translation help w/ mei and surrender tag.

[todd]

hi everyone! im brand new here at militaria and also just as new with swords.. like many, my Grandpa brought this back with him from the war...last week i finally cleaned off the cosmoline and the blade saw the sun for the first time in 60 some years. ( i say it was a nice feeling in some weird way)

 

anyways iv looked around and after many, many, many attempts i have not found out much about this sword, except for a guy (via email) says its a kaneyoshi possible wwii era ...

 

if someone could tell me a bit more about the mei / maker / time period i would be very greatful...like i said iv looked and looked 'till my eyes have almost fell out.

 

also if there is anyone that could help translate the surrender tag that would be awesome. (i do have some feeling of how cool it MIGHT be to return the sword to its family but thats a long shot and a lot of decision making.)

 

here are some pics (man kind of tricky getting good shots of the blade)(cant get hamon to show up)

http://s327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/toddyace/

 

i do thank you for your help in advance and im looking forward to learning more and more about this sword and swords in general.

[Nobody]

Hi,

These are all I know for now.

 

Mei:

中野兼貫作 (Nakano Kanetsura saku)

– WWII smith in Seki

Ref. http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm

 

Tag: address and name

å·è¶Šå¸‚å®®ä¸‹ç”ºäº”äº”ä¹ (Kawagoe-shi, Miyasita-cho, 559) – the number could be wrong?

伊藤米次郎 (Ito Komejiro (or Yonejiro?))

 

 

BTW, there is a rice-cleaning company in Kawagoe-shi, which was established by Ito Komejiro 1st. But that might be only a coincidence.

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~film/itoh_seibu.html

[todd]

thanks for the speedy reply and translations...

 

so after reading that link and it saying "However most of these smiths produced low grade Showato." i would like to hear advice on what "one"(myself) is to do with this sword.

 

if i understand correctly its probably not worth to much.. would i be doing anything wrong if i took the military fittings off and got a nice looking ones for it ..(so it looks nice hanging on the wall)

 

and another question: has anyone here ever returned a sword and if so or if not ..is it hard to find the family, does the family even want it back, and were would one start if that was the path i was to go down?

 

sorry for all the questions but i guess im not to sure what i want (or should) do with it.

[Grey Doffin]

You could strip the military fittings and replace them, but it would probably cost less and accomplish the same end if you were to buy a nicer looking sword (one more to your tastes) and leave this one alone. You could sell this one and get back some of the cost.

It won't be possible to return this sword to Japan. It's my understanding that unless the sword is a traditionally made Nihonto, as opposed to a machine made or made by an untrained smith during the war sword, Japanese customs will seize and destroy (treated as a weapon, not a work of art).

I would suggest either keeping it as is or selling it on ebay.

Grey

[todd]

It won't be possible to return this sword to Japan

well thats to bad, but it cuts out one decision i would have to make.

 

i do thank you all for your help and i have throughly enjoyed learning more and more about this Japaneses sword. and in the time i have learned alot in general about japanses swords, what an amazing piece of steel!

 

and again thank you so much for the translation "Nobody" -i have been wondering what that surrender tag says for many, many years.

 

can i ask one more favor and say "can anyone else confirm that it is a wwii blade (as i have had offer for this sword as a military sword and i would hate to make the mistake of selling it as one if its not really one" ( i looked at the reference link provided but its all Japanese to me.LOL :lol:

[Brian]

Todd,

 

Yep, it is a WW2 sword. However I would caution against jumping into a sale until you have a bit more research into whether this is a mass produced sword or a Gendaito (traditionally made)

I can't tell from the pics, and you would need to examine it closer to see if it has any activity and grain. The smith seems relatively undocumented from the sources I checked, so not sure if he made both types.

If a Gendaito it would be worth more than double a Showato.

Even if just a mass produced sword from WW2, for a militaria collector the surrender tag adds value, and I think you would be looking at upwards of $1K as a rough guess.

 

Brian

[todd]

Thanks again! what a great bunch of helpful people here. i have gotten help via post and email and within 24 hours!

 

i'll definitely be returning and (lurking) studying my new found hobby. beer and cheers for everyone

 

Yep, it is a WW2 sword. However I would caution against jumping into a sale until you have a bit more research into whether this is a mass produced sword or a Gendaito (traditionally made)

From my learning i say it: is steel, it has a shinogi WARE im assuming (its a small crack going lengthwise on the blade, you can for sure see a hamon, and it does look like it has grain and activity ( but nothing like what i see in some pictures)

 

for a militaria collector the surrender tag adds value,

i do have a picture of my grandpa and another solider holding swords like X and i have 6 years of love letter back to my grandma and in one letter he mentions the sword and mentions going souvenir hunting. im sure this isnt the forum for it but i have lots and lots and lots of wwii era stuff from Japan. ie. paintings, calenders, helmet(with blood stain on the inside), chemical suite, flags, the weirdest thing i have is a childs handwriting book (you know the kind that you trace the dots to form the kanji and then do it youself)

 

anyways thanks again, its been a pleasure!