Show us Your Commemoration/Presentation Swords

[David Flynn]

Swords were either donated to the Shrine or, the majority, just blessed. The smith would put a dedication to a particular shrine and the Priest would bless it.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks Dave, always wondered about that!

[george trotter]

About swords being made elsewhere and then presented to the shrine for blessing etc...of course this is common. but always remember there is also 'not always'.

As an example, Ono says an RJT smith named Kanazaki Toshimitsu (Tottori) made swords at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in 1944/45 (Ono 'Gendai Toko Kinko Shokukata Soran' 1977, p.106) and this is expanded by Kishida  who said this of Kanazakii: "By order of the military authorities, he made 30 swords at the Fushimi Inari Shrine of Kyoto and donated the swords to the shrine in January 1945. The  chief priest of the shrine Suzuki Matsutaro gave him the personal title of "Inari Kokaji" on that occasion" (Kishida 'Yasukuni Swords'  2004 pp.134-5). This smith used several names including Suketoshi.

So, there were occasions where swords were made at the shrine and dedicated there. I don't know how common this was or how many shrines actually had forges.

Hope this helps.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks George! As is often the case, the anwer is "all the above" or "it depends"! Among the many post-war documents on this thread: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/forum/57-nt-and-iao-list-and-sword-documents-by-us-gov-1945-1950/, there are letters mentioning the looting of shrines to take swords, along with legal confication, leaving receipts. Some were turned into police stations and never seen again (some were returned).