Dutch iron?

[Tavroch]

Okay Brian. You're right of course. I got carried away a bit, sorry.

 

@ Carlo: um... I'm afraid the first link was changed after you posted it.

But that's a nice tsuba indeed, and that's the kind of things I was talking about when I said:

"but I'd still be interested in pictures of extant blades made of Namban Tetsu".

So thank you. Keep em coming.

 

And thank you for the effort, Ian.

If anyone stumbles upon the pictures Ian was referring to: please do post them.

And here I mean the ones from the ToKen Exhibition catalogue,

not the ones from the Arms and Armour Journal. Unless you first got permission to post them of course.

The Aiguchi might not be what you can call a real Nihonto; I'd still be very interested.

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

You have one here

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

I'm afraid the first link was changed after you posted it.

 

My fault.

In that site search and click on "(Echizen) Yasustugu" under the Shinto section in the left

scrolling column.

[Tavroch]

Carlo,

I was just about to tell you I found the Yasutsugu on that site.

So I wasn't halucinating; the original link was to that blade a moment or two?

Thank you anyway.

 

And thank you Jacques;

that's another one to bring to the attention of the NT-project people.

 

To recap: I'm aware of five blades made using Namban Tetsu so far, all of them by Yasutsugu.

- The one from Mr. Jinsoo Kim's site.

- The one at Nihonto Antiques Carlo mentioned.

- The one Jacques just mentioned, on the Ginza Choshuya site.

- A Yari and a Katana by Yasutsugu available to the NT-project in The Netherlands.

 

Counting the Aiguchi Ian mentioned we're at six,

but I think we should leave that one out for reasons already discussed.

B.t.w. Ian: do you happen to know who the smith was that made the Aiguchi?

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

To recap: I'm aware of five blades made using Namban Tetsu so far, all of them by Yasutsugu.

 

For fun, i checked the Fujishiro Shinto hen. Below, some Swordsmiths known for using nanban tetsu:

 

 

 

IPPÔ SASAKI SHODAI [KAN'EI 1624 ÔMI]

 

KANENORI CHIKUGO NO KAMI [KANBUN 1661]

 

KANESAKI SHIMOSAKA [KEICHÔ 1596 ECHIZEN]

 

KANEHIRO TÔTÔMI NO KAMI [KYÔHÔ 1716 HIZEN]

 

TSUGUHIRA ÔMI NO KAMI SHODAI [JÔKYÔ 1684 MUSASHI]

 

MUNESHIGE HITACHI NO KAMI [KANBUN 1661 SETTSU]

 

KUNIKIYO YAMASHIRO NO KAMI SHODAI [KAN'EI 1624 ECHIZEN]

 

YASUKUNI MUSASHI TARÔ SHODAI [GENROKU 1688 MUSASHI]

 

YASUTSUGU SHODAI [KEICHÔ 1596 MUSASHI]

 

YASUTSUGU NIDAI [KAN'EI 1624 MUSASHI]

 

YASUTSUGU SANDAI [KANBUN 1661 MUSASHI]

 

YASUTSUGU EDO YONDAI [JÔKYÔ 1684 MUSASHI]

 

KIYONOBE BITCHÛ NO KAMI [ENPÔ 1673 MINO]

 

SHIGEKANE NOBUKUNI [KYÔHÔ 1716 CHIKUZEN]

 

SHIGETAKA HARIMA NO DAIJÔ NIDAI [KANBUN 1661 ECHIZEN]

 

HISAMICHI KINSHIRÔ [sHÔTOKU 1711 YAMASHIRO]

 

As well:

 

ECHIZEN NO KAMI FUJIWARA KUNITSUGU [HORIKAWA SCHOOL]

[IanB]

Sorry Rob but the Japanese smith didn't sign his work. It is rather a narrow tang anyway.

Ian

[Jeff Pringle]

Before acceding to it being completely off-topic, I’d like to point out that the Telegu word that was later Anglicized to ‘wootz’ just meant generic ‘steel’; 'wootz = a particular type of ultra-high carbon steel' is a modern convention.

…And one of Yasutsugu’s Nanban-tetsu swords recently was on the block in NY:

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_ ... ID=5047257

SALE 1978, 18 March 2008

Japanese & KOREAN ART

LOT 380

A Yasutsugu Katana in Mounts and a Yasunaga Katana in Mounts

Edo period (17th century), the first signed Yasutsugu motte Nanban tetsu oite Bushu Edo saku kore and with chrysanthemum crest, the second signed Kawachi no kami Minamoto Yasunaga

The first:

Sugata [configuration]: naginata-zukuri

Kitae [forging pattern]: ko-itame mixed with mokume in ji-nie

Hamon [tempering pattern]: gunome-midare in nie with ko-ashi, chikei, ara-nie and uchinoke

Boshi [tip]: midare-komi

Horimono [carving]: Buddhist ken on the omote; naginata-hi on the ura

Nakago [tang]: ubu with o-sujikai file marks and one hole

Nagasa [length from tip to beginning of tang]: 27 7/8in. (71cm.)

Motohaba [width at start of tempered edge]: 1 3/8in. (3.4cm.)

Sakihaba [width before tip]: 1¼in. (2.7cm.)

Habaki [collar]: single, gold

In shirasaya [wood storage scabbard]

 

Koshirae [set of mounts]: comprising a red, black and grey-lacquer saya finished on the surface with cloud patterns, the saya hardware including kojiri, seme-gane, kuri-gata all iron with shakudo and gold dragons in clouds, the tsuka wrapper with blue silk and mounted with iron fuchi-gashira carved with a wood pattern and decorated with shogi game pieces in gold hira-zogan, the menuki gold dragons, the iron mokko tsuba with a heavy raised rim decorated with clouds and waves in gold nunome and carved on the web with clouds in shishiai-bori, signed Toryu Masahisa koku and kao