Identifying This Old Sword...2.0! New / Better Pictures

[David Rindt]

I recently posted to and got a few responses on "Identifying this old sword" as the forum topic. I got a lot of great responses, but more than anything I got some feedback asking for adjustments to some of the identifying markers and more detailed pictures of the sword in question - so here they are! 

 

 In short - this is a Japanese sword bought by my grandfather in law from, what seems to be a pawn shop in Hiroshima following his service in the Army of occupation in the 1940's. I'm absolutely scrapping at any information I can get regarding the sword, and would love any assistance this very knowledgeable community could provide. 

 

 I've had a number of very interesting comments about the age of this sword, but specifically i'm looking to see if anybody can help with the following:

 

 1. What do you think the age of the sword is? 

 

2. There is some commentary on the card regarding the mark of the sword, does that change your interpretation of the origin, based on the mark?

 

3. Would anyone care to throw a value on the sword? the blade has a few nicks in it, but otherwise has some clear forging marks that show up less clearly in these photos.

 

4. Have I interpreted the card correctly? Is it a pawn ticket? 

 

I don't know how to link to other posts - but looking under the title  "Identifying this old sword" will help you note some other comments (5 or so) that i've had so far.  

 

Thank you in advance for your interest - it means a great deal to me and my family. 

 

 Dave 

 

[paulb]

good morning David

I didnt see your earlier post so dont know what has been said before but can give you an immediste impression.

1. As I am sure you know your sword is in Gunto military mounts which date from between the early 1930s and 1945

2. The blade looks to be older. From the colour and shape of the nakago I would suggest early shinto.

3. The label, I think gives the name of the owner and tells us it has been in his family since Meiji 40 ish which would take us to the first decade of the 20th century. However as said above I think it is older

3. I will leave it to someone better than me to read the two character signature (mei) on the tang.

4. The condition of the polish doesn't allow for much more to be said (at least by me) from what I can see of the hamon it has a mino look but that is becoming guesswork

5. Regarding value as with all things in this field it is worth what someone will pay for it. You need to get more information and try and tie down period and smith al ittle closer before getting something realistic. If you live near a sword club or have the chance to visit one of the sword shows it would be worth doing to put it in the hands of an experienced collector or dealer who I am sure would be happy to help.

 

Regards

Paul

[Stephen]

Paul has you about as close as we can get, it has a chance being older. the smith is something tsugu, maybe Moritsugu?

[Stephen]

one or two more pix may help, the area under the habaki and a pic of the full blade without any fittings, to show us what we call sugata.

[David Rindt]

Thank you for the fast feedback - i'll be working on the additional pictures. 

[SteveM]

The smith is 雲次 (Unji) (I think I'm repeating myself with this one). There are 4 or 5 smiths who used the name Unji, working from the mid to late 14th century. If you search this site and others, you can find some information on English about the smiths who used the name Unji, and if you get creative with your search engine you might be able to find other examples of Unji swords so that you can compare the signatures.

 

The better route (but definitely no shortcut) is to start reading up on Japanese swords, the terminology, learn about the various styles and specific attributes that are unique to each era and school. Unji blades would have particular features (shape, hamon, activity, etc...) and if your sword shares those features you can be fairly sure you have an authentic Unji sword, which would be a very nice thing indeed. Note the sword world is awash in fakes. 

 

The wooden card says 銘雲次トアルモ関物ナリ, which means "The inscription says Unji, but the sword is a Seki sword". I don't know enough about Unji to know for sure what this means. Normally I would think it means the sword is suspected of being of forgery, and the name Unji has been counterfeited on to a (relatively) cheap sword made in the Seki region. Again, the sword will tell you more than the wooden tag - at least as far as the origin of the sword goes.

 

No idea of the value. It will depend on whether or not the sword is a genuine Unji, and what kind of condition the sword is in. 

 

No idea if the card is from a pawn shop. It doesn't have the name of a pawn shop on it. 

[David Rindt]

Wow - thank you for all your feedback - i've got some homework to do!