ROKUJURO

It is a modern one (after EDO).

Sounds good! Reading is the first step of writing! EIJI YOSHIKAWA: MIYAMOTO MUSASHI and many others are waiting for you! Whatever you do, let quality be your guide! No one will applaud you for an obviously hastily written story!

Must have been still more impressive when new with a NAGASA of around 85 cm!

Much better, and probably UCHI-DASHI technique, so not cast. But an expert should see them in-hand, of course. You have sword clubs in CA, and probably also sword shows where friendly dealers will offer their opinion.

Lucian, as you can see yourself, the photos are not well focused, so details cannot be seen. In my opinion cast MENUKI, but I may be proved wrong with good photos.

Piers, is that spring and autumn?

Hi Hamish, you seem always very grumpy if someone has a differing opinion about what is discussed, or if you misunderstood a post. My English may be clumsy but I understand the topic very well - it is my profession! To explain: In pre-industrial times, ALL iron had to be refined by folding and fire-welding. This ALWAYS lead to a laminated iron/steel structure. Many folding/welding cycles lead to a more homogeneous material where the lamination was less evident or even invisible (as in HIGO TSUBA, e.g.). Of course YAGYU TSUBA and others were made from laminated iron, and your photo above is showing that well, thank you. In my post, I was dealing with the wrong assumption that "material was chipped off the SEPPA-DAI to make room", and I explained that the ductile iron was only pushed by punching it towarsds the NAKAGO-ANA, not removed. No contradiction to the iron being laminated! I hope I got your attention.

Hamish, if you thought of filo pastry, this has nothing to do with lamination or layers. It is just rather soft material that was moved/pushed in a certain direction.

Hi Justyn, the iron around the NAKAGO-ANA has not been "chipped away to make room". On old TSUBA, it was pushed/punched in to make the NAKAGO-ANA narrower to fit another blade. From a technical point of view, this is an indication for very good ductility of the iron.

Jonathan, I would not expect many activities around the HAITOREI which was probably not an encouraging time for stylistic changes among SAMURAI. It was certainly different with the military who adopted western styles and technologies.

Juan, we have a special translation section, where the NIHONGO experts will see your post. To my untrained eye, the first two photos look upside-down.

Please go and cut it off as a reminder. He will immediately understand.

John, signatures are chiseled and read vertically, tip-upwards. Yes, it is MASAMITSU on your KOGATANA, but I had to break my neck to read it. You are welcome! And please NEVER touch a blade with your bare fingers!

It should absolutely be restored professionally. This will not work with alcohol or oil. f corrosion persists, there is a risk that inlays may fall out in the end.

This kind of random stippling is just easy to make, and many tools will be at hand for it. The above TSUBA with no SEPPA-DAI and made with a wrong tool (too sharply pointed) looks like amateur work to me. No machine needed, just a steady hand and some endurance. Generally, the use of mechanical machines is overestimated. For individual workpieces, you would have to make a work-plan, create an adjustable fixing device, and control the work progress. Non-flat surfaces remain a challenge. Modern CNC machines can do that easily but they are uneconomical with small series of only a few hundreds, and in comparison, all work-pieces will look exactly alike..

It will have to be something non-reflecting of course, and photos are best made in a dark room with only spotlights.

Jinsoo, we have a TRANSLATION section for these requests, and our experts will certainly look there to help you. With better photos on a dark background, it may be easier to read.

Than you Tim, I know that. I was puzzled as you used YAKITE in context with swords: ...what I was taught about sword kantei - look at the sugata, jigane and yakite.... and that was new to me.

In theory, practice and theory should be the same, but in practice, they are not. Generally, making good photos of swords isn't too difficult, but some practice can be helpful. Also, helping in identifying a sword from images is easier if the photographer knows what may be important. Not so easy for beginners in this field! Try to post images that are: - well focused, not foggy or blurry - made with a plain dark/black, non-reflective background for good contrast (not white, not patterned!) - made in a dark room, using spotlights - made with light from the side (may not apply to HAMON photos) - made directly from above (not at an angle) - made with correct orientation of the blade (straight vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos) - without HABAKI, showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI - made in high resolution to see details like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. - presented as cut-outs so very little background is showing! Quite often, even when following all advice, the condition of a blade may not allow to see the necessary details on an image! Good photos do not depend so much on an expensive camera, a professional set-up, or on special skills, but mainly on observing the results. Only really good photos will be useful!

Hi Tim, what does YAKITE mean in this context?

Travis, it will be sad for you to hear, but this looks like a cast TSUBA with no collecting value. Do not be disappointed, there are many much better ones waiting for you out there! Looking at good TSUBA here on NMB, in books, and exhibitions will train your eyes soon so you can tell bad from good. Cleaning off rust with antler: Using powdered antler is obviously a misunderstanding. What you need are pointed pieces like those on the photo I am attaching. You can also use bone, ivory, or even bamboo. Removing red rust is good, but it will not restore a blade. You will need the help of a traditionally trained sword polisher for that. Do not attempt anything yourself! If you find a way to show your sword to a NMB member near you or to some dealers on a sword show, you will probably get more information on it.

Travis, welcome to the NMB forum! If you cannot see exactly what it is while having it in hand, these not so sharp photos do not help much. As Piers stated, there might have been a signature, but as there seems to be a second (distorted?) MEKUGI-ANA farther down, I would not exclude a massive forging action on the NAKAGO that could have blurred or erased any chiseled KANJI characters.

It is certainly not a bronze TSUBA.

Dear members, I need some kind help please for an assessment of this TSUBA. What tradition might that be? It is not as elegant and refined as HIGO in my opinion. Thank you in advance!

These are certainly not the 'natural colours' but the results of patination.