reinhard

Ford, I hardly ever "condemn" anything, certainly not sword-fittings; but seriously: I do not relate this kind of design nor this kind of workmanship to Edo-period workmanship for several reasons. Design: Using the imperial Kiku-mon for design was (and is) a delicate thing to do. During the days of the samurai it used to be placed very carefully and was executed by craftsmen of superior skills only. Remember the swords attributed to emperor Gotoba-In himself. The Kiku-mon was added on the habaki-moto area so it would be protected and not be touched by fingers. - Rules were loosened later, but a minimal respect always remained. The design of this particular Fuchi (and Kashira) lacks this respect completely. Kiku-mon, cleanly cut in half, looks more likely to be a product of post-Edo nationalism and is reflecting the primitive attitude towards heritage during these times. Furthermore proportions are not right. Especially Fuchi is too big for this kind of Koshirae. Workmanship: The carvings are shaky and clumsy. They are far from late Edo-period standards. You, a trained craftsman, should have no problem seeing this. reinhard

There is a general thing to say about ShowaTo and I don't mean the militaria stuff. During early Showa era many people wanted to have a "samurai sword" but only few could afford a genuine one. Therefore older parts, usually of lesser quality, were assembled with newly made pieces. The new parts were usually of poor to lousy quality. In this particular case the Kashira seems to be of better quality than the Fuchi whose design and carving is a shame. Although I'm not interested in GendaiTo and "Dai Nippon"-nostalgia from this period at all, it is hard to avoid them in the West. Problem is: Many of these ShowaTo works, seventy to ninety years old by now, left Japan and were/are sold for the real thing now. Coming across a sword with Tsuka wrapped in blue or blue-green Ito, decorated with fittings of strongly varying quality together with extensive use of Kiku-Mon for decoration should ring a bell. The chances of seeing a ShowaTo are pretty high then. I owned one of these assemblies for a while when I was still very green and I had time to study it in detail. I got rid of it later, but these kind of Koshirae pop up quite frequently in the West. I've seen one of similar quality recently when I was called by an auction-house to see a late Seki-blade. It is quite difficult to find material to show you what I mean. Maybe this pic will give you an idea. The link to the site is just for confirmation, although some of the militaria guys will probably use it for their own purposes. reinhard http://g55-amg-long-gelandewagen.web.in ... on_1x.html

I subscribe to this. The "SA"-mei on the sashi omote (!) is of lesser or no importance here, but the blade might be worthwile. Have it checked by a reliable pro. reinhard

Just one more thing: Always start with the blade, never with its mei, unless there's no other way. reinhard

Just to get you an idea: This is Ichimonji SUKEYOSHI reinhard

It takes another calibre to confuse me, but maybe you confused Joe and the many people watching from outside. reinhard

It looks more like KUNITOMO to me, but I'm not sure either. reinhard

A general advice for all newbies on NMB would be: Don't go public with your e-mail address from the very beginning. Allowing easy contact with perfect strangers makes you an easy prey. Once you're familiar with the darker side of the sword-world you can still lift your visor and laugh at the usual suspects. reinhard

Could you explain on this, please? Telling from the pictures, it looks like perfect utsuri to me. What makes you think so? reinhard

It is not a date. It is a writing in hiragana, starting "sa.......". reinhard

Congratulations Curran, This kake seems to be a very rare and special object. Take good care of it (and of yourself). reinhard

This tsuka (including Fuchi and Kashira) was made for a Showa-To during the 1920-1930ies. No need to search for any particular school, for there weren't any. Workmanship is very poor BTW. reinhard

I wonder about this particular mistake Moriyama-san presented, for "shu" is including the meaning of "kuni"(province) and there are no mei "Bishu (no) Kuni" at all as far as I know. This should ring a bell in any case, but then: The mei is quite deteriorated, the blade is a poor shadow of its former self and the guy writing the origami was eventually left to be the last man to turn off the lights. Who knows. Not much harm was done in this particular case. reinhard

Hi Curran, After a quick look the column top right is a date: Ho-Reki yon'nen (Horeki era 4th year) equivalent of 1754 AD. The column on the left continues: "... a day in sixth month" and probably ends with the name of the maker, who created this (kake), but this is beyond me without doing any further research. This might be of some help to you anyway. reinhard

The pibe d'oro shall live forever. reinhard

If you say so. reinhard

I wonder who that strange creature in the back may be? It looks like a bald, giant lady in an old-fashioned swimming-suit. Any explanations? reinhard

Agree reinhard

Lee, There was no "official tatara tamahagane" used, when Ko-Hoki YASUTSUNA made his swords, but they are genuine NipponTo beyond all doubt. There was no "official tatara tamahagane" used, when Echizen YASUTSUGU smiths experimented with namban tetsu, but their swords are genuine NipponTo without question. There was no "offficial tatara tamahagane" used, when Suishinshi MASAHIDE made a sword out of links from the anchor-chain of a Russian ship, but he created a real NipponTo. There is "official tatara tamahagane" used, when Gassan SADATOSHI forges a blade by mixing tamahagane with old iron from Meiji-time teapots and the like. Their swords are all genuine NipponTo, because they were/are made by THE traditional technique (see: "the craft of the Japanese sword"). Raw material is judged by its quality only, not by its origin, and the place of manufacture is of no importance. The sword made by Gassan SADAICHI and his students in Boston's museum of fine arts in 1982 is a NipponTo at its best, no matter where it was made. On the other hand: Just taking any kind of steel and shaping it into a "traditional Japanese-looking blade" the easy way is not NipponTo. No matter if it was done by a Japanese person or not and no matter if it was done within the actual boundaries of Japan or not. The result was, is and will be just a poor look-a-like. Collectibles for lovers of militaria without any deeper sense for the unique quality of real NipponTo. ShinSakuTo made by licensed smiths therefore ARE real NipponTo. Much more than any Koa Isshin "katana", made and used for decapitating prisoners of war or any other oil-quenched hook made in Japan dating from the 1940ies. reinhard

To speak it out loud: Rust and patina of the nakago are overlapping the freshly polished area of this blade. Old swords polished anew don't look like this. Meaning: This is probably a brand new sword not much older than its polish, but it was made to look much older. - I wonder what you have been told when buying. reinhard

Agree. It was most often Fudo Myo-O invocated by bonji on Japanese sword-blades and this might be the case here as well. But what a poor attempt it was. For consideration: reinhard

Don't worry. It says "Fune" for sure. reinhard

From a distance this hori-mono looks like a (naga-) bonji, but which deity is meant here? - Guido's other examples are quite clear and easy to understand in contrast to this one. reinhard

I can't see any kind of bonji here, not even a stylized one. reinhard

mei on a yari reinhard