Toryu2020

This other one I think is maybe Taisho period, the "cups" are silver - sadly I have no Tachi to display with these...

Heres one still banging around the house - the "cup" for the Kabuto-gane is lined in rawhide

Kamakura is famous for a style of carving and lacquer work; Kamakura-bori - when I lived there this was in the window of a local shop specializing in Kamakura-bori ware. I used to pass by about once a month and try to buy it but the owner said it was there for advertising and not for sale - he said I couldn't afford to have him carve another...

Kirill - the monthly topics are always listed on the second page of your newsletter - Satsuma will not be until November of next year so you have plenty of time to drive down! :-) -t

Eight digits starting with 00? then yes that is your kai-in bango...

The "Kinsuji" are the giveaway - Inoue Shinkai would come to mind but he never made this shape. Very nice find, Kirill. I hope you'll bring it to our "Satsuma" meeting next year... -t

(Historical humour) I am staunchly anti-Tokugawa Eric, so I found it amusing that you would quote me when arguing for showing them any kind of respect... -t

Well if you're asking me, any insult to the Tokugawa is a welcome one and well deserved. Toーbaku! Toーbaku! Mata Toーbaku!

Brian is in Washington, Jimmy is in San Francisco. John has a point, the sword is in good shape now. If you wanted to get the signature removed and submit for shinsa in Japan you'll need an agent. I would contact Keichodo on this board he can walk you thru the steps and potential costs... -t

Eric - you raise the question of preservation vs restoration and as Brian above has pointed out there is no need to remove the signature unless youre in for full restoration. Jimmy Hayashi in San Francisco is a fully trained polisher and Brian Tschernega, on the west coast, has the skills to do what you ask. However I think if you want to get it restored best to make the full investment and send to Japan. -t

Thank you Robert, sad news indeed.

Based on these new photos I have to agree, it is gimei. The signature side is especially poorly done, with odd spacing between the characters. The ijuchi - place name - shows heavy Tagane points in the end of the strokes and I would say the Nakago-jiri is wrong for this school. As you suspected the mon is also an indicator, any insult to the shogun was punishable by death, so the Yasutsugu smiths would never let any mon out of their shop that was less than perfect... -t Still a better sword than most grandpas are leaving behind...

I don't usually go for later Nobuie works but I love both of these, the octagonal one especially. I would venture these are "Akasaka Nobuie" since they did unusual shaped Hitsu-ana and then plugged them with soft metal. I believe the shape of the ana on the octagonal piece is "Oni-gawara"... -t

Does look like habaki - what does the other side look like?

A nice inheritance. Please do show us more photos of the blade, close ups of the area under the habaki, the hamon and kissaki/boshi. The blade should confirm the mei not the other way round. If you can re-take the photos of the nakago - straight up and down, no angles on a plain background that could help with what we are seeing. A nice conundrum to have... -t

Well if Kanbei died in 1877, he wouldn't be ordering swords in 1880 and given his story not likely to want a Satsuma sword. I like Moriyama's candidate... -t

158 - exceptional!

Good on you Todd - good luck in your search and I think youre right Michael Bell maybe does not get the recognition he deserves... -t

Jake - they are doing stranger things in Japan these days - do a search for the Evangelion sword exhibit - you might find a modern artist who is willing to do something like this for you but it would be ridiculously expensive and in a few years would appeal to no one but the most diehard Demon Slayer fans... -tch

Thats pretty cool, even for a replica. -t

The cape is very becoming, looks great on you Piers!

I would ask Saito San for an oshigata - but this Morimitsu is looking way better now. I generally don't figure the koshirae in the purchase price, its all about the blade but I might have to give some weight to this set... -t

Two character signature versus nagamei with nenki - is there a link for the Morimitsu?

I would say that the date does add a great deal - but what we are seeing here is not the hamon but the polish - really need better photos of the temperline. Its Aoi so I am going to pop over and see if there are oshigata, The other thing you need is a close examination of the jigane - if the Morimitsu is tighter overall and the Yasumitsu has openings or small imperfections that could also hurt the price. Condition is everything... -t

Mike - the 200 item limit is just what it takes to break-even (here in the U.S.) - you wouldn't have to guarantee that number but it would go a long way to convincing the team it is worthwhile - it is extremely hard to get folks to commit early, we always had walk-ins and late adds, these play havoc with the schedulling but in the end are welcome as they always put us over the top. -t I will be talking to Professor Robson this weekend and will see what he is thinking...