Okan

I have no idea. I don’t even know how that tsuba ended up in Belgium. See, i found a pile of shipwreck tsuba in an auction. Most of them were rusted very badly, but a few of them were ok..and this was in that pile.. I gave them away to some friends, for free..so i don’t know how it ended up in Belgium. Also, there was no white paint on it..who ever got it must have cleaned it with something very roughly, tried to remove the lacquer on it.

Why do you keep calling me Sebastien?

Find your tsuba

Yup, thats my hand in that picture.

Hmm..ok brightness up..i thought it was shiny metal due to over cleaning..what is it, plaster or something?

It is not fake. Are you sure you obtained it from Japan?

Hello guys, Here is an interesting piece, Momoyama period perhaps? Nunome zogan on 3 petals on both sides, but I can't see any remains of silver or gold...An early experiment piece maybe?

Well deserved. Mabrook!

Derek, @ROKUJURO explained it perfectly. While the Westerns experimented to find new artistic approaches, the Japanese focused on perfecting the techniques of their predecessors. Back in the days, schools were very strict and didn’t allow any “experiments”. Thats why today we can attribute their work to specific schools. Every once in a while, they came up with some new design elements. If you look at todays Kimono designs, you’ll find the same elements that was used 600 years ago. With all being said, there are dragonflies, hidden under ashikanamono.

👍 no worries

Here, have a closer look, and I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks

Why the questioning?

Derek, as Colin mentioned, Tachi swords were worn throughout the Edo period, and a piece with this level of detail would have been very expensive (it still is). It was nearly impossible for a low-level Samurai to own one, as it would be equivalent to 4-5 years of his salary. Therefore, it was probably commissioned by a high-level Samurai for personal use or as a gift to a Lord or someone of high status. To me, although this requires further research, a more interesting fact than the amount of gold on the koshirae is the year it was made, 1853, during the Perry Expedition and the opening of Japan to the West, events which contributed to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. This was a year when the Japanese were uncertain about what to expect and were preparing for all possibilities. The depicted Kachimushi (dragonfly), known as the symbol of victory, and Ame Ryū (Water Dragon), known as the guardian of waterways, might have been depicted in accordance with the situation. As for the materials, gold and mix metal inlays on Shakudo base, polished soild silver(or shibuichi) Habaki with gold inlays and solid gold earlier gen. Goto menuki. And the sword is not gimei. Thanks

Thanks @Alex A good to know. I guess the koshirae was forgotten in a shelf for too long

Thank you Piers. I believe they are gone for future reference, how do we get rid of them without damaging tsukamaki?

In Japan.

Thank you all! @ROKUJURO I think I'll leave it like this hoping the bugs are gone..

.

Hey guys, A recent acquisition to collection and I felt it deserved to be shared. It's a Tokubetsu Kaga koshirae, original to the sword, resided in the private collection of an armor collector in Japan for over 50 years. Sword it was made for is a Naokatsu, made in Echigo. I would appreciate it if you could share additional information, as I have only just started studying it yesterday. Thanks

Sorry Bruce I just had the chance to remove and have a close look at the habaki. These are just gold inlays(decorative) I was hoping to find that it was holding a split or something

One more for the record:

Wow! Thank you for the detective work John. Very nice job!

Thought you guys would like to see this lovely blade. "Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger, commanding the Eighth Army, has presented this historic sword belonging formerly to Vice Admiral Hisashi Nito, Imperial Japanese Navy, to the Coast Guard. An accompanying letter states: "This weapon is presented to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in honor of the officers and men of the Coast Guard who contributed to the successful landings of the United States Army in numerous assault invasions which led to the final defeat and occupation of Japan."

No..never.. You'll find more info on the blade here: https://markussesko.com/2019/12/31/kajihei-鍛冶平/