ROKUJURO

It is probably a fancy Chinese belt buckle.

Gentlemen, as a smith and experimental archeologist, I have often been confronted with this question. When I get an order from a museum to replicate a tool or a weapon, I usually ask what they want. Is it a look-alike for display behind glass? Do they want to play around with it? Do they want me to use material as close to the original as possible, perhaps to be able to study the performance and form changes in use? I can do all this with my traditional tools, and with the addition of special fuel (charcoal instead of hard coal) and the necessary knowledge of historical facts about forging (e.g. use of fluxes), I can reproduce whatever I am asked for. Concerning Japanese blades, today there might be a tendency to the art side, as Ford stated. This shift is not a sudden or recent one but it may have started slowly at the beginning of the EDO perod, getting a push in this direction after the end of the SAMURAI period. What makes a sword still be a weapon instead of an 'objet d'art' is what is intended by the KAJI. Our late head of the KYUDO HEKI-RYU INSAI HA, INAGAKI-SENSEI, used to say: Practicing KYUDO is a question of life and death. In the beginning I had a problem in understanding why a sport should be taken that serious, but I had to learn that everything we do is depending on how we do it. Our spirit and our thoughts make a lot of difference in the results, and a modern swordsmith who's main intention is to form a technically and aesthetically appealing blade may be just be one small step aside of what was intended a few hundred years ago. Any sharp blade may do a 'good job', but a blade made with the experimental background of fencing techniques of a special period of time or a fencing school might make a - possibly barely noticeable - difference. In this context I may remind you the old story of the comparison of a blade made by MASAMUNE and one by MURAMASA (I am not going to tell the legend here). Japanese people believe that there are spirits (KAMI) in many object which we would call 'dead', but they might as well be right..... In my understanding, it is not so much the power-driven tools that have influenced the crafts and initiated changes in the working process. Our conciousness for the time dripping away definitely has an influence, and thus our goals to finish the work in a 'reasonable' time. The attitude to use 'slow' tools as described by Ford is not only a way to get your back free of the pressure of time, it has also another effect: 'slow' tools also allow to think while you are working, and they minimize the risk to produce big flaws. While a belt grinder could effect a change in the shape of a blade in a few seconds, it also could ruin the SHINOGI in the same small amount of time. So I would support the idea that power driven tools might be helpful without affecting the quality and meaning of the craft as long as they do not push the speed of the processes so that the work becomes dictated by the rhythm of the machines. It should remain the rhythm of the craftsman.

Brandon, to me it looks like NOSHU (no) JU MURAYAMA KANEYOSHI (or KANEYUKI) SAKU.

Gentlemen, It seems to be a similar story as the one with the 80,000,000 $ sword. The sellers want us to believe that they act in good faith, but they are just outrageous. It is a shame that E-Bay wil not take action in these cases, so the scammers can legally continue. There is only one way out: study the subject thoroughly and join the NMB.

That is a general problem in dealing with terms. An example: In news and newspapers any bigger knife when used in a criminal attack is often called dagger. So the people (even the police!) get used to that wrong expression and use it for the knives they carry and use. It is the question if we should accept that development or if we should insist on correct terms. My personal sight is that there should not be a Western version of the meaning of a Japanese term. As FUJIMOTO-SAN pointed out, the IAIDO teacher simply had no idea what he was talking about, and that is really bad as the NIHONTO glossaries are easily accessible to everybody.

Is this cited from the BOWEN MONOGATARI? Gorgeous!

I agree to that with the addition that, depending on taste, any rank of SAMURAI might have liked a TOSHO-style or YAMAKICHIBEI-style TSUBA at the end of the EDO period and bought some revival piece which were in fashion then but probably not expensive.

Brian, I am sure Thomas was referring to two different MON which then would allow to specify a family branch of a clan.

It may be of some interest that I tried to trace back a GUNTO in very well preserved mounts, containing a 55 cm BUNGO blade in acceptable condition. The KASHIRA had a silver FUJI MON (Wisteria), and I asked the NBTHK for help (back in 1985 or so). I told them I was prepared to hand the blade back to the family. Their reply was that unless there was a tag with a familiy name and troop unit attached to the blade it would be impossible to find out the former owner or family as the MON was so widespread in use.

Gentlemen, this is an interesting discussion, especially for the novice collectors. In my understanding, the evaluation of TSUBA is not merely a question of design or technical finesse, but also of knowledge. Aesthetics is another criterium, and there you need to understand the history and the soul of the Japanese people. It may not be easy for everyone to compare TSUBA like these: with high-end KINKO, HAMANO or NARA, and to accept that the respective makers intended the results - they could not have done 'better' or 'more carefully'. One has to develop a feeling for the ever changing styles and to differentiate e.g a WABI-SABI influence from a coarse and hastily made TSUBA with only the function in mind. Quality has many aspects.

The signature:.....Ura mei: "Made on a day in February 1945 at shrine, as a shadow sword". 於神前,影打,昭和二十年二月日 o

It is normal KANJI (not konji), not very carefully chiselled.

Yes, that would be fine as I am just around the corner (Germany) :D . I would take a simple SENCHA.

Thank you for your knowledgeable comments and the useful links. I think I understand what you mean. I am thinking back to the times when Japanese teamasters travelled to Korea, 'screening' hundreds of mass made rice bowls for their potential to be used for CHAnoYU. l wonder if these very few CHAWAN they brought back had unintentional ZEN quality although they were made by simple craftsmen, or if they had this 'spirit' because they were chosen by aesthetically 'trained' connoisseurs. What I would like to know is if an item can have ZEN quality even without a human eye seeing it (this may be used as a KOAN :D ). Isn't ZEN in this context the result of an interaction between a person and an object? I have a tendency to believe that we learn rules of how ZEN shows up in an item, we achieve a special aesthetical competence as teamaster, collector, or connoisseur, but the evaluation still remains a question of interpretation. I have to confess that I have the same questions with the MINGEI movement. While I like these items generally very much, I believe that it is at least very difficult to produce, say, a tea bowl or a basket, with the intention to work unintentionally. On the other hand it may be safe to say that the old Korean potters probably did not have the consciousness of producing work of high artistic value. So I think we may see or feel qualities in an object, and the more we are trained the more we might see or know. I admit that this 'training' may also result in an increased sensitivity and not just remain on acquired knowledge and the rules of arts. Maybe this has become a discussion which has led us away from TOSOGU, so if a moderator feels this is inappropriate here, please push us to where this may fit.

Henry, thank you for these interesting aspects brought into the discussion! While I will not make any remarks to the aesthetic values of these MENUKI, I would like to defend Hoanh, as in my understanding he is free to see in an object whatever he feels. 'If a rock speaks to me - fine'! Although I read a lot about ZEN I try to get independent from fixed or 'official' interpretations. In my experience ZEN is a very individual thing and often encountered in daily life, may that be a natural plum twig or a pair of plum MENUKI - but this is my personal view of it.

This is the first good explanation of the situation I heard for a while! Thanks a lot, my children will accept that!

John, it is a school name. These MENUKI once belonged to the Behrens Collection and were probably sold in the auction 1913 or 1914. They are item No. 376 in Volume III, if I remember it correctly. Henri Joly did not mention the signature, which I can understand if you consider the huge work he had to do. I add some explaining pictures and look foward to your esteemed comments!

Curtis, A TSUBA MIMI with 3,5 cm material thickness will indeed result in a heavy item! The tang is NAKAGO in Japanese. SHAKUDO is indeed a copper alloy that will show a blueish-black surface after chemical treatment which can be polished off, revealing the usual copper tone.

Gentlemen, it seems to be difficult. Maybe I should add some information. These MENUKI are signed, but not with an artist's name. I have no confirmation or official paper concerning the authenticity of the items. Although they once were part of a famous collection, there is no 'official' description of them; even the signature is not mentioned (not found?). Parts of the surface had been gold coated (petals, buds), but most of the thin gold wash was lost during use. If EZO means HOKKAIDO, then it is not correct. The signature locates it on HONSHU. Don't give up, there is no money but honour to be gained!

Gentlemen, Today it is my turn to show an item of my very small collection for consideration or - if you like - for a KANTEI game. I will not give details with the exception of the sizes - 69 and 68 mm long - and the information that they once belonged to a famous collection. I hope you like them.

Brandon, normally even the cheaper cameras should have a close-range device. But even if not you could use a program like PICASA which will help you to store and to adapt the photos to your needs (enlarge, cut to size, lighten up, etc.). I find this very helpful for someone like me who is rather helpless with a computer.

Brandon, of course I was pulling your leg . Making good photos is not only a question of hardware - these blades are generally hard to deal with. I think it is important to know which features to show and what can be pictured regarding the condition of a blade. Correct angles and light are crucial, and in many cases the photos could be enhanced with a software program. If you make a SUGATA photo, cut away the background as far as possible, and use a dark one.

Looks more like Harry Potter V. Maybe the signature with KAO is down right, but it is barely visible. A better photo might help.

You are not alone, Brandon! The photos: I think this is an old and dirty tent in pink with some metal bar on it. Honestly, there is not much to be seen. Have a look at the other threads and compare how photos should be made!

Probably a Chinese decoration item of TSUBA shape, industrially made.