Teimei

Mmmh... maybe the name of the shop where they sold the tsuba originally? Something like a trademark?

Hello, i bought a tsuba about 2 years ago that has a kao. From what i know a kao is like a personal seal of a artisan. Has anybody a clue what artisan or school used this particular one, or is it just a part of the decoration? Thanks in advance,

Looks like a part of my fence...

My pleasure! :D The Tsuba is signed: Gyonen 79-sai Tadashige-saku Bunka 5 (1808), 79 years old! I forgot to mention that before.

Is it that what you need?

It looks okay... But i would not spend too much money for it. Good luck bidding for it!

Hello Florian, like i´ve always stated, i´m not you!(just kidding) I read your article in the NC catalogue you mentioned, it was quite enjoyable. Is it a problem that i use the same signature? The "B." is only my middle name so i could easily change that... Regards,

Eric, a very precise description, i couldn´t do it better. Beste Grüße

Eric, you are not the first one who thinks that i am Mr. Brands. I am not Mr. Brands or related to him in any kind. Sorry, but i´m just a nobody. But i agree with you that this article is very interesting.

Florian, I‘m amused. A sword-shop deals with swords, which in most cases are accompanied with an origami. The goal of an origami or paper is to certify a mei, thus confirming the opinion of the issuer. JTK (Juho Token Kenkyukai) its leader is Kobayashi Yukinobu. In his opinion the mei on your Tanto belongs to the Masakage with the unusual kanji kage, hence this Masakage is easily to identify...the mei I'm posting is different to yours Tanto mei. My comment is not intended to criticize the quality ot the Tanto. Eric Eric, like you said, an origami is a confirmation of the "opinion" of the issuer. He could be right or not. Could be the first smith he found that "fit in the picture". I´m only a beginner, so i can´t even read the origami, thats why i am very thankful for your comments! You´re right your example is different to the mei on mine. Maybe a different smith, or he had a bad hair day while signing it? :lol:

Eric, i don´t know how reliable they are in general, because i never dealt with them before. However, it is a paper issued by a shop and the goal of a shop is to sell things, you know what i mean? The paper was just a nice extra. Long story short, i bought the Tanto because i liked the sugata and not for the paper that came with it.

jabara kumiage-maki?

Hi Stephan, i also had only very good experiences with eric. His descriptions and pictures are the best i´ve seen on e(-vil)bay so far.

Florian your right, I posted a couple of examples here. viewtopic.php?f=66&t=17658 That is exactly what i was referring to. A medieval kevlar vest.

Hi Stefan, thanks for your comment! There is quite an amount of (ko) nie visible, but the pictures are not that good, i must admit. Mit freundlichem Gruß

Well done Fred, really nice piece! The european customs can be a huge pain in the xxx, no matter if you want to send or you want to receive something.

Did i missed something here? I´m sorry but i don´t know anything about a meeting, i think you mistook me for someone else. But thanks anyway! :lol:

Nice looking blade, Shinshinto (new new swords 1781–1876), actually many types of armor were worn and used for the entire Edo period, these types of thick tanto would have been quite useful in the right situation. Yes, you´re right they were wearing all kind of armor, you can hide quite an amount of chainmail under a kimono. I think even today this tanto could be useful! Depends on the situation right?

Agree. Nice example with date. What is the thickness at the mune? I have a similar Shimosaka one that came original to a koshirae I bought. Probably c. 1865. The tanto was nice enough that I had a shirasaya made for it and a tsunagi for the koshirae. Surprisingly nicer blade than I expected when I purchased the koshirae. The thickness at the mune is right about 8,1mm near the habaki and tapers to 4,2mm towards the tip.

@ Markus, Brian and Stephen: Thank you for your kind words! Sometimes a nice blade is hidden inside a shabby ol´ shirasaya :lol:

The evaluation paper is from Juho Token Kenkyu-kai, a polisher/dealer in Osaka.

The newest part of my small collection. A Yoroi-doshi(-esque) Tanto from the shinshinto period. Yoroi-doshi means armor piercer like a Misericordia in europe. In the shinshinto period, these kind of Tanto didn´t served a real purpose since nobody was wearing armor any longer, it was just kind of en vogue. It´s stored in an old shirasaya with a silver habaki, the mekugi is of poor quality. signed: Masakage (i think? ) saku dated: 1866 nagasa: 26,9 cm moto-haba: 2,5 cm moto-kasane: 0,81 cm hamon: suguha hada: a mix of masame and itame Any comments are welcome! (don´t be too harsh )

Hi Scott, nice blade you have there. The nakago looks okay could be ubu (or not ), the second mekugi-ana is looking a bit "sloppy". Is it worth getting polished? Mmh... the blade is not heavily damaged, it looks like the hamon goes down the whole sword... If you have the cash and you´re willing to spend some, go for it! Just my 2 cent. Regards