Wakizashi Questions

Kubur · January 10, 2018

Hi Guys,

I got two wakizashi. The blades are very different.

Any idea where they come from and their age?

and if they are wakizashi... it's not my area of expertise...

Thank you

Best wishes

Kubur

Ray Singer · January 10, 2018

Kubur, can you remove the handles to show us the nakago (tang). Remove the pin in the handle to reveal this.

Separately, please note that placing the sword directly the ground can worsen its condition (potentially introducing additional deep scratches).

TheGermanBastard · January 11, 2018

I got two wakizashi. The blades are very different.

Any idea where they come from and their age?

Hello Kubur,

my best guess is ancient Japan!

Just kidding. The blades look like they may have been used / rewrapped for the so called Satsuma Rebellion. A significant historical event. The Handguards however could be older than that. We need to see more images as Ray pointed out.

Both blades are hence late Edio periode at the lastes. My gut feeling is that they are significantly older. Due to the shapes they could be as old as Nambokucho periode. We shall see more when you show us the tangs of the blades.

The condition is presently pretty poor but they might take a good polish and be just fine. Impossible to tell right now. We need to see more and larger images.

Well, in the present condition you could throw the blades inside a box of nails and it hardly would worsen them. However Ray is right that in general blades should not be put on (hard) ground.

TheGermanBastard · January 11, 2018

Blade one looks to be a tough call for a possible restoration since it seems to suffer from severe pitting. However before we get into this let's look at more images. Blade two has atleast a good two piece silver foil blade collar.

Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini · January 11, 2018

Kubur · January 11, 2018

Thank you Luis and Ray

very interesting

the swords are in the countryside, in few weeks i will post the pics

best,

Ray Singer · January 11, 2018

Kubur,

Please see below for further discussion on Satsuma Rebellion koshirae.

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4310-satsuma-rebellion-koshirae/

Best regards,

Ray

Dave R · January 11, 2018

So called "Satsuma (rebellion)" swords are a bit of a vexed question in the Nihonto world. Being a low end item not a lot of research has been done on them. My own opinion is that they were armoury "munition" swords, made up from pieces that would not polish, but had one more fight left in them. Some of the mounts are downright odd with pieces of scabbard being used to make hilts etc.You might enjoy a read of this thread, though some of the pictures have gone due to broken links.

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12723-okashi-to-rebellion-swords/?hl=%2Bsatsuma+%2Brebellion&do=findComment&comment=131643

vajo · January 11, 2018

Sometimes i think every cheap or homemade koshirae is called satsuma rebellion koshirae. I would really like to see the tsuba of these swords. In this case i didn't think that the koshirae was cheap or less made. I think that these swords are old and nobody cares about for a long time. On the second picture i belive the saya didn't fit for the sword.

Dave R · January 11, 2018

Sometimes i think every cheap or homemade koshirae is called satsuma rebellion koshirae. I would really like to see the tsuba of these swords. In this case i didn't think that the koshirae was cheap or less made. I think that these swords are old and nobody cares about for a long time. On the second picture i belive the saya didn't fit for the sword.

This was why I wanted to put together a thread on these , and have a discussion on what could be regarded as being a "Satsuma" rather than just a shabby sword. I have my own ideas now, and think that they (Satsuma or Okashi-to) are in fact an identifiable type.

Kubur · April 6, 2018

Hi Guys

I have more photos for you.

It was a bit difficult to remove the hilt that was blocked by some rice papers (with inscriptions).

The tang is signed.

What do you think, someone is able to read Japonese?

Best,

Kubur

Ray Singer · April 6, 2018

Mihara ju Masachika - 三原住正近

Kubur · April 6, 2018

Mihara ju Masachika - 三原住正近

thanks Ray and is it good bad? or unknow guy?

Ray Singer · April 6, 2018

If the mei is authentic, this would be a late Muromachi smith. There are several generations listed in the Toko Taikan, Nihonto Meikan and Fujishiro. The Sue-Mihara school produced some very nice work, and also work that was of more average quality.