A Story of two Amahide

[dwmc]

I realize at times I may sound like an elementary school boy with "My father this, My Dad that."  However, I'm now to the age I don't concern myself much with what the perception may be, and enjoy many board members sharing their families stories during wwll.

 

I often regret not asking my father more about the details of his wwll military service. It seems as though now, I understand he was way ahead of me as exactly how he was going to address the questions of a young son regarding what he experienced.

 

He mentioned he was in the Philippines, but very little, mostly what I recall of his time in Luzon was over hearing him talking with other Vets. Some of it was quite disturbing. I would also hear him talking about staging in Okinawa, but mostly about the 11th airborne occupation of Japan, and performing guard duty for General MacArthur at the New Grand Hotel in Yokohama. His unit was camped in the Yamashita park, in front of the New Grand Hotel during guard duty. He was also very proud of an exhibition jump he performed with two other paratroopers out of a small aircraft, I believe at Atsugi air field near Yokohama.

 

He traveled to Honshu, then on to Hokkaido where the Amahide sword story begins. By then he had made Sgt. rank and was either in charge, or at least part of a weapons collection mission which entailed several days up the Ishikari river.( I read somewhere there were several thousand swords collected on the island of Hokkaido, which was actually quite surprising to me for some reason.) My understanding was there were at least several hundred swords collected during the Ishikari mission, and the mission participants were given permission to choose a few for Bring backs. Dad was somehow able to acquire, I think, five or more, some of which he gave to relatives before I was born, and have never seen them to this day. One particular sword he told me about in Japan was what I now know was in Buke Zukuri mounts, black Ito and saya, he somehow managed to break the saya , bend the sword, and simply cast it into a pile. Damn, I would love to have seen that one...

 

Long before the internet, my father handed me a bring back wakizashi and Shin gunto and ask me to research them. The Shin gunto, I eventually managed to translate as " No Shu Seki Ju Minamoto Amahide Kitau kore." The Wakizashi papered as a Shin Shinto Jumyo.  My younger brother ended up through a flip of a coin with the Amahide, me the wakizashi,of course, I had always wanted the gunto...

 

I moved to Idaho a few years ago, and have always attended estate sales. At one particular sale there were two Shin gunto swords of which I bid and won both.The day before the auction we were able to view the items, the tsuka on one of the swords was going to take a little work to remove, and the owner was understandably reluctant.Oddly, the next day, the tsuka was able to be removed, and I was able to briefly see kanji, but for some reason the characters did not appear familiar to me. After winning the bid and getting home, I once again removed the tsuka and doubled checked the kanji. To my total amazement, it read " No Shu Seki Ju Ichimonji Minamoto Amahide Kitau kore ."

 

Seriously...What are the odds!!!

 

Dave M.

 

 

 

[Greg F]

Nice story Dave. I enjoy these stories, my Dad was a WW2 veteren also and I too wish I had shown more interest and asked more about his experience before he passed.

Thank you.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks Dave, that's quite a story!

[dwmc]

Thanks Bruce, Greg and all that enjoyed what I thought would be somewhat of and interesting story. I'm sure there are many others out there with father's and grandfather's with similar interesting tales.

 

I thought I would provide a couple of photos of at least two of the swords mentioned. The Shin Shinto wakizashi is the one which was once in a village along the Ishikari river some 75 yrs ago. The Shin gunto is the Amahide (Purchased at auction) which is in appearance practically identical to the Amahide which was also once in a village along the Ishikari...

 

Dave M.