Scogg

Indeed strange, It’s actually in better condition than the eBay photos make it look. Still has a distinct yokote, hamon and boshi visible throughout. Can’t find any big chips, it’s totally straight, and nothing fatal as far as I can tell. That said, it’s far from perfect, and is scratched up and clearly neglected. Missing the tsuka and seppa. Some isopropyl and light oiling removed the fingerprints and made the blade look a little better. As many of you know, I have an interest in the militaria side of things. I was intrigued by the ishizuke with patent numbers and stamps, which is an unusual but not unheard of feature. That said, it’s clear that this scabbard, or the habaki, and blade are not an original pairing (habaki is chunky copper and does not fit into the opening of the saya). With a bit of impulsiveness and $300, I felt it’s better I take it home and look it over. Can’t make sense of that price difference from eBay to now -Sam

Looks like I found the exact same blade on eBay from a few months ago. I should mention that is not the price I paid https://ebay.io/m/1sz8Q3

Much appreciated Ray; we are blessed to have you around. That was fast! Thank you again. -Sam

Picked this up at a local military show for a good price. If someone could please assist with the translation I would be very grateful. All the best, -Sam

I'm not super up-to-date on late war occupation swords. Thoughts on the lack of seppa? The leather on the saya cover with shiny hanger and buckel does not look old enough to me, but I suppose they could have been cleaned... Best, -Sam

カ = “Ka”, perhaps? I have never seen that one on a gunto tsuba. Very interesting. -Sam

What looks like Ayasugi has got me stumped. Is that what I'm seeing? I know you've been working on your Nihinto photography, and it looks very nice. I'm not very good at this; and I really feel I'm shooting from the hip; but here goes nothing! -Sam

Apparently there are a few trillium varieties native to Japan, but I’m not familiar with Japanese native flowers. I think it looks a lot like trillium. Trillium is a really interesting wildflower that also grows out here. It can take up to 10 years to mature and bloom.

Oriented for legibility

Good advice Bruce. Short of a rubber mallet, two chunks of wood can work good too. If the tsuka is stuck on the tang, avoid prying or applying excessive force. Instead, I like to use two small blocks of wood to help loosen it safely. 1. Place one block of wood firmly against the washers (seppa) and tsuba (guard). 2. Hold the sword securely and position the second block of wood against the first. 3. Using controlled, gentle taps, strike the first block with the second block to transfer force to the tsuba. 4. Continue tapping until you feel the tsuka "break free" or release from its seated position on the tang. 5. Once loosened, the tsuka should slide off much more easily by hand. Take care to use only light, controlled impacts. Excessive force can damage the tsuka, tsuba, or other fittings. Sorry it's been such a journey! But that's half the fun. Best of luck and be careful. -Sam

I went ahead and purchased myself a copy of this book, luckily our very own Mr. Singer had a copy for sale. Mine is signed by the author, and numbered in the 230's. It's a nice little book, and pretty interesting. There's a good amount of nakago oshigata. Additionally, theres a little instruction page on reading kanji, mei, and dates. There is also a list of "nakago translations, found in military fittings" that represents the wide variety of swords you may find fitted for the war (from nambokucho period blades, shinto, to gendaito, and shawato). Additionally, there are some hand drawn illustrations about how to tie tassels, there's a photo of hanger chain styles and belt types. There is also a photo of a souvenir dagger in shirasaya, listed as a "kamikazi knife"; I wonder if this is where that idea/theory was first published in English... Overall, it's almost like a "collectors guide to Japanese military swords", and unsurprisingly has a little bit of outdated info. Still a nice resource. Considering the publication is over 50 years old now, maybe I will share some of those tassel / hanger / belt pages to our respective educational forum topics. All the best, -Sam

The fittings are real, and WW2 era. The blade could be wartime, or older, but impossible to know until we can see the tang. The photo that the nephew gave you shows a different sword in the image. Note how the piece of paper shows an image of a sword with a different style handle (look at the diamonds in the wrap pattern), and a different scabbard.

I have not yet encountered Blade# 117949 or Scabbard# 103062 in my cataloging efforts It could appear someday, but I have not yet seen either personally. According to my records, your sword was likely manufactured prior to September 1942. Best of luck, -Sam

It's always been my understanding that piercing wasn't necessarily the goal. A spear thrust carries a lot of momentum, and even if it doesn't penetrate armor, that force can still knock a man from a horse, dent metal, damage joints, crack bones, and/or incapacitate a person. It's probably worth noting that this is not the predominant shape of yari that we encounter, which leads me to suspect it could have a more specialized use. It's easy to speculate, but let's not forget that these items are from a long time ago from a culture we may not entirely understand. Speculating is fun, but short of some good data or expert input, it's just that. All the best, -Sam

Hi Brody, welcome to the forum. It’s hard to say much from the photos provided. What we can tell you is that the fittings are Type 98 shingunto fittings with a leather combat cover on the scabbard. The blade inside could be wartime or older, but we cannot tell unless the tang is shown (preferably on a dark non reflective background, oriented so the blade tip is north and tang is south.) Skip ahead to minute mark 6:40 for instructions on removing a blade from its fittings. Best to take it slow and be very careful. Do not do anything to remove rust or alter the patina on the tang. It could severely hurt the value. Best of luck and cool sword. -Sam

The trillium flower is what immediately comes to mind, although I cannot find a corresponding mon in my Hawleys family crest book. Maybe a rabbit hole to follow. -Sam

Hi @Mark C, Does your hanger have any numbers or stamps inside the large clip? Like this?

Hi Lucian, It's a noble idea, and it would be nice to reunite mismatched swords with their saya. However, the chances of it working out in practice are very low. The main issue is that a mismatched sword and saya are not necessarily linked to another corresponding mismatch. For example, if sword #1,000 is currently paired with saya #3,000, that does not mean sword #3,000 is paired with saya #1,000. All it tells us is that sword #3,000 must also be mismatched. Its mismatched saya could just as easily be #8,000, or any other number. So, while I think it's a worthwhile idea, I suspect the number of successful reunions would be quite small and exceedingly rare. For what it's worth, I keep a running database of these swords, including stamps, serial numbers, and saya numbers. I have around 1,000 entries at this point, and after a quick look through the records, I could not find a definitive mismatched saya that matched a known blade's serial number. I'm sure they are out there and will turn up in time, but of the roughly 200,000 swords originally manufactured, and considering what has survived today, it would be a rare thing. Most of the swords that I encountered and cataloged have matching saya, which was a surprising revelation to me when I started this project. That said, if you have a sword serial number and saya number that do not match, I would be happy to search my archive to see if I have encountered the corresponding mismatch during my cataloging efforts. All the best, -Sam

Thank you Julien. Here is the example that Raymond Yan shared on his Facebook page. Likely not the same exact sword? Looks like he just shared this one image. But nice to see the engravings a bit more focused / up-close

I saw a nearly identical Tanto horimono on facebook recently. Described as depicting: 三十六歌仙 "Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Immortals_of_Poetry

My interpretation below: "Leather combat cover" is the term generally used when leather is applied to any saya at any time. This includes the metal 94/98 scabbards. "Late stage type leather-binding wooden saya" on the other hand would be primarily for blades that previously had a wooden saya, usually but not always civilian or blades donated to the war effort. A metal hanger would be added in place of the kurikata, and then the leather added. Thoughts? -Sam

Here you go @Geraint, and those of you who cannot open the link. I find the mimi impressive and interesting. I have not yet developed the “eye” that you tosogu folks have; but I find the piece attractive. I’ll have to practice a bit with Curran’s procedure. Could be a nice pickup for someone IF it were to sell for gimei prices. Regards, -Sam

Great summary Rob. My beliefs reflect your own. I am sure that I have shared my example below maybe in the leather covered thread; but here it is to add to the string discussion. I have an early Aluminum Type 95 (Variation#2, SUYA, serial number 7249), that has a string wrapped scabbard. It was applied with an incredible amount of care and precision. Note how the string is not tied at any place, but is rather tucked neatly into itself (see last image). It appears to be coated with some kind of glue or "hardener", I am not sure, but it feels like it's had something applied over the top. Its very cleanly done, and VERY tight. I have always assumed it was wartime, or immediately post-war. I rather like it, and think it adds some character. I do not know if it holds any relevance to the string discussion, but the scabbard on my sword is a unit armorer replacement and is unserialized. All the best, -Sam

Arrows? I thought the other boat was throwing Gunbai at the archers!