Nickupero

Thanks Brian and John! I checked both species John supplied and they are not listed as endangered but "vulnerable" which is one grade above endangered. Not sure what to do here, if I give them the wrong species this situation can go sour real quick. Here is an image of the Tsuka in question, I would grade it as antique.. wouldn't you agree? And being antique does that change anything?

Looking for some help here if anyone knows. Have a sword in US customs and the Fish and Wildlife department is requesting the scientific name of the Manta skin being used, does anyone know this? From what I know its not a prohibited item? Has anyone had their item stopped before for this, I've been sending forever and its the first I hear of this.

I have a client who several years back bought an un-papered Katana into the UK which turn out to be a task. They claimed he has no proof it was antique, I imagine customs is familiar with certification from some of the well known organizations. I then wrote customs a letter indicating I was a Japanese antique sword dealer and a registered business and I personally attested to the authenticity of the piece.... it gave the situation some headwind, not sure how much but my client refused to wait any longer and so he had his lawyer write up a letter stating he would take legal action if the item was not released. Few hours later the blade miraculously cleared and was handed over to Fedex. Maybe sometimes all its takes is a little muscle!

Real Scary John, especially hearing it from someone who can see the gradual impact first hand. Montreal is always cold and snowy so same winter here as always. Time for everyone to stop collecting Nihonto for the next several years and put that money towards electric cars :lol:

Robert, many of the members here follow these items on eBay regularly... so it was most likely seen and judged by many so far. Interesting iron work indeed, not a fan of how the cat design was executed. Just my opinion Good luck bidding if thats what you intend to do!

Typed in "cat Tsuba" and got this, for a Wakizashi. I imagine this is what you're talking about. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Japanese-Tsuba-Cat-/291071770345?pt=Asian_Antiques&hash=item43c53abee9

Exactly what the title says, I have a real beautiful Fuchi from a set I'll be posting in the near future and was curious to know your opinions as to which castle the artist may be trying to depict. Not sure why but the first one that came to mind is the Matsumoto castle, probably because of that memorable bridge seen from the upper command floor. And why you would think of that particular castle?

:lol: Thanks Ken, Much appreciated!!!! Already have a collector eyeing that one. Beautiful piece indeed! If you have a picture of your Ko-Mihara please feel free to share! All the Best!

Hi gents, wishing you all a safe and Happy Holiday, all the best to you and your loved ones!!!! Excited to share this recent news with you all...My site has just received a full facelift, some new features will be added and I welcome you to come and see. Still sorting out the glitches (work in progress) so if you see anything thats off please send me a personal email or PM. For those of you who visit more frequent http://www.nihontoart.com Thank you all, hope you wake up with plenty of gifts under the Christmas tree!!! And if you've been naughty then I hope you at least get plenty of coal, good for BBQ season!

Here are a few more pictures of the Fuchi/ Kashira, Fuchi is signed which can help shed some light. My translation isn't very quick so any quickshooters are welcome to translate Barry your right, looks to be many strips of metal involved. Bruno does definitely have some similarities.

This Image should help you get an idea of the saya's anatomy, you can see a small opening in the metalwork and the wood underneath showing.

a few more....

Hi Gents, looks like a mid Meiji period Koshirae, what are your opinions on the age and type of metal work? It's a very interesting piece as the entire saya is covered with a thin sheet of metalwork. The seam near the Kojiri has a slight opening. The tsuba is extremely heavy but well detailed.

Stephen, nothing to apologize about... after that picture I'm very much in the Christmas spirit! All the best to everyone, it was a year full of great posts and conversations which I enjoyed following! Hope your stockings are full, and some good memories are created with your loved ones. Already dreading the extra pounds that I'll put on! A quick thank you to Brian, John, and Jean for all the effort they've dedicated.... I guess in a way you're Santa's little helpers :lol:

And one of the little Oni....

Its actually the friction points that appear like they were polished, need to see it in hand to understand what exactly I mean. Here are the extra pictures that I promised, both of the blade and a few more of the Koshirae. I did them on a black background, the silver seems to come out more naturally. You can see a few surface flaws, nothing fatal, a nice long koto piece. Enjoy!

Many thanks for all the feedback and pictures, the post was to get opinions so the positive or negative ones were all appreciated. Keith, I had a good laugh, so far I've went through 3 sageo, the Oni is a hungry little fellow :lol: Ben, I picked it up during my last trip in Japan (were I get all my items). I like to buy the Japanese rail pass and explore, real convenient with the Shinkansen, discovered a few little spots . Sometimes I get lucky with finds like this but not always...Finding an item like this from a Japanese dealer means it will most likely be marked up far too high to make a profit. It will be going up for sale in the near future, we can communicate directly for prices. etc (if you or another member wanted to pursue something a donation will be honoured). Sorry Alex, was intending to show the blade soon, have not yet got around to taking pictures / scanning it. Should have them by tomorrow.

Thank you Lance... much appreciated! You nailed it straight on, I thought I remembered seeing it somewhere... I was probably distracted by the Sanzaru (3 Monkeys). Nikko is no doubt one of my top 3 favourite places!

Some close ups of the Kashira and kurikata

Hi Gents, picked up this piece recently and I'd be interested to get some feedback on the Kashira. Does anyone know what this mythical creature is? Looks like a mixture of a Phoenix and Elephant. Just in case you might be interested to know more about, all the fittings are Solid silver, all the way down to the habaki... very very heavy piece. The blade has been attributed as Mino Kanetsune, early to mid Muromachi period.

Just like to say Real nice blade John, looks real intimidating. That horimono is very odd, do you think it could have served a purpose? Hi Glenn, Welcome to the NMB, always nice to meet collectors who have an appreciation for these items. You'll get plenty of good advice here, it never hurts to ask before here before you jimp into a purchase. Your question has been debated quite often in the past, interestingly I started a thread on this very topic a while back, please see link, it goes on a while: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14955&p=130942&hilit=removing+signature#p130942 Even for superior made nihonto many items were not signed, certain schools would keep the Nakago Mumei, while others would sign only the school and not their actual name, it really depends on the school or individual smith. It is very possible that there were smiths who were embarrassed to sign their name after forging a poor blade. Another important factor is who was the blade commissioned for. A good example are temple blades, they were almost always Mumei. I stand completely on one side of the fence regarding the removal of a signature, some people think its like removing graffiti which makes sense... but I believe your removing the historical blueprints by doing this. I could understand wanting to remove a signature if the forgery was done yesterday, but in my eyes something that was done centuries ago is now part of the blades history. Sometimes there were valid reasons for a smith to want to falsify a signature. I suggest you to read the thread I mentioned, it might help you decide which side of the fence you stand. Thanks!!

Wow, Brian, Jean & John posting all together, I'm Honoured Thank you all for your input. If you could post a picture or two John I'd be interested to see your Jumyo. I was comparing it to that Ko-Mihara Katana and in terms of weight they are about the same, I've seen oversized Wakizashi's before but it is the first time I remember holding one, definitely a different feel. Thanks Mike for your input, that is why I initially suggested it as late Muromachi - Early Edo. Judging from the pictures would you date it that old? I would also be interested to see your Daido, feel free to post a picture or two on this thread.

Hi friends, thanks for your interest and apologies Jean.. I mentioned how big of a blade but forgot to include the most important part, the measurements! The Motokasane measures 0.8 cm/ 0.314 inches, Motohaba measures 3.4 cm /1.34 inches. The nagasa is 39.3 cm / 15.47 inches so it eliminates the possibility of being a Yoroi-doshi Ken, good suggestion though!. Maybe Chris is right, after observing the patina on the Nakago it is mostly likely middle Edo. It has a nice patina and on the close-up of the Nakago seen above the flash made the much of the colour fade.

And here are those blade shots... just some simple but time consuming cropping was done, no enhancements to the actual photos! You'll note a very dense Jihada which was typical of this school.

a few more... those real nice shots of the blade will be coming soon. PLEASE Note the double HI on each side, different in to opposite sides but nicely done.