Toryu2020

It's a vibrator! -t

Justin - Pre-registration closes tomorrow. You might contact Moses at nihontoantiques.com he was offering a for fee service for some of his customers. Also Bob Benson of Bushido.com was doing the same but he of course is located West of here! There are still a few slots open for Sat and Sun, -t

Eric - Need to post photos of the overall nakago as well as close ups of the habaki moto and the hi (horimono) - at first glance, this is not suriage because of the placement of the hi. Really need to see what the hamon is doing at the ha-machi. If this is suriage then the horimono are ato-bori thats why we need to look closely at them. I'm just dumb enough to guess from photographs and given these photos I would say Shinshinto or later... -t

Is it Tim? If you are anywhere near San Francisco this month there is a shinsa being held at the NCJSC To-Ken Taikai, the largest Japanese Sword Show and sale outside of Japan. visit the following for info on the shinsa; http://www.toryu-mon.com/Toryu-Mon/NTHK ... ement.html a real alternative to sending swords to Japan, and visit the NCJSC for info on the sword show; http://www.ncjsc.org best, -t

Moriyama-San I see is on the case, Any chance this is 藤原慶登 or Fujiwara Yoshinobu? Thinking outloud... -t

Mik - Your date is 天保十亥 or Tenpo Ju I nen or the Tenth year of Tenpo junior year of the Earth Rat.　I think Yoshinobu is correct not sure of the family name - may look at it again later but suspect others will suss that out before I do... -t

Kanefusa sayagaki number one appears to say; 長サ壹尺有之 or Nagasa: Isshaku kore ari If I may say this is an exceptionally well written sayagaki, I should be interested to see any information on the reverse of these. The length as given on number two eludes me as well... -t

Just MHO but I would not risk any dollar amount - looks like the front end of a katana re-worked into a tanto, not good... -t

For those thinking of coming to this years Taikai, The shinsa slots for Friday are full up, Saturday is going fast - if you are thinking of submitting blades now is the time to get your registrations in. We have updated the website with a Team Bio page: http://www.toryu-mon.com/Toryu-Mon/NTHK_Team.html Please check it out and feel free to ask us any questions, -t

Great tsuba! A sake cup and gourd - I wonder if that is an in-theatre retrofit, a man after my own heart... -t

Save your money and wait for the next one... -t

I would agree that is a lotus seed pod and the theme is simply "Autumn"... -t

Has anybody figured out how to load these onto an iPad? -t

Thank you Mr. Moriyama, That makes way more sense "thickly tempered in ko-nie"... -t

Mark - Thanks for those. This is what I think I see, though I have to say I am not sure about some of this; 三原住貝定守　　無銘　　　直調小鉦深き出来良工　　　長　壹尺七寸有之　　　昭和壬子年春日 Mihara ju Kai Sadamori Sugu-cho ko-gane Fukaki-deki Ryo-ko nagasa 1 shaku 7 sun kore ari Showa Mizunoe Ne toshi Shunjitsu Kai Sadamori of Mihara (mumei) suguha - tight jigane - deeply tempered - a skilled maker Length 1 shaku 7 sun (this attribution given) on a spring day in Showa (sorry I don't have the right book handy) a year of the rat Suiken (Kao) Fukunaga Suiken is perhaps the most prolific writer of books on Nihonto - a man who came up in the sword world before the war - a student of Takase Uko, (among others), founder of the NTHK, a doctor and a friend to any student of the Japanese sword - He was for many years part of the NTHK under Yoshikawa Koen, where he was an integral part of their shinsa team. Thanks for the chance to check this out, -t

Mark - Sue-Mihara is likely around Tenbun/Tensho. Toshinaga (Jumyo) on the other hand is all across the board, the shape will be the best clue to the time-period. I believe your sayagaki is by Fukunaga Suiken - if you have the time I would to love see close-ups of that sayagaki... -t

Should be available thru KENDOWORLD.com... -t

Thank you Sir! Lucky you, to have so many Ko-sori blades you can't keep the papers straight... -t

Very well, Why don't the nakago pictured on the kantei-sho and the nakago on the sword as pictured match? -t

The measurements given don't match either, Brian - are you gonna let him know? -t

KANTEI-SHO ITEM: ONE WAKIZASHI - UNSIGNED (UDA SCHOOL) We have examined the item listed at right and found it to be genuine HEISEI 2 Nen Shogatsu 29 nichi HOZON TOKEN KANTEI-SHO MUMEI (UDA) LENGTH: 1 SHAKU 1 SUN 4 BU... -T

An example of one page from a pattern book - found in a used book store... -t

FWIW - and for the benefit of those like me learning the language SU, JU, AGE (寿)　is the simplified version of the same kanji (壽)　which is also read as Kotobuki... -t

I think you have the right translation but maybe not the right kanji - I see it as 寿　JU... -t

From the Shinto Oshigata Shu, the Shodai at least did Sosho mei - Yasusada is well published, will look at other references tomorrow to see if I can find some other Sosho mei for this group of smiths... -t