Tree

Dear Curran. Thanks again. Funny how things work. Last night I received this letter from Usagiya. It is also not conclusive but I thought you might find it interesting. By reading it you will see that you get the gold medal. When I purchased it I thought it to be Oda school based on the one pix I could find of a similar theme item (and the apparent similarities therein) but am happy with it anyway. Thank you also for the positive comments. ________________________________________ Tree

Thanks Curran. Had a lot of trouble getting these pics on, they are much better than the previous. Rich and Henry think Shoami too. ____________ Tree

Hello Guys and Gals (are there any gals?} Recently aquired this tsuba from Usagiya but they could only tell me that it is Edo period. Any thoughts on the school etc. would really be helpful. __________________________ Tree

Thanks guys Much Appreciated. _______________ Tree

I would like to take some pix of a sword blade. Anyone know if there is a particular light source that shows the blades qualities best with digital photography. There are plenty of bad pix of sword blades on the net that do nothing to display the quality of the subject. ___________________ All the Best. Tree

Thanks Rich! Love it.

Thank you gentlemen. Henry, I am within walking distance of the same beautiful Pacific Ocean that also touches your shores so I will take heed of that advice. ______________________________________________________ Regards. Ed

More Fool Me. Found that edit button today. Just took a pair of glasses.

Hi. I am looking into Japanese sword (martial arts) schools. Does anyone know of any reliable web sites that allow you to compare the different techniques and philosophies of these schools. If you have time would you share your own thoughts and experiences regarding this? ______________________________________________________ Thanks. Ed Tree

Hello. Recently read that unbleached non dyed tissue paper is as good as the fancy (and costly) Japanese paper for use in clearing off old oil and applying new. What do you guy's think? And.... If one keeps up the maintenance is there any real reason to keep a blade in shirasaya (apart from aesthetic that is). Would leaving a blade in koshirae require more frequent oiling though? _____________________________________________________ Thanks and Regards Ed Tree

Once when a number of men had gathered on the platform of the inner citadel of the castle, a certain man said to Uchida Shoemon, "It is said that you are a teacher of the sword, but judging by your everyday attitude, your teaching must be very wild indeed. If you were requested to perform kaishaku, I can imagine that instead of cutting the neck you'd probably cut the top of the man's head." Shoemon rejoined, "Such is not the case. Draw a little ink spot on your own neck, and I'll show you that I can cut without being off by a hair." ______________________________________________________ From William Scott Wilsons translation of 'Hagakure' by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Chapter 8. "I am sure many of you are conversant with this excellent book but I hope you enjoy this anyway" Ed Tree

Isn't 'no Kami' an hereditary title? Ed Tree

Thanks Brian. Yeah realised that and I did try to edit my post, but darned if I could find an edit button after I retrieved it. I just wanted to add a THANK YOU for providing this source of information and a chance to see what others are up to. Ed Tree

A couple'a questions: If a sword's signature contains the title 'no Kami' how is it then possible to be sure that it is the signature of the smith who made the sword or if it is the name of the titled person that the sword was made for? A Shinto wakazashi at just under katana length, say 58 cm plus. Most probably not made for a samurai but for a merchant trying to stay just within the legal limits?

Hi Guys, would you like an NTHK hozon scan to decipher? Or is that to easy?