Peter Bleed

Marc, Thank you for sharing the 1950 article. Indeed, I have never seen that paper and it is very wonderful. Thank you thank you! Peter

I love seeing the packaging that was used to send souvenirs home. And this one is really special. I assume it is a big piece of bamboo that was turned into a shipping tube. Love it! Peter

Well, gee, Ray! I was trying to draw this discussion out a bit. And I certainly have learned never to argue with you, but, I thought that this would be a chance for us to introduce the difference between ON and KUN pronunciations. I though that these very (very) late Shoshu guys signed with these characters that we all think of a "Yoshisuke", but went with the name "GISUKE". This is also when the Soshu-den was dissolving in the Muromachi era. There certainly seems to have been a demand for these solid hirazukuri "otanto" at that time. They are quite worthy - by one name or another! Peter

These smiths are great fun but also a challenge of pronounciation. Don't start with YOSHI (tho it seems right...) Peter

Bazz, It looks like a registration tag and it looks both old and primitive. I don't see an address and I wish I could read the date. Interesting. Peter

Jacob, Thanks for sharing information and images about this blade. I have followed the discussion but avoided saying anything - - recalling Mother's advice "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all..." But, hey. That's no fun! IMHO, this little sword has all the earmarks of a "three dollar bill." Celebrating those qualities actually reveals something about the nature and history of Japanese swords. The apparent quality of the horimono (the carving on the blade) just isn't there - in my opinion. The dragon is poorly cut, over polished, and strangely placed on the blade. This is not the sort of work that made smith and this line famous. It may be like judging a book by it cover, but I also would be surprised to find a blade by Shigetoshi et al in this kind of shirasaya with a wooden habaki. Finally, it surfaced in a Belgian flea market. Yes, yes, I know "anything can be anywhere" but that situation seems consistent - to me - with this being what has been called a "Yokohama docks" sword - that is, a piece made on the cheap and marketed to a naive audience. So that's what I think. What I find interesting to savor in this situation is the fact that Japanese swords have ALWAYS seemed to have had craftsmen and dealers who were willing to engage in fakery and misrepresentation. Its a jungle out there! Peter

Dear Friends, I really have too much stuff!And so I have come to the conclusion that I have to get serious about thinning my collections.My hobby has been acquiring stuff, tho, and I feel no particular skill at selling it. So please allow me to lay this problem in the lap of the NMB. What's the best way to sell stuff? Let's take as a starting point an assemblage of dote-mimi katchushi tsuba that seem to have come my way. I rather enjoyed scouting these things out and even submitted a little paper on them to the JSSUS NL. I'm over that now. And I realize that these are largely "utility grade" altho they'e all good of type. And altho I can and well be a greedy as the next guy, I have to acknowledge that they are NOT highly valuable. The prices I would hope to realize would be in the $100-$400 range. So let me ask. What the best way to proceed.? If I dole them out one at a time, should I start at the low end or at the high end? Please advise!

Ed, You are right. It looks like a Tenmon (yes yes "Temmon') date and I bet you it is a 6th year so that would make it something like 1537. And, to be sure better images would help. But I actually think you should have GUESSED this basic informaton the instant you saw this nakago. It absolutely looks like a a late Muromachi era kazuuchi mono. Osafune was really and truly cranking out swords at that time and the great bulk look just like this. Look at the size and shape of the nakago. Consider that rather nice old rust. What it "says" only confirms how it "looks." IMHO Peter

Ed, Check the entire nengo list for the 1500s Peter

Guido, I, too, am glad for this clarification. I was quite sure that the image showed a non-regulation jock strap. Peter

Steve, are you involved in this sale? I have long wished that RIA would get involved in Japanese material. Peter

I know nothing about this person or this matter. And maybe lots of other collectible areas have similar issues, BUT... It seems to me that delay, confusion, and - well - sharp practice are extremely common in Japanese sword collecting! I do this for fun and relaxation so I try not to let it upset me, but time and again I have become involved in long delays and cost overruns. Services provided even by big names and respected leaders rarely is managed with dispatch and full accounting. Peter

Well, gee. When this conversation was a free-wheeling discussion, I was happy to say - "Well, it might be all right." I certainly suggested that there were some ref flags with this sword. And my comments drew out some interesting discussion. In my own defense I will say that I am sure that a variety of kinds, styles, and qualities were produced for the 1927 coronation. Not all of these were "top of the line." I would also add (again in my own defense...) that if this is the sort of koshirae begin ginned up by modern fakers I'd be surprised and scared. My experience with Yoshichika blades is limited, but I have to believe that he was capable of producing a wide range of blades that met diverse demands. Now, it turns out there is a need for expert advice. And in that case, I respectfully withdraw all of my comments. I am not an expert on this kind of sword. And i apologize for entering into what I understood was collectors' chit-chat. Peter

a very useful discussion, Thank you all! Peter

Antoine, I commend you for setting out to discuss swords in an "art" class. (It never worked for me) . Unfortunately, you have exactly proposed a BOOK that has already been written - and written and written.They best you can hope for in this way is a book review or a discussion of current sword dogma. There may be a market for that sort of paper. But after you have the many discussion of shinto swords and them find a specific issue that you can address BEYOND what is already well established. You can review that schools and styles of the Tokugawa era. You can contrast the subtle differences in the literature. You may find it easier to write this paper if you address koshirai and kodogy rather than blades.... Peter

My bet is ON this blade. In another 100 years I bet this will be understood as a significant contribution to understanding of early 20th century sword making. By that time, the "Gendai-to era" will be completely recognized as as yet another stage of Nipponto history. People will debate about the quality of sword making at that time. Sides will be hotly debated and I suspect that this sword will be submitted to the Juyo shinsa. (I agree with Moriyama-san. It will NOT make the grade - - at least initially.) I think this swords is a real and pure document of how sword making operated in the the 1920s. Peter

Looks okay to me. Peter

I was rather interested in iron jingasa- - in part because they seemed very reasonably priced and they also link nicely with teppo and gunnery. Unembellished iron was the wear of the lower ranks but my luck with lacquer ware - of any type - always resulted in chips and fragments. Peter

I have no experience with teppo-mei, but I think I see some numbers there. like 8 , 5 of the base flat. and mebbe something like " 50 somethings" right below the ignition pan Peter

I don't think its a date. Please show us both sides of the whole tang P

Nice work, Jussi, but I think the larger point is that we ALL should be able to do this level of "translating." Figuring out signatures is just a part of sword collecting. An evening with cup of tea (or something else), Hawley, and and Yumoto or Robinson would open this volume. Just do it! Peter

Once again the NMB has worked its magic and helped me appreciate Japanese swords. Thank you all! I am having some nice dark shabudo pieces going below the wrap I am commissioning. They are not great art and no one will say "WOW" about they when they pick up this blade. But they fill the appriopriate space and do what is needed - an overall laudable assessment for most of us! I must also confess I that recently had a menuki experience of the type I said never happens. There is a sword still for sale on eBay by a Sendai shinto smith I collect ( cough sneeze, ahhhkunikane, excuse me...) that has an excellent set of menuki showing the 8&1 Star that was a Date crest. These are worth a "WOW." Unfortunately, they blade itself has some serious shinae kizu and a problematical signature. Again, thank you for your help and insights Peter

a challenge, but what else could it be??? P

this is not Japanese -etched chinoiserie! P

I have to agree (as usual and of course) with Ian. This is a prototypical Kofun era design, but I can't believe that it could have survived and entered the the wider world in its present condition. I'd put it more into the early Showa era than the Taisho and in any case, I would really like to read a systematic assessment of how Kofun arms and armor were studied and replicated at that time. Early weapons were part of the military thinking of the pre-War development . . . witness the shin-gunto koshirae. Peter