No arms fairs currently, so buying gunto koshirae from the internet. Recently I bought and received what is supposedly a full set, but which I suspect is an assemblage of parts. The tsuba is nice, still has gilding and burnishing, but is partially covered in black paint. My question is, are there any circumstances where this would be legitimately allowed in the IJA, or is it more likely a post war attempt to make it look more traditional? I am happy enough with the lot, but would like to know more before I clean the paint off.
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