another weird finding

truelotus · August 22, 2011

Hello all ...

once more, I come up with yet another new finding ... I think this should not go in this forum, but since this has something to do with Japanese military occupation in Indonesia, I choose to put it here ... if you think this is a wrong place, let me know, or simply put it in the correct place ...

now to the sword :D

the story behind the sword (not yet verified)

this sword is said to be given by Japanese government representative to a leader in cultural heritage society in Java around 1940s (Japan invaded Indonesia in 1942), and first time I heard it completed with "letter" ... my first thought was this must be a fake ... but as usual, courtesy here dictates me to answer the request, so I asked him few photos of the sword

firstly, bear in mind that there are very few people in Indonesia, who knew or have knowledge about Japanese sword, thus it is usually very easy to spot fake swords ... but this one is different ...

with my limited knowledge, I'd like to know your opinion on this one

teaser first :

yes, this one is in shirasaya, not in gunto mounting, with gold embossed kanji but only one character :D

pardon my knowledge, but by simply looking at this picture, we can see that the sword has been shortened, and this one has 3 (three) hi ?

pics above shows part of the blade, sadly I think someone once tried to remove rust by sanding it ... cannot see any hada or hamon there, but the shape of the Hi is beautiful and deeply grooved, unlike Chinese fakes

this is the overall view, with "certificate"

seems odd, right ?? but I cannot read kanji, so I need your help :D

this is the "certificate" ...

funnily, this one looked like "pre-NBTHK" version ?? ... or just cheap copy ??

now we are approaching the suspicious end ... :D

this is the overall view of the blade

bit closer look from another side

now ... since the kissaki is on the odd shape ... what do you think ? the tip is damaged ? chipped ?? destroyed ?? or this simply a fake ??

or perhaps something like this ? http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/suriage.html#satsuma-age

because the style of re-shaping the nakago is somewhat correct and this cannot be done by someone who did not know about Japanese sword

any opinion ??

thank you ...

UPDATE :

pic of the kissaki

now I know that this was indeed an old blade ... it must be a beautiful sword ... once ...

before some idiots trying to test it - I suspect an idiot think that a Japanese sword like this is indestructible ... so he swung it to a hard object and broke the sword ... and then try to reshape the kissaki ...

and whoever did that is doing a terribly horrible job ...

k morita · August 22, 2011

Interesting !

Can you get kissaki pics?

truelotus · August 22, 2011

Interesting !
Can you get kissaki pics?

we have the same opinion here ...

I already asked the owner for the pic of the kissaki and will upload it as soon as possible :D

k morita · August 22, 2011

Hi,

Thanks!

Gold inlaid on the tang says "Go".

The paper says "Kanemitsu". :lol:

truelotus · August 22, 2011

Hi,
Thanks!

Gold inlaid on the tang says "Go".

The paper says "Kanemitsu". :lol:

thank you very much, Morita-san :D

any ideas on what the letter said ?

Wickstrom · August 22, 2011

Well it's definitely an old blade...I'd guess Nambokucho judging by the nakago.

truelotus · August 22, 2011

Well it's definitely an old blade...I'd guess Nambokucho judging by the nakago.

I got a hunch that this blade was indeed an old and real one (not a fake) ... but I am concerned about the kissaki ...

well ... we better wait for the owner to submit the original kissaki pic :D

Jimmy R · August 22, 2011

Better pictures please.

Jim

truelotus · August 22, 2011

That's all I got for now, Jim :D

k morita · August 22, 2011

Hi,

truelotus · August 22, 2011

Hi,

wow ... thank you very much, Morita-san ... really appreciate your help here

one more, what did the character "GO" means ?

thank you

k morita · August 22, 2011

one more, what did the character "GO" means ?

"Go" means big name swordsmith "Go no Yoshihiro".

truelotus · August 22, 2011

"Go" means big name swordsmith "Go no Yoshihiro".

thank you, Morita-san, and do tell me if you plan to visit Indonesia ... will do my best to treat you with nice dinner here :D

so in conclusion, the sword is gendaito and at least 400 years old, but with broken kissaki ... what a shame ...

but it is interesting how we can find real Japanese sword stranded here in Indonesia, far away from Japan ... wonder how the previous owner brought it here ... must be a story :D

cabowen · August 22, 2011

It is not a gendai-to but an old sword.

If the paperwork is to be believed, at least the length, then the blade has been broken and reshaped....Very sad....If the paperwork is for a completely different sword, the blade has most likely still been broken and reshaped....

truelotus · August 22, 2011

It is not a gendai-to but an old sword.

If the paperwork is to be believed, at least the length, then the blade has been broken and reshaped....Very sad....If the paperwork is for a completely different sword, the blade has most likely still been broken and reshaped....

so either way it is a lost cause, right ... too bad :D

truelotus · August 24, 2011

updating kissaki pic ... and reveal a very sad story T_T

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