Curran

You can tell a lot from the central peg and the walls of the backside of a menuki. My first impression is that the back of the menuki doesn't look consistent with Goto Kojo work. I will try to remember to look more later today. It is a nice menuki where I think 'authentic' vs 'gimei' doesn't matter much. My gut says 'Goto' much later in the school, with a spurious mei added later.

I posted this several years ago, from an article by an Admiral Edwin Layton and Alan Harvie. According to my old notes, it was originally sourced from "Soken Kodogu Yogo lo Meisho no Kaiselsu". Certain types of nanako are associated with certain schools, and I was trying to learn the differences between the nanako of the various Ko-Goto masters up to Goto Tokujo. I think it is one of my projects that fell by the wayside some time ago.

What I have is probably in excess of your needs. It is very high end kinko and NBTHK papered. Nor did I particularly want to sell it. Since Owari is one of my two preferred areas of study, I will think to throw you a link when I see anything. I see less and less Owari kinko these days, but sometimes something pops up. My interest is more tsuba.

Umetada Duck+Waves tsuba still available. _____________________________________________ Ko-Kinko FK and Kanayama tsuba now sold. --Donation to NMB when transaction is completed.

@Sergio M (1) kinko or iron ? (2) papered or non papered ? (3) particular design ?

Oh, my face hurts from prolonged smiling. This wasn't an April Fools Day joke, was it? We've had a few, like the Cajun and his National Treasure Beaver Cleaver of a tachi.

*Bump 1*

And Donation to NMB if they sell via here. --no Tariffs for USA buyers, since I am in Atlanta. --and I am very good about international shipping. Alright. Peace all, and good night. Curran (aka. "Chris" in his hometown of ATL)

Little SALE: Buy 2, take 10% off. Buy 3, take 15% off. Shipping and Customs per your Instructions. (1) Ko-kinko paulownia f/k: $375 (Good set. Better than photos.) (2) Umetada Duck tsuba: $250 (Confuscian Happiness theme.) (3) Kanayama Birds tsuba: $250 (Old illegible writing on back.) --If interested, PM me. -Curran [Chris]

Chicago show too.

My first thoughts were Jakushi(?) https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1246932497437445&set=pb.100063621186223.-2207520000 or Hizen (?) . This to say: Probably from a Kyushu based school.

Then travel well. Most here certainly wish you the best. --(Enjoy the kid. We wanted and never got them. My college fencing team captain and Lowell House roommate just wrote me today to say his son graduated HS. ____. )

I agree with Brian. Any summarizing might get accused of auditing / censoring.

It would be Italy's loss, but maybe you consider Japan a bit more long term? Heaven knows I wish I had tried harder in some of my academic pursuits that would have taken me there in 2021. Personally, I'm stoked by the level of works coming from non Japanese. We see Issei Naruki pieces in many books, and now they get NBTHK Hozon papers. I've owned one or two and seen many Issei Naruki. I'm more impressed by your tsuba.

Locking threads should probably be reserved for when things totally go off the rails or get too troglodyte and troll. This thread has gotten very long at 21pgs. My personal opinion is that it has become a time sink hole. I'd appeal to the fellow members here to move onto something else.

While good at dating patina and age wear on metals, I am very bad at dating the age of wood. This was proven long ago with my antique sword kake. For years, I thought it was circa 1850. Then looked closer at the bottom and realized it was signed n dated underneath. [ink was a bit hard to see contrasted with the patina]. Turns out it was made 1754. Your saya does remind me of the "pretty one" were I think I was more in love with the shirasaya and the feel of the blade than I was the appearance of the blade. Beautiful tightly arranged yet symetrical growth grain on yours, as on mine. Very good blade, but extra lovely shirasaya and feel to the who elegant thing. Those ivory mekugi rings cannot make the trip in and out of the USA anymore. The last blade I bought was former property of one of the prime-ministers of Japan. It had to have the ivory removed from the shirasaya before export/import.

Got off my lazy arse and actually started reading "The Honami Family" by @Markus (Markus Sesko) -published 2012. "Sen no Rikyu was visited by Oda Nobunaga.... (Nobunaga gifts Rikyu with a Masamune)" and "The sword only came in its storage shirasaya, but Rikyu wanted a full mounting..." (top of page 48). Earlier in this thread, I thought the topic was sayagaki on shirasaya . I don't know when that started, but have seen preserved sayagaki on shirasaya from late 1700s or early 1800s, kept nearly as valuable as Honami papers. So, for now, safe to say shirasaya were at least around in Oda Nobunaga and Sen no Rikyu's time. After all these years, a seemingly simple question can throw me. I have no idea when shirasaya came in to use, but it sounds they were common enough in the late Muromachi to early Momoyama period.

Sanmei with its retro site, not to different than when it came online 25 years ago. https://www.sanmei.com/enter.html This shop can be very hit or miss. Show you a clunker or two and then show you something very exceptional, possibly produced from the storage space under the couch on which you are sitting. Also, just go to https://www.meihaku.jp/en/ and see what you find from there- Or the Tokugawa Museum (in Nagoya) is always a classic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Art_Museum It has been a while since I was there, but discussion with them lead me to one or two local dealers nearly unknown. Got a great tsuba from one of them.

Good very old school multi generational shop. 4th gen now? Several of you are giving very good advice. So far, I agree. Nagoya >> Kyoto > Tokyo More shops in Tokyo here and there, but you sort of get that greasy used car lot feel from Aoi Arts. They are not as they were 20-30 years ago. Some of the very very best, and a lot of the worst, are located in Tokyo. @MEENag good luck. Though it may be confusing, the others are trying to help. It is a shame there isn't a strong central organized club in Texas these day. Things shift, so you will have to rely on internet groups a bit more.

I feel a disturbance in the Force, ...ahhh. I think it was @Jussi Ekholm brain exploding somewhere in the distance. Jussi, it you are still in Japan- then maybe a quick trip to the Osafune Museum.

I'm not as versed in the Honami family as others, but I can confirm that I've seen swords with their previous shirasaya preserved. Some of the shirasaya dated back to the late 1700s or early 1800s, so @KungFooey Deanna's reply joshes well with what I have observed. Also, interesting to observe the evolution of the shirasaya with a particular sword. I once had a sword where I felt the shirasaya was as equal or better artistry than the sword inside it. *Groan*, maybe it is time to get off my lazy arse and finally learn more about the Honami.

I thought so too.

"Arrampicar(si)" . New verb to me. I'd say "arguing with yourself in the mirror". [or beating yourself up in the mirror?] I've long been tired of this thread. I'll consult with Brian about locking it. For now, posts stay up. I don't want to be censuring any more than I must. --- Everyone go back to their corners and sit down ---. Don't make me power up the cattle-prod.