Baka Gaijin

Good morning Richard, Please excuse a few ramblings. I think the Kamon is known as Gosankiri. They look to be pressed metal. I've seen a similar sort of kanamono, often applied in profusion to low end export Laquered boxes and small Chests. My call would be, and I say this with Sunday morning irony as a case of "Post - Edo Pimp my Tsuba". Nonetheless an interesting and intriguing Tsuba (Possibly pre - Edo) and well worth the money. Cjeers

Good morning all, Stepping in with a litttle Devil's Advocation, I think Nishiki-e could be a reasonable term to use for coloured woodblocks. Certainly during the Meiji period, woodblock printed images of events, western fashion items and machinery were referred to as Nishiki-e. The term "Shinbun Nishiki-e" 新聞錦絵 has been used to describe the Russo - Japanese War images. Cheers

ジョンさん わたしべんきょうします。 お世話になりました。 かんぱい

Thank you for explaining John, All part of the learning curve for me. I really appreciate the environment for learning that NMB affords. Cheers

Good morning all, I'm just learning Hiragana, so if my following comment appears impolite, it's not meant to be. I think a small tsu っ, called a sokuon, which indicates that the following consonant is doubled should be used for Ikkan. Thus Ikkan is written in Hiragana as いっかん, not いかかん Cheers

Hi Ron, The characters are known in Japan as Bonji which is Siddham script, a variation for want of a better word of Sanskrit. Here's a link to the Siddham alphabet and variations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddha%E1%B9%83_alphabet I have read that Bonji inscriptions sometimes contain the first syllable of an invocation to a Warrior deity and the second represents the last syllable of that invocation. Like a protective shorthand. Cheers

Good morning Piers, I tried searching just with phonetics and came up with these: かんたい 緩帯: a loosely tied obi or 寒帯: frigid zone or belt Cheers

Good morning Suzi S Is this what you are looking for? http://ancientpoint.com/imgs/a/a/x/m/l/ ... _5_lgw.jpg Cheers

Good morning Paul, There is an image of the whole blade, you need to click on the dropbox image 11 of 29 and it will expand from the square format screen capture into a full format image. Cheers

Morning all., Here's an excerpt from The Japanese Consulate guide: Taking Plants and Food Products into Japan Fresh Products Plants and Plant products are subject to plant quarantine to prevent a possible invasion of pests which may inhabit these plants. It is stipulated by Japanese law that a phytosanitary certificate issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture be attached to the plants. Canned Products Canned meat, fruit or vegetable products are allowed. Dried Products Dried fruit or vegetable products are allowed, as long as they are commercially dried (not home-dried) and remain in their original, unopened packaging. Other Processed Foods Items such as biscuits, crackers, sweets, cereals, dried noodles, etc. may be brought into Japan. Most types of nuts (with the exception of walnuts, which are prohibited may be brought into Japan, particularly if they are salted, dried or roasted. Plants and Plant Materials The importation of any soil is strictly prohibited-including soils attached to the roots of living plants. For more information, please check website of Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Plant Protection Station: http://www.pps.go.jp/english/ What's with Walnuts? Cheers

Thank you Piers,

Good morning all, Manji, both left facing and right facing are sometimes depicted in early Buddhist iconography as carved stone footprints on the toes of the Buddha. To the early Buddhists, a representative depiction of the Buddha was felt to be improper, however, his footprint was acceptable. Here's a link to BUSSOKUSEKI 仏足石 http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/f ... useki.html Cheers

Good morning all, Would it be correct to transliterate "to mei ga aru" as "Bearing a signature", the current auction house term for a work signed with the artists signature but not by the artist. Cheers

Good afternoon David, I believe they are called Ninshikihyo 認識票 . This link may help: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 46043&f=65 Cheers

Good afternoon all, Justin, I showed a friend who is both a conserver and restorer this thread. He was quite interested and asked me to ask if you had tried controlled patination of brass by boiling in a solution of common washing Soda. Cheers

Hi again Don, The way you had the Tsuba in markings 1 is the accepted way to display i.e. with the broader part of the Nakago ana down. I suggest they stamped the numbers in "Tachi" style Check out the Kanji Pages at the top of this page above NMB. Cheers

Good morning Don, In your image markings 1, the characters on the Tsuba are shown upside down 〇 "Nuru" Zero 五 "Go" Five Same in Markings 2, the item is called a Chusō (Spring clip) I suggest they are just assembly numbers for the Koshirae Cheers

Good morning all, The nakago appears to have a signature but no Mekugi ana. Cheers

Thank you Piers, Would 印 be the kanji used for Shirushi? Cheers

Good Afternoon Piers, An interesting Koshirae, is it samegawanuri at the top? Very interesting to see the small hata (Don't know the correct term) tied to the shaft. Here's an example of the use of a double hata : Cheers

Good morning Sean, If it helps, the Kamon is also known as Nakawa ni Jigami. Cheers

Good afternoon Dan, I believe Sabi 錆 can be read simply as rust. Not to be confused with the Sabi 寂 in Wabi - sabi. Cheers

Good morning John, Just a 2 cents suggestion, it looks like the central striker from something like a wind chime (note the holes at 12 and 6 o'clock). Cheers

Good morning all, Real Fake. And whilst one might often rush to judgement with the conclusion of Chinese Fake. Take a few moments to check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqU8ThjzIZA Definite NCO pattern production at 1.28 seconds in. Utsushi or Homage?? or something entirely different....... Cheers