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zuiho

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    New Jersey , Exit 9
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    American History, World History, Nipponto

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    William G.

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  1. Do not buy this. I see why you think WW2. It is the ring on the wood saya that would sit under a leather cover. Maybe it started out that way. but, now this is a degraded blade with fittings either overly buffed on a wheel or outright fake. The tsuka ito is wrapped around the handle like newspaper around a fish. It is a recent horror. The tang, with rust removed , is the result of blundering abuse. The chrysanthemum may be an added fake. The saya has been coated with a finish that was added in modern times. It is now devoid of any historic or artistic merit. It hurts my eyes to look at it.
  2. Hello, I know nothing of the smith. The sword, however, appears to be one of the mass-produced showato using factory steel that were typical of the era. One tipoff is in the second photo down on the right. In the center you can see a high point in the gunome hamon with a bright spot right under the peak. I suspect these bright areas are repeated along the hamon. They are an identifier for showato. Another indicator would be a Showa or other stamp up near the hablaki. But I notice the saya is civilian with an added loop which originally would have been protected by a leather cover. The tsuka looks to be army style. It is likely this sword was bought at an independent commercial sword shop and modified for military use. In this case it could bypass the military inspection process and have no stamp but still be a "machine" made sword. That is my opinion of what you have. William G.
  3. Hello, I have a silver-foiled "cat scratch" habaki attached to a handachi mounted katana. The mounts are of better-than-average quality. The curious thing is that the habaki appears to have a kanji chiseled on the inner surface of one side. I interpret it as "Hisa". There are also two shallow and small marks that are not chiseled. A single kanji does not seem to constitute a signature in most cases and perhaps not here, either. I did find an English interpretation of "Hisa" as meaning "forever" or "long-lasting" In this case, not a signature but a guarantee of quality ? Could it mean something like "guaranteed for the life of the sword'' ? The last reference I found to an inside-signed habaki in this forum was in May of 2020. The consensus then was that the marks were random. Photos are provided below. Bill G.
  4. Hello, The post by "Butch " on March 27 featuring a type 3 gunto by Zuiho has prompted me to contribute my example. Listed below is my personal assessment and may not be entirely accurate but here goes: BLADE TYPE: Type 3 ww2 shin gunto by RJT approved smith ( as indicated by star stamp) SHAPE (sugata): Iorimune PERIOD: Showa WW2 PROVINCE: LENGTH (nagasa): 27 1/8 " , 87 cm. WIDTH (machi) : 1 5/16", 33 mm. (motohaba) : 7/8", 23 mm. THICKNESS: CURVATURE (sori) : shallow 5/8", 15 mm. FORGING (jihada/kitae) : itame Temper line ( hamon/yakiba) : Nioi based suguha midare with rough tobiyaki Note: Partial Choji-midare utsuri appears to be present on both sides. ( I call it utsuri as no line of nie or nioi is present ) POINT (boshi) : ko maru on chu kissaki TANG (nakago) : iriyamagata , kesho yasurimei SIGNATURE: signed on ura : ZUI HO SAKU with STAR stamp above Zui. DATED on omote: Kinoe or 21 st (year since start of zodiacal cycle), SARU (year of the Monkey ), NI ( 2nd), GATSU ( month) . This zodiacal date is equivalent to March, 1944. REMARKS : An assembly number 435 stamped on mune behind hamachi. Double press studs present on saya. Two screws placed one on each side hold eleven inch tsuka. Tsuka has wine-colored lacquered ito over imitation same' . Notes : The other smith name of Zuiho is Shigefusa. His real name is Kojima Kameta and lived in Tokushima prefecture. He had 5 students at his forge. Reference: Samurai Sword Kanetoyo Art Museum website, (Tokyo, Japan) . Cheers, William G.
  5. Hello, I can contribute a photo of an M1873 naval petty officers sword. It is just under 32” long end to end.
  6. Hello All, Here is a type 98 gunto that is different in detail from most others. The highlights on the fittings of this example are copper-tinted. The highlights along the edges of the fittings on most gunto are gold-colored. The fittings here are detailed by hand and have the higher quality thick seppa. (Ignore the saya finish. It is re-painted) I have seen 2 others with similar fittings . Both with good blades. William G.
  7. That is a great photo in that it associates a particular style of gunto with the NLF. I believe I see a blurry anchor on the man's cap. Allow me to post what I believe was a gunto carried by an NLF officer. It has a koto blade, tired and possibly re-tempered. It has a poorly made civilian Showa-era tsuka with plain brass fuchi-kashira, old iron plate tsuba, and plain wood saya with black leather cover and two leather hangers with brass D-rings. A basic rig for an officer of limited means. I believe its similarity to the sword of the NLF officer in the photo is clear. William G.
  8. A search on the NMB forum for Naval Landing Forces gunto found several threads. The consensus seems to be that there was no official gunto design specifically for these forces. I cannot help resolve this issue. However, I do believe I have a sword once carried by an officer of the NLF. Photos : This example consists of a private purchase outfit for an officer who probably had minimal money to spend. The tsuka is a Showa era civilian style with plain brass fuchi-kashira and machine - stamped brass shi-shi menuki . The badly wrapped tsuka-ito is over same'. The tsuba is an old round plain iron plate with a mon inlaid on one side. Aluminum and brass seppa keep it in place. The 23 inch blade is, perhaps, sue- koto . It is narrow, tired and has numerous flaws but was once a good blade with much activity. The dealer from whom I bought it said it was obtained by a US army vet in Japan during the occupation. The important aspect of this sword is the saya. It is a field saya of plain wood with a black leather cover using a snap retainer for the sword and TWO leather and brass ashi. There is clear wear at the top of both rings to show it was carried. Such a saya was suited for combat areas on land. The color black was, with some exceptions, exclusively used by the navy. The use of double ashi was the characteristic naval style. So, it was for a naval officer on land or in other words, the Naval landing forces. Comments are welcome. William G.
  9. zuiho

    Mekugi Ana Mystery

    Hello, As the original poster I can add a bit more info. The habaki does seem to be hammered to fit the blade where it meets the munemachi since it is thinner there. I will not attempt to remove it completely as damage to the habaki may occur. Comments about the tiny size of the photos baffle me. If you double-click on these thumbnails they expand, at least for me as the original poster. As for knowing the answer, I do not. I do know the blade is very tired with core steel showing in spots and surface delamination evident. I like it for its WW2 connection and for everything, good and bad, that can be seen along its length. I have seen another example at a show. (Things seem to call to each other.) It was of similar dimensions, with a simple gunome hamon and mounted as a tachi. At the time , I thought it might have been a Boys Day item. Bill G.
  10. zuiho

    Mekugi Ana Mystery

    hello, I will add another photo. The Habaki will not slide off as the nakago is thicker than the blade to which the habaki fits. Pretty typical after repeated polishes of a well-used blade. Also, I do not believe there is a weld as there is no transition seen in the metal that I can see. The hole in question could be the more recent of the two but the polish makes it hard to judge. I will tell you that there is a mizukage about 8 cm. up from the mune-machi. It was suggested to me that this was once mounted as a naginata and without a habaki but have never heard of an example. Bill G. .
  11. Hello, This is a bit of a teaser. Can anyone figure out what is going on with the mekugi-ana nearest the habaki ? Image posted below. i believe the blade is sue-koto. It is about 2 shaku in length with mild sori and mounted for use as a gunto. Bill G .
  12. Hello, I see that there is interest in buying a sarute. If you go to Lions Gate Arms and Armor in the NMB links you will find two for sale in the "sword fittings/parts" section at earthbound prices. One is a gilt "monkey hands" type suitable for a kai gunto. . Poor photos but they are described as original. William G.
  13. sorry, neglected to sign my post. William G.
  14. I tracked an auction for an IJA sarute on Ebay that ended with 30 bidders and a final price of $316.00 on July 10. There was nothing special about it . It had cherry blossoms and leaves in the pattern with average wear , no painted highlights, of middling quality. Is this really where the market is (crazy) ? Or, was it a spontaneous and singular feeding frenzy among Ebay sharks?
  15. Hello, Your sword may not be high quality but could be at least a relic of a significant time in Japan. Others have alluded to Satsuma koshirae. They suggest, I think, that the rough bindings indicate its possible use in the Satsuma rebellion, a last-ditch stand of traditional samurai who saw their own selves become outmoded relics in a new age of modern weapons and tactics. For this reason, I would leave it alone and not try any repairs or "window-polishes". It is likely the blade will disappoint, anyway. Further research is what you should do and really, the main thing you should do. Bill G.
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