Katana information

[Eddywhiskers]

Hi could anyone help out with identifying the sword I have and any additional information. Regards Simon j

[C0D]

Kojima Norimichi, Seki stamp. Gendaito Seki swordsmith

[Geraint]

Dear Simon.

 

Welcome to NMB!  (Please add your name to your posts, you can do that in your profile and it will be automatic.)  Just to add to what Manuel has told you, and perhaps explain a bit if you need that.  Your sword is in Shingunto koshirae, that is WWII army mounts.  The blade is signed by Kojima Norimichi whi is the smith who made it.  The small stamp shows it to have been made in Seki city, which is a bit like Sheffield in that it is famous for cutlery of all sorts.  During WWII it was a major center of sword production.  This stamp confirms that the sowrd was made by modern production methods, not traditional methods.  Manuel identifies the smith as a maker of gendaito, usually taken to mean a modern, gendai),  sword, (to).

Gendaito are made using the traditional methods and are more highly regarded than Showato which are the ones made in quantity.  It is quite common for a smith to be known as a maker of both types.

 

Apologies if you knew all that already.  If you have anything more to ask then fire away.

 

All the best.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Just an honest to goodness WW2 Japanese Type 98 officers sword. Nice patina, the black Saya is a little uncommon, classic Seki-To blade and in decent condition all around. Otherwise all you need is a replacement Sarute and rank tassel for an authentic display.

[Eddywhiskers]

Thanks for the replies, this sword was presented to Fred Dane a spitfire pilot . Does anyone know the rough value of such an item ? Regards Simon j

[Surfson]

It's a machine made blade Eddie, and it appears to have decent mounts.  It's hard to tell the condition of the polish, and it may have the tip broken off at the very end.  It's probably worth in the range of $1000, give or take a few hundred.  

[Bruce Pennington]

Yes, $800-1,200, depending upon your buyers budget.

 

It's interesting in the article, they say he was evading "terrorists". Didn't know they were using that term in WWII, and wonder what they meant by it? Locals who were anti-Allies?