Bazza

Chuckle chuckle. Years and decades ago when I was very young and green I had an item with kanji. Knowing nothing I copied the kanji as carefully as I could and took it to a new friend who had some expertise in Japanese language. He took it in his hands, looked at with a puzzled expression, then his face lightened considerably as he turned it around and said to me "It is very difficult to copy kanji upside down!!" So Piers mate, chill... You can take your life back now... Thanks for the memory jog. BaZZa.

I have no doubt the mei is KUNIHIRO. Never mind the KUNI- character being problematic as -HIRO is also poorly rendered as far as strokes go. I feel that Jay's tsuba is also a late war piece compared to Patrice's tsuba, which I think is an older piece as it has a far better and more balanced shape and an appearance of real age. Possibly Momoyama??? BaZZa.

Ahhh, Grev, very well picked. An absolutely fantastic piece. Congratulations. Like others, I salivated at the excellence of the iron work and thought "only E300?! Surely I can afford that!" So my day-dreaming came to an end when I saw SOLD. Not surprising. As Grev said, you need to be quick!! BaZZa. EDIT: Excellent photos too, leaving nothing unclear. The photos are a joy to see as well.

ACID WASH IS VERBOTEN - IT ATTACKS THE STEEL AND UNDERMINES IT TO THE POINT WHERE SOMETIMES POLISH IS NOT POSSIBLE, THEREBY DEFEATING THE PURPOSE. A window by a competent, properly trained polisher is the only true way to ascertain the quality of hamon and jigane if you really value your sword. BaZZa. With no apologies whatsoever for "shouting"...

Thank you Stephen for organising a tribute on behalf us all. Harry Watson was a huge influence on my collecting with his translation of Fujishiro's two books and later the Koza. I had some correspondence with him at the time and I remember a very helpful gentleman. I remember some critiques of his work, but he was a major trailblazer for those of us who weren't so clued up on Japanese language. If nothing else, his work gave me an immense psychological boost. In later years I had occasional email exchanges with Harry and in more recent years his work on Fujishiro's translations enabled me to identify a particularly rare smith in an auction and to bid with confidence. I must say, though, it was Willis Hawley's book that allowed me to identify the smith and pointed to Fujishiro's Shinto Hen. The smith, for interest, was JOSHU RAI NORIMICHI: http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisplay/other/NORIMICHI/index.htm http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisplay/other/NORIMICHI/norimichi_3.htm http://www.samuraisword.com/nihontodisplay/other/NORIMICHI/norimichi_4.htm Apart from the sword in Fujishiro this is the only other NORIMICHI I have been able to find. I think of Harry every time I look at the sword. VALE Harry. RIP. Barry Thomas aka BaZZa.

I have one coloured brown on a Shingunto housing a Gassan Sadakatsu blade. It was attached to the sarute so I don't see how that could be a lock-strap - that could be one use, but I suspect there might be another aspect to it. BaZZa.

Ed, what I like about this tanto is particularly the koshirae. It is en suite, nothing missing, and no real damage to speak of. The implement other than the warikogai I would call a variation on kozuka. Very interestingly different with a gilt blade in the form of a ken and clearly the saya is made to fit its unusually smaller stature. The habaki is a stunner. The blade presents well in sugata and irrespective of age (I would think Shinshinto at the earliest). It may not be worth a polish - but - someone put this tanto together with taste and thought. Nice package, congratulations. BaZZa.

OTOMH also - FUJIWARA DAIDO NAOFUSA NYUDO BaZZa.

I was at lunch today with a man who snagged "under the radar" a particularly rare sub-species of early British Naval Dirk for peanuts, simply because he knew what it was, the seller didn't and neither did anyone else who looked at the offering on ebay. I was once looking through a motley private collection of swords and spotted an excellent katana in distressed, deplorable condition, but eminently restorable. It had the wrong handle (NCO of all things!), no habaki, no scabbard and was black with surface rust, but the quality screamed out from under it. The mei was SESSHU JU FUJIWARA SUKEHIRO. I was lucky enough to be able to buy it for a fair price and it is next on my polishing list. BaZZa. EDIT TO ADD: Evan, thanks very much for a fascinating and very interesting presentation.

I was trawling for tsuba information and websites and came across one a few years old that I had forgotten about. It is the labour of love website of Malcolm and Sueko Cox. Malcom is the author of the book MINO-TO. The website is titled Nihonto-no-Bi - The Beauty of the Japanese Sword. http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/ Tsuba collectors may be interested to read two pictorial essays on tsuba: Tsuba: Yamashiro Tenpo / Tempo / Tembo 山城 天保　 http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/?page=TsubaII and Tsuba: Echizen Kinai http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/?page=TsubaIII I was particularly thrilled to find a lengthy writeup on a Kumamoto family of swordsmiths: Kimura Akamatsu Taro Kumamoto / Kimura Token http://www.users.on.net/~coxm/?page=Kimura Kimura Token Kimura Token is led by KIMURA KANETSUGU 兼嗣 and there are two generations of the Kimura family actively producing quality swords in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu. They have a long history in this region, and family members consist of both swordsmiths and polishers. They have developed their own style based on well forged ko-itame hada, and using home produced tamahagane. Here we have attempted to summarise their work and recent history. The new generation is also displaying substantial talent. We especially thank the family for answering our many questions. Best regards, BaZZa. PS - quick edit to say there is more to see than the above.

Yeah, very cool indeed. Lovely challenge. Like Stephen I thought it might have been the safe itself, a lovely, lovely locking item (I meant looking, but an intended "punny" slip!). Thanks for sharing Piers. BaZZa.

Is there a prize???? The wooden clappers below the jingasa with the red tassel... BaZZa.

AHHHH - I think I have it. Do I have everyone's permission for another turn??? BaZZa.

Well, anyone else looking for a corner??? There only so many objects and I've had my go... BaZZa.

If two guesses are allowed... Guess #1: The inclinometer, if that's what it is, at the bottom. Guess #2: The umbrella-size jingasa, if that's what it is, standing vertically side-on at the rhs top of the cabinet. BaZZa.

Dave, Thanks so much for sharing this story with us. I enjoyed it immensely. The road to mastery of any Japanese art is long and hard and requires a totally dedicated mindset. Few Westerners have achieved this, I am full of awe and admiration. However, with all your new contacts and contracts I don't think my old Haruta kabuto is going to be restored anytime soon... Perhaps I should write??? Best wishes and congratulations, BaZZa (aka Barry Thomas)

PM sent BaZZa.,

I'm wondering if it is a wooden pattern for casting cannon???? BaZZa. EDIT: Brilliant thread Piers and thanks so much for the report and the information.

Hi, I too tried to read the mei and also failed - fuzzy... BaZZa.

I really have to emphasise here Ken's comment - NO ACID OF ANY SORT. It goes deeper than you can imagine and changes the character of the steel to such an extent it can render the blade unsuitable for a polish. Also, embrittlement of the metal can occur depending on the acid. I'm sure far more knowledgeable people will (hopefully) chip in here. BaZZa.

Brian, One can only wonder why it didn't sell. The gentleman clapper is rendered in a similar vein to The Scream that could be off-putting for some. For myself, it is a magnificent piece clearly unappreciated in SA. I see others have offered to house it for you - let me add my offer to look after it and send you pictures. HAHA - I'm reminded here of a particular gnome statue that was a fond possession of a nerdy engineer in my working days. One day it vanished, stolen from his office. Strangely, the whole workgroup suddenly started getting email messages with pictures of this gnomey personage holidaying all around the world. This went on for months until the gnome suddenly came home... Congratulations Brian, it is good to see you getting a real win. It's a great lift to one's spirit, desu ne?? BaZZa.

Simon, Thank you very much for the reference. Exciting reading and a tribute to the dedication and devotion to the Nihonto Arts of the gentlemen concerned. To any of us whose interest might flag from time to time due to the exigencies of life, this article should surely help to keep one's spark burning brightly. I know it fanned my spark!! Thank you again Simon. BaZZa.

YOSHINAO, a WW2 smith, date looks like SHOWA 18 = 1943. BaZZa.

Do I hear a collective AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH... BaZZa.

Steve, do please keep us up to date. I have more to add to this, but it is already late and I'm falling asleep. It will have to wait until tomorrow... BaZZa.