Murata sword?

[Sam Smith]

Recently, I acquired a Meiji 19 sword. The Habaki indicates that it is a royal gift gunto. The blade itself puzzles me. I suspect it might be a special Murata sword, but I'm not certain. Therefore, I seek your assistance in identifying the model of this sword and the approximate period of the royal gift gunto (its script is different from that of the Showa era). Thank you.

[Jcstroud]

Looks like 1880's from Suya Shoten type 19? The experts can tell you more....

[Bruce Pennington]

That's quite a sword, you have there Sam!  We could use a clear photo showing the blade, but from what I can make out, it does resemble this Murata-to on this Ohmura Page

[Sam Smith]

30 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

That's quite a sword, you have there Sam!  We could use a clear photo showing the blade, but from what I can make out, it does resemble this Murata-to on this Ohmura Page

Thank you for your reply！I am currently researching how to post clearer photos, haha. Actually, there are some differences in the front area of this compared to Ohmura's Murata. This is also the point that puzzles me.

[Sam Smith]

1 hour ago, Jcstroud said:

Looks like 1880's from Suya Shoten type 19? The experts can tell you more....

Thank you for your reply. Yes, it's made by Suya.

[Peter Bleed]

Sam,

Indeed, this is an interesting sword. It is certainly highly collectible. Can you tell us anything about it's history?

Peter

 

[Conway S]

Beautiful sword! Out of curiosity, did you buy that in China? From time to time, people post nice finds from China so I am just wondering about the collector's market there.

 

Conway 

[PNSSHOGUN]

There was one of these un-tempered Onshi in Shirasaya on Yahoo Japan auctions. It's unknown who made these but they appear to be the same Sugata, there is another in the Australian War Memorial that was surrendered by Lt General Imamura:
 

 

[Sam Smith]

6 hours ago, Peter Bleed said:

Sam,

Indeed, this is an interesting sword. It is certainly highly collectible. Can you tell us anything about it's history?

Peter

 

Dear Peter

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, the Japanese person who sold it to me knows nothing about it. The seller only knows that it belonged to an army officer.

Sam

[Sam Smith]

5 hours ago, Conway S said:

Beautiful sword! Out of curiosity, did you buy that in China? From time to time, people post nice finds from China so I am just wondering about the collector's market there.

 

Conway 

Thank you! Hahaha, actually, this was purchased in Japan. There are indeed interesting varieties preserved locally in China, but the condition of preservation is generally not very good.

 

Sam

[Sam Smith]

1 hour ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

There was one of these un-tempered Onshi in Shirasaya on Yahoo Japan auctions. It's unknown who made these but they appear to be the same Sugata, there is another in the Australian War Memorial that was surrendered by Lt General Imamura:
 

 

Thank you for your explanation. I have also seen that sword on Yahoo, and like my sword, the blade has no markings. Apart from that, I haven't found a third sword of the same model. I appreciate the information you provided. I suspect that this sword might be a royal gift sword gunto presented by the Army University during the late Meiji or early Taisho period. Regarding heat treatment, I am also puzzled. It seems that there was no heat treatment involved.

 

Sam

[KungFooey]

とても面白い剣ですね！

[Conway S]

What's the length of the nagasa? It reminded me of a recent post of a Naohiro blade in Suya fittings here:

 

 

[Sam Smith]

1 hour ago, Conway S said:

What's the length of the nagasa? It reminded me of a recent post of a Naohiro blade in Suya fittings here:

 

 

Nagasa length is 68.6cm. However, I did not see Naohiro's stamp or signature.

[Polaria]

How long is the nakago?