SimonAitch Posted Wednesday at 10:55 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 10:55 PM Good afternoon my father was part of the honour guard at the surrender and acquired this sword in recognition of his service. Id love to find out more about it, I apologize for the amount of photos, it was difficult to capture the symbols in fewer shots. 1 Quote
Peter Bleed Posted Wednesday at 11:29 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 11:29 PM Neat sword, but I'm not able to see it all and I have checked the date, but it LOOKS TO ME(!) like this sword was make by a couple smiths Fujimitsu and TADAMITSU who worked in Bizen in the early 1500. Way Cool! Peter 1 Quote
Conway S Posted Wednesday at 11:37 PM Report Posted Wednesday at 11:37 PM Hello Simon, It looks like 備前国住長船勝光同忠光 - Bizen kuni ju osafune Katsumitsu dou Tadamitsu. Unsure of the character in red , but I believe it means it was a collaboration between Katsumitsu and Tadamitsu. The date looks like Bungi Year 3? So 1503 2nd Month. Not quite sure of exact date based on the photos. The sword looks to be in WW2 Naval Mounts based on the pictures. Conway 3 2 Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted Thursday at 12:37 AM Report Posted Thursday at 12:37 AM Very interesting sword, could you please take photos of the entire sword in mounts, and blade? Quote
moriarty Posted Thursday at 02:08 AM Report Posted Thursday at 02:08 AM 2 hours ago, Conway S said: Hello Simon, It looks like 備前国住長船勝光同忠光 - Bizen kuni ju osafune Katsumitsu dou Tadamitsu. Unsure of the character in red , but I believe it means it was a collaboration between Katsumitsu and Tadamitsu. The date looks like Bungi Year 3? So 1503 2nd Month. Not quite sure of exact date based on the photos. The sword looks to be in WW2 Naval Mounts based on the pictures. Conway Greetings Conway, I surmise the 同 may indicate a collaboration since they were smiths under the same tutelage, if they're descendants of GBR Ōei-Bizen Group mentioned by Sesko. Could the date be (文龜三十二月-XX)? Kind Regards 1 1 Quote
Nobody Posted Thursday at 02:18 AM Report Posted Thursday at 02:18 AM 2 hours ago, Conway S said: Hello Simon, It looks like 備前国住長船勝光同忠光 - Bizen kuni ju osafune Katsumitsu dou Tadamitsu. Unsure of the character in red , but I believe it means it was a collaboration between Katsumitsu and Tadamitsu. The date looks like Bungi Year 3? So 1503 2nd Month. Not quite sure of exact date based on the photos. The sword looks to be in WW2 Naval Mounts based on the pictures. Conway 備前國住長舩勝光 – Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Katsumitu 同忠光 – dou Tadamitsu 同 (dou) in this context means “ditto”, then 同忠光 is equivalent to 備前國住長舩忠光 (Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Tadamitsu) . 文龜三年二月日 – Bunki 3rd year (1503), 2nd month The Sanskrit character on the blade means Acala. 6 3 Quote
SimonAitch Posted Thursday at 05:17 AM Author Report Posted Thursday at 05:17 AM I’m bowled over by everyone’s response, thank you to everyone. I’ll post blade pics later. Thank you all. Quote
SimonAitch Posted Thursday at 08:25 PM Author Report Posted Thursday at 08:25 PM 18 hours ago, Nobody said: 備前國住長舩勝光 – Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Katsumitu 同忠光 – dou Tadamitsu 同 (dou) in this context means “ditto”, then 同忠光 is equivalent to 備前國住長舩忠光 (Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Tadamitsu) . 文龜三年二月日 – Bunki 3rd year (1503), 2nd month The Sanskrit character on the blade means Acala. Would you know what is the translation of Acala ? Quote
SimonAitch Posted Thursday at 08:29 PM Author Report Posted Thursday at 08:29 PM 18 hours ago, Nobody said: 備前國住長舩勝光 – Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Katsumitu 同忠光 – dou Tadamitsu 同 (dou) in this context means “ditto”, then 同忠光 is equivalent to 備前國住長舩忠光 (Bizen no kuni ju Osafune Tadamitsu) . 文龜三年二月日 – Bunki 3rd year (1503), 2nd month The Sanskrit character on the blade means Acala. 2 minutes ago, SimonAitch said: Would you know what is the translation of Acala ? it’s ok I’ve just found it on wiki. The Immovable! 1 Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted Thursday at 11:36 PM Report Posted Thursday at 11:36 PM Hi Simon, sometimes you can find writing under the top part of the handle. If you're lucky it can be the officers name, worth having a look. Quote
SimonAitch Posted Friday at 12:54 AM Author Report Posted Friday at 12:54 AM 1 hour ago, PNSSHOGUN said: Hi Simon, sometimes you can find writing under the top part of the handle. If you're lucky it can be the officers name, worth having a look. Thank you will do, but it will have to wait for the New Year ! Happy holidays everyone. Quote
mecox Posted Friday at 02:52 AM Report Posted Friday at 02:52 AM Simon, fantastic item and pictures. Do you have a date for this surrender. Is your dad in the pic? Could you measure the length of the cutting edge of blade. Thanks for posting. Mal Quote
SimonAitch Posted Friday at 10:21 PM Author Report Posted Friday at 10:21 PM 19 hours ago, mecox said: Simon, fantastic item and pictures. Do you have a date for this surrender. Is your dad in the pic? Could you measure the length of the cutting edge of blade. Thanks for posting. Mal Will do I’m away until the new year, I’ll get back to you. 👍 Quote
SimonAitch Posted 11 hours ago Author Report Posted 11 hours ago On 12/19/2024 at 3:36 PM, PNSSHOGUN said: Hi Simon, sometimes you can find writing under the top part of the handle. If you're lucky it can be the officers name, worth having a look. Had a look but nothing there. Quote
SimonAitch Posted 11 hours ago Author Report Posted 11 hours ago On 12/18/2024 at 4:37 PM, PNSSHOGUN said: Very interesting sword, could you please take photos of the entire sword in mounts, and blade? On 12/19/2024 at 6:52 PM, mecox said: Simon, fantastic item and pictures. Do you have a date for this surrender. Is your dad in the pic? Could you measure the length of the cutting edge of blade. Thanks for posting. Mal No date for the surrender, I’ll do some more research. Yes my dad is in the first photo of the surrender ceremony, far left hand side. The officer receiving the surrender in white uniform is sub lieutenant Anthony Martin. Lord Mountbatten who was in command of Allied forces wanted to humiliate the Japanese during the surrender thus he made them surrender to the lowest commissioned officer in Uk rankings and not a high ranking officer as they would have expected. My father told me that part of the surrender all Japanese soldiers, irrespective of rank had to stop and salute every allied soldier as another form of humiliation. Quote
mecox Posted 7 hours ago Report Posted 7 hours ago Simon, many thanks for very interesting info and background. The pic with tape indicates the nagasa (cutting edge) is about 59 cm. This make it a middle size sword (wakizashi), but I note the collar (habaki) is a bit longer to extend it. I am currently writing up a paper on naval swords for NMB, could I use the photos and info (no family name) as it is very valuable material. and referring to source. Mal . Quote
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