Veli

Hi Mark! It is the handwriting indeed, but not so much the individual style, but the fact that kanji encountered in mei do not necessarily look the same as their printed counterparts, unless you know what to look for (I am not very good at this). A nice way to start learning is to study the kanji style variation table in the Yumoto's book (the Samurai Sword). The book costs something around 10 bucks. 備州 = Veli

Might also be Sukesada, photos of the mei would help... Veli

Yes, many non-traditional blades do have a hamon, but the hamon of those swords are lacking many of the features - also called activities - that make genuine nihon-to attractive and fascinating. Your blade -although definitely Japanese - is not considered traditional, because it is not made of traditional steel (tamahagane) and it has been forged and probably also quenched using non-traditional methods. The characters in the signature are Japanese, although it should be added that Japanese writing symbols (kanji) do have a Chinese origin. Veli

Hello Adrian! Yes, finding these variation patterns surely is one of the most important and interesting tasks of your project! By "consistent" do you mean the results were within +- 2% of the average value? (This would almost be too good to be true...) BR, Veli

WARNING: this post is for technology geeks only Non-destructive testing has progressed indeed! The analysis results were significantly more accurate than I expected. I realised that modern portable XRF use an X-ray tube for excitation, instead of the traditional isotope sources that excited also nasty background radiation that made the analysis of low-concentration elements very difficult. But one of the basic questions remain: how large relative differences in concentrations are statistically significant? Did you perform successive analysis on the same spot in order to directly observe the measurement repeatability for different elements? Do you have data on the analysis results variation due to measurement spot selection; i.e. if you take successive measurements from e.g. the shinogi, and move the analysis spot 10 mm after each measurement, how much variation do you observe? If your analysis says the shinogi of blade#1 contains 0.01% Ti, and blade#2 contains 0.06% Ti, you can probably say that they have a different composition. But what if analysis#1 yields 0.03% and analysis #2 yields 0.037%? Are the blades different or similar in this case? I think the answer can be easily derived from a set of test measurements, maybe you have already done that? What I would really like to see are the 95% (2 sigma) confidence intervals for the concentration results... In any case, you have done great work! BR, Veli

Hello Jeremiah! Check this: http://japaneseswords.gotdns.com/100Gendai9.htm BR, Veli

Hello Uwe! Thanks for the nice instructions. I completely agree about several points, like using a pedestal and making panoramas manually. One question remains, however: if you have a blade with hadori polish, and you photograph it in daylight, you end up with a picture where the real yakiba is not necessarily visible. A light bulb would bring the hamon out, wouldn't it? BR, Veli

Ah, thank you Moriyama-san, those three kanji 於浪華 kept troubling me, too... Hawley lists 壽山 both as Jusan and Toshiyama. I wonder which is the correct/more used reading? Veli

Yamashiro ju...Amakuni Yamashiro no kami Toshiyama... I guess... A shinshinto smith. Veli

Bazza, thanks for the name of the Swedish guy! Pete, sorry, it seems I made an error based on seller pictures, the book does not have a slipcase, just a dust jacket. I am currently on a business trip, cannot photograph anything until next weekend, but you can find another pic of the book cover in here: http://www.shibuiswords.com/churchcollection.htm Veli

Portable XRF devices have a limited resolution and accuracy. They are OK when you analyze metal alloys with constituents in the per cent range. But the technology is no good for finding trace impurities in the 1-1000 ppm range, which -I am afraid - would be required in order to identify the geographical origin of steel. These devices have been around since´80s or so. Veli

I was searching for something else in the internet, when I bumped into some old nihonto/tosogu references on this antique book dealer's webpages. I actually bought a couple of books, including Japanese SWORD GUARDS Some Tsuba In The Collection of Sir Arthur H. Church (1914). This book was reasonably priced at 250€, considering it was #70 out of 100 ever printed, and in excellent condition with original slipcase. Other books for sale include: Hara, Shinkichi: Die Meister der Japanischen Schwertzierathen.ueberblick ihrer geschichte, verzeichniss der Meister mit Daten ueber ihr Leben und mit ihren Namen in der Urschrift (1902) Robinson, B.W: A primer of Japanese sword blades Exhibition of the arms and armour of old Japan, held by the Japan Society, London, in June 1905 The dealer's pages can be found at http://www.hagelstam-antikvariaatti.fi/en/article/view/id/8/code/1_3_5/page/5/order/author I'll try to find out how these books ended up in Finland... Veli

Hi! Kanemasa 兼正! Veli

I guess their real value is around USD 800 per metric ton No offense intended... Do some studying and you'll have better luck next time! Veli

Am I correct to assume that with the phrase "と銘がある" the shinsa team just states that this signature exists, without saying anything about its validity? Veli

Nice nozarashi theme koshirae, nice looking hada on the blade... I would have personally preferred a slightly more subtle tsuba design, however... Is this Meiji period work? http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2011/1110_1110syousai.htm Veli

Hello! The signature of the katana might be 雲州住大明京, Unshu ju Daiminkin (Daiminkin of Unshu (Izumo) province). There were 3 generations of smiths by this name in 17th-18th century in Izumo province. They were rather respectable smiths! Please provide more photos of the blade shape with the hilt taken off, as well as of the kissaki (tip), the whole nakago (tang) and different places of hamon. Try to take a photograph of a lamplight reflection from hamon if you can. Please take care of this katana; keep it well oiled, and do not try to clean it yourself, especially the tang should be left as is. This is just my guess, more knowledgeable members may confirm or correct my interpretation of the signature. BR, Veli

One more style... Veli

Hello! I have a woodblock print by the same artist, from the same series! Here's the seller's description: This work is a musha-e diptych print by Toyonobu. He was one of the last heirs of the tradition of the Utagawa School. He was the grandson of Kunisada and the son of Kunihisa. He was one of the most promising young artists of the Utagawa School but died young in 1886. His diptych is included in his famous Series “ Shinsen Taikoki”, New selection of the biography of the Taiko ( Hideyoshi Toyotomi). This series tell us the story of the ascension of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and his famous vassals. The Taikoki is the famous biography of Hideyoshi Toyotomi by Oze Hoan published in 1626. The print was printed in 1884. The print represents the famous duel between Inoue Daikuro Kimura Matazo. In the right sheet, the famous retainer of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Katoh Kiyomasa ( the character in red) will stop the fight and levy theses famous warriors in Hideyoshi’s army. The duel between the two samurai is very intense and dynamic. We can feel the fight’s intensity. The clothes of the warriors are very impressive with many details. Artist used shomen-zuri technique for the clothes of the two heroes. Shomen-zuri is a polishing and pattern effect used for deluxe print and often used on a black surface or purple to make it shiny. Blue’s color for Shomen-zuri is very rare. It is an impressive and deluxe diptych. Behind them, the landscape is very beautiful and magnificent with the pine tree and the beautiful river. Veli

My guess is late Kamakura (early 14th century). The earliest example I found with a quick search was Bishu Osafune Motoshige, Bumpo Ninen Jugatsu (October 1318) Veli

Hello Jan! "Bishu" and "Bizen" are written by a pair of kanji: Bi+Shu 備州 and Bi+Zen 備前. You can find these in handwritten examples in Yumoto's book on page 112-113 (Bishu) and in inscription examples on page 35 (Bizen no Kuni ju Osafune...). Yumoto gives usually several examples of different writing styles for each kanji in his "commonly used characters" table. Veli

Hi Marcello! My guess: Bishu Osafune Sukesada, Tensho ni nen ni gatsu hi. Veli

Hi Ed, Funny coincidence, there is a Kashu ju Fujiwara Kiyomitsu tanto with NBTHK Hozon currently for sale in Finland. I visited the guy who sells the tanto and saw the nice little blade. Papers say it is shinshinto. On the auction page, there is a link to additional pictures, so you can compare your blade and signature to this one. http://www.huuto.net/kohteet/japanilainen-antiikki-tanto-150-vuotta-vanha/185550446 Sorry, in Finnish only... Veli

Hello Basil, The mei seems to be much younger than the nakago... Veli

Hello Troy! By uneasy feeling I mean that the mei does not seem very elegantly carved, and I would be amazed if the mei style would change that drastically between successive generations. But as I said, I am no expert. For more online references, please check the link provided in the post above or these ones: http://www.ryujinswords.com/tsuguhiro.htm (not papered) http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/G30344_W5055_PUP_E.htm (low res picture, but look at the "tsugu" kanji) Veli