hi guys this is showato blade or gendai ww2

[cabowen]

Thank you for posting the info on the Kuniie. By the way, how long is it?

[chrisf]

Many apologies,I've been off colour the last few days,I will post measurements and also the date,I will also try to take images of the polishers marks which are both under the habaki and on the mune just back of the yokote.

George,I'll also post more info on Masatsugu,it has what you would describe as a 'stout' sugata and in practical terms a properly useable sword.

Everyone wants big swords but as a sword to carry and use in all types of environment on a daily basis the gunto size sword is fine and equally with gunto tsuka,perfect length for one or two handed use and the menuki are in the correct position under the palm of the hand.

Probably have to open a new topic as I spotted your old Rai Kunifusa in Ron's book,I had one many years ago but could find nothing on him and couldn't decide whether he made gendaito or not,it was while I was trawling for information on Takayama to that I came across it,I felt that I'd seen an article somewhere on Takayama Masahiro and the swords he designed as a kenjutsu master working as an instructor to the Imperial Navy.

[chrisf]

Chris,apologies for the delay,I'm afraid it's only 67cms,normal gunto length,3cms more would have been perfect!

[cabowen]

Thanks for the info....Kuniie made very few blades of jo-sun length or better. I have seen upwards of 50 or more of his blades, and maybe several dozen more on line, but those jo-sun or longer number only 2 I can recall....

[chrisf]

The only gendaito I've had of 27"+ was an Endo Nagamitsu,very elegant sword with suguha based hamon with lots of hataraki,the only gendai tosho who appears to have regularly made 69cms+ blades is Minamoto Yoshichika although the one I had was only about 64cms.It was another case of anticipation exceeding the reality,somehow it just didn't look like a nihonto,fairly featureless in my view, very clear almost muji,like looking at a pane of glass.

[cabowen]

It is certainly true that few jo-sun or greater length blades were made, in general. Most if not all were custom ordered. Seeing as how Kuniie made over 1600 swords, mostly special order, one would have thought that more longer blades would be seen...

[chrisf]

I have to correct myself,the Horii Hideaki was 69cms and interesting because it had a sumi gomori in the shinogi ji just in front of the habaki,it was in original polish so must have been like that when mounted.I did write to Muroran and had a lovely reply with a copy of the entry in the family sword archives of the original oshigata.

Those are interesting numbers Chris,you have viewed quite a large percentage of Kuniie's overall production,I know you like his blades but what specifically sets him apart in your view?

[cabowen]

A large percentage of Horii Toshihide'e earlier work signed Hideaki which I have seen, maybe 15-20 blades, is jo-sun or better. Most of these were not made as gunto. I have one made for the president of the Hokkaido sword study group who was also the executive general of a large company. It is 28". Clearly the wealthy ordered blades to collect or for iai and not for the war. Many of the top smiths also made larger blades for shrine presentations....

 

As for Kuniie, his blades generally overflow with spirit and ambition. While not always technically the best to be found (frequently one side of the blade has a wider hamon that the other), his blades are always eye catching with lots of activity. His earlier work is often more subtle, with his hamon seemingly becoming more dynamic as the war progressed. His forging is usually sound and there are seldom flaws. He seemed to admire the work of Kiyomaro and many of his blades aim in that direction. Being a fan of that style of blade, I find myself attracted to his work. He was a firm believer in "practice makes perfect" and said that the way to become a good smith was to make a lot of swords. He was very active in the sword community during the war, teaching, inspecting blades for the military, etc. I think he must have been a very committed and dedicated person; one that I am sad I never had the chance to meet.

 

I have a had 2 of his blades signed Kuniie, 2 signed Akihiro, and 2 signed Nobutake. I still have one of the Akihiro and Nobutake blades. I have long searched for a jo-sun length blade and a tanto with several close encounters.... Unfortunately, while the Akihiro is 27 1/4" long, my search continues for both.

 

Thanks again for sharing your blade.

[chrisf]

In return may I thank you for a fascinating insight,may I also say how well you express yourself in these terms,something you have in common I believe with others that I have listened to or read who are genuinely comfortable with their knowledge.

My first experience of this was listening to a lecture by Kenji Mishina when he was resident in the UK and was reminded of it when reading Kunitaro san's posts,do you think that your language has become moderated or altered in some way over time?

I did say to another member the other day how important it is to learn and understand the correct Japanese terms used to describe swords and their features which does create a very precise and economic use of language,unlike me....

I understand what you are saying about Kuniie's blades from the oshigata in Slough's book,whilst more subdued than mine I do find them appealing because he manages an organic looking hamon like in old swords.

Thanks again,been most enjoyable.

[cabowen]

I think that when you have spent many years living in a foreign country, trying to communicate as a non-native speaker, you are driven from necessity to get your point across as simply as possible! Perhaps that has had an impact....

 

In any case, I am always happy to share what I have picked up in my study and research into these WWII era smiths and happier still when it is of use to others.

[george trotter]

I too have seen a small number of blades in the longer length. While not suggesting a comparison with Kunie etc, may I mention the two gendaito blades by Fujiwara Rai Kunifusa of Tokyo presently under discussion in another thread. Both were decidedly not gunto in sugata or length, both being about 70 cm, but as you say, they both seemed to be special order private purchase.

On the other hand, it was permissable to make this length in the RJT scheme as the regulations permitted it as a maximum length. I have only seen one such, a star stamped blade by Nagao Kunishiro of Aomori. It is Bizen den and is 69.8 cm (27.5 in). Although it is in the RJT scheme it may still have been specially ordered?

In 40 years I think these 3 are the only blades I specifically remember in hand as being noticeably beyond the usual "gunto" length...I suspect that battlefield experience taught that long was not necessarily an advantage whereas with art sword collectors pre and post war, this is not a consideration?

Regards,