Nagamitsu Interesting Mei

[Edward S]

I recently picked up two Gunto from a 92 year old vet who served in the Far East during WWII, he says he has had them since the end of the war and had kept in his bedroom ever since.

 

one is a KANESADA which I have part exchanged with someone else and one is a NAGAMITSU which I am keeping. I already have a NAGAMITSU with the usual style of Mei and very happy with it. But this one is by a different hand and I would appreciate members considered opinions.

 

Firstly the style of the Mei is similar to what is normally found on a NAGAMITSU but in my opinion by someone else. In this case the kanji for ‘Naga’ has three horizontal strokes and not his customary two. It is also signed ‘Katana’ Mei and not ‘Tachi’ Mei like most of the others.

 

The blade is not the usual NAGAMITSU style, there are no stamps of any kind and the construction is more slender and is in my opinion a well forged blade in 98 mounts.

 

Omura has a similar NAGAMITSU on his site but I have always viewed the Mei with a slight amount of caution. We know that due to the volume of NAGAMITSU blades out there he could not have made them all himself, so my question is, is this by the man himself, an apprentice, did the usual Mei cutter have a day off or is it by someone else entirely?

 

Edward S

[PNSSHOGUN]

Could we possibly see the mounts and Sugata of the sword? Very nice piece by the way, with excellent provenance.

[kyushukairu]

Very nice, Edward. However, rather than the mei, I would look at the blade itself. In the photo showing the hamon there looks to be a bit of ware which would suggest that it's not the work of a master smith, though it's difficult to tell from a photo alone. You should compare this blade with the other Nagamitsu you own.

As for the mei, there's a similar example on the Japanese sword index - https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/naga.htm - see example 'T'. It's suggested that the three stroke 'Naga' was done by one of his students or an apprentice.

With regards to the claim that 'due to the volume of NAGAMITSU blades out there he could not have made them all himself', I'd like to see some statistics to support this. How many blades are we talking about exactly? There are records of Yasukuni-tosho making well over one thousand - Yasunori, for example is said to have made 1600 swords at Yasukuni. 
 

[Edward S]

Here are a few more pics as requested. Kyle, I take your point exactly, I guess I was just repeating what I have read and been told about NAGAMITSU over the years. I guess in truth we will never know the complete story about students/apprentices and Mei cutters. My knowledge is fairly minimal, I just really like Nihonto and I have the greatest respect for those who have actually done the research in Japan to improve our knowledge.

 

Before I spend any more money on this blade I just would like other opinions on it.

 

Edward S

[Edward S]

Thanks to Kyle and John,

 

This thread seems to have fallen flat. I have tidied up the Koshira and put it in the rack. From my own research I have come to the conclusion that it is from the forge of NAGAMITSU but probably by a student or apprentice and signed by a different Mei cutter in a similar style. The blade is very good for a gunto and shows quite a bit of activity, there are no ware as photo suggests, it’s very clean. Whether the blade is made from the NAGAMITSU stock of tamahagne or some other steel I am not sure.......it’s back in the rack!

 

Manny Thanks Edward S

[Edward S]

I am still researching my NAGAMITSU and after cleaning up the tsuka I have noticed that there are marks on the end of the tsuka and I was wondering if members have any definitive information on what they represent.

 

The assembly numbers on the tsuba and seppa are 66 and the kanji on the right hand side of the tsuka are the same so I am clear about that. However on the left hand side there are two kanji that I can’t quite make out. They look like a name and my question is ‘is that the name of the person who assembled the sword, or could it be the name of the smith from the NAGAMITSU forge who actually made the blade but signed in the masters name’?

 

The photos are not great but any considered opinions would be appreciated.

 

Edward S

[PNSSHOGUN]

It would probably be the name of the sword shop/craftsman who made the Koshirae.