Army Acceptance Showa Blade translation

[smac401]

Afternoon everyone,

 

I recently received a sword with a showa stamp on it and various inscriptions, It belongs to a family member and they are looking for the history of the sword and its translation. It is not in great condition but could be managed into nice shape should they decide to do so. I have included several photos of the Nakago and blade itself. The hamon is faint but it is there, I am not sure of the quenching process on this blade. Upon consulting with a close friend we both felt that it would be well within the expertise of the members of the board to translate it if it can be done.

I did not post it on the translation site as of yet because it is a military sword and I feel it should be here first. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance..

 

Steve M.

 

[huntershooter]

Mei appears to be "Seki (something) Kanemitsu".

Additional help will be here shortly...

[cabowen]

関後藤兼光

 

Seki Goto Kanemitsu

 

Made by Goto Kanemitsu of Seki

 

Showa stamp indicates a non-traditionally made blade. This blade was mounted as an iai-to, not a military mounting.

[smac401]

Thanks guys, so the blade and mounts don't match up. If I understand correctly it's a manufactured blade and not hand made 100 percent. It does have file marks but the rust isn't that old in appearance. Guess someone mounted it differently after its production. Tsuba is heavy and unsigned, appears to have been cut to fit the blade. The fittings are nicely decorative but I believe they are also cast. Thanks again.

 

Steve M.

[cabowen]

It may have been mounted that way originally as an iai-to in the early Showa period.

[Rich S]

Steve -

 

If by "manufactured" blade, you mean machine made: not necessarily. The showa stamp simply means it was not "traditionally made" using tamahagane. Showa stamped blades run the whole range from totally machine made, to hand forged from single bar steel, to hand forged/folded/laminated and quenched (yaki-ire) with oil or water. You could still have a hand forged, folded blade; just not made using tamehagane.

 

Rich S

[smac401]

Thanks, that is good to know, Rich, I have been trying to get on your web site, Japanese Sword Index today but can't get it to come through. I was looking for some tsuba information and general knowledge for future reference. May just be my server or something like that. Thanks again guys my cousin will be happy with the information as I am.

 

Steve M.

[Rich S]

Steve -

 

My website has been offline due to Earthlink's bandwidth overrun. It will be available again on Sept 1. Earthlink only allows a 1G per month bandwidth on their websites; mine almost always runs over toward the end of the month.

 

Rich S

[Bruno]

It may have been mounted that way originally as an iai-to in the early Showa period.

 

Do you mean mounted as an iai to for iaito use or do you mean civilian mount in general?

 

Thanks