famous o dachi pix

[doug e lewis]

I am sure all have seen the famous photo of a GI Sgt. [not identified] standing in a pile of katana, tachi, etc. most is saya; Showato, Gunto, Gendito, museum pieces, 500 yr. old __________ [insert your favorite smith here], and he is holding up and admiring what looks to me like a meaty O dachi of Nambochuko vintage.

 

so... who is this GI, what was the sword he was holding , and what happened to the sword?? I think the swords in the picture mostly ended up in Tokyo Bay ---but not all. The book I have on modern, post Edo swords by Knoop and Yoshihara has the photo but no further info.

 

any of the military guys know???

 

doug e

[Toryu2020]

 

You have to wonder what he is hiding with that saya!

[runagmc]

It's hard to look at that picture and not feel a level of disgust...

[george trotter]

Searching old memory here, but I think this pic and several others which include two US officers inspecting lines of gunto/kaigunto mounted swords laid out in separate rows on the floor here are described as confiscated swords. The ones in rows being intended to be awarded to chosen US personnel. These swords were part of 80,000 collected into the Akabane Arsenal in Tokyo where these pics were taken (about 1945-47?). You will be pleased to know that around 4500 of them were inspected and recommended by NBTHK experts for preservation and are today in the process of being re-polished after sitting on the basement shelves of the NBTHK for 40 years. They are being returned to museums in the original province of their history. I saw an "Akabane Swords Exhibition" of 28 re-polished swords in Hiroshima castle just last Christmas/New Year...naturally, most of them were of Bizen manufacture. Maybe this O-dachi survived as it was probably a temple/shrine sword?

Regards,

[runagmc]

Nice to know some of them survived. I wonder what happened to the other 75,000+...

[doug e lewis]

yeah, that is what Yoshihara-san said in his book. and the ones not saved were either given on demand to any US or other allied personel, they had pick of the litter so to speak, or they were tossed into Tokyo Bay or some other deep salty water grave; gone to rust by now.

 

that sword could be a temple sword as it is in shirasaya, but i think not. not big enough and the temples hid a lot of their special tachi. also there is a big tachi on the floor in front of "Sgt. Smiles"

 

both these look old. just by size they are not gendeito, showato, shinshinto, shinto, or shirashinto [newly made sword]. must be Koto. but who.....? if I could only hold them, i know even a newbie like me could do good kantai.

 

doug e

[Curgan]

What a cultural catastrophe and shame for the "West".

 

They just take them to the States, give one to each GI as a souvenir, send them to museums. Anything that would save these treasures (and those that aren't) for the future generations.

 

But these are just my ramblings...

 

[mdiddy]

I am pretty sure that is Sgt. Coldy Bimore and he is holding the Honjo Masamune!

 

Richard Fuller notes in Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks that this sergeant did not bring back any swords himself. I would suggest reaching out to Mr. Fuller and seeing if he would know this sergeant's name as well as his story. I for one would be interested in hearing it.

[runagmc]

Just for the record, not all temple swords are huge. I've seen enshrined tachi that looked smaller than the one in this pic. There are even enshrined tanto...

[hybridfiat]

I read once that sumo wrestlers would have oversized katana made to be in proportion to thier great bulk. It did not seem farfetched.

[Lindus]

There are also photgraphs of a chap standing on a large pile of swords while forking them into a furnis....another with a US engineers lorry,in the back is a large metal cutter which is used to chop hundreds of blade. O' for a time machine.

 

Read BW Robinsons account of his travels with a Japanese officer inspecting blades at various dumps, may seem now as a phillistine activity but would guess the US military were none to fond of Guto at that period, also perhaps it was a way of showing the populace that it was now all over.

Roy

[Derek]

I fear that we may be using hindsight to judge the actions of others. Almost everyone on this site has a deep appreciation for Japanese culture and people.

On the other hand, soldiers at the end of WW2 were mainly interested in enforcing the terms of surrender. We must remember that these men had given many years of their lives, been away from family, and lost friends in bloody battle that we could never imagine. Just a short time before these photos, these same men saw 60,000 casualties in Okinawa alone. Most saw Japanese swords as dangerous weapons and symbols of aggressiveness, not amazing art as we do now.

 

 

-Derek

[Fred Geyer]

Curgan,

 

What a cultural catastrophe and shame for the "West".

 

They just take them to the States, give one to each GI as a souvenir, send them to museums. Anything that would save these treasures (and those that aren't) for the future generations.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

I really do not jump into stuff like this but REALLY, Shame on the WEST....Really!!!!, I think it was planes from some place that bombed us on a nice Sunday morning...which then over the next 3 years my family lost 3 men on 2 different islands. One of which I display his letters, medals, photos and the letter to my Grandmother about sorry for his death.

I study swords and tsuba as much as anyone and love it!!, but feel ZERO remorse about having swords that or GI's brought home.....OK I feel some what better.

[Curgan]

I think I was misunderstood, Fred.If you read it more carefully, you 'll see that I meant that there were better options other than destroy all these swords. One of them was giving them to GI's. The "shame" is their destruction, not taking them to the States.

 

I think that destroying cultural assets, even those of your enemies, is plainly put unacceptable...