Cuirassier Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 Hello Guys I bought this gunto.................... Unfortunately it has a showa stamp :x , but it has a lot more that I do not understand and have not seen before, including a tiny blade section inscription under the habaki. I recognize some characters / meanings but not many. So, I think this is a presentation sword? Any pointers / help gratefully received. Regards Mark PS If you notice the file names say "Fujiyasu", that is because it took me some time to reconcile that the mei is actually Fujiwara Quote
Cuirassier Posted January 11, 2014 Author Report Posted January 11, 2014 PS I got Kuni (some form of Yoshi?) gwatsu above the showa stamp, and have no idea why it is there, or the tiny blade engraving above. Quote
cabowen Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 Zo 贈 at the top means "gift" Kunitoyomaru 国豊丸 might be a ship's name Other side、関住人 前田元誠 氏 is the name of the orderer, Mr. Maeda Gensei living in Seki City 大毎從軍節 not sure exactly what this means.... Quote
David McDonald Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 Dear Mark Under the showa stamp I see Fujiwara Munenaga kore 藤原宗命之 Might be the smith Nishibe Munenaga see Hawley MUN297 later david mcdonald jswords@mcn.net Quote
george trotter Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 大毎從軍節 not sure exactly what this means.... This is hard... maybe it reads O Mai (ni) Ju Gun Setsu? (Always follow the flag/join the colours?) type of meaning....maybe Morita san can comment? As Dave said, I is hard to see Jumyo as a mei...but after careful study I do think this is Jumyo (probably Kato Jumyo) but the "Jum" is the most long stretched out writing I have seen for it. Regards, Quote
cabowen Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 Yeah, I think it is indeed Jumyo..... Quote
John A Stuart Posted January 12, 2014 Report Posted January 12, 2014 大毎從軍節 How about, 'greatness to everyone from battle',? John Quote
David McDonald Posted January 13, 2014 Report Posted January 13, 2014 Dear All ok Fujiwara Jumyo kore 藤原壽命之 I agree. sorry about that later david Quote
Cuirassier Posted January 13, 2014 Author Report Posted January 13, 2014 Hello Guys Thank you all very very much. I am heartened many here also had problems with the mei; it took me a long time to reconcile it as Fujiwara Jumyo, a complete unkown as far as blade makers are concerned? I know / found earlier blade makers of this name, but can find nothing at all about a war time Fujiwara Jumyo which, for me, is odd given the massive inscription (that such an inscription would come from a one off blade maker). And the blade itself is one of the better non-Gendaito. It is not the sword I had hoped it might be, the Showa stamp coming as a nasty surprise. Oh well, still an interesting gunto. Thanks again. Cheers Mark Quote
george trotter Posted January 14, 2014 Report Posted January 14, 2014 Hi Mark, Not so unknown as you think. The trouble is that you have a showato made in Seki and probably signed not by Jumyo himself but a Na-kiri-shi (name cutting craftsman) which is so common. The Kato Jumyo who made the sword (not signed it) was a Seki nihonto tosho who also made showato. He was Kato Zennosuke (reading?) Jumyo and was registered in Seki on Oct 20 1939 (Jinsoo Kim's List). He was born Mei 26 and continued in swords after the war. He died in Sho 31. He worked in Mino and Yamato style (Ono 1977 p.90). He studied under Niwa Kanenobu and Watanabe Kanenaga (Nihon Gendaito Shoshi, Uchiyama 1969 p.8, Chapter IV) but in the 40s he was probably churning out showato and that's why yours is signed nakirishimei (I presume). Here is a pic of him from 1942 from Dai Nihon Token Shoko Meikan page 129). I have seen maybe 4 swords of his and all were showato with stamps and I'm not sure if he signed any of them. Trained guys like him wre maybe running a team churning out gunto and would rarely have time to spend doing too much "delicate" work like signing blades....BUT, it would be great if a member had a nihonto by him to show us? Hope this explains a bit... Quote
Cuirassier Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Posted January 17, 2014 Hi Mark,Not so unknown as you think. The trouble is that you have a showato made in Seki and probably signed not by Jumyo himself but a Na-kiri-shi (name cutting craftsman) which is so common. The Kato Jumyo who made the sword (not signed it) was a Seki nihonto tosho who also made showato. He was Kato Zennosuke (reading?) Jumyo and was registered in Seki on Oct 20 1939 (Jinsoo Kim's List). He was born Mei 26 and continued in swords after the war. He died in Sho 31. He worked in Mino and Yamato style (Ono 1977 p.90). He studied under Niwa Kanenobu and Watanabe Kanenaga (Nihon Gendaito Shoshi, Uchiyama 1969 p.8, Chapter IV) but in the 40s he was probably churning out showato and that's why yours is signed nakirishimei (I presume). Here is a pic of him from 1942 from Dai Nihon Token Shoko Meikan page 129). I have seen maybe 4 swords of his and all were showato with stamps and I'm not sure if he signed any of them. Trained guys like him wre maybe running a team churning out gunto and would rarely have time to spend doing too much "delicate" work like signing blades....BUT, it would be great if a member had a nihonto by him to show us? Hope this explains a bit... Hello George OK, yes, thank you. I bought it from a top auction house who stated the item was gendaito; and they generally know what is what. They failed to mention the Showa stamp. I paid too much for it, but not too much if you understand. I would bounce it back at them but the hassle is not worth the effort. Clearly not one for a polish as I hoped it would be. Oh well................... Thanks again for helping me understand the inscription; it is the first time I have ever seen this. Regards Mark Quote
Guest Simon R Posted July 11, 2023 Report Posted July 11, 2023 @Cuirassier Resuscitating a 9 year old thread is not often a worthwhile endeavour but I wanted to add my katana by the same Fujiwara Jumyo, without any stamp, which made Hozon at the NBTHK. This was after noting George's comment above "BUT, it would be great if a member had a nihonto by him to show us?" @george trotter Simon (Video link:) https://share.icloud...Dpcfnh64puhyDwNrVbvg Quote
SteveM Posted July 11, 2023 Report Posted July 11, 2023 大毎従軍節（部）？ I think must be Military Section of Ōsaka Mainichi Shinbun (but the last kanji is unusual as its neither 節 or 部). Maybe Mr. Maeda was a war correspondent? 1 Quote
Guest Simon R Posted July 12, 2023 Report Posted July 12, 2023 Just for context, this my mei next to Marks's. @Cuirassier It's definitely the same smith (or at least the same Na-kiri-shi - but as mine achieved Hozon, I'd expect it to be a signature that was recognisable and on record with the NBTHK). Simon Quote
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