charlesf

Dee, Thank you for your kind words,I was quite pleased when the sword arrived,warts and all,it does have flaws which are only to be expected in a blade of this age,the officer that carried it didn't mind them so why should I? I tried to take photos of the fuchi-kashira but my small digital camera has gone 'cloudy' with a large black speck in the middle of the screen which I cannot remove. regards, charles.

Blade dimensions (I forgot!) : Nagasa; 70.5 cms Motohaba; 2.8 cms Sakihaba; 1.5 cms charles

I'm posting this for 'entertainment' purposes,I'm sorry not to have better images these are the ones provided by the auction house and upon which my bidding was based. Whilst I realise that this is not Juyo,museum quality or of purist collector standard it was the sugata that piqued my interest along with the colour and shape of the tang,it's clearly a very old sword repurposed for use by an officer of the IJA. It is a light and handy sword with fumbari and also a distal taper which may be the result of polishing over the centuries. Hada and hamon: There is visible masame hada from the habakimoto for about 10 cms with a very narrow suguha hamon after which the blade takes on a 'frosted' surface and the hamon becomes midare with 'fingers' reaching the shinogi,although there is no visible mizukage I suspect that it has undergone treatment to re-harden/re-temper/create a fresh hamon,there are no images capturing this effect. Tsuka is in great condition with nice dragon themed fuchi kashira,unusually there are no menuki,they have not been removed,they were never fitted,there are holes below the kashira for a sarute no longer there,rank tassel tied to saya which is plain wood covered with leather in good condition. Tsuba is a small,plain iron,round affair which has been rubbed off and lost its patina. charles

Not a week goes by without the appearance of fake Japanese swords on UK auction websites,I've looked at four this morning! Auctioneers either don't know or don't care about the authenticity of the items they describe variously,including 'samuri' and 'kutani' swords yet they're able to describe with exquisite perfection the nuances of pottery and furniture. They clearly believe that "Ignorance is bliss" and just look to sell,sell,sell,which is hardly surprising given the extortionate commission rates that are being charged,I recently bought a sword knocked down (hammer) £480,with commission and shipping it finished at just over £700,so no bargain! charles

I take my hat off to the togishi . . . . . charles.

Many thanks for posting the extra images,nice silver foil wrapped habaki,the way the groove extends into the nakago is also a nice feature,the patina shows it is original,I have seen gendaito with bo-hi that looked as though they were recent additions for practitioners of iaido,usually in modern koshirae. I think you have a nice package,good length,bo-hi,family mon,the condition can be improved with a good soak in a light oil then prolonged wiping with crushed tissue or well folded and creased paper kitchen towel which should remove surface dirt. I don't think profit enters the equation if you have something that you can appreciate and enjoy.Over the course of 40+ years that I've been involved with this interest I have owned hundreds of swords,many of which I lost money on when I sold them but I never considered it a loss,rather a part of the learning curve that can't be found in books,so be happy! Regards, charles.

Well done on winning this sword and for sharing it with us,would you be kind enough to show the yasurime above the mei as well as the nakago jiri? Thanks and regards, charles.

Pretty simple really,if the blade was not correctly hardened then the edge would have folded rather than chipped. charles

Thanks for your post,I think the heat damage can be discounted through its overall condition and that it also has some minor hakobori which are slightly larger on one side than the other showing that the blade was correctly hardened.The kanahada explanation is a possibility but I doubt that the surface residue would have lasted 80 years and the WD-40 soak that it's had over the last few days! regards, charles.

Thanks for your post,if this was an older blade that might be a possibility but as a gendaito/gunto I think it unlikely,the colour suggests that the steel is either not tamahagane or is maybe tamahagane mixed with Western steel. Many years ago (1980's) I had a kaigunto with niji mei 'Kanehisa',no stamps which had a similar colour only to be told by my pal Yorkie that good swords had 'white steel' and there is a visible difference between this Masakiyo and gendaito that I have by Emura,Nagamitsu,Tomita Sukehiro and Endo Nagamitsu. regards, charles.

Recently bought a shingunto at auction signed 'Hizen Ju Masakiyo' exactly the same as in the oshigata database with assembly number '35' painted on to the tang. Blade is stained and appears to be a gendaito,there is hada visible and what appears to be a water quenched hamon,however,in certain lights there is a blue-ish hue to the blade which makes me think it is not made out of pure tamahagane. It's impossible to capture as an image so please don't bleat about the lack thereof . . . . . . Has anyone else seen the same? charles.

Not necessarily,the details of a blade are often obscured by a touch-up polish which appears to be the case here,the mei is virtually identical to the 'Teruhide 2' in the oshigata database of the Japanese Sword Index so likely to be Ishido Teruhide. Ihara Teruhide was an army appointed swordsmith. charles

Perhaps not decisive apart from the 'Nanpokirikomitai' who were armed exclusively with swords and attacked entrenched forces with success and not forgetting that sword techniques like 'gunto soho' and 'Toyama ryu' which were established to train officers in the use of gunto,their frequent use evidenced by the large numbers that required repair and maintenance by units like Kurihara Hikosaburo's repair group that worked in China. charles

Not strictly true,there are numerous images of both IJA and IJN officers with civilian mounted 'samurai' swords. charles

Hello Morgan, Just my two penn'orth,personally I would leave it alone and enjoy it as it is,screw and all,the blade appears to be in reasonable old polish,if there's any active rust a soak in light penetrating oil should kill it then a frequent wipe with soft tissue should bring out details in the blade. I confess to not being a fan of 'restored' items,I like patina and don't mind the odd knock which I feel are all part of the character of the piece. regards, Charles.

It occurred to me that I might have kept an image from the auction house and after trawling through hundreds of pictures found this which is a distinct improvement on my effort. Charles

You are nearly correct Bruce,you are probably thinking of his article on Fukuoka gendai tosho which includes Endo Nagamitsu of Kurume (different 'naga' character) of which I also have an example,very nice sword in a more restrained style. charles

Bought this at auction a while ago,full shingunto mounts,stout blade with more pronounced hamon and hada than usual with Nagamitsu blades,unfortunately neither my camera or my skills are up to the task of capturing clear images,being out of polish the blade requires viewing 'in hand' to appreciate the work. Hopefully somebody will find this of interest. charles

While it appears to have some age the fittings are of poor quality so perhaps made as a souvenir and traded off to some unsuspecting member of the military.The white residue appears to be the dried out remnants of 'Brasso' or similar brass polish whether to genuinely clean or add 'patina' is anybody's guess. charles

Do the mounts have to be original WW2 fittings?I have bought Chinese repro katana saya that are an almost 'universal' fit and serve the purpose of housing blades for which I either don't have mounts or the mounts are unsuitable (metal saya with wooden liner destroyed). Whilst not authentic they can provide a storage solution. Regards, charlesf

Peter sadly passed away on 31st March,his funeral is today at Woking crematorium. charlesf