Gunto With Aluminum Scabbard. Opinions and translation help.

[Randal]

This is a sword I have in my collection. It's 34 and 3/4 inches long.

The scabbard is aluminum over wood. The fittings look military, but the handle wrapping is a very light color, not dark like others I've seen.

There is a mon applied on the rear of the handle. The menuki are not the classic military type.

One side has a samurai fighting a tiger and the other side has a dragon.

The questions I have are.

Is the scabbard original? I have never seen a aluminum scabbard on a katana before.

Is the blade hand made or machine made?

Can anyone translate the writing on the tang or have info on the mon?

I would appreciate any help I can get.

Randal.

[Randal]

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[Stephen]

not sure who wraped the ito in that color.

better keep my personal coments to my self about that.

most likely late war scabbard.

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/yoshmasa.jpg

[loiner1965]

agree with stephen as its been rewrapped after the war....it is a gunto sword and possibly a new saya but it could be original as they was no code in what a gunto sword had to be....he could have pink ito if he wanted to but i think they had to stick to normal dress swords for ceremonial displays

[george trotter]

Hi Randall,

I think Stephen is on the mark here...A WWII blade by a Seki (town) swordsmith, Kojima Katsumasa (sword signature says Noshu Seki Ju Kojima Katsumasa saku..."Kojima Katsumasa a resident of Seki town in Noshu province made (this)). The little seki stamp indicated manufacture as a war time sword, so most likely not traditionally made or tempered. The sword is nice condition, the scabbard is aluminium because it was (probably) a weight saving device....original paint has flaked off...quite common for this type of scabbard. The colour of binding is unusual...can't comment on whether it has been re-bound. I have seen original period dark green and various brown to pinkish colours...(just can't say). I haven't got my mon book handy, but someone will know.

Regards,

George.

[Stephen]

Hi George

 

is it Katsumasa or Yoshimasa?

[IanB]

George, The kamon is that used by the Maeda family of Kaga province.

Ian Bottomley

[george trotter]

Hi Stephen...it is hard to read I agree, so I checked all the Seki gunto smiths named Kojima and there is no Yoshimasa, but there is a Katsumasa...

Maeda family hey...that was an important family in the old days Randall...nice mon...nice WWII gunto set there.

Regards,

Geo.

[cabowen]

definitely Katsumasa.

 

Bottom right of Yoshi is kind of like this: 弋　義

bottom right of Katsu is kind of like this: 力　勝

[Randal]

Thanks for the info George.

 

I picked this sword up several years ago along with two nco swords and the original shipping crate.

What made this sword stand out, aside from the color

of the handle was the blade. It is razor sharp along it's entire length.

The tip or kissaki is long when compared to other military swords that I have.

 

I am not as experienced Japanese arms as I am with other countries.

 

With Ian's help with the family mon maybe one day I will be lucky enough to be able to put a first name with this sword.

 

Again Thank You to everyone that posted.

 

If anyone has an idea on where to look for a first name for this

sword it would be apprecated.

 

Randal.

[GregD]

what it may have looked like....

The saya at the top aluminum,the rest are steel,notice the finish.The aluminum has more of a stippled finish,and is over a fabric wrap(prob.had trouble getting the paint to adhear to the alum.)

Greg

[george trotter]

Greg, that fabric wrap over the aluminium is not a treatment I have seen before...I have only seen linen or similar over wood and then lacquer on top...these are usually superior quality mountings. Are you sure there is aluminium under the linen? just asking...

Regards,

George.

[Stephen]

I think I've seen linen once or twice, like George never on Aluminum.

On my Shichi Sai Hokoku , same covers the saya before the hard top coat of lacquer.

[Bazza]

what it may have looked like....

The saya at the top aluminum,the rest are steel,notice the finish.The aluminum has more of a stippled finish,and is over a fabric wrap(prob.had trouble getting the paint to adhear to the alum.)

Greg

Greg,

 

I would opine that the "paint" is in fact urushi, real lacquer. The fabric wrap (hempen cloth??) is I believe a typical underlay for lacquer even on old koshirae, and indeed I have seen cloth under lacquer on an antique saya with lovely decoration - regrettably, like yours, this knowledge came only because the lacquer had suffered damage. I imagine this gunto saya lacquer was quite expensive at the time, as good lacquer is today, and as it always has been in quality work. What blade is in this koshirae?? Can you post some pics of the nakago??

 

Regards,

BaZZa.

[GregD]

This is the opening without the koguchi,definatly a metal sleeve.I examined it a few months back to see if could make a new liner for it,now after reassessing (and looking at the material it is made of)it may only go back a few inches.It looks like it is made of brass,as such,if it were the whole leghnth it would probably weigh as much as a steel saya. I oridginally thought the coloration was an "iridite" coating(a protective used on aluminum that is easy to chemically apply)And as far as refering to the finish as paint I sometimes generalize to simpify a statement.A few years back i found out how this "irushi" surface was produced after removing layers of black and red paint from a '44 pattern saya (similar or the same texture)---lets put it this way,I used laquer thinner and tricholrethane 1,1,1,(did test area first)it didnt harm the oridginal finish at all.When i enquired about it I was told it was probably irushi mixed with a filler material(wood pulp).That said-here are some pics of the rest of the sword.

Greg

[Stephen]

G

lovely sword it deserves its own thread.

[george trotter]

Yes, you are right, either a metal collar for strength or linen over aluminium...I've never dismantled a urushi saya so don't know if a metal collar is present or not...interesting.

Geo.

PS...it is doubtful that you will ever find a "first name" for Maeda and it is not even sure that that was the officer's name. After 1911 or thereabouts, anyone could use any mon they liked (except Imperial mon) so...?

Have you ID'd the maker and date yet?