Bazza

Clive, thank you for notifying the membership of Mike and John’s passing and my sincere condolences to their families. I remember well these luminaries of those days and am saddened to hear of their passing. Like George and many others I'm also a geezer from 70s and remember well the high educational value for a wide-eyed newbie of the “Programme”, the newsletter of the To-ken Society of Great Britain. I still have most of the issues and have been “gunner” turn them into PDFs for many years now and I earnestly hope that isn't an ideal thwarted by falling off my perch any time soon!! I think that the internet these days has long since overtaken the knowledge contained in the pages of the “Programme”, but I'm equally sure there are still pearls of wisdom therein. Bon Dale was another very active To-ken member and I think it was he who was the primary organiser of The Ashmolean Museum exhibition. Some of you may have the catalogue, within which a most memorable piece was the three-foot long tanto... Bon and I had some correspondence in those far-off times. With sadness, Barry Thomas.

Home made??? i.e., "shinsaku"!!!!! Bestests, BaZZa.

Brian's last sentence is a very succinct expression of both the beginning collector's dilemma and indeed the more advanced collector. Peter Bleed asked a question in his "Less than Preservable?" thread viewtopic.php?f=9&t=17745 that bears on this. I was doing some research to see if I could find any backing for an idea that Keith's sword might be a Bungo Takada blade as these smiths mostly signed FUJIWARA XX. I had googled "bungo takada school" and was working my way through the hits when I came across an essay in our Articles section. Anyone who has followed this thread with interest would do well to read it as IMHO it is very germane to the question Peter raised in his thread and is I feel somewhat relevant to the discussion here as well: http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/arti ... chools.pdf I've also posted this in Peter Bleed's thread. A Very Happy Nihonto New Year to all. Bestests, BaZZa.

Well, as happenstance would have it I was doing some research on a sword in another thread (Keith McCauley, "new sword", viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17221) when I came across an essay in our Articles section. Anyone who has followed this thread with interest would do well to read it as IMHO it is very germane to the question Peter raised: http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/arti ... chools.pdf I'll also post this in Keith's thread. Can I wish everyone a Very Happy Nihonto New Year. Bestests, BaZZa.

An eminently sensible question Peter and one that has always been a dilemma. A polisher I once met (Japanese) was passionate about his art and said "All swords should be preserved". Many years later I showed a wakizashi in dreadful condition to another (Japanese) polisher, equally passionate. I knew the wakizashi wasn't too good the condition notwithstanding, but as it was mumei I was curious about a single kanji on the mune of the nakago. He looked at it and said (without commenting on the kanji) "This is the worst kind of sword you can have". Hmmmmm... Given that a polisher has IMHO the equivalent of a PhD (or two), why would he consent to putting poor art quality, though good and serviceable weapons, on his stones with his hard won years of knowledge??? My collecting path over 50 years has been to buy books and to look at as many swords as possible. Here in Australia without good museums and sensei this meant for me "beating the bushes" to turn up as many swords as I could and decide which were "good" and which "bad" by criteria I divined from The Books. Its never been a good policy to sink a few thousand dollars into polishing a sword just because one "likes it" and ending with something worth half as much or less on the market. So to cut it short, for most Western collectors Peter's question boils down to running the gauntlet of experience and learning by trial and error. It is very time consuming and one has to be passionate. A person's means obviously filters in here too, and in truth and finality there isn't enough money or artisans in the world to preserve all swords, nor collectors to house them decently, never mind the vicissitudes of swords in hands ignorant of their intrinsic qualities or of their cultural and historical significance. Never mind myopic governments.... Bestests, BaZZa.

This is terrible news. He was born in the year I started work as a 17 year old. For such a talented man to pass so early at age 53 one can only think the Gods got it wrong!! It spurs me to think that in the unknown time I have left I must strive harder to achieve something worthwhile. Tony's energy and ability left a legacy that few can hope to emulate. My sincerest and deepest condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. Rest in Peace Tony. Barry Thomas.

Chris, I'll trade you photos for any information you have about these smiths... sometime!!! I've attached photos of a lovely Tamahide wakizashi that crossed my path five years ago in a lovely koshirae. I'm sorry I have no information as to which generation this one is. Best regards, Barry Thomas (aka BaZZa)

Thank you indeed Eric. I've just had a good hour trawling those photos and noted many historical figures of the Bakumatsu and Meiji eras. I noticed one photo that would especially appeal to our "gunny" members. I know it did to me because a mate of mine has a Spencer carbine and this type of gun was used by the Gold Escorts here in Victoria, Australia, and was also used by the police who were chasing our notorious 19th century outlaw Ned Kelly. I've attached the photo in question and here is some supporting blurb: The photo is titled "Shima Kakoku "Kawazu Izu no kami", albumen print, 7.8 x 6 cm, ca 1860, coll. Shima Eiichi., shown with Spencer carbine." The photographer is SHIMA KAKOKU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shima_Kakoku The subject of his photograph is KAWAZU IZU no KAMI, a high-ranking samurai: http://www.bridgemanart.com/en-GB/asset ... umen-print Bestests, BaZZa.

Dear All, a friend has sent me the following link: http://urbantimes.co/2013/12/Japan-vintage-photography/ that shows "7 Amazing Vintage Photos Of 19th-Century Japan". The introduction reads "This week, the Public Domain Review (PDR) posted a series of hand-colored albumen prints that date back to 19th-century Japan. Albumen is a process that used egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper. The prints, uploaded by the Dutch National Archieff, offer a glimpse of life in Japan some 150 years ago." At the end there is a comment by the contributor Keiko Tanaka "View more images from the series of 42 hand-coloured albumine prints from Spaarnestad Photo by Felice Beato, Kusakabe Kimbei or Raimund baron von Stillfried." The direct link is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaala ... 774885996/ I was quite surprised to see an old mechanical Japanese typewriter at left in the 7th row down. In the day of the computer these machines are real fossils. I happen to have one with trays of different fonts in one of my sheds. I rescued it from a scrap metal dealer because I couldn't bear to see it destroyed, so it lives with many other "might come in handy one day" items on rows of shelves... I would give it free to a good home... Compliments of the Season to all you good Nihontojin, with grateful thanks for a good year on NMB and looking forward to 2014. Best regards, BaZZa.

I still have a gilded brass kogatana that fell into my lap decades ago. It was originally fitted into a kozuka and like the OP's item it was very nicely made. I seem to recall the kogatana and kozuka came in an indifferent Meiji period tanto or wakizashi. Bestests, BaZZa.

I think I get MITSUHIRO something (saku?) for the maker. All at sea on the rhs inscription. Bestests, BaZZa.

I'm close to 100% sure that Ron's KAO is the early work of Shodai Yasuchika. I'm tied up at present but I'll look into this further in the next day or two and come back with images of my own, both a piece and a book reference (God, I'm in chaos...). Bestests, BaZZa.

Sake barrel scraper???? Bestests, BaZZa.

THE TSUBA - THE TSUBA - who knows what about the tsuba??? I nearly fell over when I saw it as I had an almost identical tsuba decades ago also with fukurin. I always wondered about it. I have read of larger pre-Edo tsuba being reduced in size and fitted with a fukurin that gave the design a cramped look. The katakiri dragon with kebori detail was very interesting. Inevitably it had to go to afford something else, but I've never forgotten it. BaZZa. EDIT: Shishi, not dragon...

Sekigane, that's what I meant (I learnt in Japanese language study to "follow the discourse..."). Since this has turned into a Namban thread thought I would put up my Namban tsuba again, more especially as it has a beaded rim very similar to mine, whereas mine is covered with gold. Apologies to those who have seen it before, but it might be new grist for many others. The tsuba is 75mm wide x 82mm high x 6mm thick. The front is noticeably convex to the extent of the sides being approx. 2mm lower than the seppa dai. Interestingly, the tsuba back is "flat" without any curvature. It is also not perfectly circular, being more of an oblate spheroid (slightly pear-shaped, no puns please!). John L also noted early 19th century. Mine garnered an NBTHK Green Paper in New York something like 40 years ago. If I remember correctly the attribution at that time was "late 17th century". My memory may be uncertain. Under the gilt plate on the tsuba front is a seppa dai of stylised clouds as per the back side. Bestests, BaZZa.

Horse armour???? Bestests, BaZZa.

Chinese seal characters??? This tsuba looks very much like my Namban tsuba I have posted here before, although only the pierced and beaded rim is similar, with mine having a completely different theme and it has gold nunome zogan over the entire surface. Bernard, never mind the "not highly regarded" comments - FWIW I think this is a very good and lovely tsuba. BTW, I presume your pics are colour, although they have the "look" of high quality B&W???? Best regards,BaZZa. Edit: and it looks like Tanaka style copper "fillers" (you know what I mean!) have fallen out...

LOL is right!!! Chris' comment had me in stitches as a general life saying summing up places I've been and bastards I've met. The following few posts had me loudly guffawing as well. And Stephen's comment "what were we OPing about?" nearly threw me over the edge. I love this Board - the wonderful experts of all persuasions, the (mostly) unstinting sharing of knowledge, the camaraderie, the humour - and the succinct expression of it (the cartoons in this thread have been priceless!). I read far, far more than I contribute because I come at the lower end of the knowledge and competence scale, but I soak up the knowledge proffered and absorb it like a sponge. Here in my Oz mountain retreat I don't get around so much or see such a lot of swords, but there are good people within a reasonable driving distance with nice swords - and they are lovely people and such good company that life in swords is by and large a great joy in this Nihonto backwater. I've even met some of them through NMB. Thank you all for an engaging and challenging thread - and all the others. Bestests, BaZZa.

Jacque has kindly posted the Fujishiro oshigata of the OP's query. I recently had the opportunity to give an opinion on just such a sword. At first I thought it had to be a gimei because I had never (or hardly ever) seen such a mei that looked as if it had been cut with a 6 inch nail and a 2 pound hammer on "the morning after"... Then a f reind brought to my attention the Fujishiro oshigata and it all fell into place. The OP's sword looks genuine to me. I've included my description below and attached the two photos of the nakago that clearly shows a similarity to the OP's sword. Bestests, BaZZa. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Japanese sword - EFU -no-TACHI style: Blade length 64.3cm, straight temper line with a “swell” near tip & at midpoint, original polish shows tightly forged grain, full-length wide groove both sides (slight stain spots, numerous small chips to edge); tang 16.5cm, good brown colour with “hawk feather” file marks, boldly inscribed MUTSU KAMI FUJIWARA (陸奥守藤原)and continued on other side KANENOBU (兼信). The signature purports to be the ca 1655 first generation Mino KANENOBU and though the temper is not his usual style the signature itself is in close agreement to a reference example; scabbard, handle, guard and fitments of the EFU-no-TACHI style ca 1850 - 2 hangers on a nashiji gold-lacquered scabbard with kirimon crests (cracking along seams), shitogi (“rice cake”) guard, & unbound rayskin handle with traditional “rice bale” tacks & “hair tweezer” menuki. -----------------------------------------------------------------

The hair on Shingen's kabuto was Yak hair, not horse hair. http://www.yoroi.co.jp/english/english/s013.html http://thirtyforty.zenfolio.com/p739910 ... #h30f45763 "Takeda Shingen was one of the heroic warlords in the 16th century. The special feature of this float is the white hair flowing from the war helmet. It is hair from the Himalayan Yak that is very difficult to obtain." Best regards, BaZZa.

TSUKARE UTSURI - seen in tired and over-polished blades. Rick, look down on the mune and see how narrow the blade is at the machi compared to a little further back on the nakago. Simply put the two words in to google - here is a sample: http://www.buildingthepride.com/faculty ... ri_Ted.htm Bestests, BaZZa.

They're not a true pair?? One has kinsabi, the other doesn't??? BaZZa.

They're both female, one should be male???? BaZZa.

Some members may be interested in this article "The Secret Japanese Art of Kintsugi Brings Beauty to Breakage" http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/se ... 76B08ABABE Regards, BaZZa.

I would have almost been in Brian's camp, which just savagely underscores how difficult it is for a raw gaijin to understand the heart of samurai in those faraway times as expressed firstly in the illustrated tsuba and secondly in the NBTHK explanation. Sheer poetry of expression... And the reason I replied - David, in your unpapered Katchushi tsuba pictured, are we not looking at the reverse??? Best regards, Barry Thomas (aka BaZZa.)