Enjoying my katana

[Janrudolph]

Goodday friends. This is my request for info from whoever of the South African collectors can kindly help. In previous posts by myself I wrote that I love to research my genuine nihonto katana fully & also compile a provenance for it. In discussions on this katana Brian mentioned that it was most likely one of the restored swords by "Adrian & Gus". I have found out that Adrian is Adrian Collopy, member of the SA Arms & Armour Society. But I cannot find out who "Gus" is. I just know he passed away. The pre-previous owner of my katana said that Gus polished the blade sometime after 1990. What is the last name of Gus, when did he pass away & what was the nature of his katana enthusiasm and activity? Did he have a business name and where did he work? Please understand my inquiries into Gus is a result of my researching my katana, there's no ulterior motive behind it; it is just my way of acting out my interest and staying active in my collecting hobby. This is like a sideline into the area of biography. Please can Brian or whoever knows something about Gus respond?    Johan.  

[Brian]

Gus Vollmer was an elderly and eccentric collector of all Eastern weapons. He had a room in house with the walls covered top to bottom with weapons. I spent many a happy day sitting in that room, discussing Japanese swords etc.
He was very giving of his time, and incredibly jovial. Smoked like a chimney. He was one of the very early SA Japanese sword enthusiasts. He was also somewhat of an amateur polisher. Something we avoid nowadays, but it was accepted back then with little access to anything else.
He lived in Norwood, Jhb. Oneday while sitting in his chair sharing a Whisky with his girlfriend, he just keeled over with a heart attack. Was a sad loss. RIP Gus
https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/1188-sad-loss

[Janrudolph]

Thank you so much, Brian, for all this info! I am greatly impressed by this sparkling character. What a life!

To you I also want to express my concern for your Covid thing and hope you will shrug it off soon!

Strength & blessings. Johan

[Janrudolph]

Friends, I don't have nihonto of great value or importance, but my interest and my ongoing research into nihonto has put me onto a number of interesting sidelines. When thinking about my swords, I often wonder: how did samurai/nihonto swords first get into South Africa? When did the very first nihonto katana reach our shores? The question is easier to answer in the case of shin-gunto, because of the surrender of the Japanese and the practice of servicemen taking home swords as a curiosity. Granted, a few ancient blades are amongst this group. But I'm thinking earlier. Shipping since the earliest clippers must have brought many swords belonging to passengers immigrating, or just to sell. Early auction houses in SA might also have brought in numbers of nihonto. Antique shops throughout the country, as well as big collectors, probably acquired their swords mostly from such sources. But the very first genuine samurai sword? We will never know.

Regarding my own nihonto katana, I have decided to pester the previous owner until his patience with me breaks into little pieces. He admitted he bought it from an antique shop in the 1990's. It was missing the menuki, and the leather ito was falling apart. He had someone re-do the scabbard, duplicating the petal design, and rewrap the handle with cord. Made a new menuki set, copying an original he had. The blade must have been badly stored for many years, as the pitting attests. Amateur polishing was done by a person commissioned by him, and my katana is now what it is. That's my story. But the saving grace of my sword is that it is the real deal and is a genuine antique samurai blade. What would it be able to tell me, if it could talk, recalling where it spent its years through centuries since 1680 till it arrived in SA.... when? Pondering on that keeps me going. Johan.     

[FZ1]

On 7/10/2021 at 2:31 PM, Brian said:

 

One day while sitting in his chair sharing a Whisky with his girlfriend, he just keeled over with a heart attack.

 

 

I didn't know of this gentleman until I read this thread, but he sounds like he was a really interesting guy; what would the world do without eccentrics? 

We all have to go sometime, but this has got to be one of the best ways to go.

 

Jon

 

[Janrudolph]

Classic remark, Jon, and I think many agree with you! I'm interested to know how frequently many of us, sitting with a beautiful katana on their lap, sipping a drink, also lapse into thought in wonderment about Japanese history and where a favourite blade one possesses fits into the picture. When I questioned how samurai/nihonto swords first got into South Africa, the question naturally expands into when the first Japanese swords might have left their home country and taken away to foreign places?

It is documented that "a trading ship was blown off course and landed in 1543 on the Japanese island of Tanegashima, just south of Kyushu. The three Portuguese traders on board were the first Europeans to set foot in Japan." These Portuguese and those after them were allowed to trade, and so I must assume from that, that swords were also on the ship inventories of goods taken from Japan. The first ever? I might be grossly mistaken! Johan 

[Janrudolph]

I'm on a topic here which seems not to enjoy much interest from nihonto enthusiasts. But let me tell of one more (to me) interesting discovery related to Japanese swords. The Spanish galleon San Diego succumbed during a sea battle and sank near Manila in 1600. Various artifacts recovered included about 30 Japanese sword parts. See the pic I am posting. So nihonto swords were being taken away from Japan since very early days. Johan  

[Janrudolph]

[Bruce Pennington]

Cool!  Wonder if they were all encrusted like the one on the left, but have been cleaned?