BANGBANGSAN

Thanks Bruce!

Bruce Do you have more photos of this sword?

I’m not an expert for the Java swords. But I think this type of Gunto is a purely combat weapon made in the battlefield. It may have been produced with the involvement of Japanese blacksmith/sword maker who were responsible for maintaining the army swords(軍刀維修団）, and the materials used were probably something from old car springs. I would like to add one of those Java sword to my collection one day for research purposes.

Swedish steel Company " Shellberg from Höganäs AB" mentioned 日支事変勃発のニュースは、端典の各地の工場視察を終わり、ストックホルムの旅舎に 帰った直後に聞いた。 その時瑞典の銑鉄は、二二〇クローネ（当時の為替平価、五三銭七厘）迄にはね上って いることを知った。これは二ヶ月前には九〇クローネだったということに対し、実に二倍 半の値上りである。その頃、チェルベルジーを経て買付た瑞典のフーフォース社の原料フ ープ三八ポンド（当時の為替時価、二〇円）という、東京よりの知らせがあった。このこ とは正に、原料価格が数ヶ月前に於ける、吾々の製品価格に相当するところ迄騰貴したこ とで、真に容易ならぬ場面が展開して来た訳である. I heard the news of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Incident just after returning to my lodging in Stockholm, following inspections at various factories in Denmark. At that time, I learned that the price of Swedish pig iron had soared to 220 kronor (equivalent to 53.7 sen at the exchange rate then). This was an astonishing increase, as it had been 90 kronor just two months earlier, representing a rise of two and a half times. Around that time, I received news from Tokyo that Swedish raw material hoop iron weighing 38 pounds, purchased via Shellberg from Höganäs AB, was priced at 20 yen (based on the current exchange rate at the time). This meant that the price of raw materials had surged to a level equivalent to the price of our products a few months earlier, signaling the beginning of a truly challenging situation.

Typo 烏（乌 Black） instead of 鳥（鸟 bird)

濃州関住福田兼次 Noshu Seki ju Fukuda Kanetsugu

以餅鐵 Motte Mochi Tetsu (Using Mochi Iron) 盛岡住 Morioka ju 山內 Yamauchi 藤原國多作 Fujiwara Kunimasa Saku

鳥城 Okayama Castle 鍛刀舎 Tantosha(Forge) 三田住 Mita Ju 蛟龍斎 Koryusai(House of Water Dragon) 義光作 Yoshimitsu saku

I read this interview with 大崎靖宗 Osaki Yasumune, and the interviewer is 栗原謙二 Kurihara Kenji, a apprentice of the second-generation 小林康広 Kobayashi Yasuhiro. In the article, some interesting story is mentioned, where 靖宗 Yasumune talks about"In fact,we use oil to soften the blade after water quenching to improve it's flexibility.And this method was invented by Dr.Kuto Haruto 工藤治人(The chariman of Yasuki Steel Mill Company 安來鋼製作所 ）.It was certainly a better method for cooling down the entire blade more evenly than the traditional method."

In the chapter titled "CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF SWORDS PRODUCED" in The Yasukuni Swords, it is mentioned: "Nevertheless, Yasukuni smiths engaged in sword forging with maximum effort, always seeking to improve their techniques and produce the highest number of swords possible. They employed a sword forging method called 'makuri-gitae,' which is one of the relatively less time-consuming traditional methods, and it favored a hamon in suguha. This method seemed the most appropriate to the circumstances, and suited the forging of practical swords such as gunto." It also mentions that "each smith produced about ten swords per month around 1935, and succeeded in increasing the monthly output to fifteen swords around 1940. Supplying for the Pacific War, which started on the 8th of December 1941, some of them surprisingly produced twenty swords per month in 1942, the year in which production reached its peak. It is speculated that this output was achieved by teams consisting of a swordsmith, two sakite, and a charcoal cutter, using no electric machines." Given that traditional sword-making is a highly labor-intensive process, it indeed seems almost impossible to complete a blade in just two days without the use of power hammers or other modern machinery. This would require extreme efficiency and coordination from the entire team, pushing the boundaries of what could be done by hand in such a short time. Traditional methods, especially without the help of machines, would usually take longer, which is why the reported productivity is surprising.

He also mentioned that the Tsuru 鹤 Tamahagane was too hard and small carcks werer often seen in the sword.

The new generation of Japanese swordsmith by Tomio Tsuchiko

I read this interview with 大崎靖宗 Osaki Yasumune, and the interviewer is 栗原謙二 Kurihara Kenji, a apprentice of the second-generation 小林康広 Kobayashi Yasuhiro. In the article, some interesting story is mentioned, where 靖宗 Yasumune talks about"In fact,we use oil to soften the blade after water quenching to improve it's flexibility.And this method was invented by Dr.Kuto Haruto 工藤治人(The chariman of Yasuki Steel Mill Company 安來鋼製作所 ）.It was certainly a better method for cooling down the entire blade more evenly than the traditional method."

Thanks for posting this. It looks like there were some engravings on the tang, but they were scratched off? The tassel is very interesting. It looks like it was fieldmade and wrapped around the wrist to prevent slipping, rather than to indicate rank.

It looks like a regular 半鍛鍊 non-traditionally made Showa To. Maybe it was registered during the 平成 (Heisei) era.

The protective dagger is called 守り刀. The name of Emperor 睦仁（Mutsuhito)'s 守り刀 is not known. However, one of the most famous 守り刀 belonged to 源義経(Minamoto no Yoshitsune) and is called 今剣(Imatsurugi).It was made by 三条宗近 (Sanjo Munechika)。

@Bruce Pennington Since the navy sword is called "太刀型軍刀" (Tachi-style military sword), I suppose it should have a tachi mei. http://ohmura-study.net/730.html http://ohmura-study.net/284.html 刀身 一、皇國古来ノ太刀又ハ打刀ノ身若ハ皇國獨特ノ鍛錬法ニ據レル新身ヲ用フルコト、洋鋼打延ノモノノ如キハ適當ナラズ 二、刀身ノ長サハ佩用者ノ身長及修得セル劍術流派ニヨリ定ムベキモノナルモ一尺七寸以上ヲ可トス 三、ハバキハ太刀ハバキトシ金、銀、銅又ハ金銀著セノ何レニテモ差支ナク鑢目等モ随意ノコト

http://ohmura-study.net/006.html 刃物鍛冶の名人・千代鶴是秀は先述したように、スウェーデンのダンネモラ鉱山の鋼を専ら使い、国産の鋼は切れ味が悪くて使わな いと明言していた。 刀匠で後に刃物鍛冶になった長島宗則は「大正頃のヨーロッパの鋼は素晴らしかった」と述懐している。 河合綱商店が和鋼を基に成分規格を提示、スウェーデンのダンネモラ鉱山が産出する地鉄を使って英国のアンドリユー社が成分調整 した鋼を生産した。 千代鶴是秀が先鞭をつけた東郷ハガネの鉋（かんな）は、戦後僅かに残った在庫を使い、現在も鉋の最高級品として販売されている。 The master swordsmith 千代鶴是秀 Chiyozuru Korehide, as previously mentioned, exclusively used steel from the Dannemora mine in Sweden, and clearly stated that he would not use domestic steel due to its poor cutting performance. The swordsmith-turned-blade smith, 長島宗則 Munenori Nagashima, also reminisced, saying, “The European steel around the Taisho era was outstanding.” 河合綱商店 Kawai Tsuuna Shoten established a composition standard based on traditional Japanese steel (Wakou) and produced steel in cooperation with the Andrew Company in the UK, using base iron sourced from the Dannemora mine in Sweden. The 東郷ハガネ "Togo Hagane" planes 鉋( kanna), pioneered by 千代鶴是秀 Chiyozuru Korehide, were made using the limited post-war stock and are still sold today as top-grade planes.

Yes, the fitting looks very clean, despite the blade having a lot of rust.

Or he was sent to China as a battlefield sword repair smith. Some of the smiths returned to Japan, while others died there.

If he died in July 9th 1945 insted of July 7th，then could be during the Gifu（where he work)air aids 昭和20（1945）年7月9日、今日も一日無事で終われると多くの人が思っていた午後11時頃、人々の思いを裏切り、ついに岐阜市にも米軍による空襲が行われた。 　空襲は数時間続き、約130機のB29が参加し、1万発以上の収束焼夷弾と焼夷弾が投下された。 空襲の目標点として、市街地の中心であった徹明通りと金華橋通りの交差する地点が設定されたため、街は瞬く間に火の海となり、多くの建物が焼け、約900人もの市民が犠牲となった。 On July 9, 1945 (Showa 20), around 11 p.m., when many people thought the day would end peacefully, Gifu City was finally subjected to an air raid by the U.S. military, betraying their expectations. The raid lasted for several hours, involving around 130 B-29 bombers, which dropped more than 10,000 incendiary bombs and cluster incendiary bombs. The target of the raid was set at the intersection of Temmei Street and Kinkabashi Street, which was the center of the city. In an instant, the city was engulfed in flames, with many buildings burned down and about 900 citizens losing their lives.

Tokyo?JSW's headquarters is in Tokyo.

It might has star stamp under the habaki

In Wang Bo's poetry, "二難并“ refer to the rarity of having both a virtuous ruler and an esteemed guest gather together. Could it be that on this blade, the meaning of“二難并” suggests it simultaneously possesses both artistic beauty and practical combat functionality?