Latest Addition To My Collection

[hddennis]

Today the mail lady brought my latest purchase I'm just giddy about it and felt I had to share it. Back in 1985 my wife came home from her parents and handed me this wakizashi and said her dad brought it down from 40 years of storage in the attic and said give it to me and if I don't want it to throw it away! Needless to say it started a fire and today our house is filled to the brim with Japanese antiques. Her father was an amphibious tank driver with the 1st Marines and in the first wave ashore on the Okinawa invasion and that's where this sword came from. I had it polished by the late John Browstowitz and I bought a replica sword to untie and teach myself to rewrap the tsuka. The blade and possibly the mounts too are circa 1680 by Fujiwara Sadayuki of the Bungo Takada school. I've always loved the tsuba which I'm told is signed Shoami Kanenori. Imagine my surprise to find this latest tsuba on eBay from a seller in China for what I though was a steal of a buy-it-now price. I'm so glad to put these two together in my collection.

 

Would appreciate thoughts on what the mei says and how close they might be in age or any other comments welcomed.

 

Howard Dennis