ROKUJURO Posted May 18 Report Posted May 18 Gentlemen, a friend of mine just showed me his sword. He has no information on it, so I took a photo of the MEI. I think I can read NOSHU no JU.....KANESHIGE SAKU. There is a small SEKI stamp just below the HABAKI, and, looking at the work traces, it is possible that the blade had this NAKAGO welded on. The blade itself is elegant in shape, but obviously sandpapered, so only a CHU SUGUHA HAMON can be seen but no HADA. Any support with reading the full MEI is thankfully received! 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted May 18 Report Posted May 18 While we wait, could you post a photo of the Seki stamp? Also, is there a date on the other side? Quote
mecox Posted May 18 Report Posted May 18 Noshu ju Murayama Kaneshige saku, Seki, born Meiji 42 (1909) July. There are several Kaneshige. This is in Slough p. 64-65 1 Quote
ROKUJURO Posted May 18 Author Report Posted May 18 Thank you Mal! As simple as the KANJI is, I did not recognize YAMA! Bruce, I hope this photo will be sufficient. There is no date on the other side, and no assembly numbers painted on the NAKAGO. 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted May 20 Report Posted May 20 Thanks Jean! that is the larger size of the stamp used by the civilian organization. Quote
ROKUJURO Posted May 20 Author Report Posted May 20 Ah, interesting, thank you Bruce! How do I have to imagine a civilian organization dealing with military swords? Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted May 21 Report Posted May 21 9 hours ago, ROKUJURO said: Ah, interesting, thank you Bruce! How do I have to imagine a civilian organization dealing with military swords? when the Japanese military decided to turn away from Western styled swords in the 1930s, and go to traditionally shaped and manufactured samurai style swords, they immediately created a shortage of the new swords - shingunto. As the sword industry tried to increase production to meet the increased demand there were a good number of poor quality blades hitting the market, damaging the industry’s reputation. Industry representatives went to the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association asking them to inspect all blades made in the Seki area. This was an effort at self policing, or self quality control. The Showa and large Seki stamps were used until the army took total control of sword production in 1942. Quote
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