Eric Santucci

Hi Stephen, More pics definitely coming. Been busy with lots of family stuff the last few months (some new additions to the family), so haven't had much time for photography. I think since so many people are asking for photos, I will just add them here if Brian does not mind a ton of photos on this thread. Disclaimer: I am not a very good photographer, but I think you will all be pleased with what you see.

So I gather you are connecting the u-jo reading with Okayama due to the connection of Nagamitsu at Okayama prison, correct? I guess that makes sense and I didn't think of that at first. There are no numbers stamped on this blade.

Thanks Tobias, Can you please confirm about the U-Jo and how you know it is meant to be this way for this mei? This kanji was translated by a very well known expert in the Japanese nihonto field as "karasu-jo" and not "u-jo", so I am curious about this mei reading now. Please let us know your thoughts. (Not disagreeing with you, just want to know more info on it - thanks!). Joe, Yes, indeed, very rare on the date part. More info: this sword was restored in Japan several years ago by a 1st prize winning polisher Matsumura-san with sayagaki by Tanobe-san, custom shirasaya with horn inlay, and new shakudo habaki. It also has the original koshirae with tsunagi holding everything together. All of the fittings have matching numbers and the locking mechanism works too (attached a bit of blurry pic). Thanks, Eric

I recently came across a notation on Aoi Art website indicating that the following Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu signature is quite rare: Bizen (no) Kuni (ni) oite Karasujo (no) shita Ichihara Ichiryushi Nagamitsu Saku Attached pictures show a Nagamitsu with the very same/similar signature that was restored in Japan many years ago and it is also dated Showa 19 nen 10 gatsu kichi jitsu. The reference to Karasu-jo in Japan is an interesting one. Karasu-jo is "Crow Castle" in Japan, also known as Matsumoto Castle, one of the oldest remaining flat plain castles in Japan with stunning black exterior. It gets its secondary name karasu-jo because it is black like a crow. My understanding is that this castle was used in Japan by Mitsubishi Corporation as an aircraft artillery factory, so it has great meaning both older historically in Japan and amongst WWII as well. I was surprised to see the notation reference about the rare signature. The notation on Aoi Art seems to infer that the signature might have been used more than once meaning that perhaps Nagamitsu was present at Karasu-jo for some time making more than one sword. Does anyone possess more information about why Nagamitsu may have been at Karasu-jo and whether there are other swords with a similar mei? In my many years of study this is the only sword I have seen like this. Thanks, Eric

Excellent news! Finally, something solid around the MD/VA/DC area. I've been hoping for something like this for quite some time and am really looking forward to it. Thanks for posting!

I've always thought we will see a Gassan Sadakatsu piece reach Juyo first. Over the last several years I've seen many of his works go Tokobetsu Hozon. In fact, the first time I saw such a thing about 3 or 4 years ago I did a double take and wondered if the info was misprinted, but it was in fact accurate. And since that time, I have seen at least two other Sadakatsu katanas reach TH. In my opinion, some of his works are impressive, some are great, and others are so-so. Perhaps we can chalk that up to the individuality of the smith producing multiple works over his career or the possible daimei and daisaku works done by his students during the 1930s and early 40s before his passing in '43. Quality may be based on the individual works that resulted from those specific cases as well. But make no mistake, as others noted in this thread, there are plenty of excellent gendai smiths out (many of which are sorely underrated) that have achieved the same or better results and it will be exciting to see what the future holds for many of them.

I used the web form.

I was able to get through to them last week, perhaps they are just having temporary server errors.

Thanks Chris, much appreciated

Thanks Keith, the linked thread helps a little and I appreciate your assistance. The sword in question I saw online is actually dedicated for the shrine and that dedication is noted on the nakago. The sword in the other thread that was linked was made at a military academy as noted on the nakago and then donated to a shrine from what I understood from my quick reading of things. Thanks Chris, I was hoping to see a reply from you on this area. Your info answers my question - thanks! Follow up question - how can we tell the difference between the actual shrine sword and the potential spares that may have been made? Thanks again

Hi, I recently came across a sword from 1937 that was supposedly dedicated as a shrine sword according to seller's description. I know that in certain cases smiths made 3 swords for shrines where only one was chosen and the other swords were then left over as spares and likely sold to collectors. My main question is whether there is ever a case where the actual shrine sword, not the spares, would have been taken from the shrine for some reason and sold to the outside collector world. Just a side note that the specific sword in question that I was looking at has NBTHK Hozon papers attesting to the fact that NBTHK knows it exists and is not in the shrine it was dedicated for if indeed for some reason this is the actual shrine sword. My gut tells me that an actual shrine sword would likely not be sold, but I've come to see very surprising things over the years during collecting so wanted to see what others have come to know. Thanks, Eric

Thanks Boris and John, much appreciated.

Greetings, Has anyone ever had dealings with a place called Galerie Dutta Ancient Chinese & Japanese Art based in Switzerland? I did a forum search here and saw a very brief entry about it from 2008, but it didn't provide much info. Thanks

Hi Bruno, Not sure what you mean by this. Brian is based in Massachusettes, USA with a degree from MIT, one of the most prestigious schools in the USA. He is not a Chinese sword junk seller like we see on EBay. If you view his page, you will see many other lovely items he has created over the years. He is especially skilled in origami.

Try this: http://web.mit.edu/chosetec/www/products/index2.html I was thinking of ordering one myself at some point in the future.

George is correct per his post. There are two swords I was aiming to discuss in the thread - the Sadayoshi sword that was with Yamamoto when he was shot down and the second shadow sword that Sadayoshi had made at the same time, which was never owned by Yamamoto but survived and was in possession of Watanabe as of 1985. Akitsugu did state in "The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths" (Tamio Tsuchiko, 2002) that the Yamamoto sword was destroyed in an explosion during WWII after it was brought back to the Navy Ministry. Another source, I believe it was from an article posted on Clive's site, theorizes that the Sadayoshi sword that Yamamoto carried survived WWII and eventually ended up in an American collection. The prevailing belief, from what I have seen in research (and straight from Akitsugu) is that the sword Yamamoto possessed was indeed and unfortunately destroyed.

Hi Fat Crip, Welcome to the forum and thanks for your post. Please sign your real name to posts per forum rules. Whether the Yamamoto-San sword was blown up in attack per one story or in the hands of a collector per another we may never know, but quite a fascinating tidbit of history nevertheless. Very interesting information you posted and I think I speak for many by saying we would love to see some photos of your Sadayoshi sword. Welcome again and best, Eric

Hi Curran, Glad you like the site and info. I hear you about plain durable rings. Used to have a solid platinum ring and that got banged up pretty badly overtime, dulled, and scratched too. The solution to that is to have it buffed/polished, but we all know that just means that top material is getting buffed away and eventually you will have a thinned out piece of junk. Just like overpolishing swords. These rings are light, durable (speaking of the titanium of course), and look really nice with the meteorite band. I love telling folks the material after they try and guess what it is. I have never had anyone yet even come close to guessing correctly. Hi Brian, Ronin, I've found my ring to be quite good so far with no issues with rusting, pitting, or even scratching after a full year of service so far. My ring gets bumped around a lot during the day, but I don't shower or swim with it and therefore heed the recommendations of the jeweler. It does get numerous doses of handwashing during the day though. So far so good. (Sorry to de-rail the thread slightly from Ken in talking about meteorite rings - now back to swords!).

Hi Curran, Here's a link to some pictures directly from the website and I have to say that prices are incredibly reasonable for these pieces. http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.com/Damascus_Rings_Meteorite_Rings/ If you scroll down all of the way to the bottom of the home page, you will also find a little surprise. This person also collects and sells Nihonto. I've actually seen this on numerous occassions now - sword enthusiasts who are interested in meteorites or vice versa.

Ken, Very interesting stuff here - I am looking forward to seeing that sword polished up and learning more about your future meteorite blade. Many years ago I was fascinated with the subject of using meteorites in blades and did some research on the subject. I have seen Japanese-style swords made from meteorite by American smiths and discussed the topic with them - as described by others - it indeed does look very much like western damascus in the blades that I saw. It does all depend on the amount of meteorite that is added to the blade and certainly knowing what the meteorite is made from has a bearing on the outcome (as was noted already some meteorites have more iron, others nickel, etc.). I own small pieces of meteorite myself and have two rings fashioned from such as well. My wedding ring is partially made from a Gibeon meteorite inlay that is set into titanium. No one can ever guess what it is made from and are really fascinated at it when they see it. It is quite subtle looking (not flashy or gaudy), but folks know there is something "different" about it when they see it.

Hi George, cheers to that. I fully agree and find WWII gendaito to be quite a fascinating topic because of these very things. The stories, places, and events connected to the objects seem to imbue them with something extraordinary. I recall sitting in my living room many years ago when my grandfather was alive and him recounting some WWII stories when I produced a rather large katana from its bag for oiling. The very first thing he said to me was "I just got chills lookin' at that thing". Thanks to both you and KM for some great info in this topic. Best, Eric

Hi George, Thanks for that info! :D It is sad to learn the fate of that sword, but at least it is a mystery no longer. I'll see if I can track down the shadow sword that Junichiro Watanabe possessed, although I have a feeling it is likely still within the Watanabe family, but we shall see. Thanks again! Best, Eric

Many thanks KM, I saw that utsushimono on the site you posted - very interesting and quite nice. Thanks for the links to the crash site and the article info too. What is very interesting here is the notation about his body being recoved, cremated, and remains returned aboard the battleship Musashi. I quite wonder if the sword was taken with his remains at that time. Best, Eric

I've recently started doing some research on Amada Sadayoshi and was re-reading the excellent article Danny posted some time ago on Nihontocraft about Isoroku Yamamoto and the Amada Sadayoshi katana. http://www.nihontocraft.com/Yamamoto_NBTHK.html Does anyone happen to know what has become of that Amada Sadayoshi katana that Yamamoto-san carried to his death in battle or of the shadow sword that Junichiro Watanabe noted he possessed in the article circa Showa 60? I've done some searching online, here on the board, (and spoke with Danny over email), but no luck in finding any additional info. Thanks, Eric

Greetings everyone, I wanted to take the time to post some information about a possible documentary that is in the works for WWII Japanese swords. I came to know about this documentary recently and there is a cross post on Paul (Martin's) forum about it as well. I became particularly interested in it because of my fascination with WWII in general and the fact that the producer is from my area in Northern VA/Washington, DC. The project is in need of $30,000 USD in order to get the documentary going and the link below enables you to make a donation if you choose. If you have an Amazon.com account the link will redirect you and you can make a secure payment directly through there. Just a note that I do not have any affiliation with the producers - I merely wanted to pass along the information as I thought it was quite fascinating and a worthy documentary to try and get off the ground if possible. (And yes, I did my part in making a generous donation. ) There's an excellent description and video on the website that is worth watching (description posted below to wet your appetite if you didn't click on the link yet). Regards, Eric