Kanji translation help

[Newguymike]

The only thing I am sure of is the Showa Era stamp. Can anyone help me translate the rest of the kanji? My understanding is that it’s a date and signature; but I’d love to know. The red paint, from what I’ve been told is a proof of some kind; again, I’d love some help. Finally, there are 4 dots and I’d love to know what they are.

[Conway S]

Mike, 

 

I believe it’s signed Amachi Masatsune. No date here. The paint can reference a production sequence or can be used to help keep the blade and its fittings itemized during assembly. 
 

Conway

[Kiipu]

天池正恒作 Amachi Masatsune saku.

作 = made by.

[Newguymike]

Thank you gentlemen for fast responses, I appreciate it. Is there anything else you can tell me about the pictures? There’s a series of four dots- any idea what those are?

[John C]

@Bruce Pennington

Four diagonal dots at the end of the nakago.

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks John!

 

Hi Mike!

 

I have 6 other Masatsune blades on file with the Showa stamp and NONE of them show the full nakago, so I don't know if those blades bore the dots or not.  Very frustrating!  We haven't got a clue as to their use or meaning.  They are predominantly on WWII blades, but I have seen a rare few on much older blades.

 

You have the honor of having the first I've seen with such small dots in a diagonal!

[Bruce Pennington]

I'm curious about the black marking on the jiri of both sides.  My first impression was that it's an anchor, but I don't think so.  Anyone recognize them as kanji or kana?

 

[Brian]

Surely just to mark them to keep them with their respective fittings?
You can stamp numbers on fittings to keep them together, but likely those lines and marks were just used to note which blade went with which fittings. Even older swords co-opted into the war would have needed markings to keep them together with their new military fittings. Easy to make a note "III - 3456 fittings"
Blades would have been separated when getting polished etc. Just seems logical to me.

[Newguymike]

Good morning, I’d like to say thank you to all who have participated in my initial posting. There is a lot of great information here and I hope it keeps rolling in. I appreciate everyone’s experience, knowledge, and willingness to help me out. 
 

r/

Mike

[Kiipu]

14 hours ago, Newguymike said:

The red paint, from what I’ve been told is a proof of some kind;

 

The red painted characters look to be a subassembly number of some kind.  The second character is indistinct; however, it does kinda look like a 二.  Could the diagonal dot punches be related to the subassembly number?

ホ = HO.

？ = ? [could be a 2].

二 = 2.

[Newguymike]

5 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Thanks John!

 

Hi Mike!

 

I have 6 other Masatsune blades on file with the Showa stamp and NONE of them show the full nakago, so I don't know if those blades bore the dots or not.  Very frustrating!  We haven't got a clue as to their use or meaning.  They are predominantly on WWII blades, but I have seen a rare few on much older blades.

 

You have the honor of having the first I've seen with such small dots in a diagonal!

 

Hey Bruce, thanks for the information and hopefully we can figure out what the diagonal 4 dot line is. Can you expound a little bit more on what a “Masatsune” blade is? 

[Newguymike]

17 hours ago, Kiipu said:

天池正恒作 Amachi Masatsune saku.

作 = made by.

Is Amachi Masatsune an actual name of the person who worked and signed the blade? What does “saku” mean? Or is “saku” = made by?

[SteveM]

Yes, 

Made by Amachi Masatsune. 

 

Amachi Masatsune is the swordsmith's name. 

[Newguymike]

@SteveM- thanks for sharing. Do you or anyone else in the thread have additional information relating to this specific person?

[Newguymike]

Are there any specific books that anyone in the thread can recommend? And, I’m adding another photo that highlights the paint better.

 

[Bruce Pennington]

On 6/29/2024 at 6:52 AM, Newguymike said:

@SteveM- thanks for sharing. Do you or anyone else in the thread have additional information relating to this specific person?

This is what Sesko has on him:

 

"MASATSUNE (正恒), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Masatsune” (正恒), real name Amachi Reiichirō (天地鈴市郎, first name also reads Suzuichirō), born. September 23rd 1894, he worked as guntō smith and died May 12th 1949, Fourth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)"

[Kiipu]

1 hour ago, Newguymike said:

I’m adding another photo that highlights the paint better.

 

OK, I can see it clearly now.  It is the katakana character ホ followed by 72.

ホ七二 = HO-72.

[Newguymike]

Are there any specific books that anyone in the thread can recommend? And, I’m adding another photo that highlights the paint better.

 

[mecox]

@Newguymike   Mike in this paper some background and examples:

 

 

[Newguymike]

3 hours ago, Kiipu said:

 

OK, I can see it clearly now.  It is the katakana character ホ followed by 72.

ホ七二 = HO-72.

Thanks, for the help; but what does it mean? Is HO-72 have a specific purpose?

[Newguymike]

Mal, thanks and I see you’re closer to Wedgetail Industries than I am. Thanks for the information. And if I am gleaning everyone’s input, so far. I believe I have a Japanese Army Shin Gunto, that was made somewhere in the early 1940’s, and it was forged by Amaike Reiichiro Masatsune, who was born 1894 and died 1949. He worked under Seki and Sho stamps. The sword I have is a Showa Era sword. Thanks for the file, it helped learn more than I know. By the by, would you happen to know what the 4 diagonal dots on the nakago mean?

[Shugyosha]

Like Brian said above, it probably just ties the blade to the number on the set of fittings made for it. It’s a common thing with the war time blades that were mass produced and where there might be any number in the same workshop. 

[Shugyosha]

Sorry Mike, our posts crossed. I was referring to the paint. I’ve not seen dots like that before and I assume they’re nothing significant but Bruce is the go to guy for this stuff and I’m sure he’ll chip in soon. 

[Newguymike]

@Shugyosha, thanks for the assist. Again, I appreciate all the help I can get.

[Bruce Pennington]

I did address the dots in my first post.  No one knows why the dots were used.  They are not like the assembly, painted, numbers as they never matched numbers anywhere else on the fittings.  They are mostly seen on WWII blades, however, I have seen a rare few older blades with dots, so it's not just a WWII thing.

[SteveM]

If you are looking for books on antique (pre-WW2) swords, the best one in my opinion is Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords.

Slightly expensive. Maybe you can find a cheap, used one in good condition. 

 

 

I'm developing a slightly heretical view of this book. It is one of the best out there, but it can be daunting for beginners. And it is in need of some updating, particularly the illustrations. 

 

If you are looking specifically for books on WW2 swords, Fuller & Gregory's seems to be the one most recommended.

 

 

There is a difference in collecting antique swords and militaria (though some happily collect both). The military swords tend to be non-traditionally made, they are still mostly unable to be traded or registered in Japan (with exceptions becoming more and more frequent), and with militaria you are mostly looking for a blade in good condition with complete set of furnishings if available.

 

With older swords that are traditionally-made, you are also looking for good condition, but "condition" doesn't just mean "not rusty", it means how skilled the smith was in manipulating the metal, and to some extent it means how skilled the polisher was. The complete set of furnishings isn't too important, as these parts are made independent of the swordsmith, and they decompose over time and are often replaced. Of course an old sword in an excellent set of furnishings is always nice to have. But a fabulous sword will be fabulous regardless of the bling. WW2 swords tend not to be "fabulous" because the steel and the technique involved in the manufacture was more geared towards mass production, rather than exquisite beauty of the steel. 

[John C]

Mike:

Just to add to what Bruce said in re: the dots. There was an old video posted some time ago that showed a smith making farm tools that used blades. The smith noted in that video using 3 dots in a triangle as a maker's mark. He also indicated it had been done for some time. So as Bruce noted, probably nothing to do with assembly but rather a maker's mark of some kind.

 

John C.

[Newguymike]

@John C and @Bruce Pennington, thanks for the assistance on the marks and @SteveM, thanks for the book ideas.

[Newguymike]

In terms of the sepas, is there a set number or order that they go in between the habaki, tsuba, and handle?

[Bruce Pennington]

No. Just however many it takes to snug up the fit.