Toryu2020

Brian- May I suggest http://www.nihonto.com ???

Every good sword deserves a good polish - This looks to be a good sword, only a trained polisher can say for sure if it can be restored but I would definitely look into it. -t

Alex - The sword is good-looking and is certainly a much better start than some of the purchases we sometimes see here. A real assessment should be done in hand as has been said. For the Koshirae it is eye-catching and indeed looks good on the sword rack. Inspired by a famous set that belonged to the Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi it has been copied many times. We would need closer examination to say for sure but it appears the saya is rather new, the gold stripes not reaching the koiguchi suggest very recent factory made work. The fittings are nice enough, not top-tier but not the worst grade either. The mantis and grasses theme is also an oft-copied one. The colors of shakudo and gold seem to match well the overall package. The tsuba looks like it might have been re-patinated at some point, suggested by the black spots on the seppa-dai, but again this may be your photos. The worst part of the koshirae really is the wrap - I would be very surprised if it was period work - the knots appear too clumsy and the "Hishi" the diamonds that form the grip are not at all uniform. If it looks like that but is still "very tight" I would think it was a very recent re-wrap myself. Not a disaster by any means and certainly a piece we can learn from by comparison. Much of this study is learning the Japanese aesthetic, learning to see as they do and appreciating the best workmanship and expression. But this is a hobby afterall what do they know, in the end collect what you love! -t (the other Thomas. Tom actually...) The above is my opinion, the advice is often repeated by others more learned than I.

OK I remember the post, First off how very neat to have something from that time. If the date is the original date of manufacture then it is pretty darn cool to think this was involved somehow. Not sure how many other pieces of armour were cranked out at this time but I am guessing many artists were either busy making simpler items or simply waiting out the conflict. This does not fit the standard for either the Shogunate forces or the New Imperial Army. Perhaps Aizu or some other place up north got busy making armour for the coming storm. surely if we figure out where your artist was working we'll have a better idea. Thanks again Justin -t ( for tom)

Justin - I would be careful when making assumptions even for something clearly dated like your kabuto. Besides the date do you have any other evidence to suggest it was made "FOR" the fight that was then in progress? Remember that battles happen, are referred to by different names by the opposing sides and may only be known to history by the name applied by historians. Keio 4 was an intercalary year which included an extra month. Like our leap year this occurred only occasionally to help adjust the calendar. It would have been natural for an armour-maker to include this (戊辰) in the date but would not mean it was meant for the conflict unless he said "made for so and so of Satsuma" or for some other group we now know was involved in the fight. If we were to speculate it would most likely be someone associated with the Shogunate since they had the money and the connections. Keep in mind though that it was a mixed bag on both sides of the conflict and some units from both armies were using older arms. Also that many Daimyo chose to opt out of the whole thing, choosing instead to remain at home isolated from what was a political fight at the capital. Why not stay home and live as you always had, and just join up with whoever the winner turned out to be? Someone like this could easily have commissioned some armour while sitting safely on the sidelines. Any idea where this was made? That would be the biggest clue and as always photos are appreciated, -t

Thanks Malcolm I have both books in the series and others from Koryu, I hope someday to have the pleasure of meeting some of these great authors. -t

I know that Mike Y kinda got us started but wanted to go ahead and create a thread for those who are attending, those who want to post photos or reviews and those who are wishing they were here! http://Www.ncjsc.org The schedule of events is up, dealer registration is this afternoon, lots of guests in from out of town so this is promising to be a very good year. For those on Facebook look for us under the 2012 NCJSC San Francisco To-ken Taikai - "like" us and let us know if you're coming! See you all there! -t

Ordered mine already, Thanks for posting Malcolm. -t

Chris- I believe properly that would be a silver Fukurin rather than Mimi. The myoga mon is a very nice touch to a common design. Have to say I like this very much. How thick is it? Have you other photos? -t

Cheers Veli!

Thanks to everyone for their support at this year's 2012 NTHK Tampa Shinsa! All certificates have been mailed and unless you live in Finland you should have you papers by Tuesday! We have also updated the webpages and galleries on our website - do take the time to check it out; http://www.toryu-mon.com Next up, 2012 NCJSC To-ken Taikai - http://www.ncjsc.org

Once again we wish to thank all for their patience - The first batch of certificates were sent out yesterday via registered mail. If I get out of the office on time today the rest will be sent out this afternoon. Regardless all certificates will be on their way to their owners by week's end. We thank you all for your support of the NTHK and wish you evermore success in your studies of the beautiful nihonto. -tch

And there you have it Kam! It's just that easy when you put it in the right forum. Hontoni kuzushta na!!! At least I got the Yoshi... -t

"Hada wa tatsu" "utsuri wa tatsu" Think "out-standing" rather than standing up, meaning prominent. Hada that is tatsu is a clear and prominent feature it catches the eye. Utsuri can be very hard to see or it may be visible from across the room... -t

If thats the Emperors sword somebody is not taking good care of it! Bad signature, blade looks like it has been in a fire and the nakago color has been monkey-ed with. Stay away from eBay... -t

I know we have been over this before but, Funbari is a feature built into the blade from its creation and is usually an indication of great age. Later smiths did copy it but I would steer clear of any sword where the funbari appears to have been created by polishing... -t

I'll take a shot; 1. Nara Toshimitsu 2. Higo (no) Kami Fujiwara Teruhiro saku 3. Toshikane 4. This is a tough one but I think it is the work of Komori Harutoshi who signed Toun-sai. This appears to have an inscription saying that this was carved by or perhaps carved in the style of Sômin. Would need to spend a lot more time with it to work this out... FWIW -t

My vote would be for Shinshinto or later, maybe Hayama Enshin given the marumune - I think we need to see a close up of just one of the nie clusters you are trying to identify - pooling of nie in the valleys of the hamon on something like this makes me think ara-nie like that seen in say later Satsuma works... my two bits anyway, -t

Dirk- It means this was a sword worn by Ochi Naotaka - Morita San believes that "Ichiryu" is the Go of Naotaka... -t

Don't forget - One mekugi-ana, Katte-sagari yasuri-mei... -t

Bobby! Let both gentlemen know that we are looking very much forward to having them here. As always if you've got the news we've got the beer! -t

All - We appreciate your patience, just heard from the Japan side today and the certificates are done and on their way stateside. Once I have them they will be sorted and mailed out to individual owners. I know it seems a long time but six months is not unusual and at this point we are right on schedule. Please bear with us a little longer and everyone's papers should be in hand before you know it. -t

Justin - if this is a lacquer signature on leather as John has said it may not help - use corn starch or baby powder, cover liberally. Gently "dump" the excess and there should remain in the mei enough powder to highlight strokes and points perhaps not immediately visible. If this is shumei and it is embossed into the leather you might get a good result but if very light may not make anything clearer. One thing, in looking at the characters does this appear to you as four vertical lines of text? or do they appear to run horizontally?

Justin - have you tried putting talc in the signature to make it more visible?

Look for Hokkaido TO-KEN KAI NO KONSEKI (ima mukashi) 北海道刀剣界の今昔 This is the book issued by the NBTHK in 1974 - Mostly dense Japanese text about the state of collecting in Hokkaido - very few illustrations. The few swords and kodogu are from the exhibition of members collections and none that I can see are Hokkaido artists... -t