Edo period fittings?

[KB1107]

Hello all,

 

I think I made my end of the year purchases a couple weeks ago.
 

I bought 3 wakizashi/saya(s) in fairly rough condition… sadly, two of the three blades are badly stained. I purchased 2 of the wakizashi’s from an older gentleman that stated his father brought them back from WW2. The sellers kids didn’t want any of the swords so he decided to sell them. The one I’ve listed above is intriguing to me… the fittings on the saya have a dragon theme and appear to be quite old (maybe Edo? Or a smidge earlier?). The saya and fittings appear to be intact and relatively good condition. The sword itself isn’t stained, however… it looks as somebody dropped the blade and the tip is bent (luckily it didn’t snap off) The tsuka is also in pretty bad condition… the Tsuba and seppa (s) appear to have been lost or misplaced over time because they’re not included in the sale. 
 

A fun project for next year

[KB1107]

A couple more pics…

 

 

[Tcat]

Lovely edo period nunome zogan rain dragon handachi fittings. My guess is not earlier. Would be interested to see what the experts say. Nice find.

[Matsunoki]

Very nice saya. Handachi koshirae like these were very popular as Daisho mountings in the later Edo period which is when I feel this saya dates from. Have you got the fuchi/kashira to match? If so, find some good iron dragon menuki and get the tsuka fixed. That would be quite a desirable mounting. 

[KB1107]

Hello and thank you to you both for responding.

 

i will post pics of the tsuka later today. I should’ve done that with the rest of pics (Sorry). I will let you decide if they’re the same. I believe the fuchi is similar…not so sure about the Kashira. Yes, I want to put it back together… only other thing I will need is a Tsuba.

 

If I’m being honest… the only reason I purchase these two pieces was because of the saya. 

[KB1107]

I had some extra time this am so here’s a few more pics. I believe the fuchi that’s on the tsuka is similar, but not a match… you be the judge. I attached a couple pics of the habaki as well. The last two pics are of an additional fuchi that the seller added (where it came from who knows).

 

As I stated earlier, I think somewhere a long the way a lot of these parts may have been misplaced. I doubt the sellers father brought these swords home in parts. I could be wrong… but…  my thought is they would bring home complete swords. The tsuka fits well to the sword… the kashira is well worn… a very little trace of cloud/rain (maybe).

[Matsunoki]

The Fuchi that is on the tsuka is close but is not matching to the saya fittings. It’s the same subject (dragon) but different artistry.  The Kashira is non matching either….most likely it would originally have been of handachi type. That’s a pity….would have been lovely. 
The habaki looks like it’s been hammered a bit….maybe to fit the blade?

The kirimon habaki is OK but nothing special….its a common subject from late Edo.

[KB1107]

Matsunoki… thank you for the assessment. 
 

Yes, I will store the tsuka that came it and find something similar to mount to the blade. I agree…fuchi is similar, but not a match (the original tsuka and other parts have been lost to time) I kinda knew it when I bought it. Thank you again for the comments.

 

i will work on this piece after the New Year and find the needed parts to put her back together.

 

David

[Tcat]

If you’re patient and keep your eyes peeled you might find the parts to replace those missing. Eg this just sold:

 

[KB1107]

Yes… that’s the plan. Hopefully, one day I will be lucky enough to put this piece properly back together (I’m patient). Your post gives me hope… it definitely looks like the same pattern! Thank you for the post…