Question about a Kyu-Gunto

[Gunto]

Hello everyone,

I own this kyu-gunto which seems to have a traditional blade. The polish is very old but the suguha hamon and hada remain visible. There are some small traces of oxidation. The nakago is mumei. The blade measures about 55 cm, so it is a rather long wakizashi. Could anyone estimate its age?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Stéphane 

 

 

 

[Gunto]

[Gunto]

[Gunto]

[Gunto]

There is something else I wonder about this sword. Could the Kyu Gunto saya also be lacquered? I saw in the book "Military Swords of Japan" by Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory a sword that seems to have the same type of scabbard but it doesn't seem to be widespread. Could someone tell me if this is an original mount?

[Mister Gunto]

Hi Stephane,

 

Very nice Kyu-Gunto you have there! Yes, it definately is a Nihonto. Just guessing, but with the shallow sori and the look of the Nakago, I would say it was made in the Shinto era, probably around the Kanbun era (Mid-late 1600's). However, I'm hardly an expert. You may want to post pics of the blade in the Nihonto forum and see what other have to say. I could be way off. 

 

Your mounts look original. Kyu-Gunto scabbards were usually brightly finished. However, many seem to have been painted black, probably for field use. Others were covered with a protective leather cover. Often these have been lost over time. 

 

If you search through the forum here, you'll find many photos of other Kyus to compare yours with. 

[Gunto]

Thank you for your answer. I also thought it was a Shinto Wakizashi because of the shallow curvature. I will post the pictures on the Nihonto forum to get more opinions about the blade.