Bruce Pennington Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Hope someone can tell us what this says! It's on the nakago mune of a Kanemichi gunto. The rest of the sword can be found here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21514-rough-but-beautiful/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 和田護 Wada Mamoru ↑ My best guess. The Wada is obvious. The bottom name, not so much due to the balance being wrong for 護. Still, its the closest I could find without digging into the really obscure kanji. http://kakijun.jp/page/2009200.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Thanks Steve! Ever seen a name on the mune before? Think it's the actual smith's name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 I believe this is meant to say that the sword is for the individual's protection. Same concept for a mamori-gatana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 I've never seen a name on the tang's mune before. I believe it might have been the owner's name. Mamoru is a common first name for a male. This is assuming the kanji is indeed 護. I still have doubts, but in lieu of a more viable alternative I'll stick with it for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 I've seen various types on inscriptions on a mune. One NMB member has a very beautiful gendai tanto by Yoshihara Kuniie with a mune inscription. Here is another example. http://www.nihontocraft.com/11th_Rai_Kinmichi.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 Interesting! That one is dated on the mune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwordGuyJoe Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 Here's another example on Ed's site: http://yakiba.com/Tanto_Sadakazu.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cisco-san Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 I have also seen a blade from SŌKAN (宗寛) with inscription on the mune some years ago - but can´t remember what it was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron STL Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 I'm not sure this is the Kuniie Ray mentioned, but this is the one in my collection. Terrific tanto, in my opinion. Nakago-mune shows the date of this special order tanto. I've also seen some nakago-mune signed by a polisher; that may have been on a sword dedicated to a shrine during celebration of there founding. Interesting sword that I handled decades ago but went elsewhere, to my regret. Ron STL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwordGuyJoe Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I'd love to see some pics of the blade Ron, if you'd be willing to share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 That's the one Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Singer Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 Another example. http://www.e-sword.jp/tantou/1710-3010.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Here's an odd one: Looks like the kanji "So" as in Soshu, or made by. Does "So" by its self mean "made"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 福 Fuku Couldn't tell you what it means in this context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Steve, It's on a 1945 blade with a chippy Seki-style smith name of "Nagamitsu". It's a bit puzzling because it's clearly not the famous Nagamitsu (wrong "Naga" kanji), plus the Naga kanji is right for a Seki naga, but the only Seki Nagamitsu I can find even uses a different kanji. This naga is used in other smith names, but not in the Nagamitsu, as far a I can find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwordGuyJoe Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 That's a well done nakago and not a seki one. It's "Chikugo ju Nagamitsu". Look for Endo Nagamitsu - that's who made this. If memory serves, he was a $1M yen smith and did decently at the wartime competitions. Edit to add: He ranked Chuge Saku and was RJT http://www.jp-sword.com/files/seki/gendaito.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 ...which means the Fuku on the opposite side would probably be something scratched in by the owner. 福 (fuku) by itself means good luck. It is a common kanji, often used in last names or other pronouns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Interesting Kokura Arsenal stamps on a mune, both the Kokura "Ho" and Kokura First Arsenal "Ko." 小 Army Arsenal Kokura Factory - Kokura Army Arsenal inspection mark: "Ko". "Ko" stamp is not discovered except for the following example. It seems that the inspection mark used the "To" commonly since most Tokyo Factories relocated to Kokura Factory. ホ Army Arsenal Kokura First Factory inspection mark: "Ho" Sorry, the Ko is above the Ho and fainter. Not a good view of it in this pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted April 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2017 Unusual markings on a Muto Mitsuhiro in Naval fittings:http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22142-muto-mitsuhiro-in-naval-mounts/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukihiro Posted January 7, 2019 Report Share Posted January 7, 2019 Thought I could add mine to this thread : 横田 (Yokota) on the nakago-mune of my (one & only!) Toshimasa gunto - most likely the original owner's name. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted May 23 Report Share Posted May 23 On 1/27/2017 at 7:16 AM, Bruce Pennington said: It's on a 1945 blade with a chippy Seki-style smith name of "Nagamitsu". Bruce, do you remember where you found this 1945 dated Chikugo-jū Nagamitsu 筑後住永光 with 福 nakago mune marking? @mecox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted May 24 Author Report Share Posted May 24 13 hours ago, Kiipu said: Bruce, do you remember where you found this 1945 dated Chikugo-jū Nagamitsu 筑後住永光 with 福 nakago mune marking? @mecox Thomas, I have not found, yet, where I got this. Will keep searching, but as an update, the mei is listed in Sesko's reference and he was from Fukuoka: "NAGAMITSU (永光), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Fukuoka – “Chikugo Beifu-jū Nagamitsu kore o saku” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 2 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said: the mei is listed in Sesko's reference and he was from Fukuoka Looking back at my post from 2017, I would amend it and say the "fuku" carved into the mune of the nakago isn't a random good luck character scratched by the owner, but instead is a mark indicating the place of manufacture (in this case Fukuoka - 福岡). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiipu Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 The stamp shows up on two 1945 dated swords coming from Fukuoka Prefecture; however, it probably represents the city and not the prefecture. The placement of the stamp(s) would seem to indicate an inspection mark which follows the format used by Kokura Arsenal. If anyone has a 1945 dated, star stamped, blade from a Fukuoka Prefecture swordsmith, now is the time to step up to the plate. For a much clearer image of the 福 stamp, see the picture posted by our very own @vajo. Mune Stamp 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted May 25 Author Report Share Posted May 25 21 hours ago, Kiipu said: If anyone has a 1945 dated, star stamped, blade from a Fukuoka Prefecture swordsmith I ran through my files. Only one was from a member @Michael 67 and I sent him a PM hoping for a mune shot. The rest are from auctions, dealers, and sales that didn't post mune pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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