Nihonto or not...that is my question.

[Stu W]

Hi Folks,

 

I've recently been reviewing some photos of a sword in Kai-gunto mounts. Initially I thought to post this thread in the Military section but after a while I noted that the blade lacks any arsenal stampings and has some oxidation so is not the machine made stainless blade usually associated to WWII IJN swords. I also see a hamon and it's got a nice looking mei although it is a little more thinly cut than most I've seen.

 

Moving on, I'm at the stage (beginner) where I think this is more than basic gunto but can't be sure it's nihonto without help. The photos are all I have to work with at the moment.

 

The mei was posted in the translation section and has been translated with the assistance of other members. I'll insert a photo of it here and continue my text below.

 

 

 

Now, if the photos are not sufficient to confirm it's nihonto can they at least eliminate it in some manner?

 

Any opinions with regards to the sword itself or how you go about your analysis would be helpful as I'm still at the developmental stage with my own system.

 

Here's a link to my newly opened ImageShack site. Hopefully it will work.

 

http://imageshack.us/g/84/yokoteleftside.jpg/

 

Regards and Thanks,

Stu

[cabowen]

Signed Fukumoto Kanehide. Worked in a factory ran by his father Fukumoto Amahide during the war making mass produced gunto. Not traditional in most cases....Seki....

[Stu W]

Signed Fukumoto Kanehide. Worked in a factory ran by his father Fukumoto Amahide during the war making mass produced gunto. Not traditional in most cases....Seki....

 

Hello Chris,

 

Thank you for the prompt reply. I appreciate your taking the time to assist me. You say it's Kanehide not Kanemune...interesting. Maybe that's why I could not read it. :lol:

 

Here is the translation thread...

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10814

 

I'll do some more research on this but I take it that rules out nihonto. Too bad, I had hoped that hamon was a sign of good things to come. Still not a bad piece for a gunto though from the look of it.

 

Regards,

Stu

[cabowen]

Sorry, that should have been Kanemune, not Kanehide.....

[Stu W]

Sorry, that should have been Kanemune, not Kanehide.....

 

No worries...thank you for the clarification.

 

I've ordered a set of the flash cards from Grey Doffin, commented on in the translation thread, and hope to be able to get further with these translations myself in the future. There seems to be quite a variance between the perfectly illustrated kanji one sees in the reference texts and those found on the nakagos. Quite challenging for this newbie. Reminds me of what a fingerprint examiner must go through.

 

Regards,

Stu

[Ken-Hawaii]

Yeah, Stu, that's a good analogy. But at least you know the fingerprint came from a specific person, rather than a possible forger....

 

Hmm...gimei fingerprints....

 

Ken

[Jamie]

"I've ordered a set of the flash cards from Grey Doffin, commented on in the translation thread, and hope to be able to get further with these translations myself in the future. There seems to be quite a variance between the perfectly illustrated kanji one sees in the reference texts and those found on the nakagos. Quite challenging for this newbie. Reminds me of what a fingerprint examiner must go through.

 

Regards,

Stu"

 

 

Stu,

 

I've found the variance you are talking about to be the most challenging so far.

 

Some of the other members have suggested some other books as well. I don't yet have them but the suggestions were:

 

A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese" (1850 basic Toyo Kanji), Charles Tuttle Co.

"Japanese-English Character Dictionary" Charles Tuttle Co.

Japanese Names and How To Read Them by Koop & Inad

 

Hope they may help you.

Jamie

[Stu W]

Hello Jamie,

 

Thank you for the additional information regarding the reference books. I will have a look for them.

 

Also, can anyone tell me if the link to the pictures is working? I'm new to ImageShack, and can of course view my own folders, but note that when I look at the stat counter it says there have been zero views making me question the viability of the link.

 

Thanks and Regards,

Stu

[Jamie]

I do see the Mei Posted.

 

I can't remember who made the suggestions on the books, or I would credit the suggestions.

[chrisf]

Hello,if you are buying books in order to read inscriptions on Japanese swords might I suggest that you invest in 'oshigata' books.

The reason why the signatures that you have tried to read look nothing like the characters in text books is because they are done by hand and show all the variances that you would find in handwriting.

Textbooks will tell you what equivalences different characters have but will not show you the many variations seen in swordsmiths' mei.

If your interest is in military swords might I suggest Slough's book or the excellent little books published by Gregory and Fuller and use them in conjunction with Hawley's list of characters that are commonly used.

If you are looking to study koto,shinto and shinshinto swords then Fujishiro would fit the bill.

Hope that's helpful,perhaps more senior members would like to comment?

[Stu W]

Hi chrisf,

 

Thanks for that additional info. I'll look into those as well.

 

Jamie...I'm referring to the link posted in the text below the mei photo. I'll add it again here.

 

http://imageshack.us/g/84/yokoteleftside.jpg/

 

It should take you to a group of about 20 photos. Can you see them? Maybe I'm doing something incorrectly with the link?

 

Regards,

Stu

[Ken-Hawaii]

Nothing wrong with the link, Stu, but maybe a glitch with imageshack. I've looked at a number of your images, & agree that the first-page view remains at zero. But if you click on an image, you'll see a page count for views.

 

Strange.

[Stu W]

Hi Ken, I see what you mean. The post count on the individual photos is also telling me which ones were of more use/interest to the viewer. That's good to know for next time. Thank you.

 

Regards,

Stu