mywei

Hey mate, First one reads: Higo Kuni ju Akamatsu Taro Kaneteru saku That's your shinsakuto for iai I presume second reads: Noshu seki ju Kanetsuna saku Showa 14 (1939) August - you are correct Hope that helps

雲_(?州) 藩藤原長信 Unshu? han fujiwara naganobu saku

Seki ju Fujiwara Kanehiro saku Found an example mei online Definitely made showa-to, unsure whether he made gendaito, although he doesnt to be a RJT Hope that helps

正延 Masa Nobu There is a Seki Showa-to smith with the same name Correct me if I'm wrong, but older masanobu's are usually 正信

Mumei attributed to the Fujishima school Koto of Kaga province I don't know much about this school or its tradition, sorry. More knowledgeable members should be able to help more.

Hi guys, I know nothing of tsuba - styles, schools etc. I was hoping someone could help point me in the right direction about this tsuba and mei - school etc. Cheers

It's a fake on many levels. Sorry mate.

So apparently the 3rd gen also signed 'harima no kami' - there's a paper down the bottom specifying sandai http://www.artswords.com/Papered_Hizen_Tadakuni_Wakizashi_101707.htm Here is my blade in its entirety I'm tending to agree with Jim that it is probably shodai - but am open to other opinions There is an oshigata in Fujishiro (courtesy Jim) that has a similar mei that I've attached

That was my concern as well - the kuni seems different Has anyone actually seen blades/mei by later Tadakuni?

hmm interesting... it seems most of the Kai Mihara smiths' names started with 'masa'

is there a reason for the nakago with the mei to be noticeably thicker than the rest of the nakago?

Hi guys, to all the Hizen pros out there, is this mei definitely shodai Tadakuni? Apparently sandai also signed 'Harima Daijo' but I cant find any extant examples of sandai's mei Cheers

貞 正 sada masa Sadamasa ?saku koto? Matt

Echizen ju/Hoki no Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka if I'm not mistaken Shimosaka school HIR169 http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/HIR169 Edit: found a mei for reference http://www.aoijapan.com/appraisal-quiz-243 Cheers, Matt

Thanks for the heads up. Goes to show the ongoing perils of buying nihonto on ebay! On the other hand - probably no need to start China-bashing either. Cheers, Matt

Hey guys, I've been looking into early Echizen Yasutsugu, and I've been confused about the relationship between 3 smiths who all used the Higo Daijo title in Echizen during Keicho (1596-1615). Yasutsugu I YAS974 Sadakuni SAD442 Kanenori KAN1859 I know there's some theories with Sadakuni being either a brother or even the same person as Yasutsugu I, with their works being almost identical. But according to this link http://www.samuraiantiques.com/s15.htm, this Kanenori from Mino also signed in a similar way to Yasutsugu (who trained in the Mino tradition)? Is it possible for 3 smiths working in Echizen Fukui to have the same title basically at the same time? What relationship is there between these 3 names? Cheers, Matt

Wow.... congratulations to the both you. I have the utmost respect for level you guys have excelled to in your respective arts - must have taken an incredible amount of diligence and discipline not to mention raw talent. On a side note - that means we finally get a trained togishi down in Australia and a skilled one at that! Matt

Just out of curiosity for further study, was shodai Echizen Shigetaka (SHI 505) rated as Chu-jo or Jo -saku in Fujishiro? I dont have a copy of this obviously, and the online resources seem to differ, with the nihonto club database listing as Jo-saku Another question is regarding his school - I understand his master was Kanenori (KAN 1858) of the Mino/Echizen Seki, but his works seem to conform with the Shimosaka school (Yasutsugu I, Higo Daijo Sadakuni in particular)? Cheers, Matt

Alright thanks for that guys Much appreciated! Matt

Thanks for that info Jean. What is your experienced opinion regarding this blade just from the pictures supplied?

Hi all, My name is Matt from Melbourne Australia, a long time enthusiast of nihonto/kodogu and lurker of this site that has recently starting to collect pieces. I've decided to play it safe and get my first major acquisition from a reputable dealer (Aoi Art) This wak from the early shinto smith Harima Daijo Fujiwara Shigetaka (shodai) caught my eye and I've decided to buy it (link below) http://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-harimadaijyo-fujiwara-shigetaka-first-generation From some limited research, the features of this blade ie the jihada (?mokume hada with masame more noticeable towards shinogiji) and hamon seems pretty typical of this line. Not sure about the mei though. As this blade comes with old tokubetsu kicho papers, Tsuruta-san has kindly agreed to submit it for shinsa in July. I'm fairly confident that Hozon papers shouldn't be a problem here. It probably needs a touch up polish, but do you guys think it has enough for a Tokubetsu Hozon? I'm not really seeking to sell in the near future, just for personal gratification really Interestingly, the Japanese version of the webpage seems to state (from the Kanji at least) that this blade has a high chance of getting Tokubetsu Hozon. Also, can you apply for Tokubetsu Hozon straight away from old toku kicho papers, and if it fails can it get bumped down to Hozon or is another submission required? Thanks guys for the input.