Bazza

"... can somebody help me for identifying the theme or the Kao?" Should this question have been " ...the theme of the tsuba?" ?? The KAO is the KAO, a glyph, it has no intrinsic meaning in and of itself I would opine (thrusting neck out). BaZZa.

WOW!!! What a story, almost unbelievable. Reminds me that even a blind squirrel can find the occasional acorn... Thanks for sharing Adam, very much enjoyed. BaZza.

Colin, if you do anything other than 'the right thing' I assure you that in the fullness of time you will regret it. As you get, make that grow, older and you accumulate experience and judging expertise with regard to sugata and the state of good vs not so good (or even bad) polish your senses of appreciation will let you know whether an earlier decision (i.e., now) was the right thing or not. This is a road I have traveled for decades and there is no easy solution other than to travel the road as one sees it. It is exciting with occasional head-butting against walls, but the experience is priceless - and there will be regrets... BaZZa.

I have mentioned before about seeing an article in my time about "exploding yari", The gist was exactly as IanB describes, but went further describing (a?) yari where the point had separated 'explosively' from the body of the point due to the stresses. I have handled a sankaku yari by SAGAMI no KAMI MASATSUNE where the slight curve was toward the flat side of the body. Wish I could remember where I read that article with photos... BaZZa.

Brian, IMHO very definitely a field made sword that ended up as someone's souvenir and of truly minimal worth. As a 'pretend Nihontou' it is the worst of the worst. Geraint said it, the habaki is the tell-all, as is the tsuba, as is the nakago finish. As for Ken Maddock's piece, Ron Hartman once found a wakizashi dressed up and used a a Filipino cane cutting 'knife'. There might be something in Ken's piece if cheap enough to see if the nakago is signed, or even a halfway decent mumei piece. BaZZa.

I'm sure I once read somewhere that Oda Nobunaga reputedly said, referring to his army, that he would rather have 100 yari in good hands than one very expensive sword (except for his own, of course). I guess this is military 'value for money'! BaZZa.

Make mine whisky tonight!!! BaZZa.

Maybe its not a shoshin Nagamitsu??!! BaZZa.

It wouldn't be this bloke would it??? https://www.whitehouse.gov/.../presidents/william-howard-taft William Howard Taft was elected the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later became the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930), the only person to have served in both of these offices. He was in Yokohama in 1905 and was an enthusiastic supporter of Japan. He was Chief Justice of the United States 1921 - 1930 and could well have been in Japan in 1924. It may be that 'Taft' is another 'Smith' in the USA - I wouldn't know. Grasping at straws - is there a container for those?? BaZZa.

Interesting article sent to me by a friend: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/Japanese-bamboo-art/index.html BaZza.

Ahhhhh, Bruno, WOW!! Just shows what a correct White Balance and exposure setting can do for contrast and colour. Bravo!!! It certainly looks a million dollars now. Thanks for showing it. I love it. Best, BaZZa.

If I might stick my neck out, it might have looked more rustic if it hadn't been blingified somewhere along the line!!! BaZZa.

Christian S/DoTanuki yokai said: > You should try to get the menuki out, but be carfully there is only one direction it will come ou That's mekugi... mekugi.. the peg in the handle. BaZZa. (I'm really not trying to be pedantic!!)

Today everything loads quickly except NMB main page and the photos. Generally much slower overall. I've done numerous speed tests and the PC/ISP are all OK, except NMB!! BaZZa.

I once saw a wakizashi koshirae that looked as if was plucked from a forest grove. Unbelievable. The entire koshirae portrayed Nature in a way I've seen before or since. Sadly it was at the time unattainable for me and I have no idea where it is now. It 'sort of' reminded me of The Green Man of English folk lore. BaZZa.

All - I couldn't have put it better myself. Mike, that's a wonderful expression of support for Ford, which I heartily endorse. I have never understood the naysayers, never. I feel antipathy toward such folk as they clearly don't understand or comprehend the difficulty of 'The Way' Ford has chosen to understand the Masters of the Japanese sword Arts. Its a hard gig. I agree with and support everything Mike has said above, so won't add more beyond saying those with the investor frame of mind should move on. With kudos to Ford, Barry Thomas. PS: The Patreon members here might like to know that Ford's most recent video on nanako features my kozuka and tsuba.

Agreed 'Japanese style' has a clear meaning of 'not genuine'. "Inscribed" is a word I have used in descriptions... But one has to have experience in the field of descriptions and a decent exposure to what makes a sword's quality what it is to be aware of the pitfalls. BaZZa.

Aaaaand another Shachi, this one on a tsuba a friend brought for a showing one day. BaZZa. Shachi tsuba front Shachi tsuba back Shachi tsuba back closeup 80mm wide, 86mm high, rim thickness 6.3mm, seppai dai thickness 4.0mm.

John, what do you mean by 'high shinogi'?? I take it to mean that taka shinogi is where the shinogi is conspicuously wider/thicker than the mune. This is easuily seen by looking down on the mune. If you mean that the shinogi is unusually close/closer to the mune and the thickness is the same as the mune then that is something else - narrow shinogi ji?? Interesting sword. BaZZa.

It looks a bit like a Hou-ou bird... The Japanese Phoenix. A closer, better detail photo should clinch it. http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ho-oo-phoenix.shtml BaZZa.

An enemy could have done it with the equivalent of the now famed Ukrainian response to a Russian navy ship... BaZZa.

It might be just a tight friction fit. Try prying it apart with your fingernails!! I say finger nails, nothing metal for sure. Less haste, more speed and if in doubt don't. I'm sure the handle (tsuka) is removable. It's just a case of patience and I'm sure more advice will be forthcoming. This could well pass as a Shotou (shorter sword of a pair) to a katana that turned up here recently. Same lacquer. I'll post a picture later today. BaZZa.

Ted, I'm in disbelief. Darcy's website is the stuff of legends, certainly of a man dedicated in the extremis to Nihonto. His untimely passing should be mourned as long as we all here are alive - and then some. My sincerest condolences to his family. My heart is still beating fast at the shock of reading this dreadful news. Barry Thomas.

Like it or lump it - it is all a genuine art genre. Just ask the Japanese!!! BaZZa.

Georg, Two completely different news items. The first has nothing at all to do with the auction. Its about the lost National Treasure sword NORISHIGE found in Australia and written up here on the Board. See in the articles section "The Lost Norishige" by Ian Brooks. BaZZa.