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Tenbun period I believe the nagasa is 2 shaku 6 bu

Mino (no) kuni Jumyo

I picked up a new addition today. Mumei Echizen Seki Group NTHK papered Wakizashi. The paperwork is from September 2006, and says the sword is estimated to be from 1704 to 1711 in the Shinto era, but a friend of mine seems to think it might be a bit older and possibly from the 1600s. The blade itself seems to be in old sasikomi polish and looks fantastic. It is missing the kojiri, but I will have a replacement made and fitted at a later time by a sayashi that was recommended to me. The kashira has a samurai on it, the menuki is a Koi fish on both sides, the fuchi has a depiction of a horse, the tsuba is an iron one which appears to be zogan tsuba. The saya, I'm not sure if Edo period or older, but appears to be nicely wrapped. I only see one small flaw on the blade, but it doesn't bother me much at all. The hamon and choji looks fantastic, but a bit hard to photograph, though, I tried my best in outside lighting. I think For the price paid, I think it's a very nice Wakizashi and I'm happy to have it in the collection. Once the sayashi added the kojiri, I will have him address the seppa on the tsuba to see if a tighter fit is possible. What do you guys think? Flickr album for the rest of the pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzVffJ

If that is so, then what? Are we buying the sword or the paper? Once the NTHK or the NBTHK issue an origami, doesn't it then become the task of the owner (or future owner) of the sword to follow up with a full and complete analysis of the "opinion" offered, especially when the sword is mumei? Did the shinsa judge get the time period correct? Why or why not? Did they get the tradition correct? Why or why not? Did they get the school correct? Why or why not? Did they get the smith correct? Why or why not? Is/was the polish of the sword correct? Why or why not?

Quite interesting reading, thanks Matt! This is one of the things I love about this forum. We went from tossing around thoughts on a 'questionable' sword....to learning some great history (at least I learned a lot that I had never known!).

This topic has gotten rather bulky, but please allow me to add another gaijin face. This one is a pair on the margins of really nicely carved dish - red hair, button nose, and round eyes. Peter (While you are inspecting it, look at all those "VOC's" in the tendrils).

As these are decently rare guntos, here's a study piece for your eyes! Its made by Jinsen Arsenal. (Sorry for the bad lighting, these are the only decent photos I have of now.) Story: My Great Grandfather picked this Gunto off a deceased Japanese Officer and took it home with him.

And some more. Tom

Hi All, the reason I started this thread was because I have a very similar sword by the same smith in duplicate mounts. I just wanted to find out more information about it. To have two swords fabricated by the same smith during the same time frame in duplicate mounts I think is more than a coincidence. I’ll have to attach pictures in separate posts. Thanks Tom

Damon, welcome to the board! You can be sure that these small structures had been planned well in advance and were part of the design. Quite nice TSUBA, by the way!

Yes exactly the same, other than a few misspelling. Yurie

Ichi Tomonari gojūroku-daison Bizen Osafune-shi – Yokoyama Kaga no Suke Fujiwara Sukenaga saku (一友成五十六代孫備前長船士・横山加賀介藤原祐永作)

Its in reasonable condition after 77 years, the blade having been covered with the British version of Cosmolene. WD40 on a soft cloth has worked its magic, next is a light application of sword oil to stabilize. I think that Brian and Grey's suggestion holds water, and the groove is deliberate to indicate which is the "top" so to speak.

Personal opinion, I think the date of the blade is a clue here. The bombing campaign had obliterated most of the factories in Japan by this time with the result that production was dispersed to the extreme, and handwork was replacing machine production. Someone got a very nice (replacement) blade almost by accident, because that was all that was available. Regarding the polish, another signed and dated gendai field pickup from the Pacific campaign was found to have been finished on a buffer during production in Japan. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Peter, the TSUBA you posted gives me the impression as if it was never made for a Japanese NAKAGO. Could that be a European guard that had been repurposed?

Alec, we are only looking at photos so any statement may be wrong! I don't see an old SASHIKOMI polish, but someone seems to have messed around with acid. The FUCHI GASHIRA set looks a lot like NAGOYA MONO, so no real excitement. The pictures do not allow a close look at the SAYA, but the wrapping could well be one to repair a split SAYA. All in all, have an expert have a close look at your sword before making further investments.

Hello Everyone, Join me online at the Kyoto Antique Fair which will be held from 24th to 25th June! New York = 9 pm Thursday 23rd (dealers preview 9 pm Wednesday 22nd) Berlin = 3 am Friday 24th (dealers preview 3 am Thursday 23rd) I will try to get into the dealers preview on 23rd so posting might start early via the following Telegram group. https://t.me/+1JKJ01sQGZcyMWI1 For all of you who had trouble joining telegram, I have created a Facebook group and will try to post there as well. Might be a bit delayed vs. Telegram though which still is the best technical solution for this purpose. https://www.facebook.com/groups/434768394971014/ If you wanna contact me during the fair, telegram would be the best, but Facebook messenger also works. If none of those work, iMessage is a valid alternative. Contact me for details. I hope to see many of you there. Happy hunting! Paul

That looks like a date, but I am unsure. 上兄吉日 宣和酉年 ??? 宣和 (Xuanhe, 1119-1125) is one of Chinese era names. I may be wrong about 酉年, because the year of the Rooster was not included in the era.

"Tsuba - Kodogu Gadai Jiten" is possibly the best reference book for subjects from Japanese artistic tradition in tōsōgu, and quite easy to find. Unfortunately it's written in Japanese. I tryed to compile an index. See here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/31049-tsuba-kodogu-gadai-jiten/#comment-317709

I'm not about to claim to be the most learned on the topic but there is some info out there: 1. From wikipedia of all places 2. Interesting source on the topic 3. Book available on amazon

This swordsmith is Kii Masatsugu. I think there are several extant examples from him. He was from Kyushu. Here is one reference from Stein's site, listed under 'JYUNGENRO' on left hand side.

I have just listed a hard to find Late War Mounts Mantetsu. Here is the link: https://stcroixblades.com/shop/products/rarest-late-war-mounts-mantetsu-Japanese-army-officer-shin-gunto-sword-th/ $4500 (if paying via regular Paypal or credit card, add 4% PP/cc fee). Kind regards, --Matthew Brice www.StCroixBlades.com

Guys....let's try and respect the fact that the seller is here, and it's an active auction. Not banning discussion, but theories and guesses don't help anyone.

This sword is available again. The sword sold while I was on vacation for 2 weeks. The buyer knew I was gone for 2 weeks--no problem it seemed. My return flight was cancelled--I got home 24 hours later than planned. And as a result I was...dog tired. Short on sleep--so Wednesday I was beat, and wasn't able to get enough shipping done. 28 items sold while I was gone (28 items is 2 days of shipping anyway). I kept him informed of the delay in shipping along the way. The buyer of this sword was the only person with no patience among all the buyers, and with no understanding that we are all still human. He cancelled his purchase on me. Even after I tried to preserve the sale by offering him a free Company Grade tassel for the sword. And in case the 'buyer' is prowling this site, I made a mistake because I was gone on vacation--highly distracted of course with family time. I missed that he had actually paid the extra for FedEx shipping (I offer free USPS Priority shipping). Because I hadn't noticed he paid the FedEx shipping after all, that was the 'last straw' apparently for an impatient person. What a guy. And 'guy', no need to launch a slanderous attack at me here, I have not named you here so your reputation among others is untarnished. On the upside, and back to positive thoughts , this sword is available again. It's a beauty! Here is the listing...picture it in your mind with a high condition Company Grade Officer's tassel now, on me! https://stcroixblades.com/shop/products/Japanese-ww2-shin-gunto-army-sword-gendaito-rare-blade-shape-w-silvered-mou/ Kind regards, --Matthew Brice www.StCroixBlades.com

Hello Chris, Good questions and fair points. I would add that we see nihonto in all kinds of configurations of military mounts - early court swords, police wakizashis, naval patrol sabers, etc. There are also other examples of gendaito in NCO type mounts (see reply to Bruce below). As in any large organization, there are always those that go their own way. We see 99.5% of menuki on Type 98 koshirae are the same, but 0.5% are not, usually on swords belonging to higher ranks. Also, what were the rules - or were there any rules - on application of kamon to kabutogane, menuki, even habaki? Why no standard uniformity on habaki? What about lengths of nihonto in military koshirae, those are not uniform either? With a little more time, I can rattle off a hundred other inconsistencies. The Japanese military was made of people not machines, so there is some variance (however small) and edge cases that have to be considered within that context. Hope that helps and happy to discuss.

Chinese fake, sorry!

Can't say anything definitive based on those pictures but to me it would be worth 750$'s. In the current market you cannot get a lot for 750, so I think this is a very decent find.

I'm using this post as an opportunity to share a picture of my contribution. The original template for this piece is probably an Akasaka Tsuba. The flowing design represents a Waka poem from the Kokon Waka Shu 古今和歌集: ほのぼのと明石のうら朝ぎりの島かくれゆくふねをしぞおもふ "In the bay, of Akashi, when the day is drawing to an end, my thoughts follow a boat which disappears behind an island in the mist." Thanks Christoph

It depends on your definition of old. The blade appears to be Edo period (Shinto or Shinshinto), Mino.

Very first 1937 Winter(丁丑冬)Mantetsu I've ever seen.

The "Picture Encyclopedia of Tsuba and Small Metal Fitting" is a wonderful introduction to Chinese-Japanese iconographic culture. I compiled an index with care in correct Romaji transcription. Although I tried my best looking at furigana, I'm far from sure about hyphenation or apostrophe placing (and my English may also have problems). Any suggestion to correct or improve the index will be gratefully aknowledged. https://www.dropbox.com/s/7cgrf6pfluf15xw/Tsuba%20-%20Kodogu%20Gadai%20Jiten.pdf?dl=0

Hi, I got an old book. Konan-issei swords existed certainly. This book is Japanese high school students memoirs in Manchuria under the wartime,not a sword book. It was published in 1980. A very short description about this sword is written. The students of a labor service by mobilization polished the swords in South Manchuria armory,Bunkanton(mukden). Konan-Issei swords were manufactured in South Manchuria armory(南満造兵廠) in Bunkanton(文官屯)(mukden) ( nowadays: Wenkuantun,Shenyang city, Liaoning province, China).