Scogg

Hi Brody, welcome to the forum. It’s hard to say much from the photos provided. What we can tell you is that the fittings are Type 98 shingunto fittings with a leather combat cover on the scabbard. The blade inside could be wartime or older, but we cannot tell unless the tang is shown (preferably on a dark non reflective background, oriented so the blade tip is north and tang is south.) Skip ahead to minute mark 6:40 for instructions on removing a blade from its fittings. Best to take it slow and be very careful. Do not do anything to remove rust or alter the patina on the tang. It could severely hurt the value. Best of luck and cool sword. -Sam

The trillium flower is what immediately comes to mind, although I cannot find a corresponding mon in my Hawleys family crest book. Maybe a rabbit hole to follow. -Sam

Hi @Mark C, Does your hanger have any numbers or stamps inside the large clip? Like this?

Hi Lucian, It's a noble idea, and it would be nice to reunite mismatched swords with their saya. However, the chances of it working out in practice are very low. The main issue is that a mismatched sword and saya are not necessarily linked to another corresponding mismatch. For example, if sword #1,000 is currently paired with saya #3,000, that does not mean sword #3,000 is paired with saya #1,000. All it tells us is that sword #3,000 must also be mismatched. Its mismatched saya could just as easily be #8,000, or any other number. So, while I think it's a worthwhile idea, I suspect the number of successful reunions would be quite small and exceedingly rare. For what it's worth, I keep a running database of these swords, including stamps, serial numbers, and saya numbers. I have around 1,000 entries at this point, and after a quick look through the records, I could not find a definitive mismatched saya that matched a known blade's serial number. I'm sure they are out there and will turn up in time, but of the roughly 200,000 swords originally manufactured, and considering what has survived today, it would be a rare thing. Most of the swords that I encountered and cataloged have matching saya, which was a surprising revelation to me when I started this project. That said, if you have a sword serial number and saya number that do not match, I would be happy to search my archive to see if I have encountered the corresponding mismatch during my cataloging efforts. All the best, -Sam

Thank you Julien. Here is the example that Raymond Yan shared on his Facebook page. Likely not the same exact sword? Looks like he just shared this one image. But nice to see the engravings a bit more focused / up-close

I saw a nearly identical Tanto horimono on facebook recently. Described as depicting: 三十六歌仙 "Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Immortals_of_Poetry

My interpretation below: "Leather combat cover" is the term generally used when leather is applied to any saya at any time. This includes the metal 94/98 scabbards. "Late stage type leather-binding wooden saya" on the other hand would be primarily for blades that previously had a wooden saya, usually but not always civilian or blades donated to the war effort. A metal hanger would be added in place of the kurikata, and then the leather added. Thoughts? -Sam

Here you go @Geraint, and those of you who cannot open the link. I find the mimi impressive and interesting. I have not yet developed the “eye” that you tosogu folks have; but I find the piece attractive. I’ll have to practice a bit with Curran’s procedure. Could be a nice pickup for someone IF it were to sell for gimei prices. Regards, -Sam

Great summary Rob. My beliefs reflect your own. I am sure that I have shared my example below maybe in the leather covered thread; but here it is to add to the string discussion. I have an early Aluminum Type 95 (Variation#2, SUYA, serial number 7249), that has a string wrapped scabbard. It was applied with an incredible amount of care and precision. Note how the string is not tied at any place, but is rather tucked neatly into itself (see last image). It appears to be coated with some kind of glue or "hardener", I am not sure, but it feels like it's had something applied over the top. Its very cleanly done, and VERY tight. I have always assumed it was wartime, or immediately post-war. I rather like it, and think it adds some character. I do not know if it holds any relevance to the string discussion, but the scabbard on my sword is a unit armorer replacement and is unserialized. All the best, -Sam

Arrows? I thought the other boat was throwing Gunbai at the archers!

Indeed; I would follow Jimmy Hayashi's in-hand advice over all else

Hi George. I don't view anything here as inherently "negative". Healthy criticism is welcome. The way you view things is valid, and is valuable as a new user approaching the board. Allow me to address a few of your points; in an attempt to help explain some of the issues we experience. @Brian, our forum administrator, has talked about a few of these over the years and he is ultimately the "boss man" when it comes to changes. I do know that he is working on updating forum software - and when that happens - many new "quality of life" changes will be implemented and some of the "old school" forum stuff will be phased out. So some of this stuff may just be "in progress" as we speak. *The site loading issues will hopefully be temporary, and are like you say, a result of some recent DDOS attacks. *Traffic is small because the hobby is small. This is not a site for martial artists or practitioners, but rather focused on the artistic qualities of Nihonto. We pride ourselves in focusing on preservation. There are a lot of martial arts resources for practitioners elsewhere, that is more focused on practice rather than preservation and art. *Image limitations are tricky... It cost a lot of money to host a site with this many images. You may not realize, but this is one of the largest depositories of Japanese Sword images on the web, and that's no small feat. To increase image size limits, upgrading to gold will increase the limit, but otherwise it's just too cumbersome on the site. *For "topics you've interacted with" would be nice. What I do for this, is click on my own profile. When you're viewing your own profile, if you scroll down, you will see all the topics that you have recently interacted with. Hope this helps explain our situation a bit, -Sam

Hi Steve, Unfortunately this item for sale is not a genuine Japanese sword.

Hi Joeloe, welcome to the forum. Let me start by saying that you are awfully lucky. And there is no need to take this apart; it’s best to keep this type of sword assembled. What you have is a “Type 95 Gunto”. Yours was made in 1938 by Suya Shoten Co, inspected by Tokyo first army arsenal inspectors, and under kokura arsenal supervision. Yours is the first variation, often referred to as a “copper hilt”. They only made about 6750 swords of this variation before switching to an aluminum hilt. The copper hilt variation#1 Type 95 gunto is exceptionally collectible, and I have recently seen examples sell for between 3k and 6k. It’s real in my opinion. Does the scabbard have numbers at the opening that match the blade? Would you mind sharing an image of the tip/end of the scabbard also? Thanks for sharing, -Sam

Please wait for the more knowledgeable to chime in. I'm still honing my ability to decifer kanji. Could it be?: 兼 Kane 氏 Uji Best, -Sam

Some good discussions for cross-reference: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14310-bakumatsu-kaei-ginnan-po-yari-osafune-sukesada/ https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/51765-yari-blade-shape-question/

I’m no expert in fittings, and I haven’t seen it all of course. But the oldest tsuka I’ve seen in-person, from the muromachi period, were large and robust. I was surprised at the simplicity and overall utilitarian look.

Unfortunately this appears to be a fake, and not Japanese. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. -Sam

Last year at the Las Vegas Japanese Sword Show, Brian Tschernega did a presentation on tsukamaki and discussed tsuka. He brought several old tsuka from the Muromachi period onward, and talked about them. He emphasized that old tsuka were "teachers", and that they inform and inspire modern crafstmen to better emulate how tsuka were made in the past. Preserved old tsuka can help keep those tradition alive. Obviously not all tsuka are old, but just another scenario tsuka may be traded around. It's important to keep them in the hands of people who care about their preservation and appreciate that history and craftsmanship.

Interesting @Volker62, I am not familiar with that one. Is it an early edition, or a separate publication entirely? Can you tell us what differentiates that book from the others? Considering that I have all the others, I would love to complete the collection! -Sam

Haha, true Bruce. I do attempt to list them, but they frustratingly have to reside off of the “master list” because I have it in serial number order. I have a few now that have either been obscured like this, or had the numbers polished away This one will have to be: 1 _ _ 4 _ _

Here is an example currently on eBay that has had the serial numbers removed. Presumably someone scratched them out thinking they were a bad thing.. A shame to see. I can’t even catalog examples like this. -Sam

Hello @MattBrandon, welcome to the forum. I'm going to relocate your post to the "translation assistance" section. I think you'll get a faster reply there. The fittings are pretty standard "Type 98 Shin Guntō" fittings with nice looking leather combat cover on the scabbard. The matching "135" numbers is great to have, and strongly suggests that your fittings are originally made for the blade. This is a good thing, because often times we see swords that are "pieced together" from mismatched parts. Looks in nice condition. Best of luck, -Sam

Hi Leo, cool sword. Bruce, Conway, John, and Joseph got you covered with good input. I am a fellow Oregonian. If you'd like someone to take a look at your sword, feel free to send me a message. I doubt I could offer much more information than has already been provided; but sometimes it helps to get some questions answered in-person; and I'd be happy to show you how to care for the sword and oil it. I have no interest in buying showato, so I have no ulterior motives other than to help. Anyway, feel free to reach out if you choose. There's a militaria show coming up in Portland on June 19th-20th; could be convenient. All the best, -Sam

Thanks Bruce, this is a good one to have posted on the board. I have already linked this thread to a potential buyer and saved someone the headache. I have a feeling that we will be seeing this one again someday... -Sam