Hello,
I'm Steve and I am a retired naval officer and military history PhD candidate currently living in the Midwest. I recently became the caretaker of a nihonto that has been in the possession of my wife's family since her grandfather brought it back from Japan (after naval service there) in 1946. It has resided in various garages and closets for the last 70 years. I am looking to identify this piece as it seems to have some interesting characteristics. The sword is missing a number of components including the Kashira, menuki (if any were ever attached), the fuchi, and the habaki. It appears that the tsukamaki components have been removed and jammed back onto the tang of the sword in the reverse. The mekugi is also missing and the ana looks straight down to the metal of the tang, which appears red (rust) in color. The tsuka is very firmly attached to the tang, either by force of impact/jamming back on to the tang, or I am incorrect that the tsuka is on backwards and there is a second mekugi hidden under the rear area of the tsuka. Finally, there is a strange, wire wrapped around the blade that holds together what remains of the sword.
My preliminary internet and book-based research would seem to indicate that this is not a WW2 era manufactured sword. There are no serial numbers or marks of any kind on the exposed blade and top of tang. The sword appears sharpened back to the tsuba as well. The tsuba appears simple iron, with several rough sukashi. The tsuba does not resemble those of war-made Japanese samurai-like swords. The overall condition of this sword is, sadly, very poor. As can be seen from the photos it is badly rusted in many places. According to my wife's family it has been in this deplorable state since her grandfather returned with it in 1946.
I am seeking to historically identify this sword as much as possible from physical observation. My working hypothesis is that this is an older sword (pre-Showa) that was turned in along with others in accordance with the Allied Command order that all Japanese weapons be turned in to Allied authorities. Perhaps the family that held the sword stripped the missing fittings in order that those components of the sword that had family significance would not fall into American (dishonorable) hands. Alternately, an American in possession of the sword may have stripped these pieces for their possible value/curious interest, and left the weapon (sans ornamentation) to be destroyed with others by the Allied Occupation Authority. The wire might have once held a US identification tag, or was used by the original owner to hold the sword together for turn-in to US authorities. Happy to entertain other suggestions.
I served two assignments in Japan-based ships in my naval career (Yokosuka and Sasebo), and have a deep appreciation for Japan and its culture. I would welcome any attempts to identify this sword, and any suggestions as to how it might be restored as much as possible to its original condition. Happy to take additional photographs as needed. My thanks!
Sincerely,
Steve, USN ret
