Who carried swords like this?

[Peter Bleed]

Friends,

I would like to beg the input of the NMB on a sword that just sold on eBay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/350953416417?ss ... 1423.l2648

 

I sniffed around this sword because I thought/hoped/wondered if it might be a sword rigged up for or by Ainu. It has a rustic look that seems outside samurai sensitivity. But it does not have any of the clear and classic embellishments of Ainu cutlery. So I did not wade very far into the bidding. I wish the winner all the best.

But I would also like to know who might have carried a sword like this. Any insights?

Peter

[J Reid]

Wakizashi with an edo period "flavour" , no Tsuba, or embellishments of any worth/ functionality.. hmm.. A merchant? That would be my guess.

[kusunokimasahige]

I find it a bit strange that you seem to think that this sword would not have been worn by a samurai at one time.

 

The koshirae sucks, the blade is about dead, but even a soldier on the run during the Boshin war could have worn such a blade.

 

These blades are old, and not all blades survived in their original mountings or condition.

 

KM

[Henry Wilson]

The shape of the koshirae reminds me of early koshigatana, the pre-runner to uchigatana:

 

[raven2]

It may just be that my eyes are bad. but does anyone see a yokote on this blade? The shape of the kissaki bothers me and reminds me of some Chinese fakes.

[Lance]

I'd guess it was originaly a shira-saya of sorts that was lacquered or varnished, and had reinforcing rings and a kurikata added to make it suitable for use as a weapon, probably done in the 1800s-early 1900s? Wood doesn't look like honoki though, more like whatever was used for tanegashima (matchlock rifles)

Shape of the blade and kissaki look OK to me, even in this condition still light years ahead of Chinese fakes found on Ebay.

 

 

Regards,

Lance

[Peter Bleed]

Thanks to those who responded to my inquiry.

I tend to look too tolerantly at odd stuff. There is no doubt that this blade is "dead". Whoever did that was outside polite Japanese sword culture up thru the the end of the Edo period.

I have seen lots of Boshin era weaponry in and around Sendai. If we are to judge by Museum pieces, those guys carried buke-zukuri swords. But they were pressing stuff into to service - those wood barreled cannon and all. But I have never seen a working Edo era samurai sword without a tsuba.

Could it be a merchant's sword? Maybe so, but judging by the vast supply of grubby sho-to that we see, crappy bukuzukuri wakizahis had to be available to merchants who needed to carry.

I also don't think it is simply fair to say that these fitting "suck." Actually, the wood it is made of is that curly-grained stuff (the name of which escapes me) so that it might have been rather attractive - with kurikata and no tsuba. How odd.

Maybe the take away is that we tend to collect the "normal" stuff, but that in Japanese swords as in so many other areas, there are always "odd things."

Again, thanks.

Peter

[kusunokimasahige]

True, I might have been too hard on the koshirae and its fittings.

 

Great discussion though !

 

KM

[Pete Klein]

There is yokote -- look at the omote picture toward the bottom page. It's just diminshed from rust. Ura side it doesn't show.

[raven2]

Thanks Pete , I guess my eyes are getting bad LOL. Merry Christmas everyone!!!