Bryce

G'day Guys, Can someone please tell me what this green paper says about this Koshirae? None of the fittings are signed are far as I can tell. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Does anyone have any ideas about how I can find out more information about Mr Nokura? Google hasn't been any help so far. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, Thank you for your replies. Bruce, unfortunately I don't know any more about the sword or how it came to be in Australia. SteveM thank you for that Translation. I was always a little stumped by what the "2nd" represented, given the date on the sword was 8th December 1942, one year after the start of the war. Vajo, the reason I bought this sword was I thought there was a chance it was actually made for Kichisaburo Nomura, a retired admiral who was the Japanese ambassador to the USA at the time of the attack. He returned to Japan in August 1942, so the timing and the naval connection all fitted. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case. From what I understand Nokura is a very rare family name in Japan? Malcolm, they could be IJN cap badges that have been attached to the saya. It seems well done and not something added afterwards, but who knows? Can anyone think of a reason Mr Nokura may have wanted an army sword with a "nod" to the navy? Here is a photo of the whole sword and the missing piece of the date. Cheers, Bryce

G'day Guys, My main interest is in British swords of the Napoleonic period, but over the years I have also acquired several Japanese swords. I was wondering if you might be able to tell me a bit more about this shin gunto that I own. I believe it to be a special order gendaito made by Kanemichi for Mr Minoru Nokura to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbour. The blade doesn't appear to have any stamps. The kanji used for "michi" in the mei is very abbreviated and I think it could easily be something other than "michi". What are your thoughts? I think the hada is mostly running masame with some small areas of itame. Because the blade is in old polish it is very difficult to photograph the detail. The black metal saya also has the symbol for the Imperial Japanese Navy on each side. I haven't been able to find out any information on who Mr Nokura was. Also the Hamachi is chipped, which makes the fittings a little loose on the blade. Is this much of an issue? Also, how can you tell the difference between an oil tempered and a traditional water tempered blade? The hamon on this sword is noi based and I can't really see any obvious nei. Cheers, Bryce