Cuirassier

Thanks John You obviously have much better eyes (and experience) then me; I can not see the 亀 character anywhere above

Hi Guys I wonder if anyone can help me with the date on a tang? It is worn. I was told it is 1504, but do not believe it (I have a reference book, I checked for 1504 but the characters are not there for me). I have also put the mei up; Yasumitsu. I have not been here for a while; the new style looks great Any helpers, please :-) Regards Mark

No, thanks, I know. Kawasaki Nagamitsu

Thanks Stephen Very little info about this maker, though two of his gunto / tachi sold on eBay for just under $2K each (according to a Japanese reference site) and tyhe fact it seems he did not even sign the blades himself; http://japaneseswordindex.com/promei.htm

Hi guys - help! This one has me bugged. So, I am sure it is "No Shu Ju (something) (something) Nagamitsu". I am sure it is not Ichihara (as that is the well known Nagamitsu) This is a war time gunto but no Seki stamp. I am sure the forth character is NOT "shu" as it is distinctly different from the second character which is shu. Aaaaaarrggggghhhh Any takers? Cheers Mark PS Sorry about the quality of the photos, I am away from home right now and have a b awful camera.

Thank you Momi. I was worried that is was Sukesada (so many Sukesadas, so many ) Cheers

Hi Guys If anyone can work out this mei I would be interested to know, it is so worn; the first character I am fairly sure is Suke. I doubt the blade is worth a great deal, but who knows! Thanks in advance Mark

Me too Thanks guys / sorry

Hi Guys Can you help me with this one? It is either Sadatoshi or Sadatsugu (I think). Thanks Mark

Hmmm, clearly Nihonto Antiques know something others do not, or maybe it is a bit of "large"?! Anyway, I posted images of the blade on the othert thread about this sword if anyone is interested; http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=18006

Blade images attached. I take it the bohi was added later? Worth a 450 GBP polish with Tony Norman? Regards Mark

Hi Guys Thank you I was going on this; http://www.nihontoantiques.com/fss526.htm Regards Mark

Hi Guys Thank you very much. Geraint Yes, it is pierced at the end of the tsuka. nagamaki I will take some more pictures soon; it is at my other property. ERazer From what I can see, the Kiri means the person that carried the sword was a member of the Japanese government, rather than a member of the Japanese armed forces per say, would you agree with that? Regards / thanks Mark

My other post on this sword is here; http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=18006 If anyone can also help on the fuchi, menuki and tsuba.

Hello all I bought a very interesting, well, I will call it a shin gunto, as the saya is military, and the bindings are typically military. But the fuchi is not standard, for sure, and appears to be oak leaves; oak leaves on European swords tends to mean a general staff officer rank (or flag officer if navy). Is this the same here, is this shin gunto I bought a general staff officer's sword? Second question. The shin gunto has no tsuba; clearly having been removed. I doubt very much, courtesy of the fuchi and menuki, that it would have been a standard gunto tsuba. Clearly, I have to get a tsuba for this sword (the blade is worth it); can anyone give me some advice on the type of tsuba likely to have been original to the gunto? Finally, one of the menuki is missing I can not make out what the remaining one is of, if anyone can advise, so I can try to get another for the reverse side. Cheers Mark

Hello Guys I am sure the mei is for Higo smith Enju Naohiro First, I wanted confirmation if anyone is able. Second, the only reference I found to this smith says that he also signed as Dotanuki Munehiro. There being some advantage if true, as there are good rankings for Dotanuki Munehiro. Can anyone advise on this? Final question, I have worked out the era is Tempo from the date inscription, and that the third character is "Go" (5), but have come unstuck thereafter. If anyone could please help me with the date as well? I am also posting a question about this very interesting sword in the military section, as the fuchi and menuki are very bespoke. The fuchi appears to be of oak leaves, and I wondered if that meant a general staff officer's sword, as this would imply with British swords for example. In addition, the tsuba is missing, and I am looking for help identifying the likley type used, so I can gert one. Many, many thanks. And cheers Mark

Hello George OK, yes, thank you. I bought it from a top auction house who stated the item was gendaito; and they generally know what is what. They failed to mention the Showa stamp. I paid too much for it, but not too much if you understand. I would bounce it back at them but the hassle is not worth the effort. Clearly not one for a polish as I hoped it would be. Oh well................... Thanks again for helping me understand the inscription; it is the first time I have ever seen this. Regards Mark

Hello Guys Thank you all very very much. I am heartened many here also had problems with the mei; it took me a long time to reconcile it as Fujiwara Jumyo, a complete unkown as far as blade makers are concerned? I know / found earlier blade makers of this name, but can find nothing at all about a war time Fujiwara Jumyo which, for me, is odd given the massive inscription (that such an inscription would come from a one off blade maker). And the blade itself is one of the better non-Gendaito. It is not the sword I had hoped it might be, the Showa stamp coming as a nasty surprise. Oh well, still an interesting gunto. Thanks again. Cheers Mark

PS I got Kuni (some form of Yoshi?) gwatsu above the showa stamp, and have no idea why it is there, or the tiny blade engraving above.

Hello Guys I bought this gunto.................... Unfortunately it has a showa stamp :x , but it has a lot more that I do not understand and have not seen before, including a tiny blade section inscription under the habaki. I recognize some characters / meanings but not many. So, I think this is a presentation sword? Any pointers / help gratefully received. Regards Mark PS If you notice the file names say "Fujiyasu", that is because it took me some time to reconcile that the mei is actually Fujiwara

Thanks guys By the way, I forgot to mention that the blade is 30 1/2 inches long (excluding habaki), so Tachi size, though signed on the nakago correctly for a katana. Was this normal, such a huge (long) blade at that time 1661-1684?

Chris, Jacques Thank you very much. Forgive me, I only have a few basic books and the Internet to go by. I have seen that Shimohara and Shitahara are the same thing; http://www.sho-shin.com/tokai8.htm So is this my Shinto guy; http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TER38 As he is the only 4th generation listed ?

I think I can safely assume that they are the same smith?

Hi Chris Do you have a link for this? Regards Mark

Hi Chris Thanks There are records of a bushū shimohara ju yamamoto genji terushige Who is one of the same with bushū shimohara ju yamamoto genjirō terushige http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TER35 In which case, I will be very happy.