Bazza

What mess, I see no mess!! (with apologies to Lord Nelson on the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar). Oh, and Alex, what public library is this??!!! BaZZa

Note that the sword has mitsumune which suggests, despite the bad chip, that it should be looked at very carefully by knowledgeable people, more so if it has a high shinogi. Also, the scabbard looks like it might be VERY old with the simple, yet lovely, lacquered flowers. Or it might be a later Edo rush job!!! I make a guess that not all early Edo koshirae were top quality "bling" jobs... BaZZa. EDIT: The vice jaw marks are a sad testimony to the very rough journey this sword has had.

Last photo in the second set, MINAMOTO (?) YUKIHIRA. BaZZa.

Date is I think Showa 16th year, 10th month = October 1941. Smith might be NAO (?) HIRO. BaZZa.

Kathleen said: > there were many female warriors amongst the Chinese and the Japanese I would like to read much more about these lady warriors. I have seen a YouTube video of a naginata class in Japan with women. It is common (?) knowledge that samurai women defended the home with naginata - and probably yari and sword?? The only woman in Japanese sword history I've read about is the lady who accompanied Takeda Shingen on his campaigns. More strength to you Kathleen with your website. Perhaps we could watch it unfold and evolve?? Best regards, BaZZa.

Waaall, lots of possibilities. The top general's Mother-in-Law. Perhaps a general or eunuch with a severe case of Gynecomastia... Very interesting nonetheless. BaZZa.

Richard, IMHO nothing to apologise for and no necessity to forgive!! I have enjoyed this thread and if I might say - if you've been addicted to this hobby for 40 plus years (did that slip by most folk??) welcome to the Board and I earnestly hope you'll stay and share your collection and insights with us. What I liked most about your tanto is the blade your friend made for it. I note the boshi is yakiotoshi, which shows a certain preference on the part of your friend. I would like to see a full length photo of the blade both sides without the habaki, please, if you don't mind. Best regards, BaZZa aka Barry Thomas (Melbourne, Australia)

My first assumption is Aussies might have a preference for hanging onto things or selling locally Second assumption is that very few Aussie collectors would be willing to pay the sort of prices I imagine a fine Middle eastern arms dealer might want for his arms??? Of course, there are those very keen people who will pay just about any price for something they really want. I see lots of them on NMB... BaZZa.

HEISEI 15th YEAR 10th MONTH = October 2003???? The mekugiana at the end is called SHINOBI ANA and is not uncommon in Nihonto - we might call it "a style" or a swordsmith or owner's preference. This thread should explain further: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17559-shinobi-ana/ BaZZa.

Dear Folk, I happened quite incidentally upon this notice of Christian's death October 14th, 2019: Chaffee , Christian T. 07/23/1958 - 10/14/2019 CAFunerALT.com Published in The San Diego Union Tribune on Oct. 20, 2019 Christian started 10 threads over 2007 - 2017 including this one: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/15734-rare-tanto-published-in-1935-was-discovered-in-my-collection/ I wonder what happened to the famous tantou?? R.I.P Christian. BaZZa.

Cum cum Gentlemen, lets not be coy about this: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/Japan-kanamara-matsuri-festival-steel-phallus-penis "16 Jaw-Dropping Pictures From Inside Japan's Penis Festival" I'm sure Guidoemon is well-steeped in this Tradition... BaZZa. PS: google keywords Japan penis parade celebration for more information. One could also drop fertility into the keyword string.

Ken, Ken (Mr Mantis). Wherefore art thou??? BaZZa.

s**t!!! It's an Armory. Vive le Revolution... Oh. and Vive Le Drinks... BaZZa. Especial Happies to Stegel.

If it makes a buck (or sen or yen) turn it out and flog it!!! This is in the best traditions of capitalist enterprise!!! BaZZa. (wearing a shade of pink!!)

In the JSSUS magazine many years ago there was one such written up. BaZZa.

Sighhhhh, Steve, pal, buddy, mate (clenched teeth) PUHLEEZE give us a shot or two of the koshirae AND a full length shot of the tantou both sides AND (but wait, there's more) a better exposed image of the nakago without the habaki and in the vertical orientation. Thanks in advance. Personally, I have a concern that the kanji looks like it has been gouged out with a 4-inch nail. In other words, will it stand up to scrutiny??? Best regards and a Happy New Year to you mate, BaZZa. EDIT: I should have done this before posting, but AOI has one with a sortof similar looking daggy signature: https://www.aoijapan.net/tanto-yoshisukegisuke-saku/ My keyword search on google was GISUKE MEI SIGNATURE

Cody, Thanks so very much for sharing this sword. That's a wonderful photo of the gold dragon under the handle binding. Would you mind taking a photo of the one on the other side, closeup like the one you've put up. Thanks, BaZZa. aka Barry Thomas Melbourne, Australia. EDIT; OOOOPS - I see it was in Cody's first batch of photos... Sorry.

Mulling over Ian's words above and looking back and forth at all the photos I'll go out on a limb and say there are a number of points that lead me to think this is a WW2 era sword, generically a Showato, and not a shortened blade of any earlier vintage. Shinshinto at best, but I think Showato and probably not at all worth putting money into for a polish. Of course, it would help to have the sword in hand, which is why Neil you need to reach out to members of the Northern UK Token Kai. I would still like to see a photo of the underside of the tang showing the notch area at the cutting edge - like this image but with the edge itself rotated 90 degrees toward the camera. BaZZa.

guess sometimes you had to do what Daimyo wanted to add to his collection. Kirill R. =============================================================================== Or whatever the battlefield exigencies of the time demanded... BaZZa.

It would help if you showed us a closeup of the edge just at the notch, say at a 45 degree angle looking down at the edge. I'm looking for a hint of ububa (flattened, unsharpened edge) that would possibly signify a sword of WW2 origin. BaZZa.

Goodness gracious me Mrs McCree!!! Talk about creative... Meiji 30, who wooda thunk it!! I guess we might have a definitive translation if we live long enough???? BaZZa.

Hamfish, make sure that ass is fed plenty of carrots... BaZZa.

As soon as I saw this image a tsuba I had 30++ years ago flashed into my mind. It was iron, round, very rudimentary looking with simple decoration. It had a "ring" that suggested to me the iron was "good". The main feature I recall was a mountain-looking hump with lines across it, very much like the image above. Call me silly, but I thought it looked like a mountain, and Piers' cartouche in the above image looks to me like a stylised mountain with a stream running past it... BaZZa.

Is the coloured stuff SHIPPOU??? BaZZa.

Thank you gents for your opinions. With due deference to the rule to not comment on auctions in progress, i hereby give the auction link sent to me by a friend for comment, however I will not post my reply to him. Feel free to draw your own conclusions - oh, and by all means comment if Brian permits it. There are good reasons for so doing. https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/samurai-sword-katana-in-civilian-mounts-with-sur-ca84f35b89 BaZZa.