Bugyotsuji

The abrasive sanding has ruined it…

See Sako Kaneyoshi. No pic here, but it was in naval mounts. 酒向兼義作 | 日本刀・刀剣購入・販売・買取なら刀剣杉田 (token-net.com)

Nice find, Mal. Thanks for the photos. (Legally these registration cards, like that one from Hyogo Prefecture, are to be surrendered before leaving Japan, both for Teppo and Nihonto.)

Nothing is absolute here, though. To the right person this package could be worth more than a few hundred dollars. You have a blade to study if you want to learn about Kunisuke and/or Shintō blades in general, and in another collecting field you have a piece of WWII memorabilia with the romantic notion of bullet damage. Plenty of plus factors! A future owner might even consider reshaping this katana into a wakizashi, for example. How long is it? Interesting puzzle, thanks for posting.

Length 8 sun and six bu. Hozon status awarded. Jan 31, Heisei 26. No other information. How does it look?

四六 is 46

Interestingly, following Jean’s post above, I found a faint line right along the top of the Nakago! (Luckily the sheep stayed still long enough to enable the shots.)

Thanks for the replies and thoughts. I tend to agree with both. I have had the 'trenches' back-filled, and now plan to contact a willing Togi-Shi. Left facet of new mune, (habaki pulled back) in rough state Right facet, pre togi

The missing sections along the mune.

Nunomaki ヌノマキ Fujii フジイ Hiroda/ta 広田 (?)

On Saturday evening at the local NBTHK sword meeting I got word that two wakizashi projects of mine have moved a step forwards! One is the umegané work on a Tenbun 3 Sukesada in shirasaya. This will be interesting to see, before it gets sent off for togi. I will try and get some ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots. The other is a new tsukamaki on the koshiraé of a mumei wakizashi. The old tsuka maki ito was badly perished. (One artisan had also advised me to change the sageo to black at the same time, but the tsukamaki-shi advised against. “It would be a pity to get rid of such a good quality sageo”, he said. Will post some shots here if the work looks decent.

Bruce, in relation to this I’ve updated the other thread.

Bruce, if no-one else posts a chart, I’ll show one or two of mine here later when I get a moment. 😊 (Japanese sword or history diaries usually show them in the dates section.) Can you find your example, Genroku 3? And here are 1~60 with alternate readings. (Bottom chart No. 7)

They look like a fun tool. Great idea!

A very nice and unusual find, Colin. Congratulations! I did some experiments with one and although dim, the light was considerably better than I had expected. In a blacked-out world with no electricity, they would have thrown a circle of useful light in one direction. Look for ‘gandō’ 龕灯 chōchin. Also 強盗提灯 https://ukiyo-e.org/...e/ritsumei/arcUP3961

The quick answer is yes, Rolland, they did use patched ball. I have seen original examples, including ball pre-wrapped and glued with what looked like squares of washi paper patch. The long answer is that no, I am not aware of the earliest recorded illustration or mention of patched ball use in Japan. This would be like searching for the holy grail! (I was surprised to see an Inoué School manuscript of around 1600 showing inventive use of doubling or cutting or linking lead ball.) Since lead fouling of the bore after a few shots was a huge problem from the very early days, I expect such an invention would have moved around the world in gunnery circles very quickly.

Tadamitsu was a good smith of the time but you do find fakes. The blade steel should clarify it for you. Is that top photo aligned vertically with the camera, on a flat surface?

Me too, an axe and a Matsukawa-Bishi (Hishi) Kamon.

When you buy Kozuke Daijo Sukesada, you need to be aware that he was verging on genius, so there are many fakes imitators out there. The paperwork above does not guarantee anything, if you read the last few lines. "There are copies of his work." "The workmanship is similar." "The signature is close." "A shinsa should be consulted as a final authority." Weasel wording, perhaps, but it says you can own something with a famous signature on it. As David intimates, if it's a bargain, then you should imagine 99% that is it a work done in homage, even as you part with your cash.

‘Pristine’ will cost you, because many others are looking for the same thing. Accept some damage, (think of it as proof of age), and you should be able to find something genuine which also looks good in a display.

“Omote (Front): 八幡大菩薩 Hachiman Dai-Bosatsu”

Oh, and this is how it looked with a kiseru-zutsu. (Going back through old photos…)

Owning several versions of these, I am ashamed to say that I do not know how they are called. I have searched various websites but each photo has a different description. Maybe start your search description with Netsuke, then sagemono, and you can find illustrations of cups on strings, although some of the enclosing ones with lids did contain food. Bakuro Sakazuki 馬喰盃 馬喰盃とは - Bing images 骨董根付提げ物盃 - Bing images 道中盃 Dochu sakazuki　(or 'choko') Yours is made of coconut, so add ヤシ or 椰子 (yashi) 骨董根付提げ物盃 - Bing images

Hmmm, they look to me like アヘン (ahen) 芥子 (keshi ) poppy pods and leaves.

Perhaps something very fleeting, snow balanced on sasa leaves... Reminds me somehow of the snow on the cartouche post of Hiroshige etc., Toyokuni Ga. Mitsuke () (nms.ac.uk) 歌川国貞: 「雙筆五十三次 宮」 「熱田駅寐覚里遠景」 - 東京都立図書館 - 浮世絵検索 (ukiyo-e.org)