SCRIBBLING ON SHINOGI-Ji (togishi)

[gumanthon]

Hi, I have seen DVD's / footage of a togishi and in the final stages they appear to use some sort of pen / burnishing tool on the shinogi-ji covering it in what looks like some type of black ink. Can anyone shed any light on what they are doing or using at this stage. Regards John.

[Mike]

Hi, AFAIK the burnishing stage involve powdered horn paste which is being used to clean the shinogi ji, and then it is dried using ibota powder. At this stage the togi-shi starts burnishing using his burnishing tools. I hope it gives you some help.

Mike

[Ted Tenold]

To elaborate on Mike's correct answer; this stage is called "migaki" or burnishing. It is performed with a variety of hardened steel or tungsten rods and knife shaped tools in a process that compresses the sword's surface to make it mirrored, and contrasted to the other parts of the sword. The ibota is a wax-like substance that provides a lubricant to prevent the tools from gouging the surface of the blade. Like everything else, migaki can be done either skillfully, or abhorridly. Once completed, the areas should not only be clear and mirrored, but a good job also will allow the hada of the blade in those regions to be seen which can be a vital part of identifying the sword's origins and age. Polishers will often times install lines under the habaki where the burnish terminates, and at the kissaki on the mune. These are called "migaki nagashi" and are a decorative mark of the polisher. Their patterns and numbers vary, but are nearly always an odd number placed on each surface. Many swords do not have them at all.

[gumanthon]

Hi, Thank you for your explanation it is very interesting. With Regards John.

[kusunokimasahige]

Is there any guide to the stripes?

 

like barcodes have several explanations has anyone ever made an attempt to list these marks?

 

KM

[Ted Tenold]

I've heard several explainations including preference of school, polisher, time period, etc.. Certain polishers do have a style they prefer. I've also heard that some polishers vary it periodically to identify when it was polished.

 

Bottom line (no pun intended) is that it varies according to the polisher.

[Brian Pedersen]

Just a quick reply..

 

As Mr Arnold indeed said, those lines are called nagashi and are basically the signature of the polisher.

However it is also a good way to see if the sword was polished by a Hon'ami or a Fujishiro polisher...a Hon'ami polisher will normally "sign" the sword using an odd number like "7, 9, 11,13"

and so on, whereas Fujishiro will normally use an even number like "4,6,8,10" and so on

 

Of cause you will find swords that are exceptions to that rule..but if you have a sword that has an odd number of lines, chances are that it was indeed polished by a Hon'ami taught polisher.

[John A Stuart]

Maybe you can tell me what school Kokan Nagayama was trained in. John

[Brian Pedersen]

Sure, he was trained in the Hon'ami school.

[John A Stuart]

Ah, that makes sense. I have seen Mishina Kenji,his student, in company with Hon'ami sama and his students. John