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Hi John, I agree with 城州 about the 6. but still no success with the rest of the inscription. I can make out single characters, but can’t get them together… What you guys think about 1. “江戸住重行作” ?? I have strong doubts about the red one….

Seems so “植村宗壽口“. But can’t get the rest… For 2. I have “会陽正阿弥藤助信忠” (Aiyo Shōami Tousuke Nobutada). The first kanji has a different writing!

Let’s begin… 4 “忠時作” (Tadatoki saku, Akasaka school) 5 “就信” + kao (Narinobu, late Umetada school) 1, 2 and 3 I can partly read, but struggling with one kanji on each at the moment…

Hmm, is the dō laced with leather? Not sure about the shikoro anymore…same lacing as the dō?

Good Christmas “gift” Unfortunately the scarce pictures are quite blurry and don’t tell much about the whole. However, you may be right, it’s composed by different parts at a glance. As Maurice mentioned, the helmet is nice and bears some age, probably the oldest part of this “set”. The shikoro, on the other hand, seems to be not original to the hachi. Hence, a comparison (assignment) of the mon on the fukigaeshi and the one on the hitsu is quite senseless… If you like to share more pictures, don’t hesitate to

Dang, missed the strokes above….thought it are rust spots 😅 Thanks Piers 👍

Seems to be “國友膝兵衛” (Kunitomo Hizabei). Not sure about the reading of the red marked kanji of the name…

There is so much to learn out there. I’m afraid one life is not enough… Trying to understand and learn about “Mon” since many years…but seems I merely scratched surface 🫤

You are not ignorant, Bruce…it wasn’t meant that way 🙇🏻‍♂️ In the contrary, your question is legitimate! This Mon is made up of “stars” (星 - hoshi), but mentioned in some references (simplified) as kyū = 9 (九), because it is made up of nine of such stars. Other sources name it as “九曜” = nine suns… You see, it can become complicated…

Not Kiku, Bruce, but “Kyū-Mon” (or hoshi ). Can’t tell if Hosokawa-kyū, Kokumochi-kyū or Maru ni kyū, though… Very cool Tanto, indeed 👍

I had the same idea, Steve! “念” derives from the kanji Thomas has postet and can be read “nen” or “omu” (which can be translated as: sense, idea, thought, feeling, desire, concern, attention, care, to remember…etc) “之” ,on the other hand, can also mean “this point in time”. So the suggestion Steve made is worth to consider, I think. Although I couldn’t find another example as well….

念之…?

Nice pairing, Gary! This kind of Zunari are “usually” accompanied by a Hanpō, though….like the ushiro-date

Guess it reads “後藤石乗” + kao (Gotō Sekijō + seal).

I would rule “Toyo” out!

Although it looks like a match at first glance, Bruno, I don’t think so… 夹 is a rather unusual kanji especially for names! There was a certain Mitsunaga around 1850-1923, who used this kind of writing for 光 in his signature. So I suspect they might had some relationships?!

No one? So I start with a bold guess…”利光刀” (Toshimitsu horu).

As a first step! The fuchi is signed “幸雲斎古川” (Kōunsai Kogawa + kao). Another reading for Kogawa is Furukawa or Kosen…

Sorry, I’m a bit late, but have to mostly agree with Thomas in his judgement. The seller is manly specialized in swords and it’s a pending sale. Hence I like to refrain from a value assessment…

Looks not bad, what exactly do you like to know?

It would be difficult to get an independent opinion at the spot from an expert or collector. Some knowledgeable dealers are around but I guess best would be to contact the NKBKHK… Otherwise you can post some pictures here!

Impressive!

Hmm, classic approach is right side province/ place and left side maker. In this case supported by the last characters on each side, jū “住” and saku “作” (at least that’s what I think to read 💭). Let’s see what we can get for the “rest”…

Don’t forget Munich, Luc 😉

Hi Lukrez, on your example above, the dealer did not skimp on oil! Hence the shiny look. Sengoku period? Rather not… The there offered Ō-Yoroi seems quite recent, IMHO.