EdWolf Posted March 2 Author Report Posted March 2 @Conway S Hi Con, the saya is made of wood and holds an old blade. I have tested with a magnet if there us some iron hardware under the leather but that is not the case. Maybe like yours with copper or an other metal. It's possible but without damaging the leather it's impossible to tell. 2 Quote
Conway S Posted March 2 Report Posted March 2 Here’s the sword I picked up. It has a wood saya with a Type 98 haikan. 1 Quote
EdWolf Posted March 2 Author Report Posted March 2 Hi Con, that's an interesting piece. I'm trying to figure out how the retaining band of your sword is working. Normally it is mounted at the fuchi but yours is mounted on the saya. Quote
Justin Grant Posted March 2 Report Posted March 2 6 hours ago, EdWolf said: Hi Con, that's an interesting piece. I'm trying to figure out how the retaining band of your sword is working. Normally it is mounted at the fuchi but yours is mounted on the saya. I think it's been moved and not reinstalled correctly. 1 1 Quote
Conway S Posted March 2 Report Posted March 2 19 minutes ago, Justin Grant said: I think it's been moved and not reinstalled correctly. Correct. It should go over the fuchi. Because it's brittle leather I didn’t want to move it around and just left it how I received it. 2 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 3 Report Posted March 3 Bob, Is that canvas? Looks different, for some reason? Quote
Scogg Posted March 15 Report Posted March 15 Spotted on eBay this morning. https://ebay.us/m/6KRoOF 2 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 16 Report Posted March 16 Wow, thanks Sam! Extraordinary. @SteveM @BANGBANGSAN Interesting to see the leather band on the haikan, too. 1 Quote
SteveM Posted March 16 Report Posted March 16 Pretty much as stated in the description "Gunto Hokoku No.45 Takeuchi No.2". (Hōkoku is a patriotic phrase: duty to country/patriotism). I can't find any other reference to this label anywhere else on the net, so it raises a little yellow flag in my mind. It sure looks properly aged though. But, is it a sticker? Is it embossed on the leather? Is it a one-off item, or did this "Takeuchi" company make any more of these kinds of saya? If so, why can't we find other examples? And I actually think its "No. 415" (not 45, as stated on ebay), but I don't know what the significance of that is. 1 1 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted March 16 Report Posted March 16 The black would point to Navy. Only one haikan, though, so late-war. Quote
Scogg Posted March 16 Report Posted March 16 Thanks Steve, great point. To me it looks like red paint, which doesn’t necessarily raise or lower any flags. If it’s paint, it could have worn off other examples, or it could have been applied later by anyone. I’ve never seen anything like it -Sam Quote
BANGBANGSAN Posted Tuesday at 02:07 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 02:07 AM On 3/16/2026 at 8:41 AM, Bruce Pennington said: Wow, thanks Sam! Extraordinary. @SteveM @BANGBANGSAN Interesting to see the leather band on the haikan, too. The “Military Sword for the Nation” Movement (Japanese: 軍刀報国 / Guntō Hōkoku) was a wartime mobilization campaign in Japan during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It encouraged civilians, organizations, and local communities to donate money or materials to produce military swords or sale the blade to army for officers use. 4 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted Tuesday at 02:54 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 02:54 PM 12 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said: The “Military Sword for the Nation” Movement (Japanese: 軍刀報国 / Guntō Hōkoku) was a wartime mobilization campaign in Japan during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It encouraged civilians, organizations, and local communities to donate money or materials to produce military swords or sale the blade to army for officers use. Wow, Trystan! What do you think we are seeing here, with the label/stamp? This seems to imply they were stamping the donated/bought swords as they collected them, and numbered them? Google says "Takeuchi" means "bamboo inside", but I doubt the saya was made of bamboo. What do you think it is saying? 1 Quote
tristan105 Posted Tuesday at 03:03 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 03:03 PM I haven't seen this variant posted yet in this thread so here goes. This is an old family blade signed Munemitsu kitted out for WW2. I bought it a few years ago because I had never seen this kind of tsuka cover. I unsnapped the cover on the saya and it appears that an old sparkly lacquered wood saya lurks underneath. I would have to undo the threads on the tsuka cover to see what lies beneath and I don't have the courage to do that. I figure some things are best left undisturbed. I also haven't applied any leather preservative to field covers. Que sera, sera. 5 2 1 Quote
BANGBANGSAN Posted Tuesday at 04:27 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 04:27 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, Bruce Pennington said: Wow, Trystan! What do you think we are seeing here, with the label/stamp? This seems to imply they were stamping the donated/bought swords as they collected them, and numbered them? Google says "Takeuchi" means "bamboo inside", but I doubt the saya was made of bamboo. What do you think it is saying? Takeuchi (竹内) is a Japanese surname. Although the name literally means “inside bamboo,” here it is simply used as a family name. 軍刀報國第四一五號 竹內第二號 Military Sword for the Nation No. 415, Takeuchi No. 2 may indicate that this is the 415th case in the ‘Military Sword for the Nation’ movement and the second sword donated by the Takeuchi sword shop? Edited Tuesday at 04:37 PM by BANGBANGSAN 4 1 Quote
Rawa Posted Wednesday at 02:48 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 02:48 PM On 3/15/2026 at 8:47 PM, Scogg said: Spotted on eBay this morning. https://ebay.us/m/6KRoOF Why haikan is inside cover? Shouldn’t be on and below buttons? Quote
Scogg Posted Wednesday at 03:11 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 03:11 PM Wonderful Trystan, thank you so much for the translation, document, and interpretation. How fascinating! @Rawa, your guess is as good as mine. This is just a listing on eBay, and it is not in my possession. It looks like the haikan is affixed to a leather band that is wrapped around the wooden saya. Maybe it can slide up and down. All the best, -Sam Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted Wednesday at 04:01 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 04:01 PM 23 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said: No. 415, Takeuchi No. 2 may indicate that this is the 415th case in the ‘Military Sword for the Nation’ movement and the second sword donated by the Takeuchi sword shop? Sounds like a good guess, thanks Trystan! @Rawa almost all haikan are under the leather. Don't know about the location in the snap area. Never say never nor always! 1 Quote
Kiipu Posted Wednesday at 08:01 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 08:01 PM On 3/15/2026 at 12:47 PM, Scogg said: Spotted on eBay this morning. Cross-Reference Arsenal Stamps. 2 Quote
Mark C Posted Wednesday at 08:13 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 08:13 PM Hi All, Here is my only leather covered metal Gunto saya, Nothing out of the ordinary apart from the black leather on an Army gunto. It houses a WW2 blade with a Warrior stamp on the nakago (already posted in the Stamps thread) It did come with a brown leather tsuka cover but I doubt it's a matching pair due to the colour difference. 2 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted Thursday at 02:11 PM Report Posted Thursday at 02:11 PM Yours is similar to the one posted by Sam, and shows how the haikan fits just aft of the second snap. Thanks for posting! 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted Thursday at 02:13 PM Report Posted Thursday at 02:13 PM 18 hours ago, Kiipu said: Cross-Reference Arsenal Stamps. Excellent, Thomas! I had forgotten that one. You must have a photographic memory. Quote
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