a TSUBA in the EDO era?

KATAKANA strokes

That does not look like KIRIKOMI in my opinion. Probably silly boys playing SAMURAI or King Arthur with it after WWII.

Hi George, we have a WANT TO BUY section, and we have a FOR SALE or TRADE section with many nice things to choose from. As there are no fixed rules for TSUBA sizes, you will have to make up your mind about what you want in terms of materials, design, and size. Often, you will find TSUBA for WAKIZASHI with a diameter of about 65 - 70 mm, but there are long and short WAKIZASHI. Just to mention it, there are also WAKIZASHI and even KATANA without TSUBA! And you will see long swords with small TSUBA as well.

Manuel Coden uses real KANJI for a phonetical resemblance of his name. My first name is related to the German name "Johann", so I could use 洋半 YÔ HAN (funnily, the meaning would be like 'half foreigner' which would fit). My family name COLLIN could be 光琳 KORIN, so just a phonetical way to write. For the TOSOGU makers competitions in Japan, I am not sure if a MEI is not even requested. Ask Manuel for that.

Yes, might be John! Thank you, corrected!

Not KANEMUNE, MEI looks more like MITSUHIRO. Province might be OWARI/OSHU.

Looks like KUNITOMO (= TACHI MEI). This is not a military but a civilian sword that should be researched and treated carefully. Never rub or clean the NAKAGO (= tang) to make the signature readable....

Yes, thank you Piers. If I consider how a lion is depicted in Japanese art, this may well be a wolf!

Wolves have different tails and ears, as far as I know. In my opinion, this might be depicting a dog in bad condition.

Today, all is fine again!

Jeff, brass TSUBA are always cast or pre-cast and then worked on, and yes, they existed in EDO JIDAI in very good and fine quality. Your TSUBA does not belong to a KOSHIRAE. At best, it was made by a hobbyist and is less than 20 years old. The maker may have seen an image of a TSUBA with the theme of "Monkey Mountain". Please have a look at many authentic TSUBA ( nihontowatch.com ) and compare.

It is a good idea to ask a polisher first for an assessment. Information on local craftsmen would be available at the NBTHK Sword Museum or any other specialized museum.