lonely panet

check out Jim Dawson's book. but I would imagine that the Japanese wouldn't have bothered retaining much about this model. they were most likely made in simular manner to the type 32's. western mill steal, machine stamped blank's, then shaped,grooved and basic edges applied, all by machine's, then hand assembled,

sorry I miss read your question. the koshire was made just to fit your blade (spos you could call it custom made) but all swords start like this. 1st the sword then all fittings made to fit that sword, almost like a production line. that's why you have those small notches, its to help Id which saya, tsuka, etc goes with what sword

if I think I understand your question the company grade Kyu gunto normally came in two version, one and two hand style. but due to the cottage industry type of manufacture, they are almost all simular in design but differ in the type of factory they were made or by the craftsman who finished them. some will have up to 6 seppa, and others will just 2. I have one that the blade was made the same time the fittings were but has 6 very well made seppa. no real function, probably just looked nicer with more. dating Kyu gunto mounts in easy between 1883 and 1934, hahahahaha after that is probably impossible. maybe if yours has a rare manufactur stamp??

Hi Ben, congrats on the new blade. its whats referred to as a COMPANY GRADE Kyu gunto, compay meaning the lowest out of the three ranked versions. company, field and general grade. what Omura refers to as "Command" sabre is a generals grade dress sword, yours is a weapon. the ball tassel is called a 1912 german tassel. most of the early Japanese military swords were styled in European manner as the early Japanese military fashioned themselves on the prussion/german army because they were winning everything at that time. keep up the good work as the military stuff tends to be over looked, or looked down apon as inferior compared to "true samurai sword"

well thanks to the last post, I know that's helped make up my mind. next stop togi town

wow, the emura smith had a very wide range of working styles. whats is mei, read "chounsai emura" as the yakidashi isn't something iv seen on gendai

sorry to hear about your father. hope he gets better

Hi, and congrat's on your new sword. good news its NO fake, tho in poor condition I would say by the look of the nakago, it's suriage. and older then 150years. you didn't pay to much, but its not a bargin either. can you clean the balde abit and re-take photos and board members might be able to help ID it for you

it does make me think, could a polish bring out more activity it the piece, and sharpen up the lines and define some of the more pleasant area's. iv got some pics of the noi line. BUT with out further study"polishing would help", how can we learn what are the better features of the smith or if he has any standard traits (apart from a distinctive Mei) and what style to polish in?

sorry, but I thought the forward leaning yokote was a effect of the photograph, is that what we are looking at ?

can you spell core steal

yep, that's my issue. and theres no shortage of his work either, and he has many levels of quality. but I was thinking that this is a better then average Emura gendai, so was thinking to would be a good example to hold onto. I know that most Japanese only sell these as the demand comes from the western collector, but on the whole, I am hoping to convert afew collectors that dismiss gendai as inferior to the so called true samurai sword of pre meiji restoration.

Hi Peter, thanks for the pics, looks like ours a simular in style. mine is abit hard to photograph, as the steal is very bright and reflective. I had to change my lighting to suit each type of activity with in the blade.

Hi guys, well if you didn't know by now, I collect imperial swords, its what I like and can afford. iv had a few gendai-to now, and iv seen a lot of emura, none of which were that great in my opinion. BUT I have one and think its worth the cost of polishing. so if anyone has some good pics of a polished emura can you please post them, as I would like to see how they turned out. They are rated medium to high gendai, but there Jigane is poor compared to yasukuni, aswell as the general shape too. The one I have, the Ji-nie is really large, random and appealing, and has some nice O-hada. but sadly lacks any uniformity in the hada, but the boshi is finished with what looks like hakikake so I will post pics soon regards H

can some please tell me why this smith is so highly rated? the same bold Jigane is a sue bizen/mino tanto or yorodoshi would not get the same attention

I went through my records and I got it in 2013, which month I didn't write down

this is a very odd/ interesting. all my flags have been either bought from Japan, or from friends who have had them for 20 years plus. so are there people in Japan faking them, or more coming from china or the US

yes, your right. exactly the same, im abit annoyed. iv got some closer photos of the writing, stitching and seams, and have taken some comparison photos of another flag. so heres the next question, have I bought a counterfeit. or is some one copying off a original?

wow, scary very simular indeed, well this does raise some questions. well the flag matches all demensions to the mm, that is mentioned in jim dawson book. also the flag is in my opinion ww2 or older. I will post better pics

Hi guys I hope you are all well, well here is a really hard to find item, its a rare flag for a type 19 flag sword. I got this from Japan some years ago and have been trying to translate it with F-A luck. its just to hard with the semi cursive script. Im really interested to know whats written, so Im willing to pay for translation. Im happy to donate to the board or pay individuals as its really starting to get the better of me. many thanks and regards H

I still cant understand all the fuss over the type 95's of any version. finding a type 32 with matching numbers under 10,000 is by far a rarer item. they have seen more combat us over a larger area, and have a some what good reputation for a machine made blade for combat use. the type 95's didn't fare well over time, becoming loose, the wodden core in the tsuka rotted easly, and frankly the quality can vary different from sword to sword. so why such silly prices? the poor type 32 was so durable it was sent back to the armory to be refitted and re-issued, regards H

me too, but such a odd sword. nagmaki, nagmaki-noshi but signed???

I enjoyed that a lot, thanks for posting that. your a real nihonto nerd if you know were the sword display in the movie was hhaaha, hint in the far left cabnet is a sexy suraige kotetsu katana

don't forget the manner in which the seppa are finished too. very poor.

is it just me, or is some of that fine makie, very close to bright (maybe fluro lights ?) how long before they start to fade?