Early Cavalry Sword On Ebay

[Johnny Barracuda]

Hello,

 

This sword is currently for sale on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINTY-WWII-Japanese-Samurai-Sword-KYU-GUNTO-CAVALRY-Shin-Gunto-KATANA-NIHONTO-/222112337445?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

 

Having being looking for a type 19 cavalry officer sword for some time, I am rather tempted to enter the bidding competition.

 

However, the mounting is rather unusual (no pierced guard and no floral motif), perhaps early, and I am a bit circumspect about the mei, therefore I am solliciting the opinion of my fellow board members.

[ggil]

good idea to be cautious about signatures unless NBTHK/NTHK paperwork is attached, or you need a lot of knowledge/books and really good pictures to figure it out yourself.  you can wait for someone to look up the name in their books and try and verify the mei based on what is included in ebay pictures, or try and google the mei and you will likely find out known characteristics of this smith and check to see if the blade has those.  Also you can maybe compare signatures using this method, but that seems to be an art in-and-of-itself. 

 

Good luck!  Wait around and some folks will likely help you out way more than I

[Shugyosha]

Hi Thibault,

 

I can't help you with the koshirae. The problem with the signature is that it isn't particularly clear in the picture and it looks like it has been filed over when the tang was adjusted for the koshirae so it's difficult to get a view on whether or not the signature is genuine. The first generation is is who the seller says made the blade, but the second signed the same way and worked similarly:

 

MASANORI (正則), 1st gen., Keichō (慶長, 1596-1615), Echizen – “Yamato no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori” (大和大掾藤原正則), “Yamato no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori” (大和大掾藤原正法), Yamada family (山田), he signed his name in early years with the characters (正法), he came originally from Miyatsu (宮津) in Tango province and was a late smith of the lineage of Sanjō Yoshinori (吉則), via a stopover in Yamashiro, he moved to Fukui (福井) to Echizen province where he became a student of Kanenori (兼法), therefore his workmanship is strongly influenced by the Seki style of his master, the jigane is an itame mixed with masame and ji-nie, the hamon is mostly a notare mixed with gunome but he also hardened a suguha that reminds of Hizen Tadahiro (忠広), we also know interpretations in gunome-midare with sunagashi and hakikake which on the other hand remind of works of the Horikawa school (堀川), some gunome variants are rather roundish and are mixed with yahazu elements, we know date signatures from the 13th year of Keichō (1608) to the fourth year of Keian (慶安, 1651), ryō-wazamono, jō-saku

 

MASANORI (正則), 2nd gen., Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Echizen – “Yamato no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori” (大和大掾藤原正則), “Yamato no Daijō Masanori” (大和大掾正則), “Echizen no Daijō Fujiwara Masanori” (越前大掾藤原正則), he continues the style of his father but moved later to Edo, there exist joint works with Higo no Daijō Masakatsu (肥後大掾正勝), wazamono, chūjō-saku

 

For me the choji hamon looks quite well done and fits in with the description of his work style above though it's hard to make out the detail in the boshi. It seems to have a lot of mekugi ana for a shinto blade and has obviously been shortened which are detractors.

 

I'm also put off by the use of the word "minty",  which the blade isn't if it has been shortened, and is one of those trigger words that make me disregard an item and make me want to punch the seller.

 

Kind regards,

John

[Johnny Barracuda]

Thanks John for your précisions about the mei. I concur with the fact that the nakago was clearly shortened.

 

For the koshirae, I researched my books and it may be an early version on the type 19 cavalry sword, because it is between the type 8 and the type 19.

 

Thanks again.