Need help with age of this sword & war banner please

[The_ozzy_samurai]

Ok Guy's i know this sword is in military mounts,but upon purchase i was told its a shinto era blade,the sword was captured during WW2 by an australian soldier in the kokoda area, he found the banner rooled up in the Japanese officer's backpack and noticed it matched the symbol on the sword he also took from him and kept it,i was told the banner is also from the shinto era and flown by samurai on horseback,also most likely sword and banner had been passed down through the families over the years,but cut down for war mounts?i notice the hamon goes way past the habiki and into the patina but yeah i just dont know,i have attached images of the sword,tang,mon,banner i hope somebody out there can help me,the sword does have some pitting and some stains but appears to be in good health,still deadly sharp and the hamon is a bit wild im no expert i just jumped on this package when i got the chance,from an old collector down sizing his stash of goodies,i also have another sword with similar problems to list in 5 minutes,apparently 1600's-1700's kanemitsu or kanemoto im not sure?? thanks guys

 

Julian

[mywei]

Hey, nice blade.

 

mon looks like Takigawa clan

[mdiddy]

Based on the sword's curvature, I think Shinto, ca. 1600-1700 is a good guess. It could be older but I think we would need to see better pictures of the machi, ji hada, shinogiji hada, hamon, kissaki, boshi, etc. Depending on the blade's condition it might be hard to get good pictures of the hada and hamon.

 

If Shinto, I would hazard an Echizen Seki guess.

 

I can not add any detail on the banner. Sounds like a great story so I'd be a little skeptical and investigate the banner in isolation from the sword. Good luck with your research on it.

 

Matt

[The_ozzy_samurai]

Based on the sword's curvature, I think Shinto, ca. 1600-1700 is a good guess. It could be older but I think we would need to see better pictures of the machi, ji hada, shinogiji hada, hamon, kissaki, boshi, etc. Depending on the blade's condition it might be hard to get good pictures of the hada and hamon.

 

If Shinto, I would hazard an Echizen Seki guess.

 

I can not add any detail on the banner. Sounds like a great story so I'd be a little skeptical and investigate the banner in isolation from the sword. Good luck with your research on it.

 

Matt

 

Thanks Matt & Matt J i appreaciate the replies,i have tried to research the banner's but cant find one that exist or one for sale anywhere online and nobody i know is up to date with Japanese silk artwork,but it for sure very old, and the guy i purchased is very old he knew the Vet directly,i dont doubt for 1 second the truth behind how his friend killed this jap officer and took his stuff,i just dont see how else the banner and sword have been paired up? the banner does have some slight red/brown stains here and there it does look like somebodies blood is on it,is frail and has some slight damage here and there,but overall i believe its a great set,cheers guys

 

Julian

[george trotter]

Hi Julian,

as a fellow Australian can I remind you of good manners? Please don't use such terms as "jap" "yank" "pom" polak" "kraut" "hun" etc, etc etc. We have a wide international membership here and since none of us fought directly in WWII let's treat each other on an equal, polite footing...OK?

Also, some capitals, punctuation and full-stops in your mile long sentences would be nice...thanks.

 

About your sword...the first place to start in finding out about the sword and banner, is to ring the gentleman you bought it off (who knew the Vet directly) and ask him the vet's name and details...then you can go on-line at the AWM nominal rolls database and find out his rank and unit and then you can research that unit's role on the Kokoda Trail campaign...you might even find the vet's name mentioned.

It is always possible the banner and sword were carried by an officer, but research into the story would be wise.

 

I'll leave it to others to appraise your blade, but Echizen Seki blades I have handled looked straighter (less sori) and on the whole had more toran type hamon than this one...I am not an expert of course.

Regards,

[Dr Fox]

I'll leave it to others to appraise your blade, but Echizen Seki blades I have handled looked straighter (less sori) and on the whole had more toran type hamon than this one...I am not an expert of course.

Regards,

 

George I have such a blade, and it meets your description very well.

Denis

[The_ozzy_samurai]

Yes i am sorry for in-correct terms, you now how it is in Australia we forget how much we cut everything down to make each word shorter, but yes its not right by any means and i apolagise to anyone offended,but im in contact with guy i purchased it off i can ring him anytime,in fact i rang him on monday asking to buy one of his other rare piece's minty sharkskin scabbard type 98 with another shinto blade which he shot me down he just wont part with that one,but thank you for opinions of my stuff,im far from an expert i like to think i have a good eye for the right or rare type of military WW2 era swords,thanks

 

Julian