Mark S.

So today I received shipment of this daisho tsuba set. Very satisfied with the purchase and AOI Art did a very good job with fast shipping and excellent packaging. The set came with a brand new looking wood box and they also shipped the original box. The tsuba show more detail - feather lines, grain in the kama (kettle), grain & knots in wood pillars, etc. - that are much more prominent in person than in the pictures. Thank you for all your help regarding the decision to purchase and for all the reference information you provided.

I live locally... but for various reasons I’ve never done all 3 days of the show. Main reason is Friday is Arbor Day and working in Urban Forestry, that day was taken up with ‘festivities’ at work. COVID has put that on hold, so this year I’m doing all 3 days just for me. It will be interesting to see how the show progresses each day. I’m sure everyone will get tired of seeing me roaming around. Looking forward to it.

Thank you John. What have you found to be the most convenient way to pay with less fees? Credit card? PayPal? Anything else that makes the transaction easier?

Thank you both for your input. Decisions... decisions...

So recently AOI Art had a daisho tsuba set on auction. I really like the tea ceremony theme but I know less about tsuba than I do blades. Assuming I know these are rather ordinary tsuba (not looking for masterpieces), is the condition really a ‘no go’ for these? I’m assuming the loss of the gold highlights in many areas detracts from them considerably. Is there anything else I am missing that should really steer me clear of these? Or is the fact that no one bid on them enough of a ‘hint’? A little education please. https://www.aoijapan.com/daisho-tsuba-mumei-4/

So looking forward to this show.

Is it wrong to have rooted for the blade to have cut him at the beginning of the video when he is running it across his palm!?!?!?

Ok... there are lots of posts about different polishers. Please use the search feature to do some research so we don’t have to rehash it all again here. The main issue is to learn the importance of using a properly trained polisher and what they can do for the proper preservation of nihonto vs. someone who can make a blade look ‘pretty’. I make no judgment calls about anyone personally and everyone’s mileage may vary regarding this advice. We spend a lot of time learning about nihonto... the art and history. We should also put a huge amount of time learning about proper preservation as well.

Jean already did it for you

Try this... also in research section. https://markussesko.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/nihontocompendium-e1.pdf

For sale locally. Don't want to jump on something not worth it. An estimated value?

One more. Even if authentic, this is probably a run of the mill NCO. I know nothing about them.

All, I know this is very limited info, but does anyone have any initial thoughts or opinions of authenticity? Thanks, Mark

The dating may have something to do with the Chinese zodiac system (which you seem to have recognized?). Sorry, I have no idea how it works or how to read it, but for example the 5th character down could be one of the 12 Signs: INU / Dog (which you mention) or one of the 10 Stems: Tsuchinoye?????? Beyond that, I'm going to have to let some very experienced people answer. I apologize if I am just reiterating what you already know.

Thank you so much!!! The learning continues...

OK Steve... thank you so much for your hints, but I have stared and hunted and for the life of me, I'm still lost. The most embarrassing is #4... I thought that kanji was for "era" or "period", and I've seen it a bunch of times (and thought Nengo was the translation - obviously wrong). But for the life of me, I can't find the Japanese translation or Japanese word for that kanji. Any help on my ?'s would be appreciated because I am at a brick wall on them all. Thanks

Hi John, Not sure where in Chicago (big city) you are located, but usually there is a Chicago Sword Show every year in Schaumburg. It's a great place to get advice on the blade. Usually Mr Bob Benson is there who is one of the few qualified U.S. polisher's. As of right now, the show is on for April 30 to May 2. Go here for more info: http://www.chicagoswordshow.com/ Mark

So I know very little about swords, and even less about tosogu, so please take this with a grain of salt... Using the kanji I could identify, it looks like the raw reading would be Iwamoto Yoshihiro???? + Kao But as I started to research on line a little bit, I also saw the mei read as Iwamoto Konkan + Kao I don't know enough to know the difference or if I am completely wrong, but maybe this can give you a start?

Thank you! I do like the hand written kanteisho.... but sometimes wish they were typed/printed just so they would be a little easier to read (for those of us who aren't Japanese) It's hard enough to fight through a language you don't know, but to add in working through the handwriting makes it all the more challenging... guess that's half the fun.

All, So as a part of my on going learning, I try to practice translating mei and kanteisho papers when I have time. Before we go too far, Ray Singer has a tanto in the For Sale that comes with NTHK papers (my translation attempt). As this is a sale item, I asked his permission to post this so as to not break any rules or potentially ruin a sale. Ray has graciously given permission for me to post this. So... attached, please find my attempt at translating the papers. Please feel free to correct me or add your insight... and PLEASE NOTE, there are a few ?'s I had that I could not translate or did not fully understand and if you could lend any assistance, I would appreciate it. Also, this is a translation by a beginner... for beginners. So please excuse my noting some things that are considered 'common knowledge' by most. Thank you in advance, Mark S.

This one seems rather small... about a month ago AOI had two other jumonji yari that were larger. One I tried to bid on but it got out of my $ range... the other I wasn't sure about condition but it seemed ok for the price. I waited and no one bid and I figured if it went to general sales I might purchase it... although I was wary as others must have seen something that kept them from bidding. At the last second, someone bid on it and got it at the opening bid price. At first I was disappointed, but I chalked it up to "not meant to be". There will be others... Honestly, they are interesting, but not first on my list. I kinda consider them a 'neat to have' item.

I saw this too... website not up and running. I hope everything is OK with Ed.

My 6 month subscription ends tomorrow (2/21). I just switched to the 12 month, but I have no idea if I am on automatic payment or not (don’t remember if signed up that way) and I haven’t received any type of notification. Will wait to see what happens... but fully intend on keeping the subscription.

I will let those with more experience give better opinions than mine, but it looks like there is way too much oil on the blade and it can stain the inside of the shirasaya or attract more dirt/dust leading to future staining/rusting of blade. You shouldn’t see those large drops like that. My advice would be to clean off the old oil and see if stain disappears. Once clean, a better assessment of that spot is possible. Then a very light coating of oil can be reapplied.