Information on an old wakizashi

[eoakes]

Hi everyone!

-First of all let me know if this is the wrong place to ask this on the forum and I'll move it.-

I inherited this wakizashi several years ago and I'm finally getting around to finding more out about it. My great grandfather got it in China, where he served as a chaplain in the 14th air force, after the Japanese surrender in 1945. I have a short document he wrote and signed stating it was given to him by a friend for his help with an aid program in the Changsha region. I believe the friend got it from a pile of surrender swords in Changsha and the document also claims it was a generals wakizashi but doesn't name who.

The recent history aside I was primarily wondering what can be gleaned from the attached pictures about the swords age and maker, as well as the koshiraes. Unfortunately there is no mei on the tang. The kogatana does have a signature which I assume is unrelated. Any help isuch appreciated. Thanks!

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Adding more photos here as I was limited in the previous post. 

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[ChrisW]

You are correct in your assumption that the signature on the kogatana is likely unrelated to the larger blade itself. The condition of everything appears to be really nice though!

 

The blade looks to be late Shinto or Shinshinto in age based purely on the patination of the nakago/ crispness of the yasurime, but I have been incorrect before.

[Rivkin]

I would guess its 1670-1720 but getting more details will be hard.

[Matsunoki]

Nice saya- covered in ray skin, lacquered black and then polished flat. More expensive to do than plain  lacquer and sometimes a sign of “better than average” sword……or a wealthier owner.

[Alex A]

You have the blade in hand and it is in good polish so there are lots of clues.

 

Nakago is good showing shape and file marks, 

 

Blade shows grain pattern and hamon.

 

Agree about Edo, though i think if you can spend enough time on it with it hand you can narrow it down significantly.

 

Il be honest, it can be very time consuming and difficult, especially from images.

 

I was tempted to spend a few mins looking for Edo blades with similar nakago,  you can find similar in 5 mins online (matching nakago-jiri and yasurime). You need to to do this with every element of the sword and narrow it down.

 

After that, Shinsa, should you think its worth it.

[eoakes]

@Alex A @Matsunoki @Rivkin @ChrisW

Thank you for all your replies.

As I'm a complete novice when it comes to nihonto all that is very helpful, especially to help narrow it down a little and search further myself about its potential age. 

Would you think that the koshirae are of a similar age to the blade? Were there particular styles of koshirae that can be attributed to different periods? 

 

I'm also wondering if there's anything I should be doing to help preserve it better. I keep a light film of mineral or machine oil wiped on the exposed portion of the blade but that's currently about it. The koshirae and the ray skin on the saya in particular are very fragile and I'd like to keep them in the best condition possible going forwards.

 

Lastly, I've been considering a professional polish (if/when I can ever afford it) and shinsa as well. I'm a little nervous about mailing it long distances and at least for a polish would prefer a togishi I could drive to. Are there any reputable togishi in the northeast United States that you know of or a way to find them on the forum? 

Again, thank you!

[Alex A]

Hi Everett

 

The fittings are Edo, some or all of it may be originally fitted to the blade after it was made. Folks have an habit of swapping stuff about over the years so its difficult to say for sure. There were particular styles of koshirae linked with certain periods, an example would be Tensho koshirae for Tensho period. Koshirae during the Edo period became a bit more flamboyant in comparison. Its rare to find Koto Fuchi kashira in comparison to Edo. 

 

Your doing the right thing regarding oiling the blade, only need a little.

 

Wouldn't bother getting the blade polished, looks good enough, save your money.

 

Ps, lots of useful stuff online, and check out beginners books, a thread somewhere.

http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/nihonto.htm

http://www.sho-shin.com/index2.htm

 

Learn a lot from online stores like this, once you learn some terminology  https://www.aoijapan.com/

 

 

[eoakes]

Thanks! 

Yeah, not in a big rush to have it polished. Just a long term goal. There are few spidery black rust areas that didn't show in that first batch of pictures and one nick in the edge. Shown below. Also what looks to me like a forging flaw along the mune. I don't think any of it is getting worse with the conditions I'm keeping it in but eventually I'd like the blade fixed for sentimental more than value reasons. 

[Alex A]

Hi Everett, so long as no active rust then ok.

 

That's a tiny chip, they dont bother me but we are all different.

 

The opening on the mune is a bit of an eye sore, a polish wont make that look better.

 

Understand why you want it polished, sentimental reasons. 

 

If you do get it polished then you will need a new shirasaya,  around £350 also.

 

Cheers