Bugyotsuji

Yesterday was Children's Day at the family shrine of the Ikeda and top shrine for Bizen, Kibitsu Hiko Jinja. Around midday, following the blessing by the shrine priest, and the Shinkage Ryu demonstration, we performed a full-armour blackpowder demonstration on the Yabusame course. After lunch the priests had requested some of us to remain in armour for group shots with the children and families, alongside a static display of the weaponry used earlier. I was surprised to hear our leader call my name while he was outlining the day's activities. "Piers, you are in charge of explanations at the static display tables." I don't know if other members were as surprised as I was, but they silently gathered around as a group to help our corner go smoothly. For years, he would always cut me short when I was enthusiastically explaining things, but now it feels almost as though he has recognized something and given me free rein to talk.

Not that I am aware of, Jacques. This is the thread: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/33474-tamba-no-kami-gamble/#comment-346826

Yes, that is the one that does not fit, imho, Colin.

As a suji kabuto, everything is there. It has four shiten-no-byo and four hibiki-ana.You have some of the rivet heads showing. No hachimanza, but some people prefer it in the raw state, and quite well finished even without the tehen kanamono. The haraidate-dai has two holes in vertical alignment and iri-hasso in the top edge. The shikoro would have been.. manju shikoro? The mabisashi is fairly steep and has a good shape.

Well, it depends also on how you read that poorly-inscribed date. Is Genji 2 really possible, as it only lasted a year from 1864 to 1865... (?) Manji does not seem to fit the kanji. Another possibility is Koji, 1555-1558. 弘治

Just seen this, apologies. The leaves are traditonally said to be mugwort, designating a sage or shaman as they have strong healing properties. In fact the name moxabustion comes from them, the active part being 艾 Mogusa (蓬 Yomogi plant) in Japanese. (Think 'mogu' and 'mogi' and 'mugwort') They can be dried and powdered for use in burning over acupuncture points, but I have found their compressed juice will seal and heal a knife cut beautifully. They are also used in food, such as Yomogi-mochi rice cakes

Ah, thanks! Toyo-Oka? 豊岡　豊邱… that second kanji is tough!

Hmmm... will need to get my eyes focussed on that. (The shot with the tang is upside down.) 豊前... no, not zen...

They look like copper from here...

Do they really use oil, though?

Some years back I went through this whole process with a signed tamba no Kami Yoshimichi. There's a thread here somewhere. Most people opined that it was legit. Even my sword appreciation sensei said to send it off to shinsa. He too was interested in which Yoshimichi they would choose, as he had his own opinion. In the end it came back 'gimei', with no explanation. Not saying that yours is the same, but there are a lot of good fakes out there, so be prepared to roll either way.

Try, Seki Unjosai Katsunaga For example: 旧日本陸軍九八式軍刀拵入り.雲上斎 https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/l1121008323/ https://www.token-net.com/soldout/201511-28.html

Of course you could say, and many do, that a wakizashi is a good way to enter the field. You can often find excellent work by a good smith but in a relatively affordable package. If the blade itself is everything to you, find something in shirasaya. When you feel more confident, or when your slice of bitcoin has gained tremendously in value, you can branch out into longer or shorter. Bobby above mentions why older people in Japan might be collecting tanto. Certainly it was traditional for households to have a last symbolic tanto. And I too have found myself gravitating towards tanto, my 'collection' now down to one last koto wakizashi, plus one koto tanto and three shinto/shinshinto tanto. All with koshirae, and all bar one papered.

Ran this by a Japanese kinko artisan today, who looked it up in one of his books. He reckons the reading could be Hironori or Kojo, though the photo of the list he posted has it sandwiched between Hirosuke and Hirotsune, so if it follows the J alphabet, it should indeed be read 'Hironori'. 「二字に銘した鐔がある。江戸時代後期」 "Tsuba with two-kanji mei is known, the latter part of Edo", it says. So with all those references, and the NBTHK paperwork, I reckon this metalworker really did exist!

天龍子... as it's suriage and cut off here after Tenryushi JEB, they suggest in brackets that it is probably Masataka. (正隆) Good question. Was it cut down to fit into a military scabbard???

Bruno, many thanks for the message, and Brian who sent me the same listing. That does indeed look like it, and the reading Hironori fits perfectly into the jigsaw puzzle. (Hadn’t occurred to me.) The name is listed in my Japanese Kinko book, but with no reading, and no further information. Warm fuzzy feelings. Many thanks to both of you.

If it’s a flood, would it be a tsunami?

Just to report that some months back I sold this on. Catch and release indeed. Reading this thread again just now, I wish I had taken out and saved the little bashin, though…

Talking of Haynes, is there any information there Bruno on 廣乗　広乗 Hirojo, probably Gotō group? I have a signed and papered Kozuka, but little to no information.

A long blade can be a wonderful thing, but with a Tantō you can get some of the Smith’s finest work concentrated in one place, a sort of cameo, with no repetition.

The throat guard (tare) probably qualifies for the name 'itamono', and yes, relatively speaking it was a cheaper and easier construction, made up of four single solid metal sheets or plates. (At least this is the impression I have formed in conversation with people, but I'd be happy to be corrected.)

Yes, just found the photos from 2013. Named blade, the “Kuki Masamune”. On display at Hayashibara Museum of Art, Okayama.

Also tantō were only made in certain eras, e.g. not much during the Edo Period when wakizashi were more common. More likely made when they were functional. There’s a Masamune tantō in the Hayashibara Museum of Art that allegedly cost more than a million US, if my memory serves me.

Both Kiri and Fuji are in blossom everywhere right now. Although the flowers are similar in colour and style, from a distance, the leaves are very different. Fuji, wisteria has rows of slim oval leaves, but Kiri paulownia leaves are each wide and multi-lobed. Fuji is a vine, somehow endlessly associated with the powerful Fujiwara family, whereas Kiri is a tree with Shogunate and imperial connections.

TJ Happyzebra seems to have some good ideas on how to approach this, and I can understand the desire to start with a blade in hand, almost any blade. And before even that, he/she has decided to consult here first. Owning a blade, with the responsibilities involved, certainly helps to focus the mind, and with that anchor you can then build a frame of reference around it, discovering useful sources of information concerning its various relevant aspects. Two or three blades down the road and some of these larger frames can start to interlink, creating the outlines of a Japanese sword universe inside your cranium. That first blade may suffer some indignities in the hands of a newcomer though!!! Good luck and happy hunting!