Help Please With Possible Wakizashi

[Windy]

Second post, so bare with! Apologies if this is in the wrong place.

 

Whilst looking at an NCO Shin Gunto (which I've posted about separately) chap in the place shows me a couple of average looking 'Burmese blades'. However, he said one looked Japanese in origin. Which I agreed with.

Long and short of it, I removed the hilt and found something surprising.....interpreting these markings is way beyond my fledgling interest, anyone able to help?

The blade is 17"

 

Cheers, Matt

 

 

 

 

[Windy]

There's been some gremlins on the internet tonight, and I've somehow posted this twice. The pics are on the other one. I can't see how to delete this one.....one for the mods?

 

Matt

[Peter Bleed]

Iwami no Kami Nobuyori.

A serious Echizen guy

And I agree that scabbard (?)  looks Southeast Asian

Very interesting

Peter

[Windy]

  On 1/19/2017 at 9:44 PM, Peter Bleed said:

Iwami no Kami Nobuyori.

A serious Echizen guy

And I agree that scabbard (?)  looks Southeast Asian

Very interesting

Peter

Many thanks Peter. By the way, that's the hilt, not the scabbard.

[Windy]

 

The hilt was loosely fitted on the tang, with no fixings. Almost certainly a later addition to a recovered Japanese blade?

[Peter Bleed]

I have only on thing to say, Dhaaaa, or at least Dha.

The presence of Japanese blades in Southeast Asia is a very interesting problem. I hope you will look closely at how the hilt was seated on this blade. It may not be Japanese mounting, but I would not be surprised to see that it was a seriously re-purposed weapon.  There were as well a bunch of Japanese fighters who got to SE Asia. I thnik this was a nice find and if you can get any history, so much the better. See if the dealer has a scabbard. too!

Peter

PS, In looking again, I have to wonder about that "bump" on the side of the hilt. Are we sure that that is NOT a meguki sort of thing? Sure looks like it is positioned about right.

[Windy]

Please excuse my ignorance, re your suggestion on the maker, what kind of age is this?

[John A Stuart]

17th century. There was a large presence in Ayutthaya, but, that ended very close to the early period this sword would have been made. They may have had some duties up Chiang Mai way, near the Burmese border, but, would be speculation. It could have entered in myriads of ways. John

[Windy]

  On 1/19/2017 at 11:19 PM, John A Stuart said:

17th century. There was a large presence in Ayutthaya, but, that ended very close to the early period this sword would have been made. They may have had some duties up Chiang Mai way, near the Burmese border, but, would be speculation. It could have entered in myriads of ways. John

Thanks John, very interesting!