Geraint

Hi William. (You will get asked to put your name on each post, easy to do in your profile.) I am having trouble reading the first kanji but the second is mitsu I think. Have a look at the kanji pages from the link at the top of the homepage and you might have a chance to find the top kanji in hand. All the best.

Hi Ed, Given that you have looked at kinzogan mei on other swords what are your conclusions regarding the quality of that on this tanto? All the best.

Indeed there was another example in the same sale, lot 182 if you care to see it. A very peculiar tanto where the hamon ran straight through the odd kissaki and out into fresh air.

And what should turn up on Aoi Art but.....http://www.aoijapan.com/katana-oite-tou ... 2-gatsu-hi

And another, though of course two do not mean that they are common.

Hi Dave. Does the shirasaya have a hanger? I can't see one in your photos. If not then it probably was not intended to be carried as a weapon but perhaps retained by an officer as a personal item. The length seems to support this. All the best.

Hi Curtis, Some thoughts for you but without picture it is very difficult to tell very much. The surrender tag may be interesting but be aware that collectors sometimes attach a wooden tag to a sword bag simply to say what the sword is. It seems more usual to find a cloth surrender tag. If the tag details the surrender and if there is any way of verifying what it says then it may be interesting but I don't think it will add much to the value of the sword unless you can make some sort of connection like that. Regarding the numbers on the other sword, once again a picture might help us. It is common to find numbers stamped on standard fittings, they are usually regarded as assembly numbers, to help someone get all the right bits on the right sword. It is also relatively common to find an older blade mounted in shingunto koshirae, in which case shingunto fittings would be added to the blade though the saya is sometimes retained and fitted with a combat cover. Unless you are referring to an NCO style blade in shingunto mounts then promotion does not enter the picture. Hope this helps but I am looking forward to the pictures.

looks lovely, Mark. The sunagashi and other activities in the hamon look very good. You mentioned shirasaya next year, what does it have now? All the best.

Forgive me, is this not a kashira?

Hi Randy, Or you could buy the book format and always have it to hand. I hope Dr.John would get some royalties from it as well. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Namban-Group-Ja ... f+Japanese All the best.

Hi Dan. If you have done some research you will have noted that stainless steel blades have a completely different appearance on the nakago, (the magnet test is fine but some stainless is magnetic and you don't need it to see this.) It is not uncommon to find normal steel blades in kaigunto, though probably less common to find the stainless ones in shingunto mounts. As to the date, as there is none on the sword all you can really assume is that it was made in or before 1943, the pattern was introduced in late 1937. The lacquered same saya is not common, most are plain black, some have a different lacquered fish skin but yours has the full deal. It also has a combat cover which is slightly unusual, though given that you know where the sword was captured this makes sense. It's a nice example and deserves to be looked after quite apart from your own important family history. Enjoy.

Hi Robert, Why bother to do either? It might look worse with the habaki removed but it is hardly a problem visually and although a repair is possible by moving the machi a little up the blade it would certainly not be worth the expense and any attempt to have an amateur repair would be far worse than what is there already. There is an old saying, "Enjoy the blade form the habaki forward," Not meant to apply to this but why not? All the best.

You are right, it is worth a look. The sugata is particularly elegant and any naginata from that period is a rarity. Would love to know where it came from and how it survived.

Hi Alex, You are right, this is unusual, I cannot recall seeing one like it before. My first thought was that there was a need to polish the shinogi ji heavily and that the nakago had been adjusted to take account of that but I see that the kasane is still quite thick. In any event there would be ways of adjusting to retain the mei. Look forward to other people's input on this one. The only other thought that occurs to me is that sometimes nakago are re worked to fit specific military koshirae, perhaps this one was altered to fit a kyu gunto or something like that. Jordy, why would you think suriage? Shortening the nakago and removing part or all of the mei seems quite different and we know the sword is papered.

Dear, (Discretion should not prevent you adding your name as per board rules), From what we can see so far this is a kaigunto with the rather attractive lacquered same saya, unusual, and a combat cover. The blade is likely to have a small stamp in the nakago somewhere near the signature, pictures of that and the blade flat on so that we can see it all would also be useful. All the best.

But given the Buy it Now price of $8500..........? And another Soten which he claims has never been mounted in spite of clear evidence to the contrary probably not the best source of tsuba on the internet.

Hi, Looking at the images it seems that the fitting holding the blade into the hilt is missing one half. Sad but it does mean that you should be able to push the other half out with relative ease and then carefully remove the blade by sliding it out of the hilt. These mekugi are sometimes threaded into each other, often with a left hand thread, and sometimes they are just a friction fit. The blade may be a little reluctant to leave the hilt, (tsuka), so great care. Some kwaiken have a difference on each side of the hilt, (tsuka), in theory to allow you to tell which is the edge side of the blade by touch as the dagger might be concealed inside the folds of a robe. Decorative kwaiken are also sometimes known as mamori gatana which are given to a bride on her wedding day by her family. Judging by your other images you might be inclined to attempt other restoration, all would say, "Don't!" Look forward to seeing what emerges but don't get too hopeful, they are often not signed. All the best.

I think you were right first time Stephen, it's a suzuribako. Can't help with the mei. All the best

Any chance of some pictures of the whole koshirae, Chris? It looks rather gorgeous so far......... All the best.

Keep your eyes open then Flemming. This one screams at you, some of the more recent ones are getting very close. One turned up at a local auction and I had to look twice even with it in hand. Of course that could say more about me than the quality of fakes..................

Agreed but lets get to the important stuff. Islay and Laphroig, good man!

Should we go to shinsa on this one? :D

Sorry Flemming but just to be clear a Chinese fake rather than any sort of Chinese sword. Have a look at the links page and check out some genuine gunto mounted swords for comparison. This one for example, http://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2012/ ... hirae1.jpg all the best

Hi Klaus. The koshirae has been redone at some time. The tsuka is not part of the original, perhaps the mekugi ana was filled then because the person doing the work thought it unnecessary. All the best.

Hi John. The dragon and ken image is popular both as horimono and for other fittings. I have swiped this from Kevin at Ryujin, (http://www.ryujinswords.com). " Dragon with ken sword (Kenmaki-ryu). In esoteric Buddhism this symbol represents a manifestation of Fudo Myo-o, Kurikara Ryujin, coiled round a sword. " Lots more to research but that's a start. It is a powerful image in any culture, don't you think?