Update: Translation Service Discontinued
I put that decision off for a while now, but in order to focus on my work with the Met, which is going into its third year now, and first of all, in order to finish so long overdue legacy projects...
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Oddities/rarities in datings
In my previous update on the discontinuation of my translation/research service, I announced that the articles engine here will restart soon. That is, shortly, I will begin with a series titled...
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“Mysterious” Art Name
The Tsuchiya School artist Takechika (武親, 1827-1887) is known for having used a fair number of art names (gō, 号). From various sources, I was able to confirm at least the following 15, not counting...
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Chūmon-mei: An example with interesting historic context
Well, this will be another dry and rather history-heavy post, and comes with a few open questions. So, if you are more into blade characteristics and backgrounds on schools and smiths, you might want...
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Another mysterious placeholder…
This is a brief “follow-up” on the article I posted earlier in September here. Looking for something completely different, as always, I came across another example of a strange “placeholder” character...
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Hasegawa Katsuaki (長谷川克明)
This will be another microhistory-style article, focusing on the life of one of the last Owari-based tsuba makers, Hasegawa Katsuaki (長谷川克明). Portrait photograph of Hasegawa Katsuaki, holding a tsuba...
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HONMA’S QUESTIONS #1
In 1972 and 1973, Tōkyō Shuppan (東京出版) published a “couplet” of books, titled Kunzan Tōwa (薫山刀話, “Kunzan’s Sword Talk”) and Kanzan Tōwa (寒山刀話, “Kanzan’s Sword Talk”) respectively. The books contain a...
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The Kabutowari-Kanesada (甲割り兼㝎)
The Kabutowari-Kanesada (甲割り兼㝎), lit. “Helmet Splitter Kanesada,” is a work of the famous late fifteenth and early sixteenth century Seki smith Izumi no Kami Kanesada (No-Sada) (和泉守兼㝎), by whom dated...
View ArticleeBook New Year’s Super Sale
Happy New Year everyone! May the year of the tiger be good to us all. It is time for another eBook Super Sale that gives you 50% off. As usual, it works directly via me (i.e. I’m not going to manually...
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Ningen-Mukotsu (人間無骨)
This time I would like to talk about a peculiar nickname for a sword, Ningen-Mukotsu (人間無骨), which translates as “humans have no bones.” I have come across this topic recently twice, the first time...
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Why? Trying to connect the dots…
As some of you know, identifying obscure motifs and solving demanding inscription puzzles is one my fortes. Sometimes, however, you have to throw the towel, or put the issue on the back burner for a...
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Naotane’s odd aging habit
The famous shinshintō master Taikei Naotane (大慶直胤, 1778–1857) needs little introduction, but I would like to briefly recap his career before I come to the actual topic of this post. Born in Ansei...
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Forgotten Masters – Haruakira (治剣)
Sometimes you come across a wonderful work by an obscure maker who has either fallen through the cracks of historic swordsmith recording (such an unrecorded smith is referred to as meikan-more, 銘鑑漏れ),...
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Not your usual hataraki
This will be a brief post. Background: I came across a blade with interesting activities above the hamon. We all know that by the shintō era, swordsmiths became increasingly concerned with the...
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Oda-Samonji (織田左文字)
This time, I would like to introduce a meibutsu (名物, renowned sword with a nickname) that has been rehardened (saiha, 再刃), and that sword is the Oda-Samonji (織田左文字). The Kyōhō Meibutsu Chō (享保名物帳)...
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Reading another kozuka motif
Whilst I was looking for somthing else, I came across a note in my database that said: “43.120.151 – Check signature.” The background for this entry is one of the first projects I tackled after...
View ArticleeBook Black Friday/Christmas Sale
Originally, I had not planned to put a sale up this year, but I got several inquiries over the last few days. It makes me happy that my eBooks (and books of course) are still regarded as useful and so...
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Another mysterious placeholder…
This is a brief “follow-up” on the article I posted earlier in September here. Looking for something completely different, as always, I came across another example of a strange “placeholder” character...
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Honma’s Appraisal Diary
For the advanced Kantei participants, and for those who just love to read about all sorts of sword stuff, I am offering the first five years of Honma ‘Kunzan’ Junji’s Appraisal Diary (Kantō Hibi Shō),...
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Honma’s Appraisal Diary Volume 3
Continuing from the previous post, we have now reached Volume 3 of Honma Junji’s Appraisal Diary.Volume 3 covers the year 1974 and introduces in about 350 pages roughly 255 blades. Total for Volume 3...
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