Hachiman

Just out of curiosity, do the records of the Dutch East India Company reveal where they obtained the steel they traded to Japan? Swedish, German, Dutch, Indian (Wootz?)...South Asian?

Thank you very much for that help, much appreciated. If I can presume on your patience a little further, how would the furniture on this sword be described, "gunto" or something else? And is the style identified with a particular branch of the military? (ie: army, airforce, navy?) I just noticed that under the leather snap area I can feel the groove into which the handle of the small accessory knife would fit (sorry about the lack of proper terminology) Does this indicate a 'civilian' scabbard that has had the leather wrapping added for military use? Is this snap closure unusual or indicative of the owner's military 'trade'? Would it be advisable to polish the leather covering or is it best left alone? I can see it must have been carried/worn for some time as the leather tip to the scabbard is worn away in one place where it would have scuffed against the wearer's boots etc. Again, many thanks! Robert.

I do have one other question about this sword: how common was it for an officer or NCO to carry a wakizashi, instead of a full-length sword and were there any regulations or reasons behind this particularly? Were any particular military branches more likely to do so?

Thanks again. Is this one closer? http://www.samurai-nippon.net/44/ I see there is some mention of this smith elsewhere on this board. I now see of course that the chrysanthemum that I assumed at a glance to be a stamp is actually hand cut. Interesting how the "modern " design predisposed me to assume that! There's a little lessson. I've wiped the blade down with isopropynol and will warm it up with a heat gun to drive out any residual moisture before putting some light oil on. I've got some electric shaver oil that should do the trick(?) Should the tang be oiled or not? Oh, and I'm curious in what sense the nakago is "in rough shape" and the "signature is iffy"? I don't know what to look for which is why I ask, thanks. Robert.

Thank you for the replies. I have added a few more photos to the album, hopefully showing the blade a bit more clearly. Photographing the hamon is not an easy thing obviously! I forgot to add that the blade is 25 inches almost exactly from tip to tip, and from the tip to the front edge of the habaki(?) 19 1/2 inches measured parallel to the blade. I'm glad to hear it is earlier than I thought. In my ignorance I had assumed that the chrysanthemum stamp meant it was Showa era military production. I have heard from a Japanese native speaker that the signature reads "Echizen-no-kami Minamoto-no Nobuyoshi". Could this be an alternate reading? Thanks again! Robert.

I recently bought this sword at a flea market in FL. I know that doesn't sound very auspicious, but it appears to be at least a WWII or earlier blade. It has some defects, but for the price I felt it was worth picking up. There was no provenance attached except that it had belonged to an ex-serviceman. Photos are here, apologies for the poor lighting, I will try and get some better shots of the blade condition: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2010-4/1355702/2140186 I would be grateful for any comments. Thank you in advance! Robert.

I have added a few more photos to the folder linked in the first post. Hopefully I'll get some others showing the Hamon(?) and tip in detail. Thank you.

Gentlemen, thank you for your further comments. As far as the age of the blade is concerned, the retired officer this belongs to has told me that his father, an officer in the USMC, recovered this sword from "within the cave system" on Iwo Jima during the battle for that island. Like yourselves no doubt, I would normally be inclined to take such an account with a pinch or two of salt(!), but in this case I would not. So, the Japanese officer who carried this sword presumably felt it was a sword of at least enough merit or significance for him to wear it. I mention that in case it has any bearing on your evaluation of the sword. I'm aware of course that swords have been misrepresented or mistaken in Japan as well. In fact, due to the cultural inhibitions against open disagreement or contradiction, I suspect it may have been quite an easy place to do so, but of course that is just my conjecture.

Thank you Veli, for those examples. I'm interested to see that not all signatures are struck in with a straight edge, but some are cut with a chisel and hammer like your third example(?) Stephen, it is possible that the pieces you refer to came from another sword which was recovered by the same soldier at the same time and place. The fate of this sword is now unknown, but it was described as "a dress sword...mostly brass except for the blade and hilt. It had the same white material on the hilt as the [other] sword and the blade was straight." I wonder if parts of the two got mixed up considering how roughly they were treated? Jamie, thank you for the link, very helpful! Franco, your comment is just as welcome! Would you care to expand on why you think this is a later copy? How common was it for swords to have "nicknames" and/or owner's names applied, and does this tell us anything about the sword? (I have added a few more photos I received from the owner to the link: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2010-4/1355702/0 ) Robert.

Many thanks to all who have replied, particularly Mr. Morita. As the owner and I are not familiar with the proper Japanese terms for the various parts and features, could I ask your indulgence in posting an English translation of the words and phrases you have used, and perhaps a short comment on the significance of these terms or features? I'm guessing the "Kanemoto Mei" refers to the markings on the reverse of the tang? What do these markings signifiy in general as well as in this case? I see your point Veli about the edges of the characters. Can you expand on this at all? Does anyone have an opinion on the age of the guard? In my casual reading about Japanese swords many years ago, I did not notice this kind of lacquer(?) work being shown. Again, Robert.

I'm posting for a friend of a friend whose father brought this sword home from WWII. Sadly, some half-siblings of the present owner used it as a plaything and reduced it to this condition from its previous excellent condition. It looks to my untrained eye like it might be of decent quality. Any help with the signature or the overall appearance, fittings etc. would be much appreciated. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2010-4/1355702/0 Thanks in advance.