Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini

Seems that IE8 is ok too.

KM, no regrets on this one, you're making a favour to yourself.

Hi all. I need more info (any kind and language welcomed) about the experiments Yoshihara Yoshindo has made to re-create Jokoto/early Kamakura Yaki-ire using oil covering the blade and not the usual Tsuchioki process to create Suguha and Chojimidare. Comparative discussions between originals and modern ones especially appreciated. If it has been discussed in any forum you are in, a link would be great. Thanks for your time. Edited to add : to clarify a little I'm referring to the Suguha made with oil instead of clay and Chojimidare supposedly made with *no* insulating materials at all on the blade.

Syd, these are Nie placed in the Ji. You should get them well with dimensions and different polishing between kissaki and shinogi. Ted made a good job here. P.S. Not that you'll always find these dimensions....

Hi KM. Indeed it's inserted. Into the Habaki. Black and withe picture.

Thanks Guido. Likely he's too busy...

I've no news from Paul Martin by quiet a few time. Anybody got in touch with him at the DTI or elsewhere in Japan recently ? John ?

pics ?

Impressive... Does it took a lot of work to take such shots ?

Soooo Piers and KM, you like such antique inlay ?

I *love* them :D Selection from : http://www.amazon.com/Genji-Heike-Selec ... 0804722587 Genji Monogatari : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tale-Genji-Peng ... 25-4335733 this one is very good : "The Tale of the Heike" by McCullogh - Standford University Press (http://www.sup.org) - 1988 , ISBN 0 8047 1803 2 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tale-Heike-Hele ... 0804718032 I would suggest this one on Masakado. It reconciled me with Friday :lol: : "The First Samurai - Life and Legend of the warrior rebel Taira Masakado" by Karl Friday - John Wiley & Sons Inc. - 2008 ISBN 978 0 471 760825 http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b/2 ... rai+friday

I've a book for learning Nihongo published in Italy 1943. My father was a bit crazy for those times... :D

Straight on the nail's head. Russians kicked them badly but they needed some Propaganda. Such cups are rare. The rarity of these cups stay in the way you can say "this is Nomonhan incident-related". There is no way if it's not dated or the place is mentioned (often both). The attribution to an event/place/unit is possibly the most important feature of the cup. More, the fewer the soldiers involved, the shorter the event (boxer rebellion) , the fewer the cups issued so more rare and "valuable". If they also have some pale artistical resemblance, better. In '30s to avoid spionage, the soldiers leaving active service were presented with cups bearing the name of the unit's commander instead of the unit number. I stumpled on one that was almost surely a Unit 731 one, but really hadn't the heart to purchase it.

John. Yes, they can be in almost perfect shape even after 100 years. Sellers knows that collectors prefers intact items and then make a selection, but obviously you can find also deteriorated items as well (bottom picture). That's up to the buyer to decide if cup is worth the money considering also the event/regiment/whatever can add value. Some historical events are more appealing (Boxer's rebellion, Nomonhan incident, first sino-Japanese war, siberian intervention, conquest of Korea, tank units, submarines etc...) then the cups can have defects and still maintain some desirability. Boxes usually aren't so well maintained, (same for ropes), but many cups have been put into a box that didn't belong to them, i.e. is a more recent one or simply a period one that replaces well enough the original. Sellers can rise the price a little, this way. The boxes that have writings matching the cup are the more desirables. As per fakes, some are, but are almost exclusively confined to the Kamikaze and Nanking massacre, are porcelain and so "low level" that are easily spotted. Most porcelain ones were made in the thousands during the '30s and a certain amount can have survived with a white bowl, and there is the possibility to make a fake one depicting and writing the bowl. But such pieces goes for 15 U$, maybe 20. Is it worth the work ? Laquer ones are safe (well, as safe as they can be in this world). It simply doesn't pay. There are so many out there (for now...) The two I've just posted hereabove were about 30/40 U$ + shipping (each). Here one from a buyer that masked the defects in the picture just to gain a mere 25 U$ out of me.

Guess we should ask Tony to join, don't you think KM ?

Anybody mentioned Sake cups recently ? :D

:D "She sells sea shells". Studied it learning about Mary Annings' fossils finding.

Yes, of course it was. Maybe this is a situation in which my signature fully shows its meaning.

You should know that japaneses born in the Muromachi are smaller then the ones born today... :D

Quiet good, but not mine. :| You were about to say "to the polisher's intentions" ? IMHO Brian's advice is a sound one for the choice of polish type too. Trust your Togishi about Hadori/Sashikomi to decide which one is better for the blade (I'm assuming he's skilled enough with both).

How timely ! You wantn't believe where I had dinner this evening... :lol: http://www.inmilano.com/ristoranti/rist ... aka-milano

Mmm.. Item located in Trieste... Are you absolutely sure about the item/circumstances ? I might take some step. Eventually PM me.

Very popular saying...

Indeed.