ROKUJURO

Peter, this depends on what you want to buy. $ 300.-- is a lot of money if the item ends up as a wallhanger. $ 300.000.-- can be a (relatively) small sum if the sword is a unique, high quality piece of history in a very good preservation state.

Pete, this is probably not a Japanese sword in the meaning of a traditionally forged one, but a war relic, belonging to the militaria section. In traditional Japanese swords from the SAMURAI era, the blade is the main factor and often makes the value. To say more about the value of this one, we would need to see the blade in all details (especially the tang = NAKAGO). If it is a wartime machine-made blade, you can compare the prices of the whole set with the many offers on the international market so you get an idea what might be an actual sales price.

RSJ, please be so kind as to sign all posts with your first name plus an initial, as is requested here on the NMB board. As you wrote, there was some info on it in the display. I am curious what was written there? The sword seems to be an EFU no TACHI, but in a variant with a phoenix (HOO bird) as pommel. These TACHI were used for ceremonial purposes at the Imperial court. There are old originals up to rather new ones made as late as the 20th century, and they were even sold to wealthy tourists. As usual with Japanese swords, there was not one maker, but every single part was made by a specialized craftsman. Of course, the swordsmith was the most important, and the value of the whole depended largely on the quality of the blade. Many later EFU no TACHI were only decorative items and had very simple blades of no artistic value. These TACHI are not reallly rare, as far as the later ones are concerned.

Luca, if you have interesting TSUBA research material, I would be grateful to receive it via my e-mail address: forge.collin(at)gmail.com. I answered to Matt's post because I like these HEIANJO SUKASHI TSUBA very much, and I hope to own a similar one one day!

'Mat', please be so kind as to sign all posts at least with your first name plus an initial so we may address you politely. It is a rule on NMB. What you see is not a MON, but a symbol for MATSUKAWA BISHI (Pine tree bark). It is often used in TSUBA design. To guess the age of a certain TSUBA is no easy task if you only have photos. What you can do is compare pictures of similar items in the respective literature and try to evaluate the material, style and workmanship, patina and condition of your TSUBA versus samples that have been dated by the experts.

Mat, this looks like a very nice HEIANJO TSUBA, probably MUROMACHI JIDAI. Have a look: http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/heianjo.htm. I like it a lot!

Josh, why should one try this? Yes, it would be unique, but not an original, not of good quality, and of course not a TSUBA, so it will be nothing more than just a decoration piece. By the way, Jade is difficult to work with, I have heard!

Julian, buying/collecting swords is a bit like falling in love. The longer you stay with your partner, the more of her 'qualities' are revealed, and the stronger the bond! I don't think this can happen with a machine made blade! I wished I could afford to buy your blade! I already have a very old KAGA blade, and it would be a nice complement!

Julian, as Joe had already pointed out, it is a good idea to look for a KAGA smith as the NAKAGO JIRI indicates a smith from this province.

Interesting subject! I have found that Western collectors have a tendency to apply their respective 'logic' to this subject which seems to suggest that longer swords should have larger TSUBA. As said above, their size is more related to fashions of fencing schools and time-related requirements. To name a special case, swords of the MUROMACHI JIDAI were often equipped with rather large TSUBA of the KO-TOSHO and KO-KACHUSHI type. Many of these had more than 80 mm in diameter, some even up to 100 mm.

Darius, in the meantime you should know how to position photos to facilitate reading! The super cheap price has certainly a good reason as you already suspected: it is very probably a non-Japanese look-alike. The MEI (not mey) is certainly not GIMEI but pure phantasy.

Steve, this once was probably a very nice (real) TSUBA. Its age - a few hundred years - does not add to its value! Only the quality counts, and there is not much left of the iron plate, unfortunately! An expert collector would not be interested to buy this item, I am afraid. Please have a loooong look here in the NMB TOSOGU department at good and collectable TSUBA, so that you get an idea of what one should buy.

Louis, welcome to the NMB board! These 'bubbles' are not necessarily from casting, but may well be from an acid treatment (YAKITE KUSARASHI) to produce a naturallly corroded looking surface. I do not want to make a guess if your TSUBA is cast as I would need to hold it in my hands. But if my old eyes still work, there seems to be some layering visible in the NAKAGO-ANA, which would be a strong sign of a hand-forged plate. As far as the signature is concerned, there is room for speculation. As I have heard, from 100 NOBUIYE signed TSUBA, 99 may be just 'in the style of', but not necessarily from the NOBUIYE 'workshop line'.

Andreas, pure diethyl alcohol is not 'hygrophobic' but hygroscopic (just the opposite). Any diluted alcohol will contain distilled or de-mineralized water (not 'desaturated'). Concerning your CHOJI oil: Do not mistake the etheric clove oil (ätherisches Nelkenöl) that you can buy in a pharmacist shop for the Japanese CHOJI ABURA! As mentioned, this latter is often Camellia oil with a small amount of CHOJI oil for a fragrance effect! The corrosion of low-alloy carbon steel is mainly related to the carbon content of it, so even the best TAMAHAGANE is likely to be attacked by rust. And finally: any grease or oil will contain 'acids' - even your butter on your morning toast!

There is a possibility that the "knife" (= KOGATANA, the handle is called KOZUKA) is not copper, but an alloy (SHAKUDO), which has been stripped of its patina. It can be restored by specialists (Ford Hallam).

It is Mejiro Police Station 目白警察署 Tokyo / Toshima-Ku / Police Station MEI = different KANJI

Paul, even if something has been in use or a custom for a long time, it still could be replaced by something better. An old mistake is still a mistake, and if something is described with terms of impression or feeling, we should try to find better fitting descriptions which allow a more impartial judgement. I underline what you are writing:....."Part of the problem is that when learning we tend to regard impression as fact and then seek to justify them in concrete terms"......Yes, that is also my own observation for almost 40 years now that I am into NIHONTO, and it is the same problem wherever 'experts' write about arts. The empurpled texts often leave a lot to guess about what the author really wanted to express. I wished there was less guesswork involved!

I am not so sure about the last TSUBA. To me it looks like a gold decorated cast item. I like the KINAI bamboo TSUBA with the fat cat!

Gentlemen, for me these technical/mechanical terms (hard, soft, weak, etc.) are not at all helpful in a descriptive context unless they can be measured and compared. The same applies to the adjective "dense" when used in the description of an iron TSUBA. This will always end in an endless discussion, based on feelings and impressions. I am sure there are better ways to describe visual effects. A JIGANE may appear fine or coarse, regular or irregular, matt or shiny etc. It's the same with a 'strong looking guy' - is he really strong or does he only have broad shoulders? Not helpful as a description!

Antti, this is definitely a very nice TSUBA which I like as well! Congrats!

Mauro, thank you for that useful comparison!

Dale, thanks again for sharing your TSUBA! Quite unusual pieces! Concerning your TSUBA in SAOTOME design, I do not think it is cast because the corrosion would be different. Of course, this is just my guess without having it in hand. TSUBA have always been made outside of the 'official' schools by amateurs, even in Japanese history, so there is a chance that someone was fascinated by the traditional SAOTOME design and made a less refined copy. It certainly has its history which we will never know!

Dale, thank you. Your first brass (?) TSUBA is probably not a SANMAI (not sanmei) construction. How ever it was made (sculpted or more likely cast), it does not seem to be a three-layer construction as the rivets would imply. I think that the rivets just fill two holes. Probably the TSUBA was used as a keyhole liner, I have seen this in several occasions. In any case, it is an unusual TSUBA. Your antler TSUBA for a HIRAZUKURI blade may be called KAWARI GATA (irregular shape) as well as TATE MARU GATA (oval round), but I tend to the first. It is unusual as well, but I have seen TSUBA made from leather, bone, ivory and lacquer, so why not?

Dale, why don't we work together? You are interested in the same field, and the NMB is indeed devoted to serious research of what makes the values of good TOSOGU (besides swords) and is not at all elitistic! I for one would be very interested to see some of your TSUBA.

Dale, you have been a collector of what? I am also a collector for almost 40 years of Japanese swords and related items, and in most of the subjects I still feel like a beginner, compared to the very knowledgeable experts! My impression is that nobody knows it all (as always), and that one life is much too short! In the first place, collecting means studying for me, comparing, learning to look, and not piling up related items in whatever condition. This has nothing to do with money or good and bad. And I want to add that I did not blame you for the condition of your TSUBA! It has its own history and may indeed have been one of the many items that were lost on a battlefield and found much later corroded in the dirt! Who knows?