Kanenaga Posted October 9, 2020 Report Share Posted October 9, 2020 Friends, I have been asked by a neighbor to help find a new home for this sword. It belonged to her uncle, Lt Commander H.A. Guthrie (see photo), who served in the navy during WWII, and it has spent the last several decades in a brocade sword bag under her bed. This is not my collecting focus, and I know there are knowledgeable folks on this board, so kindly bear with me. It seems to be overall in pretty good condition. The tsuka is covered in some kind of fabric, rather than same, and the wrap is well done and fully intact. All the fittings are bright and shiny. The tsuba is plain shakudo and there are no o-seppa. There is a single ashi. The interior of the saya is healthy, but the exterior lacquer has deteriorated along the glue-lines of the underlying wood on both sides, and will need some restoration. The blade is stainless, 25” nagasa, not in full polish but in good condition with cosmetic hamon, and bears the stamp of the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal. I am uncertain how to price this. It’s not the top end of kai-gunto, but a decent collectible wartime sword with some provenance, that needs a little t.l.c. I thought I’d offer it here, where experts live, before resorting to Ebay. I think the neighbor would be happy with $1500 US, but she trusts my judgement so I’m open to pm offers (feel free to go higher!). Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted October 9, 2020 Report Share Posted October 9, 2020 See: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanenaga Posted October 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2020 UPDATE: Thanks to Bruce and several others of the "knowledgeable folks" I referred to above, I now understand that this is what has been called a Naval Landing Forces sword, meaning that it was not carried and used during the war, but was assembled afterward using authentic parts, including the blade, but categorized as a souvenir rather that a true war relic. Bruce himself has written what seems to be the definitive article about these: file:///C:/Users/s0003882/Downloads/The%20Mysterious%20Naval%20Landing%20Forces%20Sword.pdf Now more accurately described, still for sale... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pennington Posted October 11, 2020 Report Share Posted October 11, 2020 These swords are significant because they were made as part of MacArthur's post-war effort to rebuild Japan's industry. The blades may have been unused blades literally made in the last days of the war - which mean they were the LAST blades made by Japan for war (every blade made since then is "art" and never meant to be carried into combat). Even if we find out later, that they were being made in 1946, they are still just as significant to the history of Japan. The mix of army and navy was intentional. With mixed parts, th sword would never match military uniform regulations. By 1946, "war trophies" had been outlawed for shipment home. As these could not be classified as a military weapon, they were permitted as souvenirs in the postal system. Any study of WWII and Japan's role in it, would be incomplete without how it ended. These swords are the end of Japan's war machine of sword-making. They are the "period" at the end of the story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajo Posted October 11, 2020 Report Share Posted October 11, 2020 The same is black painted burlap. On wartime swords it was urushi lacquer on burlap but i think this is normal black lacquer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanenaga Posted November 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2020 Price reduced to $1200 USD. Offers considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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