Bazza

Ummmmm, George san, why must you have a leather cover?? I understand these were put on for combat zones and were no doubt (?) therefore meant to be taken off when hostilities ceased. Is it not so that many shingunto koshirae never had leather covers??? Barry (Head on the Block) Thomas aka BaZZa.

Having lost a dear friend of decades a couple years ago I know how heart-rending such a loss can be. My sincere condolences to all who were close to Fred. Yours in sympathy for your loss, Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

I would opine definitely not Komai. Komai work of high quality is "signed" with a kao and is stylistically different (?). Again, whilst a good-looking tsuba it doesn't compare IMHO to the meticulous work of Komai. EDIT: I don't otherwise have a clue OTTOMH what school it might be. BaZZa (Having a great catch-up time tonight, but I have a more important catch-up yet to attend to...)

Paul, Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the habaki is made when shitaji is completed and then blade and habaki go to the shirasaya artisan. BaZZa.

Hi John and all, > I'd be in like Flint. I believe the man mentioned should be Flynn, Errol Flynn... BaZZa.

I support $2k as well, with or without a kozuka. To me the blade shape looks a little "awkward" and with the gunome hamon I'm tipping Shinshinto. The toppei koshirae is a nice touch, I think. I'm wondering if the ito will turn out to be lacquered paper (I have one such tsuka) as the broken strand looks too thick to be baleen. The saya lacquer looks very nice and the ribbed top to the saya is not easy to do and to me it "looks good". Looking forward to further revelations. BaZZa.

... and why left-to-right and not right-to-left??? Would this not be read TOMONAGA??? Why not vertical - there is plenty of room. BaZZa.

As for the blade - I would have said early Shintou Yasutsugu school with Kinai (?) bori. But Muromachi period??? Please tell, attributed to whom?? BaZZa.

Certainly not a stitch in time!!!! BaZZa.

The nanako is mind-blowing. Excellence to a T - or should that be E?? My observation is that the "same" is in fact sheet gold worked as same. I have seen metal same before, though certainly not as good as this. BaZZa.

Just browsing and came across (a) this "Masterpieces" website and (b) particularly this sword, previously unknown to me. BaZZa. ================================================================================= http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpiece/detail.nhn?objectId=11046&fbclid=IwAR3-YPATbyUfqYRSbBO1vWDj0jQxHUd0gHtMHlOFKjayvEmIxFZwFrVdbm8 This sword has a long and precious history: the blade was made at a time when Japan was riven with civil war and two would-be emperors struggled for supremacy. Japanese sword blades were precious objects and were revered for their cutting ability, their intrinsic beauty and their spirituality. The blade of this word was treasured for over 600 years before being remounted (it had presumably had this done many times in its history) by the ruling Emperor Meiji for a diplomatic gift to Britain's first accredited minister to Japan. The new mounts were of the finest silk, lacquer and gold fittings, and represent the finest traditions of Japanese craftsmanship. History of the Object This Japanese sword carries the inlaid gold signature of the smith Tomomitsu and is dated to 1335 (Kemmu 2). This was a period in Japan’s history know as the Nanbokucho (Northern and Southern courts) when there were two claimants to the imperial throne. The Kemmu period falls within the reign of Emperor Go-Daigo of the Southern Court. Originally, a longer sword for use from horseback, the blade has been shortened for fighting on foot. Any original signature would have been lost in this process but a professional appraiser has inscribed the name of the smith Tomomitsu (of Osafune in Bizen Province) and the date of manufacture in gold on the hilt. The blade was specially remounted with solid gold fittings by Ota Yoshihisa for the Emperor Meiji who gave the sword to the British Minister Sir Harry Parkes on the occasion of his private audience with the emperor in May 1871. A plate on the tsuba (sword-guard) carries a dedicatory inscription to Parkes which indicates that the remounting was carried out specifically for the gift. Parkes audience in 1871 was a quite different experience from that of 23 March 1868 when he set out for Kyoto for his first meeting with the emperor. Although accompanied by a mounted force of British and Japanese troops, the group was attacked at a crossroads by two Japanese fanatics armed with long swords. The narrow streets prevented the use of the cavalry lances and the assailants caused significant casualties before one was killed and the other incapacitated. The Imperial audience was eventually held on 26 March 1868, and Parkes finally presented his credentials to the Emperor Meiji as the first fully accredited British Minister to Japan.

Fellow Bang Bang sans, FYI: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/ARxoMKJ1Pz635Mu6Hh4ymt0e57KKxQiLJALoBVE5JXuSQh0Znr9BrXQ/ BaZZa.

GOTOU ?? KAO IMHO Goto its not... BaZZa.

Brian, Can you explain the emoticon/emoji in place of b)??? This happened to me on a PM and try as I might I just couldn't get rid of it, so I left it "as was" with an explanation that it wasn't supposed to be there. BaZZa. BaZZa.

Hi everybody, I'm still numb from winning this sword, but I should belatedly let you all know that I received it. I've been slack, wanting to do a writeup that does justice to the event, so better I bite the bullet now and say KUNITERU san arrived safely and I'll "tell the story" soon... BaZZa aka Barry Thomas.

Nara?? (Shooting from the lip...) BaZZa.

Well, I'm guessing they didn't use superglue because of the nature of the cut. It was a sliced open flap and it bled profusely. The Dr put in three stitches and it was still weeping so he put in another two. I guess it was flooding too much for superglue to even get a hold... At home "just after" I tried bandaids by wrapping them in a direction to keep the cut closed, but after three goes and being "washed away" each time I gave up and had Jenny drive me to the ER. Steve, I just LOVE your keppan suggestion... I'll have to refer this to a lawyer mate of mine! BaZZa.

I had quite a correspondence with the Honorable and Venerable Han Bing Siong and somewhere I think I have a photo of the gunsuito he had. I'll bear it in mind as I continue cleaning up the chaos of 50+ years of collecting/hgoarding/disorganising... Ahhh, just seen Bruno's post to Hamish. HBS's sword was a gensuito... BaZZa

One of these fish appears to be saying FUGU... BaZZa.

G'day Grev, An interesting challenge! I'm all at sea on "sukashi by photo" and there are just so many ho hum iron sukashi I wouldn't trust myself to have a pick. This shows in my selection, which hardly anybody else chose except for #19 that had two other "hits". So, I would keep 8, 9, 15, 21, 19 and 20, with a prospect of further winnowing. 50 tsuba. WOW! I was once told about an American collector who was visited by a knowledgeable Japanese collector and after going through a large number of tsuba the American guy was left with just a handful... Possibly apocryphal, but I have seen a similar thing with over a hundred swords reduced to ten... BaZZa.

Guido, I really enjoyed the revelation of the real keppan technique. Thanks for that snippet. Guido also wrote: > We all know how many nerve endings our fingertips have, and how painful it is to get a cut there; it also takes forever to heal. Well. maybe I'm a person of whom it could be said "no sense, no feeling", but I have had a severe cut to my thumb that laid it pretty much open and took 5 stitches (sutures for the medically inclined) to right the wrong. This was a sword cut due to a blade stuck in the saya that "came with a rush" and my thumb impacted the ha and in a twinkling it was sliced open. I thought I could bandage it up myself without my wife knowing (Oh, the shame!), but it became pretty clear that this was an ER job. Now to the point - I felt no pain whatsoever. None at all. I was quite amazed, but there you have it. The healing was I thought the usual length. AND as is oft said on the Board "This post is worthless without a picture", so here it is: I might add that was the same thumb that I nearly severed with a log splitter some months before, cutting the bone right through at an angle just in front of the first joint. Again, I felt no pain at all, even right to the operating table after a day of waiting for a place in the plastics theatre. Out of respect for sensitive souls I will spare yo'all the photo of the near severing. BaZZa.

Some of the highest quality tsuba are signed on the back. It might have something to do with putting the art first and the maker behind. Dunno. I'm sure there is a good reason. Anybody?? BaZZa.

Hi Jeremiah, Nice piece! It seems to me the tsuba has been lacquered??? No bad thing and often done... BaZZa.

Ffolkes all, From time-to-time in my trawling I have come across this link, but cannot recall ever seeing it in a post. It is a clever piece of work with a filter for homing in on the periods of 1,264 tsuba. Nice complement to Grev's work: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10237/10339 BaZZa.

Discovered while browsing for something: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/29625310033984525/?lp=true BaZZa.