JonP

I have a WW2 Army mounted gendaito in excellent condition made by Ishido Teruhide. Interestingly I bought it by mail order in the 80’s from an American dealer called I think Fred, sight unseen. I sent him the $ and he sent me the sword, more trusting times. I would have a difficult time trying to replace this sword here in NZ if it were stolen and an expert valuation here even more difficult. So if anyone has bought something similar lately could you let me know the ballpark figure to value it please.

Hi Giordy, the nagasa length is 700mm. Here are some more pics but the Harmon is hard to see better than the original images. This is a very mistreated blade sadly.

Thanks, the site system wouldn’t let me retrieve my password and the old email is defunct so i had to create new profile. Also was hoping given time more enlightenment was available.

Has anyone an idea why this blade has Man, Roku on the tang? No other characters and the 2 peg holes show it’s adaption for military use. A beautiful hefty blade with wonderful visible patterns in the metal.

I have a very time worn blade signed Tsunatoshi. Two characters only, as seen in pics. Unlike my other Nihonto this one is in very poor condition and I'm concerned its historical value, if any, will be lost when I'm not here to value it. If anyone out there has an opinion on its merits I'd welcome them, I'm not concerned with its monetary value just it's historical if it indeed was made by Tsunatoshi Kato. My other blades are in much better condition and I think will be treasured by those I leave them to but I'm worried this one might be further abused by unappreciative owners like the ones I bought it off 30yrs ago. $50 blade only and I made a poor attempt at a Shira Saya. Look forward to hearing from you all. Jon

Thank you for your thoughts and information Mr J. Jorgensen. Jon P

Thanks. I like it too. The blade length from tip to bottom edge of tsuba is 28" The width near tsuba is 1.25" tapering to 1" before kissaki. It is quite heavy & straight compared to my other swords. Definitely the one I'd want to have with me in times of need. There is quite a difference in the mekugiana. The one used now for military Handle looks machine punched as opposed to original that has more age to it. Jon P Ps the nagako looks very old to me compared to others I've been looking at on this site. Am I missing something.

Any thought on the rust on the tang, age etc. Or the shape of the curve, it's very straight compared to my Teruhide blade. Does this give any indication of age or province of smith. The scabbard is made for the blade but the handle mounts are WW2, I guess some soldier carried it but if so how did they stop the scabbard being damaged. The 2 pin holes only mean something about its use and history. There are many interested things to ponder here, maybe someone has some insight of interest & value. Jon P

Not sure what you mean by "Jon (please sign all posts)" I put my name on the last one. I'm afraid I'm not up with your etiquette. Jon

Thanks Brian, something constructive at last. I suspect you are right about the Kanji as it does seem quite crudely done. That some historical owner might have written this name as maybe a sentiment into his beliefs is what I find the most interesting. As a martial artist of nearly 30 years the impression I get from the feel and heft of this sword is battle. It is not for decoration it's for cutting off your enemies heads. So getting caught up in the polish is far from my interest. Thanks again, Jon

Thanks very much for that help posting the images. I am very happy with polish I got from Kam at jingokustudios.com The detail that has come through just amazes me. Hopefully someone might have some clever thoughts on it. Cheers Jon

Another image of Man roku. Sorry can't get it to upload images. I'm happy to email them to anyone at aiki@paradise.net.nz Shame as it is such a beauty.

Any insights into when this sword might have been made etc. The writing translates as a number or "Manroku is an old word that signifies propriety, justice, or fairness; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1547." It certainly is beautiful now it has been polished. I'm having problems uploading more than 1 image so will try and post seperatly.

I too have a tanto signed by Kanemitsu Circa 1450 - 1550 The blade shows unmistakeable Mino manufacture traits in the "Taka no Ha Yasuremei" (Swordsmith's signature file-mark pattern) While incredibly feint, after 500 yrs, they can be still positively identified The blade shows VERY STRONG tempering clearly throughout most of its length & exhibits a very RARE trait "Utsuri" (temperline shadow reflection) Found ONLY when a sword is tempered by heating & quenching at the OPTIMUM temperature Only the most experienced and SKILLED sword makers were able to produce Utsuri in their blades. The ability to do so "at will" was LOST around the 17th Century, & only re-gained in 1972 by Yoshindo Yoshihara (elevated to the status of "living national treasure" soon afterwards) There are "Hadaware" (minor forging flaws) in the form of poorly adhered welds after MANY sharpening & polishings throughout it's working life. 95% of ALL Koto swords display Hadaware they are little detraction to knowledgable collectors of KOTO era swords. Blade length 8.5" along back edge & MASSIVE 7.75 mm thick @ Habakimoto (IE as THICK as any Katana !) Tang is "Ubu" (As made 500 years ago) My shira saya reads Shirasaya inscription reads "Noshu Ju Kanemitsu" (Kanemitsu living in Mino province) I have just sent it to Kam at Jigoku studios to be polished to get rid of the horrible marks some fool made to the tip. Sadly my photos are rubbish but they might help. Jon

here is a shot of the tang Jon

My sword was lost under the years of neglect and now after a wonderful polish done by Tam at http://www.jigokustudios.com/ its beauty is out there to behold. This circa1700 was owned by a brave but modest samurai who honoured proprioty & fairness above all (hence the kanji man roku, no not one thousand five hundred, but the old Japanase usage for proprioty, fairness & justice) He served well and then his sword passed down through generations until a young officer took it into battle against the west. Sadly he perished and through time it came into my hands to cherish and preserve for its artistry and history, and then someday pass down to my son. Once again it looks like its maker intended and it is marvelous. Thanks Tam (don't get too busy as my tanto & wakazashi is heading your way) {of course my story might be shaky historicaly but hey its my sword so my story} Cheers Jon PS if anyone has thoughts on where and when this sword was made using the grain and hamon etc. that now shows through so well your opinions would be welcome.

I have found a place in Australia where i can get some braid (http://www.jigokustudios.com/), thanks anyway. Jon

Thanks again, my interest really lies with my blade collection but I bought a wakizashi 15yrs ago for $90 NZ that had a lovely clean blade and beautiful wavy hamon and the only fittings it had was the scabbard, I now have a tsuba{as above, not fake thank heavens}, I made the habaki and have two lovely Mino school Kashira and Fuchi on the way from the UK. I have made the tsuka as well but am in dire need of some Tsuka-maki. Can anyone tell me where I can get some please. Jon

Also the gap filler in the centre to stop the sword moving I put in case you are wondering.

Thanks guys great feedback. The back picture is a bit deceiving in its colour, in reality it's a more dark stained laquer look, like someone has put a laquer over the patina maybe. You can see tiny bits of bare metal on the front along the edge and that is greyish. Not sure why the back scan looks so coppery. I paid $250 US so I'm glad the consensus seems to go for real.

I bought this tsuba recently to use on my wakizashi, I think it looks nice but does anyone have a clue of where in Japan and when it was made. Please don't tell me it was made in China last week. It is 3.5mm thick and 8 by 7. The copper? bits look like they have had gold leaf on them at some time. Thanks - I hope. Jon

On searching Google I came upon this about the term manroku - http://haikuguy.com/issa/queryallcodete ... ?year=1822 "Manroku is an old word that signifies propriety, justice, or fairness; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1547." Maybe that is the meaning of the mei. Certainly a more romantic notion than 10006.

Hi John that surely was a terrible time, an aunt of mine showed me a letter a year or 2 back from a relation of ours. He wrote it to his mum just before one of those times when they went over the top, and there was another letter from a friend of his saying how he was just gone after they climbed up and attacked. Probably gone by a bomb as they never recovered him. Very moving to read these and really puts a personal feel to it. Hey it must be cold where you are and dark I suppose, its finely getting nice here, thank goodness. This is what it is like here today from my place. Stay warm. Regards Jon

It must have taken great courage and strength to stand and fight hand to hand, certainly more effective to shoot someone from a distance. The battles in the trenches during the 1st WWar saw much fighting with whatever came to hand as a weapon, must be terribly hard if you aren't used to one on one combat. Jon

Interesting thought on the best swords being owned by the lords etc. Though during the warring eras where war lord fought war lord I imagine most of the samurai class would want a good blade as their life depended on it. Though the Ashigaru (foot soldiers) probably weren't armed with great pieces. The ashigaru were foot soldiers—the cavalry was the territory of the samurai. They might have been armed with katana or just with spears (yari). The samurai used various weapons, but the katana is the weapon that is synonymous with samurai. Bushido teaches that the katana is the samurai's soul and sometimes a samurai is pictured as entirely dependent on the katana for fighting. They believe that the katana was so precious that they often gave them names and considered them as part of the living. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a ceremony called Gembuku , a male child was given his first real swords and armour, an adult name, and became a samurai. {thanks Wikipedia} Hey I 'd be proud to know my swords were once worn by one of these warriors. Jon