Peter Bleed Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 Dear Friends, I wish I could say that I did some scouting yesterday and found a really nice Sendai shinto - a Kunikane, say - that I would love to have in my collection, but . . . . that didn't happen. What i found seems to be a potentially unusual Manchukuon dagger. I hope somebody on this Board might find it worth seeing. The blade is a rather crudely formed shinogi-zukuri shape, 40 cm long with no habaki. I can't believe it is Japanese-made, but I am completely sure that it is WWII vintage. This is NOT a recent Chinese production. The hilt has fake tortoise shell wrap below a brass backstrap that features a Star surrounded by sorghum. This is the motif that Jim Dawson calls the third Manchukuo government symbol. The same motif is on the scabbard fittings. Has anyone ever seen another of these? Peter Quote
mdiddy Posted January 16, 2014 Report Posted January 16, 2014 Peter, It looks like a WWII-era (Manchuko) Chinese army dagger. It probably has some special designation but I do not know enough about them to comment on details. Somewhat related, I have had a couple police wakizashis with a similar star/sorghum motif on the backstrap (see pics below). At first glance, the wakizashis look like typical WWII-era Japanese police wakizashis. However, they are a little more crudely made. I also think they are related to Manchuko. Matt Quote
Peter Bleed Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Posted January 18, 2014 Mat and Thomas, Thank you for your comments. Sword interest can lead in many different directions, but after 146 views and 2 comments, I think we can conclude that potential Manchukuoan swords are NOT a hot area of collector interest. Matt, your sword is just like a sword (plate 28-18) shown in Jim Dawson's terrific volume. It shows nothing like my short sword, so Thomas, you might be right. Still, I remain pretty darn sure that this is WWII vintage. It feels and just looks "right" (to me). Dawson does show a belt buckle from Mike Quigley"s collection that has has the same crest motif. Maybe my babies won't starve. All this to say, thanks! Peter Quote
Peter Bleed Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Posted January 20, 2014 Dear Friends, I just had a wonderful exchange with Jan Culbertson on Manchukouan short swords and with his permission, I am attaching it below. The take away message may be - keep asking til you get the answer you want. :D From: Jan Culbertson [mailto] Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:25 PM To: Peter Bleed Subject: Re: Manchukuoan short sword Hello Peter: At one point I was collecting photos of Manchukuo swords and daggers to make a book about them, but I gave up on the project because it was too hard to find pics of them. I remember having pics of this one though, and also one with two stars on the backstrap. I think the star is a symbol of rank (brigadier general). And yes, I am about 95% sure it is Manchukuo. Best regards, Jan ----- Original Message -----e From: Peter Bleed To: Culbertson_J@msn.com Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2014 9:34 AM Subject: Manchukuoan short sword Dear Mr. Culbertson As a long time collectors of Japanese swords (Chairman of the JSSUS 1980-1983) with a minor interest in Japanese colonialism , I recently acquired a short sword that I think was made for use in Manchukuo. I showed this on the Japanese sword Message Board and got essentially NO response. One collector suggested that it was a "fake", but I trust that it is vintage. It rather "looks" Japanese but I am sure that it was made on the continent. It has a "star and sorghum" motif that Jim Dawson presents, but he does not show a sword like it. The blade measures 40 cm long. I would appreciate any comments or reaction you might have. Thank you, Peter Bleed PhD. Quote
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