Looking for insight on traditionally made katana with gunto fittings

[Hardy]

I recently inherited what I believe to be a traditionally made katana, though it has gunto fittings. These fittings seem to be of a higher quality than other antique gunto I've examined, but I'm no expert.

 

The story I received regarding this katana is that a Japanese flag officer surrendered it to a Chinese general who was a friend of my great grandfather, and regular guest at his Texas ranch.

 

Both of these men died before I was born, and I have nothing except hearsay stories from other relatives, a couple photos of the Chinese general, and some guestbook entries at my family's ranch.   

 

As I understand it, the mei reads, "Noshu ju Kojima Kanenori saku" (a big thanks to Juyo for assisting with that).

 

 

I would appreciate any information you can share about this sword and the smith who made it.

 

I've attached some photos of the sword in question.

[Ray Singer]

Is there a stamp on the nakago above the mei (signature)?

 

Best regards,

Ray

[Hardy]

Is there a stamp on the nakago above the mei (signature)?

 

Best regards,

Ray

There are no stamps on the nagako, and the mei looks to be hand cut to my eyes.

[Stephen]

Juyo is his post rank long time member

Rays his name.

 

Please sign your name per board rules.

 

Mho its war time blade that looks oil quenched. A showa to.

[Hardy]

@Stephen

Would you mind explaining how you came to that conclusion? I'd like to understand why it's not a traditional nihonto blade. It doesn't have any markings suggesting it was mass produced. The mei is hand chiseled, and the smith is a recognized one with other blades of his sold inside Japan in recent years.

[Stephen]

Mainly the hamon. Kojima Kanenori is on page 56 of Slough s book. He is raited 1 million yen. He made both gendaito and showato.

Maybe better pix of hamon n hada will change my mind.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Yes, a classic non traditional blade but of better quality than most. The tell tale sign are in the Hamon, dark points at the tips of the peaks. The fittings are indicative of late 1930's and are of good quality. The provenance is interesting but without any further information it is hard to tell what rank officer owned this as only the tassel or an inscription on the nakago notify rank.

[lonely panet]

either "shoshin-mei" or Makirishi-mei they will all be what you call "hand chiselled" so that's not a point to rely on in IJM sword area.

 

going though sloughs book and comparing mei, yours appears to the first of the 2. but this smith is reported to make low to med showato and medium to high gendai.

 

also he was a RJT smith, but your sword isn't dated so if its early 40's or late 30s it may have not legally required a stamp identifying it to be a showato or gendai-to.

 

the hamon IMHO is classic oil temper showato, but don't take my word on it.  there are plenty of other members here who just collect IJA smiths and swords.

 

edit-2 more posts before I finished so that will help you

[Stephen]

 

KANENORI (兼則), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Nōshū Seki-jū Kanenori kore o saku” (濃州関住兼則作之), “Kanenori” (兼則), real name Kojima Tarō (小島太郎), born in May 1907, rikugun-jumei-tōshō, younger brother of Kanemichi (兼道), he studied under his brother and under his brother’s master Watanabe Kanenaga (渡辺兼永), he lived in the Kani district (可児郡) of Gifu Prefecture, he was trained at Kaneyoshi´s (兼吉) Tōken Tanren Jo (刀剣鍛錬所), jōko no jōi (Akihide), First Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941) 

[Hardy]

It's hard to photograph well, the polish isn't great, and there is some dried on oil/wax/lacquer. In good light there doesn't seem to be any dark peaks. it's just frosty white and silver. I'm not getting great photographs with my phone. I'd appreciate any tips on how to better setup a shot.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Sunlight or a LED lamp produces clear results.

[Stephen]

And remove the film with alcohol or other cleaner like ooops. Be sure to remove all fingerprints...they will turn to rust

[16k]

From the first pictures, I’d say it has the telltale signs of an oil tempered blade, but it might just be the lighting.

[Dave R]

 Practically speaking there is nothing wrong with an oil tempered blade, or even one made with a modern (for that time) factory steel. I would really like to read a contemporary WW2 military man's opinion on the relative merits of traditional v's modern steel.

 I do know that one smith's production was almost entirely spring tempered high carbon steel, and they were popular with Imperial Guard officers, who certainly had a choice. 

 It depends on what you wanted I suppose, and art object or a weapon.

[hxv]

It also looks oil-quenched to me. One thing that puzzles me about Kojima Kanenori. I realize that he is listed in Slough as making both gendaito and showato. However, I have yet to see a gendaito by Kanenori in gunto mounts. All of the blades signed Kojima Kanenori in gunto mounts that I have seen were all showato.

 

Many thanks,

Hoanh

[Hardy]

After cleaning the blade, the hamon is easier to see, and in sunlight there seems to be an almost ephemeral frosty white transition between the deeper white of the pattern, and the silvery metal surrounding it.

[16k]

It’s hard to really be sure with these pictures as close ups would be necessary, but I still think it’s oil tempered.

[Stephen]

Bad juju to lay the sword on the ground. Concrete being the worst.

The photos really dont help, the hamon looks better, at least the fingerprints

are gone. Id just put a light coat of oil and save it till hada photos can be had or that you can make a show so it can be seen in hand.

[lonely panet]

i once had a kojima kanemichi showato with the sho stamp hiden under the habaki. you could check there to rule that out.

 

still imho oily

[Hardy]

I've attached some more photos of the blade without the habaki.

[Ray Singer]

Again, please don't lay your bare blade down on hard, abrasive surfaces which will cause scratches.

 

Please see comment #18 above from Stephen.

[vajo]

Hardy your pictures make me really sad. Why you treat your sword in that way?

[lonely panet]

Hardy you have just commited one of the seven deadly sins of nihonto.  every one reading is happy to help.

 

placing a blade or mounts onto the ground, cement or pavers will annoy many, its considered disrespectful. its not your fault that you didnt know but out of respect please place your blade on a towel to prevent damage

 

to the photos, showato with out stamps isn't  uncommon, and if your study the last 3 photos you your will see the tell-tail signs of a oil quenched showat-to. the darker tips of the hamon are the stand out clue.

 

also not the mis-alined Ha-machi and mune-machi (in the last photo). For a sword that's most likely in its first polish(and ubu) still, that is also a good clue of a mass produced wartime showato.

 

if your keen to keep it, I have heard of people who just polish showato, maybe a fellow member could give you there details in private

[Dave R]

 Am I the only person to notice and comment on there being two mekugi, not fantastically rare, but certainly not common. Usually a sign that the original owner was interested in swordsmanship, rather than just carrying one as a sign of rank.

 

 Usually seen on  Rinji Seishiki rather than 98's.

[SAS]

Dark spots in and along the hamon is also a trait of Shinshinto swords according to Nagayama.

[Hardy]

Hardy you have just commited one of the seven deadly sins of nihonto.  every one reading is happy to help.

 

placing a blade or mounts onto the ground, cement or pavers will annoy many, its considered disrespectful. its not your fault that you didnt know but out of respect please place your blade on a towel to prevent damage

 

to the photos, showato with out stamps isn't  uncommon, and if your study the last 3 photos you your will see the tell-tail signs of a oil quenched showat-to. the darker tips of the hamon are the stand out clue.

 

also not the mis-alined Ha-machi and mune-machi (in the last photo). For a sword that's most likely in its first polish(and ubu) still, that is also a good clue of a mass produced wartime showato.

 

if your keen to keep it, I have heard of people who just polish showato, maybe a fellow member could give you there details in private

The ha-machi/mune-machi are aligned. I think what you are seeing in that last photo is an optical illusion caused by the presence of the squared image borders and the blade being at a slightly canted angle. It's pretty clear in the other photos that the notches are parallel to each other IMO.

[Hardy]

As to the proposed dark spots in the hamon, I don't see anything like darker spots when I look directly at the hamon with my naked eyes (and I've been deliberately looking for telltale darker areas). I've tried photographing the blade in sunlight (as recommended above), and have gotten mixed results with errant reflection and brightness. Clearly your collective eyes are seeing something I am not in these photos.

 

I included the first oil-quenched example photo I could find on this site, and then I tried to reproduce a comparable angle (while holding the sword in one hand and trying to manage my phone with the other). My photos still don't quite match what is visible to the naked eye, but they don't seem to resemble the example photo either. 

[vajo]

Looks like a classical seki-saw showa-to to me. Your sword has a nice shape.

[Hardy]

Looks like a classical seki-saw showa-to to me. Your sword has a nice shape.

Would you mind explaining how you came to that conclusion?

[vajo]

 

left gendai-to   right showa-to

 

You see right the black line over the hamon. Its the same on your. I comes from hardning in oil. There is no activity on the hamon and the hada is very homogene.

 

If you look left you see the typical activity of water hardning. Nie / nioi and chickei. And you see the hada.

 

Your hamon is a textbook of seki school.

 

But as Stephen wrote make pictures in a bright light to bring out details of hamon and hada. To see more.