jesse Posted December 6, 2022 Report Posted December 6, 2022 A couple of people asked me to show more pictures of one of my Zatoichi sword canes. Well, here you go. Warrior (Chikuma) 雷 守 Iga Mamoru Fujiwara Kimichi (Five generations) (Reverse knife sword) Japanese blacksmith, master wakizashi maker, Kikumon raijo iga_no_kami fujiwara kinmichi nihon-kaji-sosho] (5 generations) This sword was forged in the Meiwa era during the Edo period (1764-1772). Iga Moriguchido (the first generation) was the eldest son of Seki Kaneko, and in the 2nd year of Bunroku era, He came to Tokyo with his father and four brothers. Iga Morigokudo (the first generation) accepts orders subject to the order of Sengoku Takeshi from Tokugawa Ieyasu right before the Sekigahara battle, subject to the order to put the blacksmith of the capital under the control of the Kimichi, Tokugawa Ieyasu's It receives the charter of 'Nihon Kinzyu' by intercession. Kimicho is a prestigious family that was inherited from generation to generation and continued to the eleventh by the end of the Tokugawa period. From the fifth generation he adds two characters of lightning to the inscription. It came with new Shirasaya and twisted/braided Koshirae. Length 69.5cm Length (cutting edge): 53.6cm Kasane: 0.38cm Mihabi: 1.16cm Sori: 0.4cm (reversed) Koshirae length: 99cm 7 1 Quote
jesse Posted December 6, 2022 Author Report Posted December 6, 2022 I would like to see other members' Zatoichi blades so feel free to post. And if I put this is the wrong section please let me where I should put it. Warm Regards, Jesse 2 Quote
jesse Posted December 6, 2022 Author Report Posted December 6, 2022 One more thing. It is not for sale. Warm Regards, Jesse 2 Quote
ChrisW Posted December 7, 2022 Report Posted December 7, 2022 This is a lovely piece! Thank you for sharing it. Quote
Michaelr Posted December 7, 2022 Report Posted December 7, 2022 WOW WOW WOW. I have never seen one in person. Yours is BEAUTIFUL. If I owned it I would also be proud to share it but would also be following it up with your last line “ it’s not for sale “. Very nice and thank you for sharing MikeR Quote
jesse Posted December 8, 2022 Author Report Posted December 8, 2022 Thanks guys. I bought it from the E-Swords website in 2018. Michael, where is NJ are you? I spent many years in South Jersey, around the Atlantic City area. Regards, Jesse Quote
Michaelr Posted December 8, 2022 Report Posted December 8, 2022 Jesse I am in Central NJ, about 1 hour north of Atlantic City Quote
John C Posted December 8, 2022 Report Posted December 8, 2022 Jesse: Beautiful sword! You are indeed fortunate. Living in California, I couldn't own one if I did find one. They are illegal here (although I suppose one could remove the cane part and buy the blade only). John C. Quote
rematron Posted December 9, 2022 Report Posted December 9, 2022 Jesse, that is a beautiful sword. The hamon is quite striking. Thank you for sharing the history and more photos of it. I'm keeping my eyes out for such a treasure. Quote
jesse Posted December 9, 2022 Author Report Posted December 9, 2022 John and Jeremy, thank you for those kind words. And I will keep my eye out for you Jeremy. If I find something worthwhile, I will let you know. Regards, 1 Quote
drbvac Posted December 18, 2022 Report Posted December 18, 2022 I had a sword cane with a very narrow Japanese blade and nothing like this beauty but it looked like a cane with a silver handle and the koshira had birch veneer all over. I actually sold it to an old friend from England, Henry Reeves and the only one I ever saw other than this was an exact copy in a movie where the bad guy used it in a fight on top of a gantry crane at a dock !! I was very elegant and you could not tell it was a blade as it was straight and the blade was only a little over half and inch in width. Illegal here in Canada as well but should have kept it ! 1 Quote
Brian Posted December 18, 2022 Report Posted December 18, 2022 Someone was asking about Henry on the forum a few weeks back. Anyone know what became of him? He was a delightful old guy. Quote
drbvac Posted December 18, 2022 Report Posted December 18, 2022 I believe he has passed away Brian - I used to converse with him on Facebook as well and no longer He was born in 1937 so would have been 85 this year but I think he died around 4 years ago = great guy = interested in many things 1 Quote
John C Posted December 18, 2022 Report Posted December 18, 2022 @Brian Brian: Is there a memorial forum where one could leave condolences, stories, anecdotes, etc. for members? Would that be something you could entertain? John C. Quote
Stephen Posted December 26, 2022 Report Posted December 26, 2022 From the folks who were searching for him. We found Henry living in Stoke on Tent, Staffordshire 2 2 Quote
rematron Posted December 30, 2022 Report Posted December 30, 2022 @jesseDo you know anything about the forging of this blade? I mean, of course it was a long time ago, but I'm curious if you've heard any opinions, expert or otherwise, about the blade shape. I'm wondering if it was formed with a deeper curve and the intent was for it to straighten out at quenching and it didn't or if this was truly the intentional shape. The latter is probably more likely. It's just such a unique design. Quote
jesse Posted December 30, 2022 Author Report Posted December 30, 2022 Jeremy, The blade was intended and designed as a Zotoichi. It is a very cool blade with a ton of character. 1 Quote
rematron Posted December 30, 2022 Report Posted December 30, 2022 On 12/30/2022 at 6:11 PM, jesse said: Jeremy, The blade was intended and designed as a Zotoichi. It is a very cool blade with a ton of character. Expand I guess what I'm specifically asking is if it was intended to have a forward curve. Quote
rematron Posted December 30, 2022 Report Posted December 30, 2022 Also, I'm getting confused between the term 'Zatoichi' and 'shikomi-zue' or 'shikomizue'. Zatoichi is just the name of that character if I'm not mistaken and the true name for the type of blade presentation or format is 'shikomizue'? Or is the name of the character derived from the type of sword? Quote
jesse Posted January 2, 2023 Author Report Posted January 2, 2023 Jeremy, sorry about the confusion. Yes, Zatoichi was a character (blind masseuse) in a couple of movies and tv shows. Your are correct about the term as 'shikomizue' is the proper identification. Warm Regards, Jesse 1 Quote
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