Bazza

Do you, Hamfish san?? You cheeky sausage!!! BaZZa.

IS INRO, IS GOOD... BaZZa.

Well, what do I know, but I have just stumbled upon this link: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/workers-paving-Japanese-road-unearth-remarkable-1500-year-old-armor-and-021831 First two paragraphs: ======================================================== Could you imagine? You are tired after working for hours on fixing a roadway when you suddenly find a strange slab of stone. This gives you a jolt of energy and you call a coworker over. Together you dig away furiously to see what the stone belongs to. Eventually you reveal a stone coffin. Curiosity peaked and a hint of the possibility of treasure lead you to slowly lift open the lid…inside you find a well-preserved set of weapons and some really old armor. Time to call an archaeologist in! This may be something like how workers paving a road in the Osumi region in the eastern Kagoshima Prefecture of Japan stumbled upon a 1,500-year-old tunnel tomb. The Asahi Shimbun reports that a pumice stone coffin, well-preserved armor, and human remains were unearthed by laborers this past December. This type of tomb is only found in the southern Kyushu region. ======================================================== See also the embedded Asahi Shimbun link: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201802140003.html First two paragraphs: ======================================================== SHIBUSHI, Kagoshima Prefecture--Workers paving a farm road here stumbled on a 1,500-year-old underground tomb containing a large stone coffin, human remains and armor in remarkable condition. The remains are likely of a local chieftain while the cuirass, a type of breastplate known as “tanko,” is believed to have been a gift from the Yamato imperial court in current Nara Prefecture in appreciation of the leader’s cooperation, the education board of Shibushi city said Jan. 24. ======================================================== BaZZa.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh (slow release of breath...) There is still a lot of room to love lesser Nihonto if only for the people who created them. Whilst I love the zenith of Darcy's exposition there has to be wriggle room for the rest of us who are struggling up... Otherwise NMB would be either non-existent or a very, very small Forum indeed. BaZZa.

I didn't know Alan Morton was in Japan!!!! BaZZa.

Hi Ian and all, No, that was the NAMAZU, a catfish. Google it, but here is a direct link: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/namazu-the-earthshaker/ BaZZa.

Ah, yes, JU as in JUMYO?? BaZZa.

Useless comment - focus would help... Second character might be TOKI??? BaZZa.

I once saw a sword that had concentric rings of rust as Ian describes. We thought it was JORIN MOKUME (a ring-shaped grain). However, when the sword came back from polish it had completely disappeared. A strange experience and feeling. For more on jorin mokume see: http://www.sho-shin.com/tokai8.htm https://markussesko.com/2015/05/13/kantei-2-jigane-jihada-2/ (a very good read overall) http://www.shibuiswords.com/glossary.htm (a good link to brush up on terminology) BaZZa.

Steve, as an armchair historian you have done a great service to a very interesting teppou. Thank you. So, its time I dug out the details of 3 teppou with black lacquered stocks sold here in Oz a few years ago. They were similarly lavishly decorated. I managed the translation with the help of an accomplished Japanese gentleman and wrote them up for an auction. It might take me a while - watch this space. BaZZa.

IMHO definitely not shodai. Was not the gojimei used by just about all the Tadayoshi until they became family head?? Note the shirasaya is tora-honoki, so someone thought the sword was "good". Again, IMHO the mei is not right though the blade looks quite OK "as a blade". BaZZa.

Franco wrote: > there is one type of utsuri, name escapes me???, that appears when a blade is tired. tsukare utsuri? BaZZa.

FWIW I doubt this gun was made in Tenshou. The date I would think to be an allusion to something, similar to the Kamakura period date on armour doeskin stencilling. The barrel must come off simply because it was "put on". I will bet there is a brass pin underneath the two small medallions either side that will push out and the bbl can be removed. I'm not saying it is simple - one of my guns took an enormous (and gentle) effort to remove the bbl even when the 3 retaining pins were out. Having seen similar teppou the black lacquered stock suggests to me it is of Edo period manufacture. A very nice and desirable teppou, to be sure. :Drool: BaZZa. EDIT: Looking again at the pictures I feel the two small medallions were added much later to prevent access to the pin. The pictures aren't clear enough, but they don't look "as good" as the rest of the gun. Note also it has the Tokugawa mon on the bbl and lacquered on the stock; the Tokugawa were ascendant primarily after 1600.. EDIT 2: I'm reasonably sure the bbl will be signed by a Kunitomo gunsmith???

Ahhhh, Jean, it's always too soon. The saddest parting becomes the sweetest memories - in time. On behalf of my wife, a devout cat lady, our sincerest condolences on the passing of Riesling. Barry Thomas.

Another precious flower wilts... BaZZa.

Why do I feel a big DOH!! coming on... BaZZa.

Jean, Part of Aoi's description of this sword reads: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ... this blade seems to be forged in Muromachi period. In nakago there is a Kiritsuke Mei. That mentioned “Fujie Kiyomitsu scoured the Togidamari part of Nakago”. Fujie Seijiro Kiyomitsu is a metalworker of Kaga province. He was active at the end of Edo period. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unless I'm missing something (sometimes I can't see the Wood for the Trees!!!) I take it that "scoured" means the nakago ura was re-filed in late Edo for some reason. So the ura yasurime are indeed late Edo and not Muromachi???!!! So far from "They look fresh and could be shinshinto" they ARE fresh and ARE shinshinto... BaZZa.

FWIW, IMHO the kanji looks like it was written with a ball-point pen (Biro) by a Westerner... It would almost be better to not be there at all!! BaZZa.

Not taking anything at all away from the discussion above; however, no one has mentioned or pointed out (perhaps it didn't need to be???) the clear nie structure evident in the hamon in the photo herewith, repeated from the OP's Post #1. So this must be a water quenched steel blade whatever its origin. The horizontal lines also mentioned (but not discussed further) seem to me to be marks from a linisher with a follow up (?) to "bring out" the hamon. I say again the nie structure is clearly evident, more so if the image is magnified in an image application. BaZZa.

Ahhh, yes, but the Japanese have been patinating metals for centuries with some methods even now not known. As far as tsuba go I have heard reference to specialist "rusters" of iron tsuba, so I would not be at all surprised if "sum wun" has a secret formula for rusting nakago... QED?? BaZZa.

Any donation to NMB for free translation advice not acknowledged in the ebay advt??? Also, IMHO this sword with a yokote is a ko wakizashi not an O-tanto... BaZZa.

Agreed. I realised it wasn't meant for knowledgeable people and liked it for its simple approach that "Lay People" could relate to. I had a particular friend in mind who has wanted a Japanese sword since he was but a callow youth, but who "knows nuthiiiing"... Oh, after 50+ years "in swords" I still feel like I'm in kindergarten with the real experts in Japan, plus a smattering of really top-notch gaijin. And shades of John Yumoto's little book "full of flat out crap" we had a Japanese visitor (a sword man no less) who on drawing the blade dropped the koshirae bits (literally) on the carpeted floor in his haste to look at the blade. We mere gaijin were underwhelmed... BaZZa.

From a photo???!!! Quite some time ago I heard that "someone" in Japan could put 300 years of rust on a nakago in one day... Your sword needs to be seen in its totality, in hand, by knowledgeable eyes. Be patient and get thee to a Sword Show... BaZZa.

I can't visit the exhibitions so for me it is an interesting read: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-Japanese-artists-responded-transformation-their-nation-180970598/ BaZZa.

Konotegashiwa BaZZa. EDIT: https://japaneseswordlegends.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/tegai-kanenaga-and-the-bodhisattva-monju/ Here Markus notes "Drawing of Kanenaga´s konote-gashiwa in the Tsuguhira Oshigata. The term konotegashiwa had naturalized later for a sword with two different temper lines designs on both sides." and https://japaneseswordlegends.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/the-demonic-yukihira/ EDIT 2: http://www.sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p1507.html Rather long description. Read the whole thing, use "FIND" (Ctrl F), or here is the salient sentence "The subject artisan Hisamichi, third generation in Kyoto (Yamashiro) had accepted an invitation from Shogun 8th Tokugawa Yoshimune visited to Edo and re-produced the masterpiece [Konotegashiwa sword] in Mihama Palace).