Name On Nakago Mune!

[Bruce Pennington]

Hope someone can tell us what this says! It's on the nakago mune of a Kanemichi gunto. The rest of the sword can be found here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21514-rough-but-beautiful/

[SteveM]

和田護

Wada Mamoru

 

↑ My best guess. The Wada is obvious. The bottom name, not so much due to the balance being wrong for 護. Still, its the closest I could find without digging into the really obscure kanji.  

 

http://kakijun.jp/page/2009200.html

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks Steve! Ever seen a name on the mune before? Think it's the actual smith's name?

[Ray Singer]

I believe this is meant to say that the sword is for the individual's protection. Same concept for a mamori-gatana.

[SteveM]

I've never seen a name on the tang's mune before. I believe it might have been the owner's name. Mamoru is a common first name for a male. This is assuming the kanji is indeed 護. I still have doubts, but in lieu of a more viable alternative I'll stick with it for now.

[Ray Singer]

I've seen various types on inscriptions on a mune. One NMB member has a very beautiful gendai tanto by Yoshihara Kuniie with a mune inscription. Here is another example.

 

http://www.nihontocraft.com/11th_Rai_Kinmichi.htm

[Bruce Pennington]

Interesting! That one is dated on the mune.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Here's another example on Ed's site: http://yakiba.com/Tanto_Sadakazu.htm

[cisco-san]

I have also seen a blade from SŌKAN (宗寛) with inscription on the mune some years ago - but can´t remember what it was...

[Ron STL]

I'm not sure this is the Kuniie Ray mentioned, but this is the one in my collection. Terrific tanto, in my opinion. Nakago-mune shows the date of this special order tanto. I've also seen some nakago-mune signed by a polisher; that may have been on a sword dedicated to a shrine during celebration of there founding. Interesting sword that I handled decades ago but went elsewhere, to my regret.

Ron STL

[SwordGuyJoe]

I'd love to see some pics of the blade Ron, if you'd be willing to share

[Ray Singer]

That's the one Ron

[Ray Singer]

Another example.

 

http://www.e-sword.jp/tantou/1710-3010.htm

[Bruce Pennington]

Here's an odd one: Looks like the kanji "So" as in Soshu, or made by. Does "So" by its self mean "made"?

[SteveM]

福 Fuku

 

Couldn't tell you what it means in this context.

[Bruce Pennington]

Steve,

 

It's on a 1945 blade with a chippy Seki-style smith name of "Nagamitsu". It's a bit puzzling because it's clearly not the famous Nagamitsu (wrong "Naga" kanji), plus the Naga kanji is right for a Seki naga, but the only Seki Nagamitsu I can find even uses a different kanji. This naga is used in other smith names, but not in the Nagamitsu, as far a I can find.

[SwordGuyJoe]

That's a well done nakago and not a seki one. It's "Chikugo ju Nagamitsu". Look for Endo Nagamitsu - that's who made this. If memory serves, he was a $1M yen smith and did decently at the wartime competitions.

 

Edit to add: He ranked Chuge Saku and was RJT

http://www.jp-sword.com/files/seki/gendaito.html

[SteveM]

...which means the Fuku on the opposite side would probably be something scratched in by the owner. 福 (fuku) by itself means good luck. It is a common kanji, often used in last names or other pronouns.

[Bruce Pennington]

Interesting Kokura Arsenal stamps on a mune, both the Kokura "Ho" and Kokura First Arsenal "Ko."

 

小

　Army Arsenal Kokura Factory - Kokura Army Arsenal inspection mark: "Ko".

　"Ko" stamp is not discovered except for the following example. It seems that the inspection mark

　used the "To" commonly since most Tokyo Factories relocated to Kokura Factory.

 

ホ

　Army Arsenal Kokura First Factory inspection mark: "Ho"

 

Sorry, the Ko is above the Ho and fainter. Not a good view of it in this pic.

[Bruce Pennington]

Unusual markings on a Muto Mitsuhiro in Naval fittings:http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22142-muto-mitsuhiro-in-naval-mounts/

[Yukihiro]

Thought I could add mine to this thread : 横田 (Yokota) on the nakago-mune of my (one & only!) Toshimasa gunto - most likely the original owner's name.

[Kiipu]

On 1/27/2017 at 7:16 AM, Bruce Pennington said:

It's on a 1945 blade with a chippy Seki-style smith name of "Nagamitsu".

 

Bruce, do you remember where you found this 1945 dated Chikugo-jū Nagamitsu 筑後住永光 with 福 nakago mune marking?

@mecox

[Bruce Pennington]

13 hours ago, Kiipu said:

 

Bruce, do you remember where you found this 1945 dated Chikugo-jū Nagamitsu 筑後住永光 with 福 nakago mune marking?

@mecox

Thomas,

I have not found, yet, where I got this.  Will keep searching, but as an update, the mei is listed in Sesko's reference and he was from Fukuoka:

"NAGAMITSU (永光), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Fukuoka – “Chikugo Beifu-jū Nagamitsu kore o saku”

[SteveM]

2 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

the mei is listed in Sesko's reference and he was from Fukuoka

 

Looking back at my post from 2017, I would amend it and say the "fuku" carved into the mune of the nakago isn't a random good luck character scratched by the owner, but instead is a mark indicating the place of manufacture (in this case Fukuoka - 福岡). 

[Kiipu]

The stamp shows up on two 1945 dated swords coming from Fukuoka Prefecture; however, it probably represents the city and not the prefecture.  The placement of the stamp(s) would seem to indicate an inspection mark which follows the format used by Kokura Arsenal.  If anyone has a 1945 dated, star stamped, blade from a Fukuoka Prefecture swordsmith, now is the time to step up to the plate.

 

For a much clearer image of the 福 stamp, see the picture posted by our very own @vajo.

Mune Stamp

[Bruce Pennington]

21 hours ago, Kiipu said:

If anyone has a 1945 dated, star stamped, blade from a Fukuoka Prefecture swordsmith

I ran through my files.  Only one was from a member @Michael 67 and I sent him a PM hoping for a mune shot.

 

The rest are from auctions, dealers, and sales that didn't post mune pics.