sencho

I know that!!! Learned how to dodge those buggers though.... usually into Velasis City Marina for a few beers before a fast run to Bayside, Kanazawa... Anyway... back to Si'..... start your training matey.... May will be here before you know it.... and I'm packing some good shochu!! Guido... you got anything planned for end May - beginning June? Regards

Cockney Kanagawa dialect...... Arigatou san!!! :lol:

Welcome back Si,... ohitashiburidesu right back at ya! Did you get my voice message and is your mobile still the same number?? I'll be back in Yokohama in 2 months or so and I expect some damage to my liver at that point!!! You still in Kanagawa? Great to see you back again, mate and glad you're OK. Cheers Nigel

Frank, You got it all in your first post.... Visit Richard Steins site to read about what the Star stamp (it is a stamp by the way) and other stamps meaning. The fist two kanji (below the star) are SHO WA.... characters are a little stylized so it may not look quite like what you expect when compared to typed kanji. then JU and KU and NEN - 19th year then SAN and GATSU - 3rd Month then HI - Day (basically can be read by us as "a day in") 昭 - SHO å’Œ - WA å - JU - 10 ä¹ - KU - 9 å¹´ - NEN - YEAR 三 - SAN - 3 月 - GATSU - MONTH æ—¥ - HI - DAY Cheers!

Hi Michal, Thanks for posting those tsuba... the 1st one with the openwork sayagata design is (in my eyes) just spectacular..... I have never made it down to Krakow, only Warsaw, (which I love) but next time I may have to visit the museum there! Cheers!!

mei looks a bit rough for our boy, doesn't it Milt?

this book can also be found here for anyone having problems with google books.... http://www.archive.org/details/artsofjapan00dilluoft cheers!

That's great Steve, this is the other book Steve.... I posted chapter 8 of this book the other day you can do a search for it and it should come up... The arts of Japan - Dillon, Edward, d. 1914 actually here is the address.... http://www.archive.org/details/artsofjapan00dilluoft cheers

I'm in the Virgin Islands connecting by satellite.... no sure why you cannot see it OK... I just tried to connect with my Japanese comuter and it worked fine by clicking on the posted link... I guess try going to Google Books and do a search on Frank Brinkley... He wrote/published the book in 1902 and there are a few volumes... Volume VII is the one I was referring to. I guess you guys are having trouble with the other book I poosted on here yesterday too...? Just saw your post Steve.... thanks for that, although I thopught it was volume 7.... is the other book on there too THE ARTS OF Japan??

Hi Brian, Right hand side of page should have tool bar and at the top of this is the download option... No membership needed.... I just surfed on in and downloaded the thing... Try this one... slightly different page for the same book... http://books.google.com/books?id=lysPAAAAYAAJ Cheers

Also downloadable at http://books.google.com/books?id=bpwCAA ... #PPA137,M1 Can be downloaded as image of the original book or plain text... original scan has pictures... plain text doesn't thought I'd put chapter 8 on here for everyone!! CHAPTER VIII METAL WORK PART I. HAMMERED AND CHASED The Forging of Iron The Furniture of the Sword Alloys and Patina The Tsuba The Goto and Miochin families. IN the treatment of metals, by hammering, chasing, or casting, the Japanese stand pre-eminent among all other nations. I here enter into a department of Japanese art where the amount and variety of the material to be treated is simply overwhelming, it will therefore be necessary for me to restrict myself to a few of the most important branches. If I speak first of the forging, hammering, and chasing of iron, it is because in Japan the place of honour must be given to this metal. To the sword, from the earliest times, a peculiar pre-eminence, we might almost say a sanctity, has been attached by the Japanese. The sword extracted from the tail of the eight-headed dragon slain by Susano-6, the brother of the Sun Goddess, forms part of the Sacred Regalia of the Empire, (1) and a famous blade, forged by Masamune, held a somewhat similar place in the family traditions of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The forgers of sword-blades have always taken a social position far above all other craftsmen, the forging itself was in old days accompanied by certain religious ceremonies to ensure the favour of the gods. The Emperor Gotoba (end of twelfth century) is himself said to have forged a sword. 1 It is rather disappointing to find that the weapon extracted from the dragon's tail is a double-edged sword-blade of the Chinese type (ken or tsurugi). As we have seen, the swords found in the dolmen tombs, and none can be earlier than these, differ little as far as the blades are concerned from the well-known typical sword of the samurai. In treating of the forging of iron for warlike purposes, seeing that we are only concerned with the artistic side of the craft, there is no need to go further back than the twelfth century. At that time it would seem that more care was given to the decoration of the armour than to the furniture of the sword. The armour worn by the national hero Yoshitsune, who was slain probably in 1189, is preserved in a temple at Nara; the helmet, the shoulder-pieces, and other parts, are ornamented with the most delicate work..birds and flowers, for the most part, repousse and applied. There is in the decoration of this armour nothing of the stern simplicity that we might look for in the art of these warlike times, rather a tendency to exuberance and richness of detail. Such a treatment was perhaps an inheritance from the luxurious days of the Fujiwara rule. Expertise in judging the merits of a blade is itself a special branch of Japanese connoisseurship; the most renowned experts have handed down their traditions from father to son. The family of Honami, so distinguished in other branches of art, has since the time of Hideyoshi above all held a prominent place as experts in the judgment of sword-blades. The secret traditions (hiden) thus passed on from master to pupil have played an important part in the history of the minor arts of Japan. We hear much of the okugi, the ' inner mysteries,' and of the hijutsu, the 'secret art.' (See the article on ' Esotericism' in Chamberlain's Things Japanese.) On the possession of these craft secrets the divisions of the various schools are in a measure founded. In some cases there is a sort of religious sanction, and we come again into contact with the tenets of some of the Buddhist sects. By such ideas the sense of dignity, and what we may almost call the feeling of moral responsibility, of the craftsmen were fostered. The self-effacement of the apprentice in the interest of his master was demanded of him, no less than a complete devotion to his task; so, again, the constraint put upon the master to avoid any style of work that would be derogatory to the traditions of the school that he represented maintained a high standard in his work. This constraint may indeed at times have had a numbing influence upon any tendency to originality in the workman. There is more than one instance of an artist, afterwards famous in his own line, being expelled from the studio or workshop in which he was serving his apprenticeship on the ground that his innovations were likely to injure the reputation of the school. A man so expelled was under a certain social stigma. He had in any case to start afresh in life. THE SWORD. The great tachi, the double-handed sword, need not detain us; little artistic decoration is lavished upon this eminently practical weapon. Of the two swords carried by the samurai, the larger, the katana, is the sword par excellence of the Japanese; the smaller, the wakizashi, is of interest to us as the weapon with which the operation of seppuku or harakiri was performed. With the forging of the blade and the welding of it to the cutting edge of harder metal we are scarcely concerned here. Of greater interest to us are the various appendages that may be classed under the name of sword furniture. Upon the decoration of these parts, the richest fancy and the most exquisite handling have been lavished by a succession of distinguished craftsmen during the last three or four centuries. The furniture of the sword, indeed, in old days, took in a measure for a Japanese samurai the place of jewellery among Europeans. In the case of many a wandering ronin the two swords that he carried by his side constituted by far the larger part of his total worldly capital. The variety of motive, the rich gamut of colour obtained by the use of various alloys and patinas (together with the moderate and uniform size of the objects themselves), these among other causes have led to the Japanese sword-furniture finding great favour with the European collector—the guards of the swords (the tsuba), above all, have been brought together in large numbers. The attempt is then made by the collector at classification on one system or another. But the western connoisseur is surprised to find, in consulting the standard Japanese works on the subject, how little either his system of classification or his standard of merit has in common with that adopted in the land where these sword ornaments were produced. In the case of the Japanese connoisseur it is not so much the interest or the quaintness of the subject that appeals to him. He knows that the craftsman has gone for his designs to the collections of motives provided for him by many a talented artist. What he is interested in is rather the traces of the actual handling by the craftsman of his tools, whether chisel or graver. A healthy instinct has taught him to search, in a work of art, for the signs of the hand that has produced it. He seeks for the traces of the very play of the muscles that have directed the chisel. How the hand should be guided, in the case of a true master, not by the active and conscious interference of the brain, but by something that we may perhaps call the 'subliminal consciousness,'l something that only comes into play when complete command of the craft has been attained, this I have dwelt upon in an earlier chapter (see p. . It must be remembered that this is the fundamental point of view, the definite principle that has guided all the best native criticism, and to thoroughly understand and appreciate a Japanese work of art, some attempt must be made to put oneself into the mental attitude of the Japanese connoisseur. (1 I do not pretend that this is exactly the meaning given to the expression by the late Mr. Myers. The point of interest is that the Japanese appear to have found in the complete mastery of his craft by a great master—in the almost unconscious working together of hand and brain, something of a ' subliminal' nature. ) To distinguish the various parts of which a Japanese sword is built up, the student is advised to take such a sword to pieces. This is readily effected by pushing out the little plug of wood that passes through the lower part of the hilt. The blade will now fall out, and on the tang the name of the forger of the sword may often be found. The guard (tsuba), the part that will probably interest him most, will at the same time be loosened, and perhaps also the richly decorated ring above it (the fuchi). At the other extremity of the grip the kashira forms a cap to the hilt; the decoration of this cap is invariably in keeping with that on the ring, and it will be noticed that the most delicate work is generally reserved for these two pieces..the fuchi-kashira. On either side of the grip, bound on by the cordage or ' frapping,' will be found a little device in metal. The menuki (literally ' rivets'), as these detached objects are called, are as a rule chased with the most minute finish. We come now to certain appendages that generally accompany the scabbard of the wakieashi, or smaller sword. On one side there is the kodzuka, a little knife, of which the projecting haft gives a field for the most varied decoration, on the other the kogai, a single or double skewer. It is amusing to notice the various explanations that have been given of the use to which the kogaiwas put. I find the following: (i) It was used to stick into the decapitated head of the enemy, for the future identification of the slayer; (2) it served to carry this same head; (3) it served as a hairpin to fasten on the official cap; (4) it might be used to scratch the head; (5) or, finally, the double form might be employed as chopsticks. This exhausts the parts of a sword that serve as a field for decoration..tsuba, fuchi-kashira, kodzuka, menuki, and kogai, I give them in their order of importance. Of the other parts of the sword-furniture which appeal less to the collector, there is no need to speak. Now, before we attempt to describe the various methods of decoration that have been applied to the furniture of the sword, it will be necessary to break off for a space to say something of the metals and alloys that are called into use, and also of the methods by which the surface of these metals is made to assume various tints, by exposure to heat and to the action of acids and alkalis. At the beginning little else than iron was employed, and indeed for the isuba this metal has always played the principal part. A remarkably pure and soft variety of wrought-iron is selected, free, above all, from sulphur; indeed, on analysis, it is found that the impurities in this iron seldom amount to more than one part in the thousand. The wavy and stringy markings that we sometimes see on the surface are caused by the welding together of iron of different qualities and subsequent treatment with acids. More often a smooth but not even surface, as of some waxy material, is preferred. Next to iron, the most important part is taken by a number of alloys, in which copper is the predominant element; this is true, above all, for the fuchi-kashira and the menuki, less so for the tsuba and the kodzuka, or them iron has always been the most important material. Now, the importance of these alloys to the Japanese craftsman depends, above all, upon the beautiful and varied tints and textures that they enable him to give to the surface of the metal. This is effected in most cases by the removal of one or more elements of the alloy, less often by the addition to it of an element. This question of the patinated surface is a most important one. We shall come across it again when treating of the bronze castings in the next chapter. It is the despair of our European workers in metal who have attempted in vain to imitate the effects obtained by the Japanese. For the present we can only say that, whether in the case of a sword ornament or of a bronze casting, the result is for the most part obtained by alternate heatings and picklings in various solutions, followed by careful cleaning and brushing of the surface. This kind of patina—the result of an artificial treatment of the surface of the metal must be distinguished, on the one hand, from the natural patina that may be formed by the gradual action of the atmosphere, and on the other from the various hard varnishes that are occasionally applied to the surface of bronzes and other alloys. The first of these, the action of the air, plays an important part in bringing about the beautiful surface that we find on old bronze vases; the second plan is indeed employed at times by the Japanese, but the presence of the thin coating of varnish is often very difficult to identify. Akin to the last is the use of lacquer as a more or less transparent coating to a metallic surface. Pure copper, if applied to decorative purposes, may retain its natural colour, or by the partial oxidation of the surface a brilliant lobster-red tint may be produced. By alloying the copper with various amounts of tin, lead, and zinc, various hues are obtained. But the Japanese prefer the pale, delicate tint of the sentoku (so called from a Chinese emperor of early Ming times, in whose reign an alloy of this nature was in favour), which contains all three of these metals, to the more pronounced yellow of our brass. For sawari, or white bronze, the copper is alloyed with about twenty-five per cent, of tin. This brittle fusible alloy (in composition nearly the same as our speculum metal) is let into the cavities of the metallic base and fixed, not by the hammer, but by fusion. But the most beautiful of all these alloys is one of which the Japanese alone have the secret. This is the famous shakudo, an alloy of a very pure copper with about three per cent, of gold (from one to five per cent.; with the gold a small quantity of silver may be introduced). To this grey alloy a glossy surface of a deep violet-black colour is given by an elaborate succession of picklings and polishings. A series of delicate grey shades is produced by a similar treatment of another copper alloy known as shi-bu-ichi (literally ' one part in four'). In this case silver is added to the copper in amounts varying from twenty to fifty per cent. The grey tints of this alloy, or rather series of alloys, are more in favour than the pure white of silver itself. Gold plays an important part both as an inlay and an overlay. For such purposes an alloy of varying proportions of gold and silver is generally employed, the latter metal being removed from the surface by heating the metal and treating it with acids. Most, if not all, of these metals and alloys may at times either form the ground upon which the decoration is added, or they may themselves be applied to the surface in various ways: as a flat inlay, as a surface incrustation, or as an object in relief, itself elaborately chased or hammered in repousse. Again, in the form of a wire, the metal (generally either copper or gold) may be hammered into grooves cut in the surface of the ground metal, producing a damascened decoration, or, finally, by a process resembling the azziminia work of the Italians, the iron foundation to be decorated may be roughened, and a foil of gold or silver hammered on to the hatchings so produced. In the case where the decoration of the tsuba, or sword-guard, depends solely on the treatment of the ground, the soft wrought-iron, or in other cases the sliakudo or copper, may be cut away so as only to leave a framework, or the ground may be carved into high or low relief, or again chiselled out to form an intaglio. In the first case, the ajour'e work, the saw and the file are the instruments mainly employed; chisels of various form, together with the hammer, in the second. On the field itself, between the ornaments, the surface may be pitted or marked in various ways: by hammering, by punching, by chasing, or, more rarely, by etching with acids. In all cases, I think, the work is done on the cold metal. Finally, in a few rare instances, enamels, both cloisonnes and champleves, are sparingly applied. In treating of the history of the artistic development of the sword, we shall be chiefly concerned—at least until the seventeenth century is reached, with the various schools of decoration of the tsuba. There are many Japanese works that treat on the subject of sword furniture. The most important is perhaps the Soken Kifho, published in 1781. The translations made from this work by Captain Brinkley throw much light upon the native canons of criticism in such matters— to this point I shall return later on. Let me first point out that few of the sword-guards in our great English collections are of earlier date than the seventeenth century; the bulk of them belong to the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth; some are of even a later date: in this last case often over-elaborated, showy work, made for exportation. I may mention, by the way, that the series of tsuba shown in the British Museum, though of some historical interest, is of no great artistic value, while the collection at South Kensington is disfigured by many poor modern examples. Apart from a few copper guards found in the dolmen tombs, the earliest tsuba are, with few exceptions, of iron. The work is rude, but not wanting in character , the iron is often much cut away, leaving only a framework of bars. When any incrustation is applied, it takes, at this early date, the form of an inlay of copper wire. Probably as early as the thirteenth century the use of silver for damascening and azziminia work came into favour, and soon after that time there are indications of a foreign influence. The native critics allow that in the arts of war the Japanese learned something from the Mongols, whose armada they destroyed about this time, and these people have given their name to a certain style of decoration occasionally found on early tsuba. It is more difficult to suggest an origin for another class of design: this is the southern or nam-ban style. The tsuba that are thus classed are characterised by octagonal or square outlines, by frames of studded ornaments, and by a general tendency to a symmetry and balance in the design foreign to the Japanese instinct. Certain of these exotic designs would seem to have long preceded the arrival of the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. They are not to be confused with a later school of symmetrical design, undoubtedly of European origin. The guards of the late fifteenth and of the sixteenth centuries, with flat surfaces pierced with bold designs (the kizukashi style), or with the whole metal carved into a simple arrangement of leaves, flowers, masks, or cranes, are unsurpassed for grandeur and effectiveness, Japanese art has rarely produced anything more completely satisfactory. Seldom before the sixteenth century do we come across the signature of the artist: the first great names are those of the Umetada family, the masterly distinction of some of their iron tsuba, chiselled in low relief, has never been surpassed. Nobu-iye, in the sixteenth century, appears to have been almost the only member of the great Miochin family (see below, pp. 136-7) who distinguished himself as a maker of sword-guards; like his contemporary Kane-iye, his most characteristic work is in the sukoshi-ori manner, where the iron is chiselled or sawn away until only a framework is left. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries the recherche rudeness of Shoami, and the boldly cut ajoure work of the Nakai school of Choshiu, are only less interesting than the guards that bear the name of the Kinai of Echizen. In some of the tsuba of this last family the artistic treatment of iron reaches its highest perfection. Without the rudeness of the earlier schools, or the tendency to over-elaboration that prevailed later on, the restrained energy and the complete mastery of the material shown by not a few guards bearing the Kinai signature appeal to both the western and the eastern mind. But it is to the work of the Goto family that the Japanese assign the highest place as chisellers of metal. And here we come across one of those divergences between the standards of western and of Japanese criticism that are indeed so instructive if rightly considered. I call them chisellers of metal, for, as I have said, it is the conduct of the chisel under the hand of the artist that first arrests the attention of the Japanese connoisseur. For Yujo (1439-1512), the founder of the Goto family, no word of praise is too high. In the case of his takabori (carving in high relief) the traces of his chisel, ' so bold and yet so delicate, betray such an elevation of tone, such a distinction of character, that the work cannot be looked upon without emotion.' This is the verdict of the writer of the Soken Kisho, the standard native work on the subject of sword furniture to which I have already referred. The thirteen successors of Yujo bring us down to the end of the eighteenth century..this line of distinguished craftsmen runs indeed parallel with the painters of the Kano school, with whom many members of the Goto family were closely allied, often working from designs of Kano masters. Our Japanese historian of art, quoting a native philosopher, tells us that in art there are four grades, the inferior, the skilled, the expert, and the master, and he goes on quaintly to affirm that this classification applies equally to the conduct of a gentleman. (I take this passage from that often-quoted work, the Soken Kisho.} After all this, it is disappointing to have to confess that, on the whole, there is little in the work of the Goto family to interest the European connoisseur. We cannot find much to rouse our enthusiasm in designs of curly-haired, impossible dogs (though they be called lions) sporting among pseony flowers, or, again, in the little figures of warriors in grotesque armour, however minutely they may be finished. We look, if not for interest of subject, at least for broader and bolder designs, and these indeed we find rather in the work of other schools of metal-chasers. It is true that of the work of the earlier Gotos scarcely an example has reached Europe. As for the later members of the family, it would seem that it was to the chasing of shakudo for the fuchi-kashira, rather than to the decoration of the tsuba, that they applied their most delicate work. They were famed, too, for the beauty of their flat surfaces, above all for the ' fish-roe ' granulations with which they covered the grounds of their shakudo guards. The Goto school reached perhaps its highest level in the days of Genroku, the luxurious Joken-in period (1681-1708) to which so many references have already been made. The school then branched out into three divisions, known as the Yokoya, the Nara, and the Hamano sub-schools. The later members of these families abandoned the restraints of the earlier traditions. They rejoiced in rich inlays of gold, and their various patinas provided them with a full 'palette of colours.' Of the Genroku metal-workers I will only mention Yokoya Somin, who is accused by the Japanese of introducing the pictorial style under the influence of his friend Hanabusa Icho (see p. 77). The older men, we are told, only used three forms of chisel—they were thus able to give a directness and simplicity to their work. This coup de ciseau was lost when the naturalistic school called in the assistance of an elaborate series of tools. Hence the petty spirit and ' preciosity' of the later times. I should say that I am here summarising the estimate of a contemporary Japanese critic. As to the whole Goto school I confess that I await conversion. It would be impossible here even to give a list of the various materials that have been applied at times to the later sword-guards. Not only metals, but ivory, mother-of-pearl, coral, and agate are called into use- The guard, again, may be of metal coated with lacquer, or itself of lacquered wood. The wood-grain (mokume) and ' marbled' (midzu- nagasht) surfaces are produced by the punching, folding, and hammering out in various ways of layers of coloured alloys that have been previously soldered together in thin sheets. Again a beautiful effect is obtained by simply scooping out channels on the surface of such artfully soldered layers. On the sides of these grooves the alternating strata of metal are disclosed. I will finally call attention to two somewhat exceptional methods of decoration, both of which probably date back to the beginning of the seventeenth century. In the one case, on the iron surface is scattered, as it were a shower of silver drops—the effect is produced, apparently, by melting little pellets of silver that have been previously fixed to the ground. Of wider interest is the application of enamels to a small part or the whole of the surface. Such work has at all times been associated with the Hirata family. Very characteristic are the translucent enamels contained in little cells lined by plaited gold wire; these are sparingly applied in small medallions scattered over the shakudo ground. This method may perhaps be traced back to Korean prototypes. At a later time (eighteenth century) cloisonne enamels of a more normal type are occasionally applied to the whole surface. It must be borne in mind that the application of enamel on a large scale to the surface of vessels of copper was unknown in Japan before the nineteenth century, as will be explained at the end of the next chapter.1 The members of the Miochin family, the oldest and perhaps the most highly honoured of any artistic family in Japan—were in the first place hammerers of iron. But it is neither as forgers of sword-blades nor as decorators of sword funiture (though the signature of at least one Miochin may be found on tsuba) that this family acquired its high position. In early days they were, above all, armourers, forgers and chisellers of helmets and breastplates. In more recent times they turned their hand to the production of various orna-mental objects (okimono) birds, dragons, or even lobsters and insects. These are for the most part built up of plates, often ingeniously articulated, so as to resemble the plumage or the scales of the animal represented. (1 Professor Church, whose superb collection of tsuba has more than once been shown to the public, is our first authority on the technical side of the subject of sword-guards. See especially his introductory essay to the Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1894.) Munesake, who in the twelfth century first took the name of Miochin, was a member of a family of armourers who traced their line back to prehistoric times. It was he who forged for Yoshitsune the famous suit of armour to which we have already referred. The nine succeeding generations of the Miochin family were, above all, forgers of helmets—they form a group apart, the Miochin Judai. Not until the twenty-first generation (this was in the early seventeenth century) do we come upon signed pieces. Even in these later days we can find no signature upon some of their most famous works. To give a prominent example, the famous eagle at South Kensington, for which ^1000 was paid to Mr. Mitford (Lord Redesdale), is unsigned. This is a magnificent work of the seventeenth century, undoubtedly by a member of the Miochin family. One final word on Japanese armour and swords. It must be borne in mind that of the numberless examples of exquisite work now in English collections, how vast the material is was well exemplified in the collection lately brought together by the Japan Society—but very few, perhaps not one in a hundred, can be referred to a date preceding the foundation of the Tokugawa regime. In other words, the objects are as a whole the produce of a period of uninterrupted peace. The armour can rarely have been worn except on occasions of ceremony, and the swords can have been seldom drawn unless it were for the purpose of a vendetta or for self-immolation.

.... found this while I was doing my monthy SHOZUI google.... :lol: Japan - It's History Arts and Literature - Book By Captain F. Brinkley Volume VII - Pictoral and Applied Art Downloadable at the following web page http://books.google.com/books?id=lysPAA ... 6E#PPP1,M1 cheers!

no idea what you're talking about Stephen..... look fine to me.....

Just browsing tokugawa art and saw this..... they describe the silver inlay as SAYAMON.... presumably a bastardization of SAYAGATA and RAIMON....

first sayagata pattern from new year http://cgi.ebay.com/C076-JP-Sa.....dZViewItem _________________ Thierry BERNARD wondered when this would rear it's ugly head again.... Interesting to note that Ole Po' calls this pattern SHA-AYA, rather than Sayagata. I wonder if Moriyama san or Morita san, or someone else in the know, can elaborate on this name used by Ole Po'... I have never come across it as yet From my research the closest I could come was SAYAGATA to which there was no visual example, but just a written explanation of "A regular pattern / series of interlocking / joined Manji" Cheers! _________________ 船長　ナイジェル ビーティー As most of us already know, the kanji for saya-gata are “紗綾形â€. Each kanji for “saya†reads as follows; ç´— – sa or sha 綾 – aya So, the correct reading for 紗綾 was “sa-ayaâ€, and it became to read “sayaâ€. The term “SHA-AYA†does not seem to be commonly used. BTW, saya normally means figured silk fabrics. And the pattern in question was often used on the fabrics, so the pattern became to be called saya-gata. ________________ Koichi Moriyama

Hi Paul, sent you an email to your `tachi` email address..... cheers!

I second that... thanks Moriyama-san.... unbelievable patience for members like myself that constantly struggle through with the kanji... I look forward to perhaps having a few glasses of Shochu with you when I am in town again!! Cheers!

from Dr. S's site..... WWII Japanese Swordsmiths Ranking 谷岡 泰次 (Tanioko Yasutsugu) Although I think the romanji spelling should be TANIOKA not TANIOKO... http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:SR ... =firefox-a cheers!

Not quite a mirror, but lots of your stuff, Dr. S....!!!! http://www.cordens.be/Japan/katana.htm cheers

備後国住谷岡泰次 Bingo kuni ju (tanioka) yasutsugu.....???? kanji 5 and 6 are many combinations.... Moriama san or Morita san will probably have a better idea.... 7 and 8 I think YASUTSUGU.... but not sure... again combinations, #7 can also be TAI.... The stamp looks like kanji #7 Cheers!

...and yet another on Japanese dates and calender from 645AD thru to the meji period http://www.archive.org/details/Japanese ... 00bramuoft

.... and another samurai book from 1920..... http://www.archive.org/details/talesofs ... 00miyauoft cheers....

.... which for us linguistically challenged may help with our mei translations!! http://www.archive.org/details/6000chin ... 00joneuoft :lol:

looks like too many people are downloading at once.... great resource.... haven't looked expensively, but have also already found Japanese Swords Guards in the Boston museum of Fine Arts - Okabe-Kakuya... the whole book! great!

If it was traditionally made, Remy, it is Nihonto.... Yasakuni swords were traditionally made in contrast to the majority of "showa-to" which were mass produced machine made blades There is a great book which is fairly inexpensive called "The Yasakuni Swords" by Tom Kishida... it is widely available on Amazon and on ebay as well as other sites.... Cheers!