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Thank you very much @reinhard I think I saw in this very forum that the shortening of naginata during the Edo period was partially due to the regulation of the rights to carry weapons of more than 3 shaku (which was reserved for military officials). Did I understand this correctly ? Or is it also because as time went by, naginata jutsu became more of a feminine jutsu ? Or that it was allowed to carry a ko-wakizashi even if not a part of the bushi ? Maybe a bit of all these reasons ? Also, I saw a really interesting vid online about a Japanese sword specialist who distinguished between a naginata naoshi and a nagamaki naoshi. Is there a way of making a clear distinction or is it with great experience and knowledge that you can achieve this ? As you said, I will take this attribution with a grain of salt. I don't even know who wrote this and if they ever were familiar with nihonto. As to when the original naginata blade was made, I might be really wrong (pls tell me if I am haha), but I think read somewhere that depending on the kasane, it could be determined whether the naginata was intended to be wielded by a man (which would hint an earlier forging) or if it was meant for a woman (smaller kasane, smaller overall weight). As I said, will post the nakago pictures when I take them, but it might be a while from now.

Thnaks for your answer @Rivkin, I know that attribution is almost impossible given only two pics without the nakago. I'll take this attribution with great care, and probably discard it until further observation I'll send you the pics of the nakago when I have it ! Also, forgot to mention that all of the blade's surface is oxydized and we can't see hada, jigane or hamon. I can share more close ups pics of the blade tho, if it helps. The wakizashi is fully mounted (only kashira is missing), with a aogai nashiji saya and three copper alloy (probably) semegane, kurigata and kozuka bitsu. So, it can't be a nagamaki,maybe a nagamaki-naoshi tho ? Thank you @Brian for your suggestion ! It's my fault for not posting full pic. Here are some more pics

Great thanks for these historical insights @Mushin, it's fascinating !

@ROKUJURO I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I know it is not a naginata. I asked about naginata, because I think this wakizashi is a naginata naoshi Thanks for your reply and clarification !

Hello, For a bit of context, I'm studying a naginata naoshi wakizashi. On the description of the wakizashi written in 1981, we can read : "kanmuri otoshi shape, unsigned, one mekugi-ana, 16th century. Iron guard with a character and a horse. Nagato ? " That's why I would want to know more about Nagato-Sa. Was previously owned by a french anthropologist. I was wondering about the Nagato-Sa school features as I have trouble finding any good online ressource on it. I was mainly wondering two things : - do the nagato-sa smiths also forged naginata ? I saw they mainly forged tanto - were they still active in the 16th century ? I saw some smiths related to nagato-sa school working in the 16th century but I'm unsure about this source. Considering this one is probably a naginata naoshi, would it be possible for the blade to be older ? I'm quite unsure about the datation affiliated to this wakizashi. I found this genealogy online following this URL : https://www.sho-shin.com/sanyo24.htm You'll find two pics of the blade, omote and ura. I'm curious about your thoughts on it ! Motokasane : 4.5 mm Motohaba : 2.6 cm Sori : 8 mm At its thinest, kasane is between 0.5 and 1 cm. Mihaba at its largest in the second part of the blade, just before kissaki is also 2.6 cm

Thank your for the answer ! Unfortunately, as I said, I can't share pictures of the entire object because of confidentiality clauses. The object belongs to a museum so I'm not allowed to share pictures on a forum. It also frustrates me, I'm sorry I can't share more of this interesting object... I tried my best to describe it. I'm not asking for restoration tips as I am myself on the process of becoming a professional restorer. I know however that Japanese sword restoration is closer to replacement than restoration if what I found with my researches is right. Usually, past a certain degree of degradation, the tsuka is rewrapped or replaced, isn't it ? The thing is that, as the object is in the museum I can't just rewrap the thing because there are very specific laws on what can / should be done on an object from a public collection. I would however be curious as to what would be done traditionally with an object like this. I can give more details about the state of conservation, I'll search for the english terms and come back here to explain more. I actually wanted your view on the sword as I described it : Do you think that it can be a 16th century blade as it had been told ? Does the wrapping seem normal to you or is it maybe quite specific (never saw any wrapping vids with several threads of silk, usually it's just 2 larger silk cordons) ? Is it common to varnish or lacquer the ito after it's wrapped ? Is it possible to shorten a scabbard to adapt it to another blade ? If yes, is adding rings of copper around the end of the scabbard common ? For what other reasons could it be done ? Also had questions on how to differentiate basic old iron with shakudo ? Or other Japanese metallic alloy ? Also a big interrogation on the kojiri which seems a bit unusual. It's a very large plain one. Documentation from the museum says it's in iron. This shape isn't recorded in Markus Sesko encyclopedia, so I don't know what to think of it. Actually saw Ford Hallam restoring a similar shaped one (in carved shakudo) in one of his yt vids but he himself seemed to be surprised by the shape and I'm not sure he said what type of kojiri this was. I would say it's about 8 cms long but I'll check tmrw and come back to give more precisions. I'll share a picture of it : The tsuba is the exact same one as the one in the link I gave, just in a different state of conservation. The scabbard is lacquered with incrustation of mother-of-pearl powder.

Hello everyone ! I've been visiting this community once in a while as I'm passionate about Japanese swords and everything surrounding them. Posting right now because I'm currently working on the restoration of a Japanese sword conserved in a French museum (therefore part of the national heritage) for my master's degree in restoration of heritage. I'm in urgent need of some interlocutors from all over the world to discuss the different ways of exhibiting, caring for Japanese swords, getting informations and documentation on them, etc. If possible, I would love to talk with people working in the museal field, some experts on Japanese sword, some collectors, or people from auction sales. Otherwise, I'd love hearing your suggestions about whom I could contact for further exchanges. I'm also looking for a Japanese interlocutor who would be interested in talking with me regarding the different processes of restoration and making of Japanese sword. As I'm working with a national museum, I cannot share any photographs here, but I could do it later when talking with people in some conditions If you know someone who could be interested, or if you are interested, pls feel free to answer this message ! Little presentation of the object because I'm curious about your thoughts. Just want to precise that, unless said otherwise, all of the informations here come from my personal researches, so may be wrong (plz tell me if it is !). Also, I can't dismantle the sword without the approval of the museum, on the process of asking Wakizashi. Entered the museum, in France, in 1907 following the death of a french anthropologist who gave his collection to the museum. This anthropologist was specialized in pre colombian heritage, and most probably never went in Japan. He might have bought the sword to a fellow anthropologist or a collector. Iron (?) nademaru-gata tsuba with a kozuka hitsu ana. Marubori decoration representing a saddled horse with a faceless person and some bales of cereals. My hypothesis is that some parts of the person were inlaid with shakudo or other Japanese alloy which were lost or stolen (?) because the face, the hands, and bottom of the legs are missing. Also thought about hikone bori decorative style being more accurate than marubori becaus eof the inlays. Some really small remnants of golden layer on the surface. Can't check around the nakago ana because I can't dismantle it yet. Though, I actually found an identical tsuba being sold in a parisian gallery, here is the link : https://www.proantic...eriod-1808-1912.html I'm not sure they are right about the Meiji datation though. I tried looking for any craftsmen school it could be related to, and my best hypothesis would be Soten school, which would be more likely made in the end of the Edo period. THe only difference is that in my case the lower part of the leg is missing. The habaki, seppa, and rings on the scabbard seem to be made of copper but seem really shiny compared to the rest. I would say they are more recent than the other elements. Habaki in two parts, hatched diagonally on mune and ha side and under the other part too. All of the elements two parts of the habaki + seppa + tsuba + seppa + fuchi are now a bit movable. About the blade, it is a shobu-zukuri (no yokote) about 47 cms long (couldn't remove the habaki to make a very precise measurement). Dated by the museum to 16th century, but I don't know who said this; even though I think it could be right based on my researches. I tried measuring the sori, which is about 8 mms with its largest point situated around the middle of the blade, maybe closer to the tip from one or two centimeters. Mune of the blade thicker at the base (4,5 mm just after the habaki) going thinner to 1 mm wide at 12,9 cms and thinner until 0,5 mm to 26,8 cms from the habaki. It remains at 0,5 until the tip where it goes wider to 1 cms. Shinogi line is at 8 to 12 mms from the mune of the blade. For the tsuka, it's a basic one with two stripes of same for each side of the tsuka. I don't see any specific nodule pattern in the ray skin though I feel like the quality is better on the omote side (more regular and round grain). Two metallic menuki with floral design (unsure wether it is ume or sakura) and golden surface and a pin. Kashira missing. Ito wrapping in green silk covered with some varnish or lacquer (?), so now gives off more a dark grey appearance. Wrapping close to tsumami-maki but still unsure about it as it seems that there is not just 2 silk cords but rather plenty of twisted threads of silk, alternating between S twist and Z twist, giving off the impression of a braiding pattern. I'll include a detail photograph of this here. Thank you so much in advance for your opinions on this !