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.

Stainless steel blade... BaZZa.

This popped into my inbox from Randy McCall's manuscripts site, so I may be premature - but - I'm sure it will be of interest to those not on Randy's mailout list. I found it of great interest. Letter shows ‘ronin’ leader’s thoughts before revenge attack http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201811260001.html BaZZa.

Steve, I think I am pleased that you didn't say quelque chose de bizarre. Anyone else?? BaZZa

Hey, steady on - I like gomoku-zogan. Can't tell you why, and I wouldn't go to the ramparts over it, but to me gomoku-zogan have a certain (fill in the right French word)... Retro punk stuff - I like it... BaZZa.

Dear bjj, And your real name is??? We like to address you properly so please look into this. The sword you pictured looks to me like a bayonet re-purposed to a general purpose tool, perhaps for cane cutting. the point has been modified as well. I remember decades ago Ron Hartman (G'day mate) saying he had found Japanese blades re-mounted as cane cutting implements in the Philippines after WW2. The "restoration" method you chose for your tsuba is not only "frowned on by some" its frowned upon by EVERYONE. You have almost certainly ruined your tsuba beyond economic repair. "bjj" my candid advice to you is that if you are seriously interested in Japanese swords, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to do nothing else in the coming weeks beyond devoting all your spare time to studying this Nihonto Message Board. Choose a topic or area of interest from the Forum front page and use the "Search" feature to read up an any particular aspect. You could begin by showing pictures of the wakizashi you are endeavoring to restore and absorb the responses from collectors who have had many, many decades of experience in restoring Japanese swords. This is NOT a trivial, do-it-yourself exercise. The road ahead is hard and long... Welcome... BaZZa aka Barry Thomas.

Steve and all, "What goes HAHA plop??" A clown laughing his head off!!! That's me when laughing my head off as I looked at Chris' photo again! I thought without thinking, or checking, that the strokes ahead of "hachi" belonged to the -SEI of HEISEI. DOH!!! Thanks Steve for nicely making it self-evident... BaZZa.

HEISEI 18th YEAR SPRING LUCKY ? DAY (2006) BaZZa

Ffolkes all, I'm not convinced this isn't a genuine oldie with an oddball technique. I recently bought a gaggle of tsuba from the estate of an old, old, old time collector who didn't know excreta from clay, but that's another story. In amongst this lot was an old iron tsuba that had a VERY similar decoration to the OP's photos. I was puzzled because the decoration was lifting off the surface of the tsuba. This was a tsuba in very poor condition with rust and it was the rust that had undermined the "on-lay" (for want of a better word) to the extent that large areas of it were peeling off. Somewhere I have preserved some of the peeled off stuff and will keep an eye out for it amongst my chaotic holdings to append a photo here. My feeling at the time was that this was a "cut out" pattern similar to a stencil and fixed to the base iron, probably by urushi as it certainly wasn't hirazogan. I felt it might have been a clever technique devised by a Fagan-like operator of the time to minimise cost and maximise appearance for greater profit... BaZZa.

I'm also interested in the polisher's signature... BaZZa.