reinhard

Brian concluded very well what I was saying. Reading my posts carefully, you will notice that I wasn't talking about retempering of NihonTo in general, not even about yakinaoshi of so-called "top-level swords". It was all about a very small group of swords treasured by daimyo or even by the shogun or by the imperial court itself. Kogarasu-maru", celebrated heirloom of the Taira clan, is a very good example. Others could be named like the "Tenka-Go-Ken" or some of the treasures possessed by families like the Tokugawa, the Uesugi, the Maeda, the Shimazu, the Kuroda, to name a few. The swords I'm talking about are representing the very best works of famous masters from old and many of them were recognized as masterpieces beyond weapons from the start. It doesn't take a genius to understand, why these few swords I'm talking about were not used in battle anymore soon after their manufacture. All it takes is a small understanding of how Japan worked during feudal times and getting rid of romantic images. MASAMUNE f.e. is said to have worked for the bakufu in Kamakura directly. Believing that his swords were sold to common warriors is just naive (politely said). You won't find it all in the web though. For those who are trying to practice sarcasm, like Keith, I recommend the reading of more sophisticated books than those you'll find on lists for beginners. - Unfortunately I don't have the time to hold elaborate lectures here. reinhard

Clive, most of the best swords in the history of NihonTo were recognized as masterpieces and works of art (sic!) almost instantly. Many of them were made for famous personalities/families in the first place anyway. These swords were taken out of the grinding process of battles at a very early stage and were bestowed upon high-ranking personalities. This is the reason why so many of the greatest Japanese swords survived in excellent, even pristine condition. It wasn't all about sword-care, although sword-care was (and is) important, of course. - It was crystal-clear, even before the fall of Osaka castle, that no Shogun, Daimyo or any other high-ranking samurai would ever have to wield "Ichigo Hitofuri" in battle again. While retempering this particular sword, shodai YASUTSUGU was free to focus on the artistic details of the blade alone. reinhard

This reminds me of an episode of "two and a half men": After partying heavily with a bunch of gothic babes, Charlie Harper discovers a pentagram on his belly the next day. His question, adressed to his brother Alan, is: "Am I Jewish now ?" I know, I know, too cryptic again. reinhard

And again we're in the midst of a "art vs. artefact" discussion. For consideration: The famous "Ichigo Hitofuri"-tachi by Awataguchi YOSHIMITSU was retempered by shodai YASUTSUGU (not exactly an "unknown hand") after it was unfortunately damaged by fire at the fall of Osaka castle. This particular yakinaoshi had not been done in order to restore the blade's weapon-qualities, for Ichigo Hitofuri was a legend and far beyond practical use by then. A tachi by Sanjo CHIKAMURA from late Heian-period was designated Juyo Token although its yakiba is yakinaoshi. Its genuine mei "CHIKAMURA tatematsuru" is of such (historical) importance that will compensate the loss of genuine workmanship. Basically I agree with Chris reinhard

A most interesting logic here, "Soten_Fan". Do you have a real name? reinhard

Attached are three examples from the Tokyo National Museum. Description is always the same: They were made between 15th and 18th century for ceremonial horse-race. There's not much of a secret as it seems. It was a kind of standard for three hundred years to be worn on this particular occasion. This kind of koshirae was usually made with a kenuki-gata handle. The one in the Itsukushima shrine depicted by Moriyama-san seems to be special and of a more elaborate kind than the ones in the TNM. reinhard

My little Hobbit-friends, You can post a hundred pics more, but in a case like this they won't prove anything. Let's wait and see. Wether it's just a Soshu-style blade or a genuine YUKIMITSU can only be told by a person who did see the more important swords by YUKIMITSU in hand. There are only very few who can. Until then you'll just have to wait. reinhard

For consideration: The fame of early Soshu masters like MASAMUNE and YUKIMITSU is mainly resting on the particular quality of nie on their blades. It is sheer magic when seeing it in hand and cannot be depicted appropriately by photographs. All attempts have failed so far. In order to get a reasonable judgement on a possible YUKIMITSU blade you either need to compare it with a safe example you have seen yourself or you need an expert who did so. Anything else is just speculation. BTW Hon'ami Koson is not considered to be a landmark in the field of appreciation of NihonTo anymore. reinhard

I fully agree with Markus. Have a look at this one. reinhard

Sorry for confusion. I was referring to the shape(s) of the seppa-dai. In order to create a well-balanced set of fittings for koshirae, the seppa-dai of the tsuba should have a symmetrical shape (let's put Ko-Akasaka aside for the moment). Otherwise it will be covered by the seppa only partially and will produce an ugly impression of carelessness. Another possibility consists in making the seppa-dai area part of the (sukashi-)design and not defining it by intention. That's OK too. Following these rules was probably quite natural for TsubaKo making tsuba which were eventually to become part of a koshirae. When there was no need for good koshirae anymore, approximative and careless shaping of seppa-dai became possible, for these tsuba didn't need to harmonize with seppa or even an entire koshirae anymore. This is a much simplified explanation of a complex matter. Seeing many good tsuba and koshirae will give you a feel for it. reinhard

For consideration: Works predating Meiji-period don't look like this: reinhard

The "good old days" won't come back by howling like this at the gates of serious appreciation of NihonTo. In fact they won't come back by any means and that's good. Making a quick buck with the myths surrounding samurai-culture is slowly coming to an end. Sad for those who refuse to realize. reinhard

My dear Hobbit-friends, Strange things are going on in the Shire. Posts are deleted without comment or PM and threads are mutilated (like this one). You better prepare for what's to come. Bye. reinhard

Quoting from "Myths and legends of Japan" by F.Hadland Davis: "The Japanese cat,..., is very far from being popular, for this animal and the venomous serpent were the only two creatures that did not weep when the Lord Buddha died. Nipponese cats seem to be under a curse. ..... The Japanese cat is said to have control over the dead." Unless a twisted samurai wanted to express his strange personality and attitude in public (not very likely), there was no demand for cat-design on koshirae. reinhard

That's what makes this book a danger and a waste of time, especially for beginners. They are sitting in front of bad pictures apparently depicting blades of the most famous smiths of all time without knowing that most of them are not genuine. Some, if not many of these blades are not even typical for the big names they are supposed to represent. It's true: Mr. Robinson did not comment on authenticity. Unfortunately he took it for granted. reinhard

Doug, my latest post wasn't adressed to you in particular. It just happened you posted while I was still writing. reinhard

What was this all about? A "general NihonTO discussion" (i.e. a general discussion about Japanese swords)? Certainly not. A promo stunt? Maybe. A waste of time? Certainly. There are boards where Japanese armour is discussed and Eric is eagerly participating there already. That should do. There is much confusion and a big need of basic knowledge when it comes to swords alone on NMB, which is what this particular forum is dedicated to. Let's stick to this main topic. Discussing a Ashigaru-style armour from mid-18th century won't get us anywhere. BTW There seems to be an increasing tendency of reducing reasonable questions to: "Do I like it or not and what does does this particular specimen mean to me, emotionally?" Nobody cares. Quality is not a subject matter. reinhard

Fukurokuju (one of the Gods of luck) is attended by crane, deer or tortoise. Giving a hint to the well-educated samurai by showing the attribute only and omitting the main subject was common practice. Tortoises standing alone are quite rare though. reinhard

Supposed this blade was a ko-dachi, its mei should be on the haki-omote. Unfortunately it is not. reinhard

I can't see any "high end" here. It looks more like "end" than "high". - Whenever you go to Kasuga Taisha in Nara you'll find a small museum on the left just before entering the main temple area. Go in there. It is worthwhile. It is containing some real "high end" armour. The small museum being part of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Gu in Kamakura also displays some real "high-end" armour. reinhard

This is what made the "catalyst" going. Remember? After some more or less entertaining salti and pirouettes I'd like to go back to this particular statement. It is suggesting there is something like a "textbook MITSUYO". - Very little is known about the MITSUYO working around late Heian/early Kamakura period. Actually "O-Tenta MITSUYO" (treasured by the Maeda) and "Miike MITSUYO" (treasured by Kunozan Toshogu) are the only two reliable examples we can refer to. At least one of them must be known (i.e. studied in hand) to make a valid statement. Anything else is just ridiculous. - You can read all the books and study all the hi-res pics in the world. They are just preparing you for what's to come. No less and no more. They are no substitutes for the real thing. A few things can be said about the pictures of the nakago however and Guido pointed them out very well. reinhard

What did you expect? Appreciation of NihonTo is a harsh way to go. It was never meant to be a cozy place for everybody. reinhard

That's why "99.999% of the members" better shut up when it comes to big name blades. reinhard

There's something I've never really understood: Why is Nakadai starting to bleed while Mifune's sword is still hanging in the air? Akira Kurosawa was very eager for making action look realistic. Thank god SFX improved in the meantime. reinhard

This sounds familiar to me. Didn't we have a similar thing like that before? I don't have the time to search through the archives, but maybe someone else has. reinhard