Early Torokusho Numbers?

[Markus]

I am posting this in the General forum but Brian please feel free to move it to the Nihonto section if you think that it fits there better.

 

I came across a torokusho quote on a tokubetsu-hozon paper (for an Inoue Shinkai blade) that is from May 28th 1951 and states number 110!

So I am just curious if anyone ever had seen a lower number than 110 because as far as I remember, this is the lowest one I have seen.

 

 

 

 

[Fuuten]

How about this one?

 

http://new.uniquejapan.com/a-masatsune-nidai-wakizashi/

 

Nr. 31!

[Markus]

Thanks Axel and wow, No 31!

 

So about two months and 80 blades in between these two torokusho...

This makes we wonder if actually just about 40/50 blades were registered every month at the very beginning

of this system and when the March 29th blade was No 31, we are pretty much at "ground zero.

[seattle1]

Hello:

 Interesting example Markus, however while Showa 26 is the "golden year," were the torokusho numbers serial nationwide? It is my understanding that there were multiple registration sites and one would presume that the serial numbers, at least initially when the process was getting underway, would be site specific. Can anyone clarify?

 Arnold F.

[Fuuten]

I happened to recall that specific one (and after a little searching found it) because i went into business with UJ:)

 

Also I'm not quite sure but i can imagine the first governmental registration invites were send to known collections, or at least families known to harbor historically important pieces. However I'm not quite sure if we could come up with works holding the first numbers from the nthk & nbthk That would be a sight to have those pieces collected in one topic, sorry for the derailing!

[wbt]

I am not sure what to make of the registration numbers. I have a Showa 26 number 5289 and a Showa 32 number 6428. I find it hard to beieve they only registered 1139 swords in around 7 years. There must of been different offices registering and the numbers aren't sequential. I don't know what else to think?

 

Brent

[seattle1]

Hello:

 That was the suggestion in my above post. I think, but am not sure, that the location of the issuing office is on the torokusho, and given what Brent documents, then it is clear that the entire set is not serial.

 I believe that it was Chris Bowen who once told me that the Ministry know to whom they were issued, and if so wouldn't that be great stuff for some researcher if he get that data!

 Arnold F.