Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto

[Butch]

Recently picked this up from a friend of mine who purchased the sword from the North of England auction house a number of years ago.

The Sword is a late war period completely untouched with a stainless steel blade .

All the fittings and blade are marked 366 even the inside of the saya is marked the same .

The blade is in excellent condition and as a small

square mark which I think it could be an ordinance mark ?

[Butch]

Pics 2

[Butch]

Tang

[Butch]

There is a mark on the Habaki ...

And also the saya is marked and is covered in lacquered shagreen,

[Butch]

Forgot the mark on the Habaki 

[dwmc]

Excellent Sword Gareth!

 

Beyond a bit of age discoloration on the fittings, the sword looks as though it could have been made a month ago.

 

Hopefully, Bruce Pennington or one of the other members can help identify the nakago stamp and habaki kanji...

 

Very nice indeed,

 

Dave M.

[Bruce Pennington]

Real nice, Gareth!

 

The angled marks on the habaki edge are " III \I \I" or "366" matching the rest of the numbered fittings.  It's a modified Roman Numeral system using "\" as "5".

 

I've noted multiple punch marks, like your 3 dots, but no one has come up with a purpose or source (fitting shop? forge? smith?).  Also, I know I've seen the square punch before, too, but cannot find my earlier photo of it.  I don't know what they are either.  Upon magnification, they seem to have a logo or something embedded in the square.  But I've only seen this twice, now, and neither had enough detail to make it out.

[Butch]

Thanks Bruce for your help was glad to get it of him ..

He showed me it before and wouldn’t sell it ...

I think his tax bill have come through and he needs to raise some funds !!!!

Bruce do you know what the mark scratched on to the Habaki is ?

Thanks Gareth

[Bruce Pennington]

The translators would have to help you with that, unless it's a shop logo, or unit emblem.  Looks, to me, like the center piece is an anchor:

 

[BANGBANGSAN]

1 hour ago, Bruce Pennington said:

The translators would have to help you with that, unless it's a shop logo, or unit emblem.  Looks, to me, like the center piece is an anchor:

 

 Kim Jong-un (金正恩)‘s 金 Kim .Could be owner's name .

[Butch]

Trystan thank you ...

For a sword being late war I cannot get over how everything is matching numbers ..

Gareth 

[Bruce Pennington]

10 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

金 Kim

That actually looks like what we're seeing here!

 

Gareth,

I have seen many late-war gunto that were still done with quality workmanship.  Not unusual.

[dwmc]

18 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Real nice, Gareth!

 

The angled marks on the habaki edge are " III \I \I" or "366" matching the rest of the numbered fittings.  It's a modified Roman Numeral system using "\" as "5".

 

I've noted multiple punch marks, like your 3 dots, but no one has come up with a purpose or source (fitting shop? forge? smith?).  Also, I know I've seen the square punch before, too, but cannot find my earlier photo of it.  I don't know what they are either.  Upon magnification, they seem to have a logo or something embedded in the square.  But I've only seen this twice, now, and neither had enough detail to make it out.

 

Is it possible some of these nakago symbol's and fitting numbers are more ritual/spiritual than manufacturing codes. 

 

The number 6 is not considered a lucky number in Japan, however, 3x5=15 or 3+6+6=15 which results in 5 number 3's which are considered lucky? 

 

Are the three dots on the nakago possibly an aposiopesis, suggesting trailing off in to silence, or something that continues spiritually unspoken?

 

The square another spiritual/ritual symbol, for instance the significance of pouring sake into a glass inside a masu, or one of many possibilities of a face/figure inside a square?  

 

Just a thought,

 

Dave M.

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

9 hours ago, dwmc said:

spiritual/ritual symbol

Dave,

Your guess is literally as good as mine.  There are many examples of religious emblems; dedications to gods; good luck slogans.  We have absolutely no documented proof of the purpose of many of these things we find on nakago.

 

I will caveat that with a tid-bit we do have - the painted numbers.  Here is a quite famous photo of several blades during production and assembly that have sequentially painted numbers.  It is the one small bit of evidence we have that backs up the belief that these are put there by the factories and/or fitters:

 

[Butch]

Here is a picture of my other Navy Kai-Gunto notice the quality between the two

 

 

[Kiipu]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:03 AM, Butch said:

All the fittings and blade are marked 366 even the inside of the saya is marked the same.

 

Did this sword have an encircled anchor stamp on the tang?