tokashikibob

Ryuuichi Yokoyama

When I was told I was off for the South, I bought a military sword.

I was surprised how expensive it was. I hung it from my belt in a leather scabbard, but it dragged

along the ground because I’m so short. I had to have the sword cut down, but when I went to a

shop outside the Azabu regimental base, they were going to cut off the tang, which bore the

swordmaker’s name. I shouted, “Hey! Please leave that on. I paid a lot of money for that sword!

The smith just snorted, “Showa swords don’t have names of importance,” and cut right through. So much for my great weapon!

I had that sword hanging on the wall of a gymnasium in a school on Taiwan where we

stopped off for a month or so on our way to the South.

A member of my unit a kendo master from Kyushu, told me

“Yokoyama, you have to take care of your blade.”

The sword was in a white wooden sheath, and wrapped in a leather scabbard.

It looked great from the outside. But after he said that, I tried to look at it.

I couldn’t even draw it out. I pulled and pulled. Finally it jerked it free.

The sheath went flying and the blade was rust-red. Everybody around broke into hysterics.

Gents, Thanks for the comments as always. i had a little time to look at this piece tonight, it does have a fine ko mokume hada with no flaws. It is very nice to study.

3 Inazuma in the hamon, with a polisher signature on the mune. There also is a tsuka maki signature and the guy did do a great job

with the silk. I wish the few I tried to rewrap in the past where half as good. Anyway, it the locker it goes until a show or shinsa.

Best regards,

Bob

Hello fellas,

I haven't been active in collecting Nihonto for a bit, but took a chance on this osuriage koto piece.

Guessing it's a Mino school product but I'm never right. It was brought back by a Marine Brigader General in

1946.

Nice horse fittings, but no tsuba. Mekuji ana lines up so I guess the koshirae was made without one. Kind of odd?

A couple of inazuma in the hamon. I don't know if that is a characteritic of a particular school or not.

It is interesting as you can see the hamon in the nakago. I'll have to hit the books to see what

era it may be from but happy to read any comments from you blokes.

Best regards,

Bob

Me too, Make some more I need 4

Hmmm, I'm going to try a guy who fixes old watches, just to check out that avenue as the screws are old pocketwatch repair.

Gents,

Has anyone have any leads on where to find those tiny screws for the WW2 Type 98 scabbard fittings?

Best regards,

Bob

Happy to hear that the Marine is going to come into some money and take care of the family member that needs the help.

Good Karma all around!

THanks for the input fellas! The blade reminds me of a arsenal made forging like in some of the kyuguntos, and the mei is stamped it looks like.

I'll have to drive over and take a look at it. And he's not close.

Best regards,

Bob

Gents, A friend of mine sent me some pics of this sword that came in the door today. I couldn't

tell him much about it. Hard to find double hanger saya in a repurposed NCO type blade? Or am I

way of base as this sword being a mashup?

Best regards,

Bob

Weird that the size was a wak, or maybe I didn't look long enough.

Thanks for the leads fellas, much appreciated!

Gents, Does anyone have a Kunisuke 4th Gen Mei reference? Bought this piece to fill a type missing in my

collection. The mei is not close to any of the big name smiths but I saw a 4th Gen in Nihontoclub and

wondered if this may have a legit mei vice gimei to a lesser known Kunisuke.

Best regards,

Bob

Excellent!

Nice acid etch on the hamon to make it pop followed with some hazuya. That guy is a busy man.

I sure like the shape and jihanda of Bernard's, and Ray's needs a sharpening after that Forged in Fire type testing.

Odd that there are so many.  Looks like forging flaws to me.   It does have a wonderful jihada,  I'd get it is the price is right.

Best regards,

  Bob

I wish I could redo a handle that well!  Not a bad job

Dear Bob.

 

This is getting better all the time, fourth picture, the one with the mon, is that the remains of hi I see ?  If so it could answer your question.

 

All the best.

Bill,  thanks for the thumbs up!   Took a risk and got lucky,  will be a looker someday.

No hi Geraint, just scratches I think from the button latch.   I found it interesting that the kamon was used by Oda Nobunaga during the warring times.

Best regards,  Bob

The Kyugunto came in today,  it's been pretty neglected since the war that is for certain but it is all there with matching seppas, silk thin cord and family silver kamon.     The handle was very difficult to get off,   Someone had it off sometime in the past and had the seppas all on one side, there were remnants of the mekugi but the holes in the same were full of old paste to keep the peg in there.

  Anyone have any success in bending the handle bow?  Everything is original to the sword but needs to be gently pushed into place.  The habaki has a few dings were some monkey was knocking on it.

This is a blade with potential in my opinion as the forging looks flawless in terms of openings.   Of course it needs a polish yesterday, however other than a few nail catchers I cannot see any flaws in the patina or light old rust.   Maybe pinholes if the polisher deems not to take much meat. 

   Hada is very tight but hard to say anything due to grime, rust and patina,   Hamon is thin,  maybe gunome or suguha but also needs to be reveled.

Yasurime is Kiri on both sides, however one side is not started until part way down the nakago with the old smooth blade showing for about 4 inches or so.   That seems odd to have different starting points when done during the suriage?   Does that mean anything to the pros?

Best regards,

  Bob

Here is something similar that was on 'Coast to Coast A.M." last night,  I haven't listened to the show yet on podcast but will,   sounds a little bizarre but who knows.   There is not much I can do about it unless I want to go the next step with ghosthunters or a priest.   I was close a couple years ago but have become used to it.

In the latter half, author and expert on Shadow People and the Hat Man, Heidi Hollis, discussed these dark supernatural figures that she believes menace people globally, and seem to be on the rise. Shadow People are dark entities that can shape-shift into a variety of amorphous forms, some of which resemble humans, she suggested, and one of their actions is to lay on people and paralyze them. She differentiates this experience from sleep paralysis because of the specificity of the beings, described similarly from people around the world.

https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2018/08/23

I wish it was the bottle, but it actually happened.   I know it is hard to believe but it is what it is.   Sometimes I actually see it during the day, a cloudy shape, sometimes white, sometimes blackish.    But it could be a multitude of things as I have a personal effects collection of cave and battlefield finds I dug.  None of those things were left in the dirt on a positive note.

Well,  this is somewhat odd as I found this post today and read it and saw a few ghost story requests.   This is 100pct true, last night the ghost came by actually, early probably 2-3 am but I did not look at the time as I did not care as I am thoroughly used to it.  

  Anyway,  I hit the sack and fall into a good sleep and a exciting dream.   In this dream I am in WW2 and assaulting a Japanese island,  I am on a sort of small fast powered boat with another Marine,  There are other boats coming in with us,  maybe a platoon worth of guys.    Anyway,  it is really vivid as close to being there as you are ever going to get.    We hit the beach and it is dark and gloomy,  no shooting.    There is a path and we are directed by a red patch to go to the left and head to the beach.

   After I pass this guy there are a couple paths but I don't really know where everybody is.    I move a little ways and see a couple Japanese guys in the dark jungle gloom getting a machine gun set in a road junction so I shoot a couple rounds that way and they take off.

   All of a sudden I wake up, and wonder why, as I want to go back to the dream, then all of a sudden a push a air from above hits me and I know it is a spirit happening and ignore it.  You can feel the spirit and you can also know when it is over which usually is just 20 - 50 seconds max.    Of course all these fun and games is going to cost you extra when i sell   Best regards,  Bob

Beautiful,  13K of beautiful!

Gents,  In the interest in doing better by posting a bit here is my humble post.  

   I do not have a Russo-War type sword in my substandard collection.  I've bid on one or two in the last ten years but never won.   I haven't run across them in hand at the state military shows so when I see one it piques my interest.

    I threw a bid on one recently that looks like a beater with possibilities.   I was surprised I won as I was not monitoring the bid.   Maybe one of you saw it in hand and know I am going to receive a real clunker.

   I'll share the auction pics with you and we can see what happens when this shows up.   The auction house did not take off the handle, I could spot a family kamon on the handle and it looked like a shinto shaped blade to me.

Crossing my fingers,

  Bob

Thanks for the write up Justin, as a auction hunter I know the effort it takes hunting them down at the mom and pops, days off work,  4 a.m. on the road driving for hours in the rain all for naught.   I do hope the ride was pleasant and you had some fun.   It would have been rough to plunk that 22 down and then fail to paper,  but it did sound like a good blade to take a flyer on if the price was a bit lower.  

Best regards,

  Bob