If these 2 are gendaito, then I'm Miyamoto Musashi!

[Guest Simon Rowson]

First, check out auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-WW2-SUPER- ... dZViewItem

 

 

The seller says :

THIS SWORD ACTUALLY CAME FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTION WHERE IT HAS RESIDED FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS, JUST BEING REPLACED WITH AN UPGRADE, IT TOOK FIVE YEARS TO FIND A NICER EXAMPLE. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL HANDMADE SWORD WITH A BEAUTIFUL WILD STRONG HAMON. THE BLADE IS IN MINT CONDITION AND IS RAZOR SHARP. THE BLADE IS SIGNED AND IS EITHER GENDAITO THE SWORD IS MOUNTED IN HIGH QUALITY MILITARY MOUNTS WITH A PIERCED TSUBA AND A FIELD GRADE TASSEL. THE SWORD WAS SURRENDERED IN 1945 IN THE PHILLIPINES AND WAS A VET BROUGHT BACK ITEM. ABSOLUTEY A WODERFUL EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE ICONS OF THE PACIFIC WAR.THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL SWORD WITH A MINT METAL SCABBARD. THIS IS A FANTASTIC PACIFIC WAR ITEM AND ONE OF THE FLASHIEST SWORDS THAT WE HAVE EVER HAD. IF YOU CAN ONLY HAVE BUT ONE SWORD IN YOUR COLLECTION THIS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL ONE TO OWN.

 

So, the blade is "either gendaito"......or what?

Well, it sure aint no gendaito because it's got a nice big "Sho" stamp and an oil-tempered sanbon-sugi hamon to prove it.

 

It's got a "field grade tassel", eh? I think this dealer needs an eye-test for colour-blindness.

A field grade tassel is orange-red and brown - this gunto has the lower ranking blue and brown company grade.

 

It's a nice enough piece of WWII militaria but, if it took him 5 years to upgrade on this, then I wouldn't hold my breath to see the rest of his "personal collection"!

 

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Next up, we have another "gendaito" from candelaria2007:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1940-Japanese-Sword ... dZViewItem

 

Another "Sho" stamp and typical Seki mei on a gendaito? ......nice try but no cigar.

 

As to three mekugi ana on a Showa blade, that absolutely screams "RE-HILTED!!" (as does the missing metal retaining-clip in the fuchi when the saya is a leather-covered wooden type that uses a press-fastener to secure the blade)

I think the first mekugi ana is the original as it's rusty whilst the lower two, being gleaming bright and shiney, are where someone took a couple of attempts with a drill to fit the replacement tsuka.

[Stephen]

think blue and brown is field grade ...i always called it that...alot also call showato gendaito just because its made in gendai times.

[Brian]

Agreed,

It is only a widely accepted practice among (Western) collectors to call traditionally made swords Gendaito, but it is not an official term as I understand it.

There is no mention of handmade blade or hada or hataraki, so anytime you see this, expect something less until proven differently.

I would't be too hard on the sellers, and let's not spend our waking moments looking for faults in listings unless there is deliberate deception or fraud. Good point though that you shouldn't see the word Gendaito and assume anything until you have asked further questions and seen more pics.

 

Brian

[Guest Simon Rowson]

Hi Stephen and Brian,

 

I agree with both your points and, contrary to how it might appear, I'm not scanning eBay for people to criticise. This is the first time I've looked at it in several months - I normally can't be bothered trawling through all the Chinese trash. Ironically, it was Stephen's Emura listing that made me log on this afternoon.

 

Regarding the terms used for stamped gunto blades, I find that dealers tend to use "Gendaito" (possibly in the modern sense) when they're selling one and "Showato" when they're buying one (then it miraculously becomes a "Gendaito" when they sell it on).

 

I think most modern collectors, both in the East and West, accept that the term "Gendaito" means a traditionally made blade rather than machine -made and any established dealer will know that when they describe the blade. Therefore, any use of "Gendaito" to describe a stamped arsenal blade is misleading and, if deliberate, is possibly designed to deceive the novice collector.

[Brian]

Simon, agree with you 100%.

But until Gendaito and Showato become fixed, finite and defined terms (which will never happen) then I guess we will never see the issue resolved. So for now, it makes life easier, but can't be relied upon. Convention isn't law unfortunately

 

Brian