Bazza

I have seen shingane in a Kotou tanto with my own eyes... BaZZa.

STUNNER sword... I'm sure the tsuba is by one of the YOSHIOKA artisans, an excellent tsuba. Thanks for sharing. BaZZa.

The day started well with a call from an acquaintance saying he had "two Japanese Samurai swords" from an estate amongst a pile of guns. Hope swells eternal in the human breast, so I had joyous visions as I drove to his house. Well, would you believe it! Two of the worst looking Type 95s I have seen. I don't want to belabour the faithful about the dreadful condition these were in, approaching zero value wall-hangers, but I have a question about seemingly genuine habaki stamps on one of the swords that I think may have been a genuine Type 95, except that the flag reminded me of a Chinese origin? I would be grateful for an opinion on this as well as a translation of the two kanji under thr flag. With thanks, BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas.

Colin san, not offended in the slightest, just to let you know. A good and interesting purchase IMHO. BaZZa.

My thoughts exactly. I was wondering when someone would notice... BaZZa.

What he said (first sentence!). Just discovered this thread. Worth close scrutiny with time on one's hands - and a dictionary at hand. BaZZa.

Kiril Sir, this is the kernel of a brilliant haiku by someone... BaZZa.

I remember a REAL TOGISHI who visited Melbourne Australia maybe 40 years ago now. He was a sponsored visitor by an art dealer who specialised in Japanese art. This man had never been out of Japan, had never traveled on an aeroplane in his life and didn't speak English. His father was a togishi and his grandfather also, the latter being taught by a Hon'ami of the day. Our art dealer did the tedious task of all the back-and-forth translating. We, the gaijin audience, had many revelations during his short stay. As he was viewing a sword one comment that stuck with me is "They should all be restored". I'm sure many of us would agree with this as even the humble kazuuchimono is a survivor of centuries aided and abetted by the Japanese themselves. Such a sword is a stark contrast to the higher tier swords, to be sure, but we would do well to remember the times and not our highfalutin opinions. The trouble is, of course, the time required to learn how to properly and correctly polish a sword and the consequent high cost of gaining a knowledge entry point. This all conspires to consign centuries-old swords as junk, derisively called 'crappers', even by me!! However, I do remember "the wide-eyed, child-like enthusiasm which led us all here in the first place" as I pored through my newly bought copy of John Yumoto's "The Samurai Sword" trying to understand my newly acquired first sword, a Sue Kotou katana in a rather nice and good condition Shinguntou koshirae. Its long since gone to support the purchase of undeniably better (even to my eye!) Tokuho swords. I still have that wide-eyed, child-like enthusiasm and more of this on the Board would be nicer than wild-eyed jousting. Surely we are better than this... BaZZa.

Soon we can expect an answer to what '42' means... BaZZa.

With great respect to the poster, I only answer the question as I see it. No disrespect intended at all. Here goes the head in the noose!!! Not Japanese?? Cast?? Over-cleaned. The kozuka hitsu is oddly shaped IMHO, but don't know what that means... BaZZa, who plainly knows little about tsuba.

Aaaagh!!! Yes why not. If I'm wrong A$50 goes to Brian. Now that is an interesting challenge, desu ne?? What if I'm right????? I did, however, get a solid clue from some of the photos, but we shall see. Best, BaZza (chewing nails)

I'll guess that the barrel is a Kunitomo production... BaZZa.

Or perhaps and umbrella?? I have seen an identical 'style' on a member's tantou tsuba. BaZZa.

YES, but... Does anyb ody know more??? When I gget overr this COVID I''ll append a wakizashi (?) i have that has caused me 'wondering'... BaZZa.

You too Geraint!?? I've always said this about (and to) my wife. She has an unerring ability to go for the jugular... BaZZa.

I have seen a few in my time and have one on a kodai Kanemoto katana in Shinguntou koshirae dated TAISHOU ROKUNEN (1917). If you put "polisher's mei" into the NMB search field for 'Everywhere' you will pull up a few threads. There have been a couple where the nagashi area is a mokume pattern Regards, BaZZa.

Nazar, Very well done indeed, thanks for your considerable efforts. The line closest to the edge is the true hamon, the next 'line' away is from the hadori stone used by the polisher. Pointing the blade toward a light source and rotating it just oh-so slightly back and forth should make this clear to you. I agree with JC that the nakago looks unnaturally corroded - perhaps a salt water environment had something to do with it. Don't be temped to clean it in any way until you've done a lot of research. I would suggest a gentle - and slow - 'boning', with lots of oil and wiping with a cotton cloth, but do read the Board for other opinions. Is the nakago not signed?? A good photo of both sides with the habaki off might be informative. Best regards, BaZZa.

David, I see a yakiba (the whitened area along the edge) but I don't see even a glimmer of a hamon in any of your photos. I agree the habaki is very nice and the gold on the tsuba/o-seppa suggests a better class of bone koshirae, however, I see a tired, worn out blade with possibly heat damage (i.e., has been in a fire). Look at the blade at a low angle along its length while pointing it at a single light source. If there is a hamon it should 'pop' under this lighting. If not, its what I would consider a 'dead' sword and in those mounts still a tourist souvenir and I doubt worth the cost of a shirasaya. Get thee to a To-ken Society or local sword group meeting and show it around. BaZZa.

Interestingly, the fuchi ground isn't nanako. I've never seen this type before. Any ideas?? BaZZa.

Yeah, a pretty distressing story also common here in Australia. Oh, the tales to tell... However, I think SalaMarcos did a very good job of it, highlighting the issues whilst at the same time pointing to Japanese standards and cultural approaches of care and restoration over centuries, at the same time providing 'reading between the lines' for arrogant, died in the wool 'conservators' of the sort many of us know... BaZZa.

And the caravan moves on... BaZZa.

Or rather, what was I?? A mate sent me this link asking if I had ever seen anything like it. To my ailing 'n' failing 81yo memory (60 'in swords') the answer is no. It must have been 'something' for the blade to be taken out and a tsunagi made to hold the koshirae together. Curious minds want to know... https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/edo-Japanese-concealed-blade-storage-oni-statue-130282-c-02f4917a9f?objectID=197055686&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=b0accac9d43f596c3bfaa3563f38581c BaZZa.

Remember the Collective Chant "We feel no pain!!" Time and the drip-feed system covers most expenditure caused by giving in to Desire. Some of us even embrace it without telling our wives!! And don't forget, the quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten... BaZZa.

Now, I'm off on my broom - BUT - I think this is one of the most understated tsuba I've ever seen. Can't explain it, maybe could if I tried hard enough, perhaps someone else can. Brickbats welcome... BaZZa.

And don't forget the internet for swordsmith and oshigata searches and image tracking. Powerful stuff. https://nihontoclub.com/ mei search is good if you have a partial kanji reading. BaZZa.