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Hi Peter, could be that one or maybe one of the muromachi smiths signed this way also. Hi Ken, it is signed katana mei Here are a few more pics:

Hi Hoanh, The guy it came from felt sure it is Koto. Just got it under a better light and you can see everything, the old polish is still pretty good. I will try and get a better picture tomorrow under that light instead of using camera flash. Yes definitely a lot of activity in it!

Hi all, I have a katana signed Bushu Ju Fujiwara Masashige, which I believe is Soshu Shitahara school. Would be interested to hear some opinions of the mei and the age, Koto or Shinto? It is in an old polish so not easy to get decent pics, but have managed to capture some of the activity. Cheers, Mark

Hi Francis, My first sword was pretty bad but you learn from it, buy some books and if you can go somewhere where you can view real nihonto. You can also look at swords classed as ko-wakizashi as these can be within your size restriction like this one at Aoi Art: http://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-kanenori-4

If you can live without the koshirae then I would suggest bidding on this: http://www.aoijapan.com/tanto-mumei-unsigned-attributed-as-oishisa If you want a good blade in polish then really it should be in shirasaya anyway. Otherwise you would have to get someone to either clean the inside of the old saya or have a new one made for it.

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Well i have to say im deeply sadened by the critisism of the mekugi peg, I slaved for a atleast a good two mins carving that out of an chopstick with a kitchen knife lol. But seriously, yes my sword was a poor example of a two colour bind but its the only example I have. As to the topic of the bind It may have just been fashion trend, but even if it that was the case it might be possible to find out whether it was a regional trend or if it was something done across the whole of Japan. I am always reluctant to replace an old bind but if general opinion is that is not worth keeping then I will consider restoring it.

Hi Martin, Thanks thats certainly food for thought. I have had a good close look at the bind, to me the colour seems to be too even to not be intentional I would think that perhaps the change is due to a treatment rather than by natural discolouration. I wouldn't change the bind I like it as it is and can live with the miserable condition lol. Personally when I look at a sword with a new bind it makes me wonder what else has been changed.

Yeah it was a good day, though it was quite depressing looking at that Gassan sword with the ayasugi hada and knowing I will probably never be able to afford something like that! Though I will have to get used to that for when I goto Japan. Good to see you too Brian, thats a nice Tsuka and in good condition, mine is a bit on the tatty side. Thats interesting Ian, I wonder if there any examples of this type of binding on any woodblock prints of samurai.

I have this sword with a two colour bind of tsuka ito. I have heard mention that this might be a sign of a Samurai's rank or status, or that it has some relation to the samurai's clan? Is this true? Or is this done just simply for aesthetics? Cheers, Mark

Tokyo is about that much, everywhere else looks to be cheaper. The Four Seasons are doing an offer stay 2-3 nights and get one free in Tokyo so works out quite a bit cheaper, though of course they may not offer that next year. I can also get goverment/military rates so can save a bit that way. Im more concerned about the price of the Ryokan Onsens, the ones that I can find that have private spa's on your room look to cost about £500+ a night.

Lol Its ok we wont be spending much time looking at swords, the main reason for going there is for the sights and the culture. I may not go to any of the sword stores but I will definately have a look around the markets and antique shops which im sure we will both enjoy. Those tours do sound good Brian and they are very reasonable price too. But I think we would prefer to tailor make our own and with it being our honeymoon we are going to go 5 Star all the way and pick all the best hotels. Activating the rail pass when travelling to Kyoto definately sounds like the best thing to do. My current plan is Tokyo (trips to Hakone and Nikko) then travel and stay in Nagoya (trip to Takayama maybe overnight) then onto Kyoto for few days then back to Tokyo for a couple of nights in the Four Season in the Japanese Garden to chill out before we go home. Going to try and fit a traditional Ryokan with Onsen in somewhere.

I had a look online for the rail pass and it seems to be around about £180, is that the discounted price? I will definately make sure we are in Tokyo for the Yasukuni market, that sounds great. I just need to work out a schedule to fit in the 7 day rail pass to get the most out of it. Perhaps we should do coach trips during the first few days in Tokyo then activate the pass for travelling to Kyoto and around that area. Can you get to Takayama by train?

Takayama sounds good Brian, I have looked round antiques shops here for Japanese swords and fittings but never found anything but im sure I will have more luck there! I will probably come home with my suitcase full of Tsuba lol. For the schedule I have been thinking maybe four nights in Tokyo to begin with then another couple of nights at the end. What sort of things do they sell at the Yasukuni market? That Museum sounds impressive Ian, I looked up Tottori and it looks to be about 3 hours train ride from Kyoto so quite far, not sure if we will be able to schedule that in. I feel a lot better about arranging it myself now hearing the people are so helpful, I really want us to see what we want to see rather following a set plan.

I you begin your married life like this, you will go on a wrong way During his Honeymoon, my grandfather pampered my grandmother very well. After, when they were back at home, he told her: You see what i did for you? Hence you will do it for me Japan could be a good idea if she agrees. Its ok she is happy to goto Japan just aslong as we have a few days to relax somewhere :-) Thanks, I will do some research on the places you have all mentioned. Glad to hear that Tokyo isnt hectic, that is one thing we were worried about that it would be too crowded. Not sure about a full week there because it wouldnt leave us much time to see the other places and fit in some relaxation time but I think we should go for atleast 4 days, I guess we could stay longer and do day trips from there though. Its good to hear also that the people are so helpful, I think if you were stood in a train station here in the UK looking confused you would be stood there for a very long time lol. Also I didnt know that about some of the shops, having to take your shoes off, I take it thats in the more out of the way places? Do they have the basins to wash your feet in too lol? For staying in Tokyo I have been looking at the four seasons, looks really nice and has good reviews. Has anyone been to Bizen? I think its a big place for pottery, is there any sword production or viewing there now? Talking about pottery my fiancee would really try her hand on a wheel and make a pot, they dont let you do it over here anymore because of "health & safety"!! Perhaps we can find somewhere in Japan where she can have a go.

Thanks for the replies, I will definately have to start learning some Japanese phrases all I know at the moment is domo arigato lol. I will look into the places you have mentioned Nigel cheers, would you recommend staying a few days in each or are any of those doable in a day? I have been looking at some of the Onsen they look really nice but quite expensive especially ones with private baths but we could always just do one night. Would definately like the Ryokan experience!

Hi all, I am getting married next year and I have been thinking about going to Japan for our Honeymoon. I figure that quite a few of you have probably visited so I thought this would be a good place for some advice. Firstly for those of you that have been there, do you think Japan would be a good place to go for a Honeymoon? We arent really the type of people to just sit on a beach or by a pool for two weeks, we really want to go out places and see things but would like to be able to spend a few days relaxing somewhere. I have looked at tours that are on offer, but they are quite expensive and there is no mention of Nihonto! So have been thinking about organising it myself, I know there is good public transport in Japan, bullet train etc but a little worried about how easy it is to get around when visiting for the first time and not speaking/reading Japanese. Would be interested to hear how other people have found travelling around. Planning it out I have been thinking 3-4 days in Tokyo and the same in Kyoto. Not sure where would be good to stay if we wanted a few days by a beach, I have read that the Okinawa Islands have nice beaches but then its the problems of travelling and having to take another flight etc. I was thinking probably go from Tokyo for a day trip to see Mount Fuji. I would like to go somewhere where I can see swordsmiths at work if this is possible, and go to places where I can see the more traditional side of Japan, so would appreciate some advice as to places to visit. I would have liked to have seen the snow monkeys in the hot springs but we are looking at going probably around October so I am guessing that they wont be in the hot springs till Winter. Would appreciate any help, cheers Mark

Thanks for the replies, I will post the link to the omiya wak on ebay when I get back from work (eBay is blocked here). I am pretty sure it had Omiya in the title so if you put that into the search then should be the only thing that comes up. I will have a look round to see what you mean about the boshi. I am thinking of sending it to have the finishing of the polish restored as on one side all you can see is the shape of the hamon no activity, the other side you can see some of the activity as shown in the pics but the hada is not very clear. Ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Sword-Tada ... 7C294%3A50

No one have any thoughts on this one? There is an Omiya Bizen blade on eBay at the moment that looks to be to have a lot of similiar hamon characteristics. So could that be a possibility? Or could it be Bungo work perhaps?

I pretty much assume that anything with a signature is gimei unless it has papers and I generally buy unsigned or o-suriage blades. It is a very nice sword and a gimei signature doesnt really put me off, just means if this blade is one of my next shinsa submissions I will have to think about having the signature removed. Of course I dont want to do this unless it is an definate gimei. I guess there is chance it is a unlisted smith, there must have been more than one smith called Yasumitsu working during the Shinto period.

So am I right in thinking its a gimei of Oei Bizen Yasumitsu? It seems odd that they would miss out the Osafune character though if doing a gimei of that smith. I was wondering was there a period after the destruction of Osafune by the flood around 1590 where the surviving smiths didn't sign Osafune because of this?

Hi all, I have just recently aquired this Katana/Wak nagasa 23" and I was wondering if anyone knows who this smith is and if the signature looks to be genuine or not. Looks to me to be made in the syle of Oei Bizen. Cheers, Mark

Hi Guys, Would like some opinions on this one as to which Bizen school this blade could be from. It is o-suriage and has a lot of activity in the hamon. I was thinking along the lines of it being sue Bizen maybe Sukesada given the crab claws in the hamon. Cheers, Mark

den refers to the school rather than the actual smith.

Results in! Katana: Den Tango no Kami Kanemichi, 1755 ( 70 points ) Pretty much along the lines of what I was expecting there, happy that it didn't come back as gendaito lol. Wakizashi: Den Echizen Shimosaka, 1624 ( 70 points ) Quite a suprise on this one, age was not far off what I thought but didn't see it being Shimosaka. Pleased with the result though because I do like Shimosaka swords. So all in all a good day for me, two o suriage and neither Bungo lol