Tenshozan Navy Dirk Souvenirs

[Bruce Pennington]

I'm asking for everyone who collects dirks to check for signs that it may be one of the 1,200 post-war souvenirs made by Tenshozan.  I don't know how we would identify them.  But Richard Fuller sent a request for any info we can come up with.  Here's his message:

 

"I have seen naval daggers with  part plastic  hilt and scabbard fittings. Obviously modelled on the normal metal fittings. Didn't take much notice of them and just labelled them as late war production. 
I would imagine that Tenshozan would have very little stores, or access to, real same (ray skin) for navy dagger hilts in 1946. I have one with normal gilded brass hilt fittings. Removable hilt. The crossguard and lower seppa are cut out for use with a spring clip although there is none, or provision for one, in the scabbard throat. The nodules on the grip covering are all small and of matching size which may indicate plastic rather than natural fish skin. Normal unsigned or stamped grooved blade. Dark brown leather over a non-magnetic 'metal' scabbard. Normal top scabbard fitting of thin gilded metal with opposing suspension rings. 'Plastic' lower mount modelled on the normal navy pattern. 
Could this be a  post war  Tenshozan  production? However I would have thought they would put their anchor and circle stamp or the cross guard or number the blade to confirm legal production."

[John C]

7 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

check for signs that it may be one of the 1,200 post-war souvenirs made by Tenshozan. 

This probably won't help (as usual), however my 3 (two marked Nakano shoten, one marked Suya shoten) seem to have the same metal fittings, etc. The only measurable difference is the Suya marked one has a heavier, chromed blade than the two Nakano brushed steel blades. 

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks John.  This is not an area I study, so my opinion carries little significance at this point.  But, I would think if they have been stamped by Suya and Nakano that they are wartime dirks.  

 

The one Richard Fuller is wondering about actually used celluloid for the sayajiri.  He's initially calling it a late-war version, but wondering if it might be one of the souvenirs we've read about.

Navy daggers with celluloid Fuller.pdf

[John C]

The pic helps. I believe the Japan Sword Shop once sold replicas that were similar in style, however I have not been able to find a pic of one to confirm.

 

John C.

[Kiipu]

Ohmura has a picture of a Tenshōzan 天照山 dirk.

http://ohmura-study.net/741.html

[Bruce Pennington]

It certainly has potential.

 

Sure wish we had one with a PX purchase certificate!  It's the only thing that locked in the souvenir sword.  At least the sword had the mish-mashed fittings.  This dirk looks completely wartime legit.

[Bruce Pennington]

I asked Akira Komiya, at Warrelics, if he know of any documentation on the use of celluloid on dirks.  His answer:

"I haven’t really looked into whether there are any documentation on the use of celluloid on navy dirks but it is commonly accepted here that those are late war. I once met a veteran who was a graduate of the first graduating class of 海軍予備生徒, Kaigun Yobi Seito, literally meaning Navy Reserve Student, a short lived system which I don’t really understand but where students go to the Naval Academy but are commissioned as reserve officers upon graduation; the usual system where college students go into the navy as reserve officer candidates was Kaigun Yobi Gakusei, which can also only be translated as Navy Reserve Student. (In modern Japanese usage “seito” typically indicates elementary school students whereas “gakusei” indicates students of junior high school and up, but in the navy, it was the other way round and “Seito” meant students of the 3 Naval Officer Schools, i.e., the Naval Academy, Naval Engineering School and Naval Accounting School with “Gakusei” meaning trainees at specialty training schools.)
In any case, he was issued a dirk with cow hide sheath and celluloid grip and the buckle on his sword belt was a one piece buckle with silver washed anchor and cherry blossom which quickly wore off, instead of the usual separately affixed insignia of which facts he was still bitter of after 40 years."

 

So, the only evidence we have, so far, still points to Fuller's dirk being a late-war item.  Anything is possible, but for now, this is all we have.

[John C]

@Bruce Pennington

Bruce:

Take a look at this one. Fake or possible souvenir? Blade looks like cheap chrome; tsuba looks terrible; same' looks like celluloid.

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/217693625

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

Wow, they didn't even acid etch a hamon:

 

Well, at least we're documenting the celluloid dirks!