Davis

Good Afternoon Again pictures are not too good but opinions are welcome. Nagasa 63.0cm Motohaba 2.9cm Saki-haba 2.0cm Sori 1.4cm Kissaki 3.6cm. Mick

Thanks Brian. Mick

Brian Some weeks ago I experienced a similar problem but managed to resolve it. This however prompts me to ask what might appear to many to be a couple of naive questions. When I log on with my user name, my email address appears momentarily. Can others on line at the same time see this too? Likewise, when I browse my files can others see what I'm doing? Why I ask is that my email address is known only to a handful of people and I never receive spam, yet lately I've had quite a bit. Brian, this really is an excellent forum and I have gleaned a tremendous amount from it and hope that you don't mind me asking something so very basic. Mick

This sword is a good one, the quality of the mounts reflect this and the tsuka is original to the piece. Possibilities are that either the Japanese officer broke it in use and replaced the kabuto gane further down or a returning British serviceman crudely removed an inch or two in order to fit it into his kit bag. Mick

These too-

The early owners of this sword could never have imagined that it would be 300 years later that it would be taken into it's final battle. I believe these last mountings, damaged as they are, are part of it's long history. Field repairs or postwar neglect? Regarding repairs, I once read an account of a Japanese officer on board a ship that was hit by a bomb and sunk. He swam to shore but had to discard his sword. Having been safely ashore for several days, one of his n.c.o's made several attempts to retrieve the sword from the seabed and finally succeeded. He repaired it, rebound the hilt and returned it to the officer. I believe the sword that I have once had something pinned to the hilt, possibly a small plaque. Maybe a surrender tag too as there are remnants of old string on the ring of the ashi. Mick

Chris Thanks very much indeed - appreciated. If I'd posted clearer pictures initially I'm sure that you would have responded sooner. Hoanh Thanks also, I'll spend much time comparing the two! I've not forgotten that this is a military mounted sword carried into battle not that long ago. So I will post pictures of the mounts ( should be easier ) sometime next week. Thank you all for your responses. Mick

I've just tried to post pictures of the full length, they were rejected due to size issues - I've substituted these. Mick

Hoah I've tried taking your advice but must admit the photon bit went way over my head. I had enough difficulty with a Box Brownie. Something I've learned from this is that I should have taken all the pictures I required first, then presented them. I can appreciate that posting piecemeal is not good for study purposes. These are my latest offerings and will probably be my last as I don't think I can improve upon them. Also, I've taken on board the points made concerning rust. Regards Mick

And another

Thank you all for your thoughts. The image is poor but if I'd waited to get a better shot it would probably never have been posted. I am constantly learning but will try to address some of the points made. Yes, haagari kurijiri. Yasurime, uniform "V" shape - feather like pointing towards habaki. Futasuji-hi extends full length of blade, well executed. An interesting feature of this blade which is 67.5cm long, is that it has mitsu-mune. I,ve had it now for about two years. When I first withdrew the sword from it's saya, the first thought that struck me was "good gendaito" this fleeting thought lasted seconds almost instantly changing to shinshinto. It was a struggle to remove the tsuka but when I did, I was of the opinion that shinshinto was correct. I was sure then, I'm not so sure now. I'll post more details as and when I get the opportunity, this might be a little while as other things are having to take priority at the moment. Many Thanks Mick

Good Afternoon I often marvel at the standard of photography exhibited on this board, as a good picture is enjoyable to view and easier to learn from. I'm aware also of the numerous articles that have been posted on this very subject. With this in mind, I've been trying to improve my limited photographic skills for the last couple of hours, choosing as a subject a military mounted sword. The nakago is much easier to capture than the blade so I'm posting this first. 2 mekugi-ana, yasurime pattern takanoha with futatsu -hi both sides. It is a signed blade and I will try to get a decent picture of that later. Does anyone have any thoughts on the age of this sword? difficult from just the one picture and I'm not even too sure myself. Mick

Squadron Leader Charles McCormac DCM (1915-85) was a married R.A.F. sergeant stationed with the Royal Air Force in Singapore. When the Island was attacked in 1942, he was able to get his young wife on one of the last evacuation ships but he decided to stay and fight. Eventually captured and interned, he along with other prisoners decided to break out from the camp where they were held. With only improvised weapons and their bare hands they overpowered the guards at the main gate and fled into the jungle. He and his comrades were mostly naked and barefoot, with very little food, they faced a 2,000 mile journey to reach Australia and freedom. It took McCormac 5 months to reach his goal, most of his fellow escapees were either killed or died from disease. His special qualities were recognised and he became involved with Intelligence Work and later served under Lord Mountbatten. It was Mountbatten who gave permission for McCormac to acquire Captain Teruchi's sword. It is obvious that this sword was a prized possession of both Captain Teruchi and the late Charles McCormac. I wonder where it is now? Does it still reside with his family? Did it go to auction or an antique shop. Perhaps it still lies hidden, forgotten in some corner cupboard, attic or basement - waiting to be re-discovered! Mick

Squadron Leader Charles McCormac c.1953

Possibly used in a Meiji period cupboard/cabinet that was made for tourists/export, using redundant tsuba , menuki etc., Mick

Bob Don't be disheartened.. Even with a background of experience and knowledge one can still come unstuck. For those interested in this topic, go to the To-ken Society of Great Britain website, click on "Home", then "Articles", scroll down, click on "see more". It's then worth reading about "A Sophisticated Forgery". Food for thought. Mick

Thanks George for that interesting snippet, Piers too. Those interested in the subject of surrender swords might wish to read the late Han Bing Siong's letter in programme No.37 on the To-Ken Society of Gt. Britain Website. He gives a good description of the sword at Windsor Castle and speculates as to which sword Lord Mountbatten returned to the Field Marshal's family in Japan. Also in programme No.81, Reminiscence - B.W Robinson, is in my opinion fascinating. Mick

Good Afternoon A gunto with a blade by Yasutsugu is on permanent display at the Commando Training Centre Officers' Mess and is presented annually. It is said to have belonged Field Marshal Count Terauchi Hisaichi. Those interested might wish to Google " The Mountbatten Sword " Yet another sword acquired by Lord Mountbatten is held by the Imperial War Museum, London. This one was given to Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton in London 15th November 1946. A letter accompanies this sword. Mick

Peter The To-Ken Society of Gt. Britain held an exhibition in 1968 at the Ashmolean in Oxford. Bon Dale edited a catalogue of these exhibits. One sword exhibited being a blade of European manufacture that had been polished and remounted in Japan. I'm pretty sure this sword later came up for auction in a London saleroom about six years ago. Unfortunately I no longer have this catalogue but I feel that someone, somewhere has a copy and can provide more details. Mick

Yes Mark I agree, I have been told of many similar stories. However, whilst the surrenders in areas occupied by British, Americans and Australian forces are well documented, very little is known concerning surrenders to Russia and China. I know of only two individual sword surrenders to the Russian army and none at all to the Chinese. Some American and British soldiers did acquire large numbers of swords. Field Marshal Terauchi surrendered two swords to Lord Mountbatten. One he kept above his fireplace at Broadlands the other he presented to King George V1...this one is now on display at Windsor Castle. He also had many others, one of which is now in the Imperial War Museum. In a TV documentary in the 70's he mentions another he returned to Japan. A very interesting sword belonging to a Captain Teruchi was acquired by Squadron Leader Charles McCormac with Mountbatten's approval. Teruchi had actually attacked McCormack with this sword some years previous to the surrender. McCormac was later to write. "The sword is locked away in a cupboard now, safe from the inquisitive fingers of our three children; but sometimes when I am alone I will take it out and think of things that cannot be easily forgotten" From time to time over the years I have seen consigned to auction large batches of swords that have been stored by institutions and other establishments. I have also seen many others rusting away in some museum storerooms etc., As for Russia and China? I would be very interested in the full story of how the late dealer who imported the swords into Britain all those years ago managed to go about it. It certainly showed initiative! Mick

Thanks George for a very detailed response, what a great forum this is - ask a question and get an almost instant, quality answer. In the days before the internet it was almost impossible to obtain this sort of information. We had to depend writing long letters to one another which often took months. Incidentally, I recently googled Australian War Memorial, kept clicking and eventually ended up looking at well over 100 photos of sword surrenders. Some really interesting and again show the huge quantity that were involved. Obviously many of these ended up as trophies as the one given to your cousin but how many also ended up in storage and then forgotten? Mick

It does help George. I searched the forum and found your post "Akabane-To being restored" It puts flesh on the bones of the story. The UK is blessed with many fine local and regional museums. Most have massive reserve collections that they do not have the room to display. Some of these have fine collections of Japanese Swords that are just rusting away. Once they were cared for but with the passing of time and the moving on of those individuals who had the knowledge and expertise these treasures become overlooked, neglected... War wreaks havoc upon the cultural heritage of a nation....the treasures of the vanquished become the spoils of the victor but what do they do with them? Many years ago I spent a holiday in Russia, when it was the Soviet Empire. We were being guided around a government building when we were taken to a room, in the centre of which were piled several hundred German helmets. This got me thinking about the large number of Japanese swords that must have fallen into Russian hands in 1945. Consequently, on return from holiday I wrote to the Red Army Museum in Moscow to ask them what had happened to those swords. About six months later I received a reply. In the letter was enclosed a black and white photo of a N.C.O.'s sword, apparently this was the sum total of the collection. I also wonder what became of the Gustav Jacoby collection in Berlin, is it now in The Hermitage or perhaps piled up in some old cellar? Individuals too, in time of war are sometimes confronted with the opportunity to acquire massive art collections. The reclusive elderly son of a wartime Nazi art dealer springs to mind. By chance he was discovered to have an astonishing 1,500 works of confiscated art in his Munich flat...worth untold millions. The late Basil Robinson of the Victoria and Albert Museum, when an Army Captain, in Singapore in 1945 was given the task of sorting through 1,800 surrendered swords so that they could be graded and handed out to senior Britsh officers as trophies. Although he himself only brought back two. Others were more fortunate, perhaps because of their senior ranks. Field Marshal Festing and General Gracey spring also to mind. I believe Lord Mountbatten managed to obtain quite a haul. At an auction viewing once, I came across a box of old letters. one of them from Mountbatten was written to a London club thanking them for the hospitality that they had shown him the previous evening. He went on to say he was sending with the letter a Japanese sword for them to display at the club..he then went on to give a full description of the sword. He seemed to make a habit of presenting these sword to various people, including the then King George. I realise as I type I am making this overlong but suffice it to say that there are still many hidden treasures neglected, rusting away waiting to be discovered. Thanks Grey for the book title. Mick

Chris, thanks for that. Did any of the former owners or their families get their swords returned? I believe there were some high grade swords among them, do you have any more details? Brian, again very interesting, confirms what I've always thought. Purely from memory and without refering to references...the U.K. dealer was from Nottingham. Most of the swords were in poor condition having probably been used for agricultural work post 1945. All periods of sword were covered and some even had additional inscriptions added to nakago. So both Japanese and Chinese inscriptions could be found. These ones though seem to have been presented post capture/surrender as war trophies. I believe some of these are still in private collections in the U.K.......I'm still thumbing through Richard's book, very interesting. Mick

Good Afternoon I've recently received my copy of "Japanese Sword Surrender Tags" by Richard Fuller and very pleased with it too. On page 135 there is a picture of a card label which was stuck to the scabbard of a shingunto. The label reads "Japanese sword found in CT arms dump in S.Johore, Malaya in February 1958 by 1st Bn RSM Martell. This got me thinking about the many hidden treasures that still might one day be discovered. Stored away, forgotten, neglected in the most unusual of places. Watching the recent TV series "Combat Dealers" reinforced this thought. Does anyone remember the enterprising dealer (U.K.) in the 80's who sought out and imported a huge collection of Japanese swords, bayonets,ancient cannon etc from a military arsenal in China? What about the 5'000 swords found in a government warehouse in Japan. They had been confiscated in 1945 and then forgotten, I can recall reading about it a few years ago but nothing since. Does anyone have any thoughts or can add any additional information? Mick

Hi Thanks for posting the pictures. It certainly isn't a waste of time, I've studied them a number of times. My knowledge of the subject is rather weak and I too was hoping to learn from the comments of others. By the way what is the name of the museum and how did you get involved with them? Thanks for sharing. Mick