Tom Clancy

Chris Are any of these blades papered?

I own a custom made sword by Shinoki Masamichi (Bingo Province). I think it is an exceptional blade, my problem is I cannot find another one to make a comparison. Like Chris says every dog has its day (Was this Shinoki Masamichi's day when he forged this blade)? I would also like to ask members if anyone owns or knows of someone who owns a sword by this smith. Regards Tom.

Thank you Morita San You are truly a gentleman and a scholar, your wealth of information is astounding. The details you have provided are greately appreciated, and once again thank you very much. Regards Tom. If my Japanese was a fraction of your english I would be very happy

Hi Steve for your comments. WW2 swords and smiths seem to be a can of worms and no one is exactly sure who made or signed what. It all appears to be guess work. A very eminent collector recently explained to me that collectors of Yasukuni-to do not want blades signed Kunimori to be associated with the hand of Miyaguchi other than the mei as this would devalue their blades. Regards Tom. UTD did well I am a Town fan.

Sounds like that would be a bit of a contradiction. I am also a big fan of Elvis, Ali and Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Bingo...... I thought bingo was a game for old women. Tom

Hamish, As I have said earlier on this thread I have tried to compare his work but have failed to find another blade by him. Was this a one off? or was most of his work done in similar style and quality. As you know Yasukuni-to are regarded as some of the best blades produced during that period so it is interesting that you find the Masamichi of better quality, because he is only rated Chujo Saku Regards Tom.

Chris Thanks for your reply it made interesting reading. Just one point I would like to clear, I had assumed that he could only use the Yasu mei while at the TNK. Many thanks Regards Tom.

Apologies for the delay (Work commitments). I was interested in hearing your comments regarding this blade as there appears to be some controversy over the smith. Yasuhiro moved from the Yasukuni Shrine to the Okura Tanrenjo in 1937 where he stayed until the end of the war. Blades forged there were signed Kunimori - as this is. Chris Bowen states blades signed Kunimori were not made by the man himself, so in the eight years at this forge did he not produce any blades or did he use a different signature. It seems rather strange that the Baron went to all the time, trouble and expense to establish a forge and employ one of the most talented smiths of that time just to cut the mei's. It is also claimed that he used Western Steel and employed a little known smith named Mitsukoshi Hiromasa to produce these blades. This leads us to believe that Miyaguchi and the Baron were only interested in financial gain by mass producing blades using non traditional materials/methods and an unknown smith, then adding the famous name so as to get a premium price from the Army. Whenever these blades appear on the market they are described as Gendaito but if the above is correct they should be described as Gimei Showa-to. Looking forward to hearing your comments. Regards Tom. P.S. The Kissaki has just a couple of surface scratches (Bad photographer / perhaps poor lighting).

Hope these are better photos of the kissaki. Regards Tom.

Hi Guys Would just like your general opinion of this blade that I have recently purchased. I did not post the mei so that you could judge the blade on its own merits. All comments are most welcome. Tom.

Brian Point taken. Lets get back to nihonto. Tom.

Brian I don't know how you earn your money but I work dammed hard for mine and don't like throwing it away. Regarding your second comment I totally agree, there is some very interesting information coming to light, which is far more important than the price of a particular blade. Tom.

Quote: Regardless of whether this is Gendai or Showato With all due respect Joe that is like saying whether it is a ferrari or fiat some people out there love fiats but not for 120,000. Tom.

Buy Price just dropped by a grand , still no bargain. Tom.

Moss your 100% right the type 95 nco is a fake. Someone has just been robbed of 610 bucks. Tom.

George, The only info I got was Shinoki Masamichi and the date, he was unsure regarding the rest of the mei so I posted it on the translation section to clarify what it said. Our translation experts soon had it sorted. I have a feeling that he could be an obscure smith who was not very prolific. I have trawled every site I know such as Alf Tans extensive sold archive and every other you can mention with no success, maybe one will turn up some day. Tom.

Hi George, Thats brilliant, I know you previously mentioned there was no record of him post 1945, one can only assume that he stopped forging blades or passed away. It would be nice if I could find another blade by him to compare his work. once again George, your help is greatley appreciated. Regards Tom.

Todd I was told it was done it Japan approx 8 years ago. Tom.

Hi Dave Here are a few pics of the Emura you asked for. Tom.

More pics. Tom.

Thanks for the info Joe. Not sure if this is the same smith. Here are a few pics you asked for. Regards Tom.

I recently acquired a blade by this smith, and have been trying to reseach him. I would like to know if any other member owns or has owned a blade by him. I cannot find anything on the commercial sites or archives. I know this is a custom blade but I wanted to Know if his other work was in this style. There is no record of him after WW2. I know it is a long shot but I am also going to try to reseach the original owner for who the sword was made - Mr Munehira Hiroshi. Any info would be much appreciated. Tom.

Dave i say if you like it buy it. Emura blades are hard to evaluate. Did he sign all the blades? Were there some of the inmates better than himself? I have an Emura that looks like none that i have seen. Tom.

I would just like to thank NMB members for their kind comments and help. Brian: I took delivery of the sword on Monday the 1st March, glad everyone finds it an interesting blade. Tom.

Glad you like it Stephen.This is the only blade by shinoki masa michi that I have come across. If any members have any info regarding this smith it would be much appreciated. George: The sword was already polished. Tom.