Bijouxneko

Piers, Thank you for the reply and for sharing this information with me. You mentioned that this type of muzzle is normally found on the small-bore guns between 2 and 3.5 Monme. I completely agree with that and that was another reason why I was drawn to this gun beause it doesnt quite fit the mold. This one is 7 Monme which I found odd. Even the certificate of regristration noted the large caliber size. Have you ever come across any others like this with a similar muzzle shape? I have also enclosed a picture of the signature (mei) and I was wondering if you might have better luck with it than me. I am sorry the picture is not the best, but it was the best I could do since there is a lot of corrosion present. It was a very difficult picture to take. Thanks again for the help. All the best, Justin

Piers, Hello, thanks again for the reply. Yes I can certainly appreciate the humidity level in Japan and how improper cleaning/ maintenance could quickly lead to rust getting out of control and corrosion to set in from the black powder. I am happy you like the muzzle design because it was what sold me on this particular weapon. Sakai produced a lot of nice weapons but this muzzle really hit the mark for me. I enclosed another picture of it for you. I wish I could decipher the entire signature to better pin point when this was made but the corrosion has made it illegible. "Sesshu Yamada" is all I can make out. Judging by the muzzle I am thinking it was made somewhere around mid Edo. Does that seem correct to you? Thanks again for the insight. All the best, Justin

Piers and Brian, Thank you both for the replies I really appreciate it. Yes there is indeed an extra hole close to the barrel which I found odd as well. It does appear that this converted matchlock saw heavy use. There is a lot of corrosion around the extra hole which I think lines up with what Piers said: You can even see in the photos how some of the barrel has eroded away near the extra hole due to frequent use. Without the barrel protector wedge (Ama-ooi Kusabi) it really took a beating. Even the inside of the barrel of the gun shows some evidence of serious use. I would like to know what you guys think of this as well. Please see the photo for what I am refering to. Thanks again for the replies and take care, Justin

Hello, I was wondering if this type of percussion cap conversion is abnormal or not? I have been following some of the discussions about percussion cap conversions but this one is different from the others. Most conversions that I have seen have a western style hammer but this one retains its traditional Japanese serpentine hammer. The serpentine hammer is also made of iron instead of brass which I think is a feature most commonly found on Sesshu matchlocks. There is a built up area on the flash pan (Hizara) for the cap to rest upon. The conversion basically just took off the pan cover (Hibuta) and the barrel protector wedge (Ama-ooi Kusabi). The original hole for the matchlock is still on the flash pan. The caliber is 7 monme and the barrel has a Sesshu Yamada.....signature but the corrosion has eaten most of it away and I can't read the rest. Thank you for the help and I look forward to hearing what members have to say. All the best, Justin

Morita-san, Hello, thank you very much for finally sorting this signature out for me! You are absolutely right. Now I will have to investigate which Norimitsu might have made this sword. Thanks again for your help and pointing me in the right direction. All the best, Justin

Colin and fwic2803, Thank you both for your comments and help with the old style kanji. fwic2803, your picture was most helpful so thanks for taking the time to post it for everyone. I have been doing some more reasearch and I still believe it may be fuyumitsu for some reason. I have seen only one signature by Fuyumitsu so I know it is not much to base a sound judgement on. I was wondering if anyone is familiar with the Wakasa, Fuyuhiro Den? This school had 3 Fuyumitsu's working there: 1. (1457-60) 2. (1532-?) 3. (1573-?) I have only seen the signature of the first Fuyumitsu which is similar to this one but not exactly so I am wondering if it might belong to the other 2? Does this Wakizashi look like in belongs to the Fuyuhiro Den? Thanks again for all of your help with this and please take care. Justin

Hello everyone, I have a Wakizashi which I believe bears the signature of "Fuyumitsu". I am curious if it is Gimei or not. The wakizashi has the following measurements: Whole: 30.1", blade: 20.5", sori: 0.5", motohaba: 1.2", motokasane: 0.9". I believe this is an early edo piece but I would appreciate any thoughts about the school and era of production. Sorry the pics are not great, but it was really hard to photograph the hamon and hada without the bright flash and orange coloured background lights. Thank you very much for taking the time to view this sword and I look forward to your comments. As always, I greatly appreciate your help. Take care everyone! Regards, Bijouxneko

Franco, Hello, thank you very much for your opinion regarding these Kozuka I greatly appreciate it. I am just curious how much do you think it would cost to have the shibuichi Kozuka restored to its original state? I am curious to hear what the overall value of the resotred Kozuka might be since I am not sure if it is worth me putting the money in or not. I really enjoy the piece so if you can suggest anyone who might be able to do the work then please let me know. Thanks again for your comments and please take care. All the best, Justin

Hi everyone, I have two Kozuka here which are a bit of a mystery to me. One is silver with gold iroe and the other is shakudo with silver inlay, gold iroe and gold backside. Any information would be most welcome. I would love to know the era of production and which school these might be attributed to. If anyone has ideas please feel free to share. Thanks again and I look forward to your comments.

Hi gang, I don't know how far a blade can be restored but I was wondering what you think about this sword? It is a very large o-tachi blade with a few condition broblems from what I can see. Unfortunately, it looks like it is very tired. There are some parts which are showing core steel. I am not sure of the exact age but I would guess it to be Edo. The blade length measures: 81.8 cm, with a sori of 2.4 cm with a motohaba thickness of 3.1cm. I really don't know if the damage showing in the pictures can be corrected or not. If not how much do they affect the overall value of the balde? Any comments you would like to make would be greatly appreciated. As always I am looking forward to hearing from you all! Thank again, Justin

Hello, I was ust wondering if there will be any big shows coming up in either the US or Canada? I would really like to try and make it to the next NTHK Shinsa as well. If anyone has any information please let me know. Thank you very much! All the best, Justin

Hello everyone, I recently acquired this kogatana by the Echizen smith Tamba (no) Kami Yoshifusa. According tot he Nihonto Meikan this smith worked around 1673. Yoshifusa was born in Fukui, which is located in Echizen Province. He first signed his name 義房. Later he changed it to 吉房. He worked around Enpo, circa 1673. I was just wondering if anyone else knows anything abut this smith? Please let me know and thanks for the info! Take care, Justin

Mark, Hello, thanks again for your comments. Yes, the little mark in the ha it just that. It is a very tiny little scratch at best. As for the lines you see in the ji; your eyes are not deceiving you. There is indeed chikei present in the jitetsu. I also have a little update for everyone abut this sword. I was talking with someone very knowledgeable and he believed it is an early Muromachi Mino Den, but still unsure of who might have forged it. Thanks again everyone for all of your help and please take care. All the best, Justin

Hello, Thank you all for the comments so far. Ok, as for the utsuri it is not visible in these pictures. I can only see it when I hold the blade into the light and straight away from me like when you try to see the temper line. I have to agree with some of the replies so far that the blade has not been acid etched. There is no smell and when you examine it in person it doesn't seem to be, although I could be wrong. The grain in the hada as well as the hamon is what initially made me think of the Bizen school. It has a curve of about 1.5cm or 0.6 inches. The polish does seem wrong but I have seen something similar in other traditionally polished blades which made me wonder. Anyway, thanks for the comments so far they are greatly appreciated and please keep the comments coming. Thanks everyone, Justin

Hi gang, Well, I was wondering if I could get some thoughts about this sword of mine. I believe it is mid Edo and possibly a Bizen blade due to the utsuri. It is Mumei, but has lost of activity. It is a Wakizashi with a blade length measuring about 53.5 cm. If anyone has any other ideas about this sword I would greatly appreciate their opinion. Thanks again and I am looking forward to hearing from you all. All the best, Justin

Hello, Thank you very much everyone for posting such thoughtful comments about the nakago. All of these suggestions seem to make sense. I always had doubts about the nakago but the quality of the blade seemed to be worth it. I was just wondering if this sword was forged recently or if it was a situation where a long time ago a fake mei was added which someone recently realized and then tried to cover it up? The idea of a WWII soldier modifying it is also possible. Either way, like Mark Green said it is a beautiful sword in my eyes and I will try to care for it for what it is. I am just still trying to determine exactly what "it is" because it seems that this swords has a few secrets or has certainly been through some alterations. My first thought was that it is a Bizen Osafune blade, but a few others have gone either earlier or much later, like shin shinto. Ohh the heartache of swords sometimes. I was just curious, would any of you bother trying to get this sword judged? Do you think it is worth it? Thanks again for you comments and all the best. Regards, Justin

Ted, Hello, thank you very much for the posting and sharing your thoughts. I was just wondering if you could elaborate a little more about the nakago. Some people have voiced concerns about this and I am left wondering if it has been created to deceive? The blade appears to be pretty good, but the main issues seem to stem from the nakago which makes things very difficult. I will take some pictures of the blade to try and show the hada as well as the utsuri so maybe this might bring some new ideas to you and others out there. Thanks again Ted for your reply and hopefully talk with you soon. All the best, Justin

Brian, Hello, thank you very much for your reply and information. Yes, you are probably right about it being only slightly suriage because I don't think the machi was moved at all. One question I did have for you was what you meant by "that patina stops awefully abruptly too....even if it were polished to there. Almost like the patina was done a bit later?" What patina are you talking about here? Thanks again Brian so based on what you said do you think it is just a typical Muromachi Bizen blade? All the best, Justin

Hello, I was wondering if anyone might want to offer their opinion on this sword I have. I have talked with some different people about it and I have received a large range of possibilities. The sword is suriage and the blade is 67.7 cm in length. Some have suggested, that it might be the work of Osafune Katsumitsu, Kiyomitsu or Sukesada. However, the hamon has elements of kataochi gunome which might attribute it to either Aoe, Motoshige or Unji. Is it possible this sword was forged in the Nanbokucho or Enbun era? If anyone wants to share their thoughts on this I would greatly appreciate it. All the best everyone! Please let me know if you require additional photos. Thanks everyone, Justin