Ronin Akuma Posted March 18, 2011 Report Posted March 18, 2011 My family just received this sword from a friend of the family. He said that the Saya and the Tsuba and Tsuka were once replaced, but the blade was good. He got it from a friend who was a museum curator (don't know which one... I guess I should ask him for more details). From research and help from my parents, I think the Mei says: Seki-Ju Fukumoto Amahide Saku SEKI JU FUKU MOTO AMA HIDE SAKU More pics here: http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/BSP06XRU/Nihonto/ I am new to the "Nihonto" world and any background on this blade (Shinogi Zukuri) would be appreciated. Thanks! Quote
k morita Posted March 19, 2011 Report Posted March 19, 2011 Hi, Yes ,the mei says "Seki-ju Fukumoto(family name) Amahide saku" 関住福本天秀作. WW2 period swordsmith in Seki city. His real name is Fukumoto Hideyoshi or Hidekichi or Shukichi. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 19, 2011 Author Report Posted March 19, 2011 Thanks for the quick reply! Quote
David Flynn Posted March 19, 2011 Report Posted March 19, 2011 He was a wartime smith and this sword is in a ww11 officers mount. probably original to the sword. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you David. The more info on the piece the better! I know there is no such thing as "actual" value, but how much is this sword's approximate value? I never plan on selling it, but my dad keeps asking... Quote
David Flynn Posted March 22, 2011 Report Posted March 22, 2011 depends on whether it was mass produced at his factory, or special order. does it have an arsenal stamp (see section on military swords this forum)? Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Posted March 22, 2011 Nope. No arsenal stamps on it. A link to more pics are on my original post. There was nothing on the other side of the blade so I didn't take a picture of it. I'll have to go to my parents' home and take a better look at it again. Quote
Bruno Posted March 22, 2011 Report Posted March 22, 2011 Determining if the date and mei were engraved by Amahide, his son Kanemune or his student Idetoshi would help to have an idea of its value. As many of us know, Amahide did not sign a lot of his swords himself, so the ones he did sign should be more expensive. One can verify this point thanks to Slough's oshigata book. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Posted March 22, 2011 Guess I'll have to invest in getting his book... Quote
David Flynn Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 Looks like it was signed by his son, Kanemune. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 Hi David- How can you tell? Do you have any examples of their writing styles I can view? If you have links to any examples, I would appreciate it. My parents would be able to read and/or discern better than I. Thank you in advance. I am new to this field and need all the advise I can get. It's about time I got to know the culture of my heritage! Quote
David Flynn Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 John Sloughs book. He has various works of Amahide and the various ways they were signed. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 I figured as much. Guess I'll have to bite the $115 bullet and get that book someday. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 Here are more pics of my sword: Thank you Bruno for your time and assistance through PMs. Both are greatly appreciated! Quote
Surfson Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 To answer your question about value, on ebay I imagine it would bring between $800 and $1200 or thereabouts. B Quote
David Flynn Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 Amahide swords seem to be popular on ebay. Even his showato sell for over $1500 in good nick. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 24, 2011 Author Report Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks for the info. Got to look them up and compare... Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Posted March 28, 2011 Didn't find any on e-bay to compare. I don't really want to spend $115+ to get the Slough book. Maybe in the future when I become more of a collector. For now, I just want more info on the sword I received. If anyone can scan and post the images of the Fukumoto Amahide examples I would appreciate it! Thanks in advance! Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Posted March 29, 2011 Yes, looks like the middle one by Amahide's son, Kanemune. Thank you very much Stephen. Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Posted March 30, 2011 Took some more pictures and added them to my Photobucket album: http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/BSP06XRU/Nihonto/?start=all Here are a few that I like: Quote
Rich S Posted March 30, 2011 Report Posted March 30, 2011 There are also some oshigata pics of Amahide and Kanemune blades on my Oshigata webpage at: http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/index.htm Rich S Quote
Ronin Akuma Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Posted March 30, 2011 Thank you Richard. Been there and checked them out as soon as I heard the names (Amahide and Kanemune) and Googled them! Great resources! Quote
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