Nagata Sukenori showa-to with no Seki stamp

[Yukihiro]

I have recently acquired (and am eagerly awaiting) a showa-to signed by Nagata Sukenori (氷田祐則),  a (low-ranking) Seki swordsmith.

 

The problem with this gunto is that, according to the seller, it bears no stamp at all, not even the usual Seki stamp.

 

Its koshirae does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary, and, on the contrary, is far from being luxurious.

 

I have spotted at least another stampless Sukenori gunto elsewhere, so I am wondering why these did not receive the Seki stamp, as they do not look like gendai-to at first sight.

 

Another important element is that Nagata Sukenori became a licensed swordsmith on 12 November 1941, that is long after stamps were made compulsory for non traditionally made swords in Japan.

 

 

[ChrisW]

Look at the hamon closely when you get it. Do you see dark peaks? If there are none of those, that means it is at least not oil-quenched. Dark peaks are typically a sign of oil-quenching. However, that still does not preclude machine working nor the use of bar stock. Not all showato were marked, so when you see a blade without marks, that doesn't automatically make it gendaito. I believe a lot of people get an incorrect impression because a certain person on Pawn Stars said all showato have stamps. I actually have a showato that has no stamps nor markings but it has the characteristic dark peaks in the hamon.

To judge if it is gendaito, look for metal activities and forging flaws: hada, nie/nioe (or metal particles of any kind), ware, loose grain, completeness of the hamon. Those are all signs that would point to it being more likely to be gendaito. But even showato can have some of these, but having all of those plus a lack of dark peaks speaks to the highest probability of gendaito.

 

GIven what you know about Sukenori, it is probable that he made a few gendaito (a lot of Showato smiths did). But judge the blade on its merits of course.

I would say: take it to a show or meeting if you're still not sure, get the in-hand opinion of someone knowledgeable.

[Yukihiro]

Thank you very much indeed, Chris!

Of course I do not think this gunto is a gendaito, but still, I find it both interesting and puzzling that it was not marked with a Seki stamp. 

I will make better and clearer photos as soon as the sword reaches me.

From what I gathered, the fact that a blade was water quenched is one of the determining visual factors in its being classified as a gendaito. 

The tsuba on this one, though it looks quite military, is quite unusual - could it be some kind of economy, end-of-war pattern or is it just a cheap tsuba?

The habaki seems to be a civilian one - if it is original to this blade, I wonder why someone would use it on a mass-produced blade. Do you think this could be an upgrade of some sort?

[ChrisW]

I am not saying it is not gendaito. I am saying the possibility exists, but the blade should be examined closely first. It is not uncommon (if I recall correctly) for showato to be unmarked before a certain point.

For a blade to be counted as showato, one or more of the following must be true: oil quenched, made from bar stock or other pre-prepared metal (not tamahagane), made with powered tools such as a blast furnace. Basically, if its not done the traditional Japanese way, it is showato. Though there are a lot of grey areas such as blades being made from rail steel exhibiting hada and etc. Really, the distinction between the two is somewhat artificial in my opinion and as long as it exhibits hada and hamon and proper form, it can be appreciable much the same way as a pre-gendai sword (though obviously not always to the same degree of artistry). I think that as time goes on, non-traditional and even obvious showato will be appreciated as an extension of nihonto's long history. There's even been (though controversially) a showato that papered! Signs that, even in an ancient world like nihonto, times are changing.

[Yukihiro]

Is this an instance of a papered Nagata Sukenori gunto? https://www.e-sword.jp/sale/0810_1124syousai.htm

The only things I could make out were "Nagata Sukenori" and "to". By the way, this one is Seki marked...

[SteveM]

The registration card used to mean that the sword accompanying it was a traditionally-made nihonto. Nowadays, we see more and more guntō being registered.

 

This particular registration card dates from 1976. So either the registration card was issued by mistake (which is my guess), or there was some fraud going on in the Aichi Board of Education, where this card originated from. Note that the registration card mistakenly notes the maker as Morita Sukenori. 

 

I wouldn't waste too many brain cycles on trying to find out if your sword is guntō or not. Assume it is, and assume most of its value comes from its condition and the condition of the koshirae. 

[Yukihiro]

Yes, I understand. My point though is to gain as much information as I can on the details that can set this particular gunto apart from the myriads of other Japanese military swords that appear each day on the market. I willingly admit that it is far from being unique and will never be considered a work of art, but, nonetheless, I am very much interested in trying to get a better picture of the swordsmith who made it and also of the officer that carried it during WWII. That is the point of the questions I am asking.

[Bruce Pennington]

Didier,

You may have this already, from Sesko's book:

"SUKENORI (祐則), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Sukenori” (祐則), real name Nagata Eiichi (永田栄一), born August 28th 1910, he worked as guntō smith."

 

22 hours ago, Yukihiro said:

Another important element is that Nagata Sukenori became a licensed swordsmith on 12 November 1941, that is long after stamps were made compulsory for non traditionally made swords in Japan.

 

It is an old Urban Legand in the sword community that stamping was "comulsory for non traditionally made swords".  To date, no one has found a law or military regulation stating that swords had to be stamped at all.  It was not a regular practice at the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal, for example.  I only have found 2 "Ki" stamped blades and very few "To" stamped blades from that arsenal, yet they clearly handled thousands upon thousands of showato.  So stamping was not compulsory.  The famous large Seki stamp you refer to, we believe, was being used by a civilian organization call The Seki Cutlery Manufacterers Association.  The Seki City website states that "all Japanese swords" were inspected and stamped, but Ohmura has a 1939 survey of blades stamped by the Association, and it states that gendaito were not inspected. 

 

Even if the blade is showato, there are various ways a blade could have gotten to market and by-passed the Association's inspectors.  As always, judge the blade not the (stamp) to misquote the adage!

 

On a side note, nice civilian employee tsuba!

[Yukihiro]

So that explains why there are unusual features to be found on this sword: it is not a military one! 

[Yukihiro]

Could someone tell me what is written in green painted letters on the nakago? The tsuba and seppa bear the number 480 plus some kind of fish-shaped stamp (Ω?), and I doubt the green letters read the same.

Thank you very much in advance!

[PNSSHOGUN]

Looks to be a classic oil tempered sword.

[Yukihiro]

9 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Looks to be a classic oil tempered sword.

Yes, that is also the conclusion I have come to upon examining the blade.

[Brian]

Standard arsenal oil quenched sword.
The pained markings are just assembly/rack numbers, and don't have any real bearing.

[Yukihiro]

So I suppose they have nothing to do with the number that was stamped into the tsuba and the seppa?

[vajo]

Nice looking showa-to sword.

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Numbers, "2342".  Don't know why they don't match the numbers on the fittings.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. 

 

Could I get a good, close shot of that stamp on the seppa?  Haven't see that one before.  It's very similar to an unknown stamp on a Yoshinao blade I have on file:

[Yukihiro]

Hopefully this is good enough. I will try to make a better picture when I have more time.

[Bruce Pennington]

That’s perfect thank you! Could be the same shop, or two different ones. They are slightly different and how they are crafted.

[Yukihiro]

58 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

That’s perfect thank you! Could be the same shop, or two different ones. They are slightly different and how they are crafted.

So I understand you think this is the mark of the shop that sold the tsuba and the seppa? I will have a look at the other fittings, just to make sure that this mark does not appear on them.

[Yukihiro]

I gave it my best shot

On another note, I think I can now say with a certain degree of certainty that I have an all original koshirae here: the number 480 also appears on the latch.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks for the added photos, beautiful craftsmanship on that fuchi!  Now I think there is a chance it is the same mark as on that blade I have on file.  I think it's a shop logo.  Guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not a kanji that I've ever seen, so it's some sort of emblem, maybe intending to look like a fish?

[Yukihiro]

2 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Thanks for the added photos, beautiful craftsmanship on that fuchi!  Now I think there is a chance it is the same mark as on that blade I have on file.  I think it's a shop logo.  Guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not a kanji that I've ever seen, so it's some sort of emblem, maybe intending to look like a fish?

That is the way I see it: a fish-shaped stamp. But I must say my first move was to interpret it as a 0, when I first spotted it on the tsuba. It is 'swimming' to the right on both seppa but 'diving' downwards on the tsuba, so who knows?

[Bruno]

Acid enhanced hamon, new ito, possible mixed fittings and (this often seen) brown/red lacquer finish scabbard.

 

I could be wrong (I hope I am) but this sword may come from SHOWA22 store.

[Yukihiro]

13 minutes ago, Bruno said:

Acid enhanced hamon, new ito, possible mixed fittings and (this often seen) brown/red lacquer finish scabbard.

 

I could be wrong (I hope I am) but this sword may come from SHOWA22 store.

Well, are you sure the ito is new? Is does show some signs of wear here and there, but, of course, I suppose that too could be faked in some way or other. The fittings are not totally mixed as the tsuba, the seppa and the spring of the retention clip all bear the same number: 480. I was not able to see that number elsewhere but, on the other hand, I have not gone to the trouble of dismantling this gunto entirely.

The guy who sold it to me told me he had bought it from an Englishman at Ciney (Belgium), but that does not mean that the sword may not have come ultimately from the infamous SHOWA22.

[Bruno]

The ito is too fresh to be WW2 but nothing wrong having a rewrapped tsuka as long as it is well done.

 

I am quite confident it has been restored and sold by SHOWA22 at some point, many red flags. That said and unless I am wrong that does not make your sword a bad sword, but too much acid cleaned, probably repainted scabbard (SHOWA22 likes and often uses this color) and quite impossible to tell if the parts are original or guenine WW2 mixed parts from different gunto koshirae. This seller has countless guenuine WW2 gunto spare parts in stock and do many swaping with them.

[Yukihiro]

I would be tempted to use a microfiber cloth to tone down the acid etched hamon, but I have already been advised against that solution - what do you think, Bruno?

[Bruno]

9 minutes ago, Yukihiro said:

I would be tempted to use a microfiber cloth to tone down the acid etched hamon, but I have already been advised against that solution - what do you think, Bruno?

I would ask Chris Bowen if the acid can be neutralized but after years I am not sure it can be done.

[Brian]

Uchiko treatment will tone it down and remove that "over the top" acid look.
This is one of the FEW times I advocate for uchiko. On out of polish or acid washed blades. Not for blades in traditional polish unless you have vast experience.