Peter Bleed

Okay, Gilles, let's see if this is worth looking at. Today I got out a "daito" (exactly 2 shaku!) by Shinkei TANIMITSU dated February Keio 4 in what has to be the original koshirae. This isn't the sword you said you were looking for - but what a sword it is!

I am wondering if it might be possible - and interesting - to organize sword related chats on something like Zoom. I would love to show some stuff - like Namban tsuba, maybe. I would also happily join in discussions of other topics. Would this work? And if it might, what would we have to do to make happen. Peter

Great Stuff, Mark. Nice Display. Thanks for getting it out. What do you have on the Kunikane daito? Oh, and thanks for the tea . . . . Peter

And what happened to the "large Shinto katana attributed to sendai Kunikane"? Peter

Indeed, thank you, Peter. An interesting discovery P

a C note in an envelope is the easiest option.

Roger, Here is a snap shot of some brass-embellished guards. The sort of stuff that is "out there".

Well, dang! I thought that I'd have to drop a note to young Stephen, but I rustled thru the password list and punched in enough numbers to get some pay pal bucks sent somewhere. I even covered the Paypal Vig. Peter

I would love to contribute but I am being challenged by the available options. Passwords, security questions, exchange rates. Whatever happened to a C note in an envelop? P

Roger, Brass embellished fittings are truly wonderful and no one will fault your taste. With no more than a bit of digging you will find lots of items that will make you wonder, "Is that the one I need?" Google Heianjo . . . and get your credit card out! Peter

The thing to remember whenever considering anything "Japanese" is that in Japan, "unusual" is always a challenge. It may be all right, but it is rarely "good." Peter

I find myself involved in "cataloging" my collection but my product does not com[pare with what Chris has produced. Chris, can you share your format with us so we can use you model. It is really very nice. Please.... Peter

This has been an interesting thread. Thank you NMB!. I have always been interested in the rather large number of swords that were produced - and presumably demanded- by conditions of the terminal Edo/early Meiji era. I've even - well - acquired some but I have never seen any that retained their original koshirae. Assessing these swords as weapons that were made for bold patriots (or foolish tradtionalist) is pretty interesting. I wish I know more about how such swords would have been ordered and created. Again, - good thread. Peter

Neither can I

Thank you NMB. This is a nice community and I appreciate the quick permission I was given to be silly. Peter

Here I am, trapped at home and bored. Suddenly, I am over-powered by all the stuff I have. I mean, where did all this stuff come from? I ask that question here - on this forum - because I AM a Japanese sword collector and I have recently gotten out a bunch of - well - Namban stuff without having put away my Katchushi stuff away. I even put a thoughtful post right here on the NMB. But such fame is fleeting.. . . And my wife really wants me to get our lawyer (OMG!) a list of my "good swords" but I don't think she is even talking about the rapiers. OMG! And it gets worse. My daughter-in-law is uncomfortable with the granddaughters being in a "house with guns" but she really wouldn't know a matchlock from a Mauser - - altho I'll say with pride that I think the granddaughters might cover that one pretty well (tho I sold my broom handles and all the Nambu's some time ago. They're bright girls). But here's the question. What in the world do NON-COLLECTORS have that collectors don't have? I have all this stuff. What would I have if I hadn't been a collector? Peter

Bradley, Thanks for sharing this story. My advice to you is to believe Ray more than whoever gave you the "seller's" rendering.... Peter

Indeed, I thought this was an Inami attribution. Hakusui-san sold lots of swords to lots of GI's and his wonderful book did a great deal to establish sword appreciation. Peter

But. Mike, isn't that a Showa date? Peter

The last few postings have pointed a simple, highly abstracted style of bilobe tsubas that I have seen but never felt I needed. They seem a long way from "Namban" but they truly do feel like an evolution of the bilobe form. Is this a great hobby or what? Peter

Tim, I LOVE this guard! Wow, I am feeling serious lust. Is it - ahhh- available? Peter What's your reaction to this piece?

Chad, Thanks for initiating an interesting conversation. My sense if that your spear has rather nice lines, but -frankly - the nakago (tang) seems really very small to me. The ana (hole) is well place, tho. So I wonder with the unit has been rather seriously shortened at some point. Real, but re-worked is my suspicion. What do you think? Peter

Paul, What a wonderful project and a wonderful approach to collecting. It is truly beyond anything I could either do or aspire to. And I will add my voice to the comments of others who counseled ignoring the "wear" on the tsuba. In 400 years when this sword is being appreciated - as I'm sure it will be - the "wear" will have disappeared but observers will wonder what Daimyo wore this sword. Peter

Dear BAZ. Thank you for sharing this tsuba. I have a couple of these and showed them in the third of my initial postings. Thanks for showing more. I am sure that these were like tweed sport coats or blue oxford cloth shirts. That is they were just everyday wear for guys that needed to carry a sword - even a fake Umetada. And given where my descendants still live, let me close by saying.... Flush your toilets, Werribee needs the water! All the Best Peter

Ray, Indeed, that long strip is the paper Doug told me about. Thanks for figuring it out and for sharing it - we sure are lucky to have you on the Forum! Peter