Help with identifying a signature.

[Namiwakiru]

Greetings.

 

Long time lurker and first time poster here.

I was hoping somebody might have some insight on a signature.

 

My partners extended family are cleaning the family property and in one of the old sheds is a Katana their father reportedly brought back from the cleanup in Nagasaki.

I was asked to have a look because I have an interest in such weapons however my expertise is mainly in modern practical blades.

(I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity though)

 

 

It’s in terrible condition so I didn’t want to mess with the tang too much but these 3 characters appear to be the only identifying marks visible.

 

I believe the characters are:
安浦刀

 

I recognise the third character as “sword” which I found odd.

After some research I was able to find the name or location of “Yasuura” for the first two characters but my Japanese is extremely rusty.

Thank you for your time.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Namiwakiru
Spelling error: autocorrect.

[Shugyosha]

Hi MB,

My guess is that it's the place where the sword was forged. There are Yasuura shrines at Yokosuka, Kanagawa and Yukuhashi, Fukuoka. (From a google search using "Yasuura Jinja" 安浦神社).

 

Other explanations may, however, be available.

[Namiwakiru]

12 minutes ago, Shugyosha said:

Hi MB,

My guess is that it's the place where the sword was forged. There are Yasuura shrines at Yokosuka, Kanagawa and Yukuhashi, Fukuoka. (From a google search using "Yasuura Jinja" 安浦神社).

 

Other explanations may, however, be available.

Hi John.

I was thinking that might be the case.

There is a Wikipedia entry about a town named Yasuura in Hiroshima that was merged into Kure in 2005.

I couldn't find much historical reference but it appears to be a township in a small bay nestled within the islands between Honshu and Shikoku.

I didn’t consider shrines so thank you for that.

[Kiipu]

As a place name, the characters 安浦 would be pronounced as Yasuura.

 

As a person's name, the characters 安浦刀 would be read as Yasuura Katana.  So this could very well be the swordsmith's name.  The character 刀 in this case is the person's first name.

 

Can a picture be posted of the fittings used on this sword?

[Namiwakiru]

5 hours ago, Kiipu said:

As a place name, the characters 安浦 would be pronounced as Yasuura.

 

As a person's name, the characters 安浦刀 would be read as Yasuura Katana.  So this could very well be the swordsmith's name.  The character 刀 in this case is the person's first name.

 

Can a picture be posted of the fittings used on this sword?

Thank you, Thomas.

Yasuura Katana was the translation I had arrived at too but with little else to go on my research ended there quite quickly.

 

To be honest the mount and fittings are extremely worrying.

My first thought upon seeing it was that it’s a knockoff but as it’s not a sale and a request from family I’m doing a bit of due diligence.

I will post some images to the thread.
 

[Namiwakiru]

Full shot:

 

This was the picture I was sent originally.

As you can see it throws up some red flags with a plain wood Tsuba and painted Saya.

It’s missing the Semigane, Ishizuke, Koiguchi (please excuse me if I got those wrong) but judging from the other fittings and a lack of identifying markers I fear they might not have given much.

[Namiwakiru]

The Kabuto-gane seems rather cheap and forcibly made to fit the plain handle.

[Namiwakiru]

 

The Ashi/Obi-tori is the same as the Kabuto-gane.

[Namiwakiru]

1st photo of the Tsuba.

 

Tsuba is slightly more interesting.

Can slightly make out a couple of Gunbai like fans in the bottom left and what looks like a wave pattern in the top left.

[Namiwakiru]

2nd photo of Tsuba.

 

Terrible condition on the underside.

Seppa seem odd to me and there appears to be evidence of glue.

[Kiipu]

2 hours ago, Namiwakiru said:

As you can see it throws up some red flags with a plain wood tsuba and painted saya.

 

I was not expecting those red flags to be waving so boldly!  However bold the flags may be, it is not what it appears to be.  It is a"last ditch" sword that was made in 1945.  While some locations were still turning out complete Type 98s and 100s, other locations could not.  Tōkyō more or less stopped assembling swords in March 1945 because of bomb damage.  However, blade production was still humming along.  Below is a link that will shed some light on what I think is going on with the sword above.

last ditch naval rinji?

 

And finally, I like the combination of an old sword alongside an old rear axle!

[Namiwakiru]

2 hours ago, Kiipu said:

 

I was not expecting those red flags to be waving so boldly!  However bold the flags may be, it is not what it appears to be.  It is a"last ditch" sword that was made in 1945.  While some locations were still turning out complete Type 98s and 100s, other locations could not.  Tōkyō more or less stopped assembling swords in March 1945 because of bomb damage.  However, blade production was still humming along.  Below is a link that will shed some light on what I think is going on with the sword above.

last ditch naval rinji?

 

And finally, I like the combination of an old sword alongside an old rear axle!

Amazing, I think you might be on to something there!

 

Yes, when I first got a hands on I was instantly sceptical, as the “sword guy” of my circle I’ve had the displeasure of being shown almost every flea market wall hanger, knock off eBay sword, cheap anime katana and holiday tourist blade by friends and family over the years.

What caught my attention and got me researching though is the blade seemed far more legitimate than everything else surrounding them, more akin to the blades I use now rather than the ones I recommend to go in the bin.

(The Tsuba stood out also)

 

It fits the location of Yasuura too, which seemed to have a naval presence presence during the war, and judging from one of their museums, a steel working infrastructure.

 

Extremely fascinating!

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to throw some knowledge my way, it’s greatly appreciated.

 

PS: Yes it’s quite an old property that’s been in the family for years, what it lacks in legendary lost swords it certainly makes up for in pre and post war automotive engineering haha!

[Kiipu]

Some of the wartime radio broadcasts show this shift in production from established locations to new ones.  At the end, even the village blacksmiths were getting involved.  With an invasion impending in November 1945, every weapon was needed to arm the soldiers, sailors, and home guard.  Thankfully, the war ended in August 1945 and now these swords are collectables instead of instruments of death.

Wartime Japanese Radio Broadcasts Related To Swords