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a gunto tsuba oddity


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The seppa would cover up the cherry blossoms and star. That's not the way the Japanese design a tsuba to be. Yes, there are genuine tsuba (not military) where the seppa can cover the design, but those really aren't "working" tsuba, but are designed as works of art. I think this is some sort of fake. In addition the two holes look like this was meant to be attached to something using nails or screws.

Edited by Ed Harbulak
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23 minutes ago, Ed Harbulak said:

meant to be attached to something using nails or screws

Interesting observation Ed.  I was bothered by those holes.  Now that I look again, the hole for the blade looks quite crude like it was cut out with a welding torch.

 

I know age can be faked, but the patina sure looks real.

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I don't understand this design. How do the four big SAKURA flowers in the 'corners' of the TSUBA come into it? In my opininon, these are two different TSUBA.

As Bruce says, the NAKAGO-ANA is obviously crudely made.

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6 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Jean,

the 4 corner Sakura are standard in military tsuba.  What is more unusual is that they would be missing on the other side.

Thank you Bruce,

that was a silly question from my side! I did not think that the TSUBA could have two different sides! 

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I do not know if it is prewar, wartime, or postwar.  The characters on the cartridge case are 錦城會.  However, if you plan on researching this item I would suggest using these characters 錦城会 instead.

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Speaking of potential oddities (or perhaps less common, or possibly fake), do Type 97 (Kai Gunto) Sayas always have twin Ashi, or are there variations with single Ashi? I have seen Kai Gunto sayas with only one Ashi and I am wondering if these are legit. I'm aware my question is off-topic for this thread, but in my search of the site I was not successful in locating information concerning Type 97 Ashi so I thought I'd ask here.

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Bruce, if you were looking to purchase a Type 97, assuming the blade and mounts in good shape, but with a single Ashi saya, would the fact that the saya was the single Ashi type (or missing one of the original twin Ashi) be a deal-breaker?

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That's going to depend on your collecting goals.  Mine was to find a good representative of all the official types of the WWII gunto.  So a missing haikan (ashi) for me would be undesirable.  I have bought gunto with missing seppa, but they are easily replaceable.  My dad's Mantetsu was missing several parts and it took me 2 years to replace all the parts.

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Thanks for your answer and insights. I do have a Type 97 with twin Ashi saya in my collection, but considering adding another with single Ashi saya if other characteristics are satisfactory/desirable. My main concern was avoiding the purchase of a Type 97 with single Ashi saya if they didn't exist. Also, was Shark skin commonly utilized on Tsukas of the Type 97's? If so, were more produced with Ray skin vs Shark skin, or vice-versa? I am aware that lacquered black canvas was utilized for Type 97 Tsukas late in the war. Finally, I did purchase a copy of Dawson's Cyclopedia and Kapp & Monson's "Modern Japanese Swords" (considering purchasing Fuller's book, as well), and I've been doing a lot of reading and researching since I got into this hobby a few months ago. I feel like my brain is exploding with information over-load. Lol!

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