kaigunair

would Owari Hoan school be a candidate also? Just trying to see if I can find similar punches in the nakago and shape of the kozuka hitsuana.... http://www.shibuiswords.com/haynesTsu53.html

Thanks Henry. Not having other examples to compare too, I would agree that the iron might be dry. I was going to use a horse hairbrush on it before putting on any oil. A completely different animal than the kinko I normally go for (feels funny not having to handle with gloves). Having the crest is very satisfying. Now if I could find a formal goto, yoshioka, or hirata with the kamon! Will look up the school later tonight. Thanks for the help.

Other than bottles of choji oil, my big SF show purchase was....an Iron Sukashi Tsuba! Picked it up during the last hour of the show. Definitely tons of eye candy pieces and $$$. This is not one of those pieces... Yes, its not kinko, but, I think I can be forgiven given the motif. Now, if only it also was contained within a circle! I was told that the bean shape hitsuana and the nakago punch marks might point towards a particular school and period. Its about 3-3/8, no calipers to check thickness but it isn't tosho thin. Would 1700's be about right? Any opinions or assistance in narrowing down the time and school, if even possible, would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Just a quick outsider's perspective/experience watching the NTHK Shinsa team in action. I was fortunate to be able to help at the registration table on Friday. Basically the sign-in/intake area. I arrived pretty early but the team had already been there for a while prior to my arrival. These professionals were ready to go! On Friday, there was quite a number of pre-registers as well as good number of walk-ins. The team was split into nihonto and tosogu reviewers. There were a few times during the day when the 3-4 tables for blades awaiting review were full. Definitely much less tosogu on Friday. There were no breaks for the team in the morning until lunch, and after lunch only 1 or 2 quick stretch breaks. Got to speak with a few members on the team which was very enjoyable. Also, seeing old friends who submitted blades and catching a quick word was nice. Although I had no chance to study any of them very intensely, it was an experience seeing and handling so many blades in one day. Definitely got in lots of practice with proper handling techniques. It was also enlightening to understand better what can and cannot be papered, and what white/red papers can and cannot say about an item. What I really appreciated seeing was how Tom Helm handled questions about the certificates, both white and red papers. He wasn't on the eval team itself, but was handling the return of items and preliminary papers for the owners came to pick them up. In that capacity, he was acting as a final reviewer; if there were any questions regarding the papers, he would take the time to explain what was written, as well as go back to the team for verification or clarification. As might be expected, sometimes a red paper would cause some concern. I recall an instance where he spent a considerable amount of time and effort to explain a paper, pulling out multiple reference books and adding detailed explanations. It was really way above and beyond the call of duty. I recall thinking "I'm glad its not me"; frankly, I wouldn't have had the patience with such a person. Tom is often one of the speakers at the NCJSC meetings and it was made crystal clear that he has a genuine heart to educate people about all things nihonto. Special thanks to Tom for the opportunity to see the inner workings of a shinsa team. Anyone lucky enough to be given a similar opportunity should jump at it. Well, one more day of the show to go.....

Just a quick summary of the great Higo display and presentation given by the NBTHK during this year's SF Token Kai: 132 Pieces Total Split into the following categories: 4 Full Koshirae 9 Tsuba to handle Higo 7 Pieces Edo 3 Pieces Misumi 3 Pieces Musashi 4 Pieces Toyama 1 Piece Nishigaki 43 Pieces Shimizu 30 Pieces Hirata 16 Pieces Kamiyoshi 2 Pieces Hayashi 10 Pieces No handouts given at the viewing, but tidbits on info given out by various speakers as people viewed and asked questions. The highlight was of course the 4 pieces by Musashi, 3 Tsuba and 1 menuki. Wow. I remember seeing one tsuba example at the "Lords of the Samurai Exhibit" at the SF Asian art museum, behind glass of course. There were 3 here to get up close and personal with, plus the saru menuki. Sorry, cannot post any pics but I have it on good authority that they will have pics of the pieces that were on display, so perhaps a handout is forthcoming. Not sure about quality of photographs as it was done with the pieces on the table as they were and one of the photographers at times, a young whipper snapper, looked like he didn't knew what he was doing at times. Many thanks to Mike Y. from Tetsugendo who allowed me to help and attend.

Many of the responses makes me question the place of nihonto in the minds of the members who posted. I'm sure you've already done your budgeting and just want to do something especially nice to celebrate. Down with the nay-sayers ....I too would have loved to have something like this done for me at my birth! What a gesture! Beats spending the cash on fancy baby clothes, toys, or those bling bling stollers (sometimes I think baby strollers have become the new status symbols for wealth) which will end up at a Goodwill thrift store, and you have a family heirloom to boot! In response to your specific request for info, I'd suggest contacting Paul Martin. His website has info on this exact thing: http://www.thejapanesesword.com/faq-3 I posted my experiece on the NMB boards when he helped act as a go between for a purchase with a Japanese dealer. Was a complete gentleman and didn't charge me a thing. I believe there are several other members who may also have such contacts on the board, so perhaps they'll chime in. Once your tanto is made, at a later date you may tire of the plain shirasaya and get it decked out in full koshirae regalia. When that time comes, I'd be more than happy to give you my recommendations to other great members here on the board too. Very cool idea. PS: Congrats! Really, fatherhood is pretty great; moreso when you've been blessed with a great wife too.

authentic signature or not, it is a lovely art piece! thank you for the pics and for the explanation of the theme.

Wow!

About the daimyo I mentioned earlier, it was Doi Toshitsura (1789-1848, Lord of Koga domain 1822-44). Seems to indicate he had access to a microscope during the early 19th century.

I believe that posts in the for sale section get deleted after a while. High quality pics on piece like these are really useful for neophytes like myself. I've often been redirected to the NMB after doing various goggle search to posts which are several years old; the ones with the original pics still attached are the most helpful. Posts with pics and info like this one help to enhance the NMB tosogu section. I can see a whole can of worms being opened up here which doesn't need to be and will only serve to reduce, not increase the usefulness of the forum....

What an interesting theme of snowflakes. Was this a pretty old and recurring theme throughout tosogu? I was reading recently in a book about the Rimpa artist Sakai Hoitsu that there was a famous daimyo who did a somewhat thorough study of snowflakes. I disremember now the name, but I wondering if this could have been made for that family? Will look up the name later tonight...

Pm sent!

Good question, I disremember the exact date, but wait a bit, and I'll probably re-remember...

I disremember where I heard/read this, somwhere I was told that a double mon represented the marriage of two families? Maybe on a tanto/wedding style dirk saya. Not sure if that makes sense. Given that the two mon on this kogai seem very similar, the subfamily idea makes more sense. Informative thread!

Thank you Jussi! I've been up to my ears in tosogu books, and forgot to even check the small library of nihonto books I accumulated a few years ago. Just pulled out Koto III and the info is golden! Pics are still not good, mostly oshigata, but definitely a better place to start. Thank you for the heads up, much appreciated.

Thanks Adam. Had come across that great site during my research. Still looking for better pics to make out the details. But the basic info there was very helpful.

I'm beginning my search for a nihonto related to my family's history. As a starting point in my research, I am attempting to identify smiths / major schools that were from present day Yamaguchi in Hagi prefecture. From my understanding, this area was formerlly known as the Nagato province. The time period in question is when the Mori clan was in charge. Part of the story is that the family came up from kyushu (possibly the fukuoka area), somehow got connected with the Mori clan and our name was given by Motonari (although that has yet to be verified through offical records - I highly doubt we go back that far but there are connections with another family in kyushu). From my limited research, it looks like there's only one major school related to this area - the Sa school. There are several branches or possibly styles of the SA school due to them moving around, Nagato Sa, Chikuzen Sa and Aki Sa. Given what is my possible family history, I'm thinking either a Nagato Sa or Chikuzen Sa (kyushu connection) would be appropriate? I don't know the dates of when the Sa moved around, but those would be helpful. In an ideal world, maybe I'd find a dai-sho with Sa Nagato & Sa Chikuzen blades ... Other schools around the area could include the Suo (Suwo) school smiths, aka the Nio school. Choices could also be expanded to smiths of the san-yodo road, but really, I'd like to try for something as close to the ancenstral area of Nagato if possible. If anyone could provide any corrections to this preliminary research, that would be much appreciated. Also, please let me know if there are other smiths or schools with a Nagato or Mori clan connection. Finally, if there is any good books with pictures on Nagato Sa blades, info on those would be much obliged. (I'm not even sure what a typical hamon or ha looks like from these schools) At some point in the late 19th century, the family moved up to the Yamanashi-ken area outside of Tokyo. But that is research for another time....

Very nice work. Excellence in every little detail.

I wonder if the brass background actually has a texturing that's not coming out in the photos? Does the oxidation indicate the fukurin isn't original or is this just a condition problem? The theme reminds me of scroll paintings; not crowded like an omori wave tsuba but lots of space so it isn't about the deer but about the forest....

Try Paul Martin whose based in Japan. He really helped me out on a purchase from a Japanese dealer a few months ago.

That is deer-ishious! A lovely piece indeed...That school had really accomplished masters and students....

Thank you Chris and Josh. The ryu site looks interesting; hopefully there's something similar to be found in the states. I usually prefer to display kozuka by themselves, but when they come as part of a set of fittings, would rather keep them together...who am I to separate a set that may have been together for decades if not hundred years or more? Maybe I'll try my hand at making a wooden blank...just got to find a local source for honoki wood.... Thanks again.

Thanks Chris. Ko-gatana it is; much appreciated. That being said, I can't help but think a equal amount of thought would have been given to selection of a ko-gatana when assembling a full mount? Perhaps I'm over thinking things.

(Apologies in advance if this has been covered before...not sure what search terms to use but "choose" or "selecting" and "kozuka blade" didn't come up with much) A topic which has passed my mind quite a few times while studying kozuka handles. Was wondering if there is a proper method or guide to choosing kozuka blade. Was there an evolution of design of the shape? Should the kozuka blade match the age and maker of the main nihonto blade, or flow more ensuite with the fittings? While we're at it, is there a good source for wooden blanks or filler kozuka blades? Many times the kozuka blades seem to rust in the saya, so perhaps its best to display a kozuka handle with its saya with a wooden filler blade instead of an actual blade? Thank you in advance...

This is way over due, and probably doesn't need to be said at all. Still, just wanted to throw out props to Mike Y. (raiden on the NMB). Have had multiple purchases, and each time Mike over packaged and shipped super fast (and I mean FAST). He also really wants the customer to be happy with the purchase and is quick to offer a full return policy, which I've yet to use since I love the pieces I've gotten. What I appreciated even more than smooth and problem free purchase was talking with the man himself. Lots of invaluable info shared with a novice like myself. Wish I could meet more sensei's as knowledgeable and willing to share as him. Tetsugendo.com has a facebook page which is amazing for the pics of top quality pieces alone. They keep it more updated that their webpage. I really shouldn't be mentioning that in order to keep the competition down, but it really is a nihonto & tosogu eye-candy feast Anyhow, just wanted to point out another great place to buy for the fellow neophytes.