Possible Kanemoto Katana?

[SmilodonCinder]

Good Morning/Evening,

 

While searching the internet for tips on identifying katana, I found some good sword identification threads here, and I thought I would make an account on Reddit and see if anyone could assist me. A helpful person referred me here for more information. I am not an expert on katana terminology, nor a great photographer, so please bear with me.

 

I have uploaded the photographs to a shared Drive folder here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Lei3ZyuvpQ5YgIBrrN-NRb9wxW0zKYD0. And I've attached to this post a photo of the katana as a whole.

 

Here's what I know (or think I know):

• I inherited the sword from my grandfather, who acquired it during or shortly after World War II. If my memory holds, he told me that he traded for it on the black market in the Asia-Pacific area, possibly in or near Shanghai.

• Judging from the tang of the blade, it appears to have been shortened at some point. The very top of a mei signature is still visible, and it appears to be the first character of a Kanemoto mei. (See the photo for a close-up. Google image search provided several examples for comparison.)

The top of the handle has some markings cut into the wood. I believe I know what some of them mean, but not others. Any ideas?

 

The handle no longer fits the tang correctly. I've always dreamed of having it fixed. Any advice on where to look for someone with the skill to do that?

 

Several of the pictures are close-ups of the menuki under the wrappings. Any idea what it could be? I can't tell what it's supposed to represent.

 

Do you think it would be worth seeing if someone can confirm it as a real Kanemoto piece? If so, any idea where to start with that?

 

Thanks all for any thoughts!

[Jean]

Andrew,

 

What we can see is the upper part of a kanji which can be « Kane », there were several hundreds of Mino smiths with a name beginning by the Kane kanji. So if you want a written opinion (kanteisho) of the smith, there is only one solution: submit it to Shinsa.

[SmilodonCinder]

Would I want to have the handle repaired before doing something formal like that?

[Jean]

No need to have the handle repaired for shinsa

[SmilodonCinder]

Thank you, I sure appreciate your thoughts!

 

I am a complete novice here, and I don't want to dominate your time or anything. But I guess here's just a couple more questions:

 

Would it really be possible to authenticate a blade with only a fragment of a kanji?

 

And -- any ideas what the symbols carved into the wood of the handle could mean?  One pair of them looks like "jyuu-nin" to me, but I can't figure out what the others could be.

[Gabriel L]

Andrew,

A blade can often be appraised with no signature at all. The workmanship will often suffice to pin down era, school, and maybe line of smiths – if the work is distinctive enough, a specific smith. However having the remnant of a signature does of course narrow down the possibilities, so for instance if the judges would bbe split on a decision e.g. between Kane-someone and Nobu-someone, well now there is no need for a subjective call. On the other hand, Kane- doesn't narrow things down very much as a huge number of Mino-school smiths signed with this character (after Kaneuji, the founder of the tradition).

[SteveM]

The wood has 十六　リ carved into it. 

 

Who knows what this "16 ri" means. Probably just some assembly or stock number. Nothing of significance to us or to anybody except the people who assembled it. The markings on the opposite side look to me like random markings, also of no importance. Maybe its 四三, but it still doesn't do much for me. 

 

But your sword and scabbard are nicer than I expected. Every post that begins with, "I have a sword that my grandfather brought back from WW2..." I expect to see some crappy sword, but this was a nice surprise. It may not be heirloom quality, and the 兼 may actually be a counterfeit, but the sword itself seems to be a real antique (meaning, pre-dating the war by at least 100 years). The saya looks like aogaimijinnuri (青貝微塵塗), which is a decorative abalone shell covering. Sort of like glitter. It's not super exclusive or expensive, or even rare, but it is somewhat more fancy than standard black lacquer. 

 

Edit: Bear in mind it could be an authentic "Kane-" something. My comments above shouldn't be taken to mean I think the sword is a fake. You will need somebody smarter than me to tell you if it is an authentic sword made from one of the likely "Kane-" smiths. But yes, I do think it is an authentic sword from the samurai era, if you like, and that it is something to be treasured as such. 

[SmilodonCinder]

Thank you! That's very interesting.

 

It's sort of what I was leaning towards: "Well, if it's a counterfeit, it's an old one."

 

And I am now learning how many different "Kane-somethings" there were. How embarrassing. Thank you for pardoning my amateur status!

[Ken-Hawaii]

No reason to apologize, Andrew. We are all still amateurs when it comes to this field.

 

I suggest looking at photos in the For Sale section, & seeing if you can duplicate some of them. That will allow us to kantei (evaluate) your blade. Some good shots are shown for a Kanemoto at http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/23701-koto-mino-kanemoto-wakizashi-in-fine-koshirae/. Be sure the blade is completely bare, as the tsuka (handle) is of no particular interest.

[SmilodonCinder]

Thanks very much!

I will try to take some new photos tomorrow if you think they might help. The one in those photos certainly seems to be better-maintained than mine.

 

For my reference, is there anything in particular that I should try to capture, other than trying to emulate some of those photos?

 

I'd really like to have the handle fixed. The hole in the handle doesn't seem to line up with the hole in the tang of the blade.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Andrew,

Here is a care & etiquette site; you would be smart to read it twice.

http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm

If the holes are off just a bit it may be as simple as replacing a missing seppa (washer).  You can make one out of a piece of leather.

Grey

[PNSSHOGUN]

The Hamon and Boshi for Kanemoto are the easiest identifiers, so take plenty of photos of the edge and tip of the sword in lighting that highlights these areas clearly. Sunlight, downlights or a strong LED light, some acrobatics with position and you will be able to capture it.

[SmilodonCinder]

Thank you for the advice. It turns out that I am an abominable photographer. I have attached some new ones that I tried to shoot; two on both sides. But I'll see if my husband can do better tomorrow.

[SteveM]

Your photography is better than a lot of newcomers. And, I am even more convinced that your sword is worth keeping and preserving. 

There is a what looks to be a horizontal weld opening near the tip in the shinogi-ji, and a spot of rust also near the tip, but I wouldn't freak out about these.  

[PNSSHOGUN]

It could very well be a later generation of Kanemoto (there were many), it has the Jizo Boshi but the Sanbonsugi isn't very reminiscent of early Kanemoto work.

[SmilodonCinder]

Well, thank you all.

 

I think my next step will be to try to take it to a live show somewhere, then get it polished up somewhere in the U.S.

 

It's a shame someone trimmed the tang. Maybe it was to make it easier to use?

 

And SteveM: Thank you very much in particular for the comment on the glitter. I always looked at that and thought "Well, if it has glitter on it, it can't be THAT old." Nice to know what it could have been from!!

[PNSSHOGUN]

Your sword does not need a new polish, there isn't any serious rust or damage and the current condition is very good. Preserving it as is with a light coating of choji or similar light mineral oil on the blade and following the guide Grey posted will ensure the sword remains a family heirloom for generations to come.

 

Shortening or Suriage is common among Japanese swords and was done for a number of reasons, chiefly to match the sword to the owners preferred length or style.

[SmilodonCinder]

That's interesting, because another fellow told me that I should have it polished before having it formally identified. He also mentioned the polish could be concealing the true hamon. (Remember I'm a rank amateur at these things!)

[nagamaki - Franco]

That's interesting, because another fellow told me that I should have it polished before having it formally identified. He also mentioned the polish could be concealing the true hamon. (Remember I'm a rank amateur at these things!)

 

Hello,

 

Before proceeding to a full polish it would be wise to figure out more precisely what it is that you do have and, perhaps more importantly, what you don't have. A good first step would be to have a qualified polisher look your sword over and give you their thoughts, help you identify and explain if there are any problems. If all appears fine, the next step (suggest) would be to ask a polisher to open a window on the sword. Which is where a short segment of the sword is fully polished. This would provide you (along with any future buyer) with a peek at how the sword will look finished, and at the same time give the shinsa team a clear image to help them determine/confirm who done it. This will also help you in deciding how to proceed going forward, or not.

 

p.s. another benefit of having a window put in, is that it gives you the opportunity to see the polisher's work. My thought is that choosing a polisher is just as important as deciding what sword to buy. Polishers are not all equal, and you should understand (recognize) the differences. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by nagamaki - Franco

[b.hennick]

 Polishers are not all equal, and you should understand (recognize) the differences.  People need to really understand this statement. A polisher who may be OK for suguha/ or modern blade may do a terrible job on a hitatsura/ or ko Bizen blade. We have seen that in recent years. I remember well a conversation or two about this very topic. He would match the blade to a polisher who knew how to do it justice. This probably should be a new topic. Franco??

[Ken-Hawaii]

I agree with John that your blade looks to be in decent condition, & that it doesn't need a polish. Are you familiar with the standard steps that are used to kantei a blade? I suggest starting with NMB member Markus Sesko's excellent series of educational explanations; the first is at https://markussesko.com/2015/02/06/kantei-introduction/.

[vajo]

Andrew, congratulations for the nice sword. It is in well condition and the koshirae looks very nice (i like that kind of saya very much).

Your sword dont need a polish. You can see all what it will show. Take good care of it.

[SmilodonCinder]

Thank you all very much!

 

Any thoughts on what that menuki could represent?

[SteveM]

Just had a closer look at the saya, and it looks like the craftsman used some mottling effect, and not abalone shell. Still very interesting and nice to have in the collection.