Sadatsugu Tanto with Minatogawa Kiku-sui mon

[Ed Hicks]

Sadatsugu Tanto with Minatogawa Kiku-sui mon...Mounted in shirasaya blade is 6 3/4 inches long...Unusual unokubi-zukuri shape...Nakago with Kiku-sui mon and signed Sada Tsugu.

[cabowen]

Maybe a good candidate for shinsa....I was recently shown a war era dated Sadatsugu that looked suspicious- it was purchased from Japan in shirasaya....I have seen plenty of fakes of these in Japan and fear they are starting to work they way over here.....

[Ed Hicks]

There are more than one Sadatsugu smiths and I have no references that show them all...Very well made tanto given to a Marine in the late 1950s I believe...The Kikusui mon is most often associated with Minatogawa Shrine swords, but I have not seen tanto with it...Possible it is a Shrine blade ??? or perhaps stamped by the smith just as a crest with no reference to the Shrine...Whatever it is it's a nice dagger. Ed

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Doesn't look to be from Takahashi Sadatsugu.

[JamesH]

Congratulations Ed! The blade is stunning!

 

... but at the risk of getting told off, I must ask ... does the Kiku-sui mon seem a little crude to anyone?

 

I don't mean to offend in any way, but as a newbe I must ask or I will never know.

 

 

With regards,

 

James

[SwordGuyJoe]

I have seen two seki blade with this stamp although lack of my references and a good memory keep me from saying the two I have seen. I do believe one was kanezane, but reference comment on poor memory.

[cabowen]

Congratulations Ed! The blade is stunning!

 

... but at the risk of getting told off, I must ask ... does the Kiku-sui mon seem a little crude to anyone?

 

It looks to be stamped in, rather than cut. Stamps frequently appear cruder than that those cut.

 

This is indeed a reference to the Minatogawa Shrine/Navy. It may have been originally mounted in a naval dagger mount...

 

I have seen several blades, other than those from the Minatogawa Tanren kai, with a kikusui stamp. I recall seeing a few from Seki smiths on showa-to, including 23 generation Kanefusa...

[george trotter]

Yes, I have seen the stamped type also. It was on a type 98 shingunto by a Seki smith and was stamped on the BLADE, just in front of the habaki.

[george trotter]

About this kikusui being a reference to Minatogawa Jinja...is the kikusui a reference to that shrine only? I know that the smiths working there for the navy in WWII used it, but is it a mark of the shrine, the smiths or the navy...or? What about the army mounted WWII swords which have it?I have also seen this on army fittings ...mon, habaki etc, so I wonder if it may therefore be just a reference to the Emperor/patriotism ...not just navy, or Minatogawa?

I know that Gassan Sadakatsu used it on at least one of his swords...(Sho 10 year)...it is on the nakago like this, is carved, and is more "delicate" and artistic than this example. I don't know of any connection between Gassan Sadakatsu and that shrine (but it is not so far from Osaka), but would be interested to know if this is so, or if it could be a reference to something/someone else?

 

Regarding this tanto and mei...I have seen a few modern makers signing Sadatsugu...eg Takahashi Sadatsugu and Gassan school Sadatsugu, Echigo Sadatsugu, but none of their mei are close to this...there are a few others also but I have not seen their mei....one in Okayama, not so far from the Minatogawa Jinja...there is room for research here.

[Tom Darling]

I've had two Sadatsugu katana's, with kiku-sui mon above the habaki and they were most elegant. I doubt this tanto completely! Just my opinion. Ron

[Baka Gaijin]

Good afternoon George,

 

The Kikusui (Chrysanthemum floating) as both symbol of Yamato Damashii (大和魂 - Japanese Spirit) and Kamon has a long and illustrious past.

 

It is probably most noted as the standard of the 14th Century warrior tactician Kusunoki Masashige, whose exploits both real and imagined have been chronicled and illustrated in a variety of media since that far off time.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusunoki_Masashige

 

Interesting to note, a slogan much used in the early Showa era was that of Masashige's brother's final words: "Shichisei Hōkoku!" (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!")

 

You may find the following link interesting:

 

http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaz ... /index.htm

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[cabowen]

And the tie-in with the Minatogawa Jinja is that Kusunoki Masashige is the "patron saint" of that Jinja.....it was built on the spot were he committed seppuku in 1336 to commemorate his sacrifice for the emperor....I believe the kikusui is his kamon....he was also the patron saint of the kamikaze....

[k morita]

Hi,

Yes, Kikusui-mon (family crest) was originally a family crest only of the Kusunoki family.

 

The political power changes from the Tokugawa Shogunate to new Meiji government in 1868.

Because Kusunoki Masashige was faithful to the emperor Godaigo in Nanbou-cho period(1336～1392), his name began to be praised especially very much from begining Meiji period(1868-).

And, his name and family crest(kikusui-mon) became symbols of the loyalty to the Emperor.

The celebration was grandly done in 1934 when 600 years passed from Kenmu period.

(The key word is Kemmu Restoration. 建武中興, kenmu no Chuko)

 

Therefore, not the exclusive use of the Minatagawa shrine but any sword-smith was able to carve Kikusui-mon.

[Baka Gaijin]

Morning all

 

For a more in depth account of Kusunoki Masashige's exploits along with other similar scenarios I'd recommend:

 

The Nobility of Failure - Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan by Ivan Morris.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Nobility-Failure- ... 0374521204

 

Dr Morris was an interesting character in his own right:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Morris

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[sanjuro]

I Think the important thing here, as Morita San has indicated, The Kikusui mon is as much emblematic of a samurai ideal as it is the Kamon of the Kusonoki clan. It is therefore an auspicious thing to engrave upon a sword, being representative of the samurai ideal of loyalty. The Kamon itself is not a registered trademark or the exclusive property of an individual or a shrine, but available to be used by anyone with a chisel to engrave it. By and of itself it does not indicate that this sword or any sword is the product of the Minatogawa smiths.

[george trotter]

Ah yes, as you say, it is the kamon of Kusunoki Masashige...I remember it from his statue in the Palace gardens, Tokyo...(I used to meet friends there and have a nikuman at the kiosk while I waited...ahhh, did I tell you I actually knew a Japanese girl whose family name was Kusunoki...she came grom Hyogo too...wonder if...?).

Anyway, you have answered my query as to why this sign is found on both army and navy blades and fittings. It is also now quite clear why the Minatogawa tosho used it also. I suppose, as Keith says, this means that the presence of it on a blade etc does not mean that it was made at Minatogawa or by the Minatogawa smiths...this is what I was asking. In the case of this tanto...there is thus no direct, positive link to the Minatogawa shrine and/or tosho.

Just a point about the 600 year anniversary, the Gassan Sadakatsu blade I mentioned with the kikusui mon also had an inscription regarding the 600 years event.

Interesting post and discussion.

[k morita]

Hi,George san. :D

Here is a link, Amatsu Masakiyo sword with Kiusui-mon on the tang. 天津正清

http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2009/0910_1076syousai.htm

[george trotter]

Thank you Morita san,

A nice sword by Masakiyo who was a Rikugun Jumei Tosho...since it is 66 cm it seems to be his WWII period work, not work he did after the war when the blades got longer. As he was RJT, this seems to confirm that the kikusui was used by a number of smiths besides the Minatogawa smiths.

I think the carved kikusui mon (as on the link here) is much better quality work than the stamped mon on this tanto.

From the evidence it seems fair to say that this Sadatsugu made a tanto with a patriotic kikusui mon (probably not linked to Minatogawa Jinja?) ...it just remains to find out which Sadatsugu he is.