Rollingthunder

I understand your point now... Duly noted. Thanks for your input.

{Be very careful, one never knows. I have an example with a tanto of mine: http://www.militaria...kantei-for-fun/} Please explain... I don't understand the point of your post. I mention that in my research I found no Kunihiro made jumonji yari. You mention a tanto that you own, yet how it ties in to my statement makes no sense. From your post, it appears you're trying to find the maker, with no success. If you mentioned that you had an example of a Kunihiro made jumonji yari, then your point is made. So how exactly does that tie in with my post?

UPDATE: After speaking with the department head at the auction house, they've conceded that their "expert" was wrong. They are going to correct the listing as to both dates of manufacture and name of maker... KUNISHIGE not KUNIHIRO!

Now I'm facing a dilemma... Would it be out of line for me to contact the auction house management and relay my findings? As I said previously, the house "expert" is being very arrogant and refusing to acknowledge that they might be wrong. I'm sure that the auction house would not want something listed that was patently wrong in the description. There are issues with that; credibility and liability.

While the price I paid was relatively low, to polish this Yari would probably cost in the neighborhood of $2000.00-$3000.00. That Jumonji Yari for sale in the Sanmei link, is around $3000.00 and it's in much better condition. I could have kept it, but it was a matter of principle. The fact that the auction house "expert" refuses to concede they are wrong is shear arrogance. The 100 year difference between when it was really made and the maker, can add significantly to the value. To make matters more interesting, I have found no reference ANYWHERE that Kunihiro made Yari's. As far as I could find, Kunihiro ONLY made swords.

I recently purchased, then returned, a Jumanji Yari, that was sold at auction. The original listing had a picture of the nakago and mei, but no maker. It was listed as having been made in the mid 17th century, early Edo period. A few days before auction, I went to auction house and took some pictures of Yari, nakago and mei. I reached out to some experts and their response, was that the maker was Yamashiro-no-Kami Fujiwara Kunishige, 5th generation Kunishige. 18th century, mid to late Edo period, 1781-1789. I felt that the Yari was incorrectly listed and returned it. I spoke with the auction house "expert" and they claim the Yari was made by Yamashiro-no-Kami Fujiwara no Kunihiro, and refused to accept what the other experts claimed. I found a Kunishige Yari for sale and the mei matched exactly the one I had. I presented this information to the "expert", and again they say it is wrong, the maker was Kunihiro. The item has been relisted, this time it says made by Yamashiro-no-Kami Fujiwara no Kunihiro. That is false and unethical. I am enclosing pictures of the Yari I purchased, and links to a site selling a Kunishige yari and the the auction site. What do you think? Kunihiro or Kunishige? http://sanmei.com/contents/en-us/p1931.html https://live.clars.com/lots/view/1-2EQ8SQ/Japanese-jumonji-yari-17c https://live.clars.com/lots/view/1-2I5CUE/Japanese-jumonji-yari-17c-signed-fujiwara-kunihiro

Steve, Thanks for all your help. Cheers!

Thanks for all your help Bruce. I'm going to try to find a copy of Dawson's book to better educate myself. Cheers!

Hello Bruce, My friend who owns the swords, lives far from me, still has a landline phone, does not have a cell phone OR computer. Truly OLD school! So for now the best I could do was call and ask him to check on the end cap. It is indeed a five petal design flower. Next time I'm in his area, I'll stop by and take a picture. By the way, anything on the #26 stamped or the writing on the nakago??

Hello Steve, What about the the info on the other side of the nakago? I'm inserting the a link to the post that has identical markings as mine. Thanks. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7049-hello-nakago-translation-ww2-blade-help-me-please/?do=findComment&comment=90839

Thanks for the info Bruce. The blade retaining nut on the end of the handle is flower shaped, like the one on the handle on the left side picture, but the handle matches the one on the right side picture. Any significance to the number 26, stamped on both the nakago and handle, or the writing on the habaki? Since I don't have Dawson's book, what era would this sword be? Is it considered kyu gunto?

The photos are foggy, blurry or upside-down. In my opinion they do not allow a safe assessment of what you have there. Hello Jean, If you click on one picture, it will go to gallery form, in which the pictures are greatly magnified, and you can scroll around to see every portion of the picture. If you look at the magnified images, you'll see they were taken a from a certain perspective for a reason; there's a number 26 stamped in the underside of the tsuba/hand protector, and on the nakago. Also, there are figures/writing stamped on the habaki. Yes, some of the pictures are not the best, but that being said, thanks for your input and I hope that others that read this will be able to view the pictures in the way it was intended, helping to create a more definitive response.

Hello Steve, The smith is Yoshichika 吉近. You can find a similar inscription from this smith in the thread here If this sword was made in 1944, then most likely it ended up in Okinawa. The round nose bullet impact and diameter, probably was from an M1911, .45 ACP, FMJ ball round. I went to Post you linked, and that smith's stamp is NOT on the nakago, but further in that post, I did find someone's reply with pictures that match my nakago EXACTLY. It appears no one ever responded definitively to this person, so I'm putting in a link and the pics, which are much sharper than mine. Just a couple of, "I thinks". http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/7049-hello-nakago-translation-ww2-blade-help-me-please/?do=findComment&comment=90839

Help needed identifying a kyu gunto sword. It belongs to a friend who's had it many years. I've looked at hundreds of kyu gunto sword pictures and have not seen one that matches. It appears that the tsuka was wrapped with samegawa. I hope the pictures I'm posting can shed some light. Thanks.

Here's some more pics...

Help needed identifying Gunto sword from WWII. The sword belongs to a friend who acquired it over 50 years ago, at a flea market. The saya is white aluminum, and it was not painted. Due to its condition, it appears to have been in some serious combat with a bullet impact on the saya. The tsuka was practically destroyed and is missing one seppa. The blade has some small nicks, measuring 1 to 2 mm, but no fatal flaws. The nakago had much heavier rust, but unfortunately the owner wire wheeled it to clean the rust, and better see the writing. I hope the pictures I'm uploading can shed some light. I might have to do several posts to include all the pictures. Thanks.