Ted Tenold

Post War Showa Period tchotchke. Somewhere in Japan, likely Seki city. Tourists...for opening their mail upon return from vacation in Japan. Under 5.9 inches, so it's exempt from Jutoho laws and thus can be purchased over the counter at a "Tchotchke-Ya" or cutlery shop, tossed in the luggage and carried home. Well... at least we used to be able to casually toss stuff like this in the luggage.

Cyrus is in the L.A. area.

My eyes....my beautiful eyes!!!!

Date is Meireki Gannen. 1655

I'll concur with Grey and Chris. Searching outside Ebay can yeild some very good pieces in the price vacinity. The consistency of quality with which the Yasukuni and Minatogawa smiths produced swords makes for a better reputation, and overall chance of getting a nice piece if it's not in good polish. Plus, all these guys were coming from long established lines of swordsmiths with a fair amount of comingling between them and their students. I'd also add to Roy's comment in that Nagamitsu blades tend to run a wide gammut in quality of forging, heat treating, and shaping. I've seen more than a few that had yakiba that were hajimi, sleepy, or just plain nioi-giri. Buying them on based on on-line images in poor wartime polish can be risky. Hedging the risk by buying form a supportive seller is optimal. On the other hand I've see a few that were very nice too, and one with hada that was actually garrish. I think the price of swords like Mantetsu, Nagamitsu and Emura were originally fueled by those that wanted good cutting swords, i.e. practitioners, and the background stories of the makers. It seems lately that the Militaria collectors are driving the prices of these swords now as the pool of nicer examples gets shallower over time. I bought my first Nagamitsu in *mint* mounts, and it was a nice blade too, for $250.00.

The microdear clothes (as Ray linked) are excellent, and with good care will last many years. They're also good for handling nice tsuba and such, though I keep a seperate one for that one. They will strip a great deal of the oil from a blade so one could keep a seperate one for that too. The larger sized ones are pretty big, so they can be cut into a couple pieces or folded over themselves a few times for rotation to a fresh part. I maintain them by washing periodically in cold water with Woolite, rinsing thoroughly then hang dry. They're probably dryer safe, but I just hang them.

As a further comment on the subject; When concerning a sword of Tokubetsu Juyo level where no viable signed examples by that maker are known to exist, it is the policy of the NBTHK to add "den" to the certificate regardless if the sword was attributed directly at the Juyo level. A good example of this would be a smith such as Go Yoshihiro. Thus, the den classification is not detrimental to the judgement of the work and I seriously doubt any real diminishing factor of value either.

More like P-Funkadelic. George Clinton gives two thumbs up!

If I remember correctly, Kongobyoe Moritaka didn't make blades through the entire war. He was called to service and the last blade he made during the war was the one he carried with him. After the war he resumed his trade. Lovely work! *apologies for the continued off topic...*

Removing an undoubtedly bad signature is a matter of making the blade "honest". But removing a questionable one is only something that should be pursued after it is researched diligently, especially so if the work looks adequately correct for the signed maker. This includes submitting to shinsas to confirm or deny it. I once saw a tanto signed Nobukuni that was sent through and judged gimei. The mei was removed and the nakago respectably restored. It subsequently passed as a mumei to....yes.... Nobukuni. Work is work but a false signature is a blemish. Better to leave it, or remove it? I think it depends on the overall work, health of the piece, and the effect it has on it. As an example, would this be better as is, or just taken off completely?? The problem becomes complicated with different periods. While this is easier to accept in a Koto piece, the later the period, the more unpalatable it becomes. A Shinto gimei is disappointing, but tolerable if the work is judged to a high ranking smith once resubmitted as a mumei. Shinshinto mumei are very disappointing and though the work may be excellent, the lack of a mei casts them in a low appeal. Gimei Gendaito are pretty much a travesty as a mumei gendaito is either illegal, junk, flawed, or of little worth because of a lack of mei. Each sword has to be judged individually. Moreover, a mei should never be removed without due diligence. I would also point out that a good removal of a mei isn't a matter of just filing or grinding off a signature. The metal should be preserved by closing the mei up through techniques of manipulation and displacement. Metal removal should be very minimal. Mei can also be filled if required, much like umegane repairs in a blade. Time consuming and expensive, but for the right blade, a dignified approach. **Franco posted while I was writing this, and I agree. Jim's approach to things like this were, and still are, good advice.

I had this on file, so I thought I'd post it. So far, it's the only example I've seen of a Sadashige with both his monogram and a star stamp. It is dated December, 1944.

Can't tell which Hon'ami, but the attribution looks like maybe Tadanaga to me.

Taking the well traveled road: Kanemoto Picking a lane, I'd say: Magoroku The small and sparse nie, in conjunction with the soft peaks in the pattern and how close the tani (valleys) come the edge makes sense for Magoroku. Not really clear in the images, but the boshi would help too. The nakago jiri also says Magoroku. Other makers did occasionally work in Sanbonsugi though. Can't remember the smith off the top of my head, but I recall an early Shinto maker did this kind of work too, but this jigane doesn't fit there.

It's older than many of us, but not old for a Japanese sword. World War II era. Seki ju Ishihara Yoshisada saku. You'll find an oshigata of this maker at http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/index.htm .

Morita-san, I also tried to contact him last year. I reached a friend of his who told me that Mr. Slough has not been in contact for quite some time, and is not actively involved with Nihonto at the moment. This was perhaps due to some personal issues he was experiencing.

Not how I learned it, but I'd agree that the kasane also has distal taper. distal: farthest from the point of attachment.

From the images, I would suspect it to be both tired and saiha based on; 1) Loose kitae 2) Dead jigane 3) Dim sugu hamon 4) Altered hamachi 5) Apparent shirake in places Could go many directions on period, but seems moot looking at images anyways, but in respect to the thread subject there looks to be some masame in the shinogiji. Sue-Koto Mino or Early Shinto.

Jan, No, the sword you illustrated is o-suriage which would mean any funbari has been long since lost. What many would define funbari as the difference in width from base to tip, is more accurately defined as "distal taper". The percentage of distal taper varies in conjuction with widths depending on the maker and period and is subsequently disturbed by centuries of damage, repair, alteration, polishing, etc.. Mathematically speaking the Sakihaba is a percentage of the Motohaba in width. Yoshindo Yoshihara explained that the percentage for good balance and appearance is around 70%. In other words, a sword with a motohaba of 3.2 cm would have sakihaba of 2.24 cm by this factor. If we did have a perfectly healthy Heian blade to measure from, this calculation would also be difficult to apply to because healthy funbari "flares" at the machi to about 1 inch or so above it, settling into a more uniform taper through the rest of the blade. I have seen funbari reproduced in utsushimono, such as one by Shibata Ka, who was both avid student and wealthy collector with access to many fine swords to study. Here's an illustration of funbari. As a Heian/Kamakura feature, it's little wonder many folks don't know what it really looks like. Even a slight suriage or machi okuri would remove it. Extant works that are ubu will display funbari which can be seen, but in diminished form.

Much obliged gents, thanks!

Hi All, Seems my contact info for Harry is no longer correct. Can someone please PM or email me current contact info? Email or phone, etc? Thanks, Ted

Since this thread, like Major Tom, is floating in a most peculiar way... I'll offer some words from the genius of Douglas Adams; "In an infinite universe, the one thing sentient life cannot afford to have is a sense of proportion." :lol:

Craig, I too am sorry to hear of your difficulties. I always admire anyone with the tenacity and strength to schlep so many books to a show! :lol: I agree with Ed that with the right help and treatment, it can be managed. My uncle has this condition which was a product of his long career in the upholstery business inhaling small fabric fibers for decades. All my best wishes to you for better health and resolution to your financial issues. As Thoman Paine wrote; "These are the days that try men's souls". I do hope to see you at a show in the future, with or without your books. Cheers, Ted

Interesting blade indeed. Jumyo works do seem to run a wide gammut, but on average tend to look stereotypical Mino. I had one paper a couple years ago that was an early Jumyo (Muromachi period) and at first glance looked very yamashiro and even had elements of Ayasugi with utsuri. Very unusual and kind of majiwari, but in line with works from that period when I further researched it. As far as the definitions and terminologies of hada, many special terms are generally associated with groups or smiths that most used them. Additionally, there's elements such uniformity, jinie, chikei, etc., that support their appearance in ways that are fairly specific. Ayasugi = Gassan and Naminohira Matsukawa = Norishige (Etchu province) Chirimen = Aoi Groups (Bitchu province) Konuka = Hizen Tadayoshi Uzumaki = Naotane Nenren = Sa school As for the subject sword, I would not call it Matsukawa, but mokume with itame. The oshigata provided illustrates what classic matsukawa hada should resemble. Just my two cents.

Yes, and I feel I may have been the first to trod, and it was not my intention. Welcome Simon, and thank you for taking an interest. There was a production about Masamune done some years back also. I was asked for recommendation of a person that was knowledgeable about Masamune and his students, spoke English, but also that was perferrably not in Japan (due to travel costs and budgetary constraints). I recommended Bob Benson since he has studied Soshu den for decades and obviously fit the other qualifications. Bob was never contacted, but the production somehow hooked up with a rather notorious fellow of dubious reputation in the San Francisco area. Those in the area that have had to contend with him will know of whom I speak. Very disappointing. "If you must choose....chose wisely".

Hello Simon, I this regard, please do a better job than others in the past. While we enjoy seeing the topic of our enthusiasms on TV, it's frustrating when it gets so screwed up that we spend time correcting the mis-information that is spun for sensationalism to the unfamiliar masses. Obviously, cinema is the first and largest guilty party to this, but even in smaller productions there are lame examples of ignorant and/or apathetic researchers and producers. As an example; I watched a program on Miyamoto Musashi some years back, hosted by the National Geographic Channel. Among the points of contention I had, they narrated that he was so admired that they even named one of their largest Battleships in his honor. This was blatently inaccurate as the Imperial Japanese Navy named their Battleships after provinces, not ancient swordman. I breifly and politely emailed to let them know of their misinformation and received a righteously indignant response from their "researcher" was that their research staff were of the highest caliber and credentials, and all their content is cross checked and held to the highest degree. My response was that the researchers were incompetant boobs because true and accurate information was available in the most cursory searches, and I would no longer watch NGC because if I couldn't trust NGC to accurately research a subject I knew a little about, how the hell could I trust their information on a subject I knew nothing about?