cabowen Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 Bought this recently more out of curiosity than anything else...I have only seen one other one like it! Another catch and release. Look for it in the sale forum soon... Quote
loiner1965 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 Interesting but is the sword functional or just for show? Quote
Brian Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 Just a field repair I suspect. Tsuka broke...so he adapted what he had, which was maybe a shirasaya. Brian Quote
Baka Gaijin Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 Good morning all, The nakago appears to have a signature but no Mekugi ana. Cheers Quote
truelotus Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 yes, it is very rare to see a sword without mekugi ana :D only seen one before, and it was unfinished sword Quote
Drago Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 From what I understand is that sword offered to shrines sometimes are done without a mekugi ana - so that the sword remains pure and cannot be used. Good for an offering, but a bit unpractical for practical use... Quote
cabowen Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Posted June 6, 2014 Malcolm has it! This sword was never completed! The koshirae as well is not finished- note the tsuka has no mekugi-ana either. There is the number 44 on the habaki in lacquer and a matching 44 on the tsuka. The tsuka has the kanji "kai gun" written on it and the saya is covered in same but other than the fuchi and koiguchi, none of the other parts have been placed. The blade is finished with habaki, signed Yoshiharu, and in excellent condition but has not had the mekugi-ana drilled. As noted, this is seen sometimes in blades made for shrines. It is also seen in blades that weren't mounted apparently! As mentioned, very rare! Quote
sanjuro Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 Chris. Is that the character for Katsu I see faintly on the nakago? Nope...... I just saw in your previous post, Its yoshi I can see. Here's a sword of mine, a shrine sword originally from the Iwakuni shrine, no mekugi ana but a full koshirae without tsuba. The tsuka is also not pierced for a mekugi but is held in place by a sliver of folded rice paper which jams it lightly on the nakago. One is prompted to ask how the tsuka on your sword is held in place? Quote
cabowen Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Posted June 6, 2014 Thanks Keith for posting a very neat example. The tsuka is simply on through friction. It all comes apart very easily. It must have been taken from an arsenal or workshop at the end of the war. Amazing it made it out alive... Quote
sanjuro Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 Amazing it made it out alive... Probably the liberator of this sword didnt even appreciate how rare it was. How many of these swords made it out alive, intrigues me. The story behind my sword probably accounts for most others as well. It was simply taken by occupation forces and later found its way onto the market. Thankfully I have nailed down the provenance of my sword owing to the attribution on the nakago, the family mon on the saya and a bit of research. Does the nakago of your sword bear a centre punch mark where the mekugi ana should have been drilled? Quote
cabowen Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Posted June 6, 2014 Does the nakago of your sword bear a centre punch mark where the mekugi ana should have been drilled? No, it doesn't....since the tsuka has yet to be drilled, I wouldn't expect it to I suppose.... Quote
sanjuro Posted June 6, 2014 Report Posted June 6, 2014 OK.... So here is one of those fascinating little anomolies of detail we come across with nihonto.(And the reason for my question in the first instance, ) My sword is centre punched for a mekugi ana. The tsuka (undrilled ) fits snugly and is obviously the original tsuka for the koshirae. I have over the years seen four undrilled nakago on swords and two were centre punched for mekugi ana and two were not. Yours now makes it three that were not punched. The two that were punched (mine and one other) were both in full koshirae, both have undrilled tsuka. Go figure..... I love these little mental question marks that crop up from time to time. Quote
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