Are these Emperor's Nodes?

[John C]

Hello:

Would the larger nodes on the end of the tsuka be considered Emperor's Nodes or am I seeing something different?

Thank you,

John C.

[kissakai]

The image is a bit too blurred for me to see

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Looks like it to me, John.  I've never studied them, but 2 or 3 sites I just read make it sound like there should only be 1 or straight line of a few.  These seem different than that, but I'm talking WAY out of my depth here.

 

Here's an image of a same' with a bunch of them:

[John C]

Thanks Bruce. They are hidden somewhat by the ito but seem to be chunky growths. Not the "button" shape we see most often, so I wasn't sure.

John C.

[PNSSHOGUN]

You can sometimes find celluloid Samegawa on later war swords, it may be that as well.

[John C]

1 hour ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

celluloid Samegawa

John:

Is there any way to tell? It looks correct up close but is extremely dirty.

John C.

[PNSSHOGUN]

It is noticeable under the Fuchi, furthermore it will have a somewhat plastic look and be somewhat duller and yellower sheen than Samegawa.

 

 

[kissakai]

Samegawa on my swords has multisided edges which are quite well defined rather than dome shaped

[1kinko]

Greg- sounds like either gangi maki or kasane maki. Both are variations on katate maki. Bloggers say Musashi prefered kasane maki. Both are over wraps in leather. Jussi is the guy to ask.

[AlphaRaider]

Image from one of my swords.

[John C]

Thank you all. Based on what I am seeing here, I think probably celluloid samegawa. Would make sense as it is a late war (1944) model.

Regards,

John C.

[DTM72]

On 1/23/2023 at 2:59 PM, John C said:

Thank you all. Based on what I am seeing here, I think probably celluloid samegawa. Would make sense as it is a late war (1944) model.

Regards,

John C.

John, the celluloid versions have a very plastic feel to them when you sctrach them with your fingernail. Real rayskin, unless polished, should have a more rough and almost sandpaper feel to it.

[John C]

2 hours ago, DTM72 said:

Real rayskin, unless polished,

Dan:

Thank you for the tip. When I get it cleaned up I'll take another look. Right now, it has been lacquered and is covered in mud.

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

John,

 

I was looking at my one-handed Kyu gunto and noticed that it has a node. You can also see that there were larger nodes all the way down the handle compared to the ones on the sides. After seeing this, it does not surprise me to see multiple larger nodes on yours.

[Matsunoki]

I think (might be wrong!) that there is only one “Emperor node” on same ie the one that is obviously the largest. Leading up to that large node is usually a series of graduated nodes in a straight line. See the image below of very fine same packaged for presentation. Emperor nodes are often “faked” by inserting carved ivory pieces into poorer quality same to make it more impressive. 

In the original image posted it is difficult to actually see what the pattern is due to the Ito. I don’t think they are all “Emperor nodes”……but there might be one hidden.

All the best.Colin

 

[John C]

7 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

there is only one “Emperor node” on same

Colin:

I think you are right. These look more like blobs than a well defined node I have seen on samples posted here. A tumor perhaps? Probably celluloid made to look like nodes.

John C.

[Stephen]

Easy test for celluloid is a hot pen test. Safety pin heated too hot

Usually somewhere unseen like under the fuchi.