Shichisei Hōkoku

[Stephen]

to make it short and sweet, i want to find a home for my WW2 gunto, made with five plate forgeing, kijimono nakago signed Schisai hokoku...Seven lives for my country...same covered saya with hard lacqure on top of it. Red and brown tassle, high grade sarute. this was sp order blade for someone with big Yen in the war years.

 

Looking for someone that will study it, care for it and when its time to move on find the same like minded person. PM if you think you have what it takes. ill be looking for a few Ks maybe four, on this so its not cheap, i just dont want it to go willy nilly to anyone in case im not around to pass this on to right person. have a few pix waiting for the right lignt for blade pix.

[Brian]

Stephen,

Very sorry to hear you are selling it. I know how extremely highly you hold that sword in regard. Hope it goes to a very special new owner.

 

Brian

[Stephen]

Tks Brian, need to take some pix of it, i may have to give it to a new home by the response i ve gotten to it.

[Stephen]

I've had a talk with my Sons, if and when I go it will be left to someone. Well leave that to a surprise, you all know him. If mod's need to delete this thread, go ahead.

[Brian]

Not until you at least post some good pics of it for us to enjoy.

Never see one with a samezaya that is laquered over. Must have cost a fortune to purchase originally.

If that laquer wasn't missing, would anyone have known what was under there?

 

Brian

[Stephen]

Im not sure Brian, often wondered if some that we have seen with that hard lacquer also have same under it. No. 1 thing on today's to do list..after fixing Gbabys swing...is take pix of the works...it even has a hamon area after polish that looks like a bird and mouse facing each other...i once had a hiku about the deadly swift as a bird and silent as a mouse cutting machine...doubt i can dig it out of the archives of my muddled memory thou..well see.

[Stephen]

i must apologies for the photos, they did not turn out that well. Id have to make sure that it never would go to a foundation polish as the bird and mouse would be lost, unless a togi thought he could work around it...i fear some of the plate welding would open as well. It does look like a double boshi but i had a heck of a time trying to show the different forging lines there's more than what i could capture. But as they say it is what it is, it dont rank up there with high grade Gendaito but it was made with some thought for a man who would give his life seven times for his country.

[watsonmil]

Dear Stephen,

You are MUCH too modest. The bird, and mouse show up quite nicely and clear. You may be justifyably be proud of that sword. Thank you for sharing the photographs.

... Ron Watson

[Stu W]

Hello Stephen,

 

Have you any photos available of the nakago and mei?

 

Regards,

Stu

PS: Instead of deleting this thread as has been suggested possibly it can be moved and saved as it really does depict an unusual sword and one worthy of inclusion on the site...IMHO.

[Stephen]

Stu

 

its between the same and tassle shot, i sent it to you before.

[Stu W]

OK, now I see the link. The same and tassel show as actual photos to me and I missed the link in between.

 

Thanks Stephen,

Stu

[Bruno]

The nakago shape ressembles to the ones of the Yasukuni's smiths.

 

Anybody else came to the same remark?

[Stu W]

Hi Bruno,

 

The Yasukunito I have viewed have a wider nakago. I think Stephen's has more of a "pheasant thigh" shape. I suspect it's quite pronounced when viewed in hand.

 

Here is a link to some Yasukuni swords that may be of interest to you if you have not already seen it.

 

http://www.jp-sword.com/files/yasukuni/yasukunito.html

 

Regards,

Stu

[Stu W]

Here's a link to an example of what I am referring to...

 

http://www.nihontoantiques.com/fss300.htm

 

Regards,

Stu

[Henry Wilson]

Yasutoku　靖徳 made kijimomogata nakago at one point in his career. I　think maybe to distinguish his work from his nephew Yasunori 靖憲. I think the pheasant thigh shape is considered to be the true nakago form of a tachi, which is what Yasukuni swords replicate.

 

I have an oshigata of a Yasutoku sword with pheasant thigh nakago somewhere that I owned once.

[kusunokimasahige]

I read that the Shichisei Hōkoku proverb came from Masasue Kusunoki when he committed Seppuku :

 

Disaster

 

Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle. Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son Masatsura and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death. The battle, which took place at Minatogawa in modern-day Chūō-ku, Kobe, was a tactical disaster. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, down to only 73 of the original 700 horsemen, committed suicide along with his brother Masasue, 11 close clan members, and 60 others. According to legend, his brother's last words were Shichisei Hōkoku! (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!") and Kusunoki Masashige agreed. There are two accounts of arguments that Kusunoki Masashige made to emperor Go-Daigo. One was that they regroup and attack from two sides, the other was that they bring back general Takauji to their side thus balancing the scales. Both arguments were ignored.

 

Legend

 

After the full-scale introduction of Neo-Confucianism as a state philosophy by the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kusunoki Masashige, once-called a traitor by the Northern Court, was resurrected with Emperor Go-Daigo as a precursor of Sinocentric absolutists, based upon the Neo-Confucian theories. During the Edo period, scholars and samurai who were influenced by the Neo-Confucian theories created the legend of Kusunoki and enshrined him as a patriotic hero, called Nankō (楠公) or Dai-Nankō (大楠公), who epitomized loyalty, courage, and devotion to the Emperor. Kusunoki later became a patron saint of sorts to the World War II kamikaze, who saw themselves as his spiritual heirs in sacrificing their lives for the Emperor.

 

(Source: Wiki)

 

KM

[Stu W]

Hello Henry,

 

Thank you for your comments. It prompted me to review Tom Kishida's book The Yasukuni Swords from which I received my information on these pieces.

 

I see a reference to your point on page 54 although as I understand it that was a one off situation whereas the rest of the smiths stayed with the original characteristics.

 

Interesting to me too is that the pheasant thigh shapes vary somewhat in that some are smoothly tapered to a more narrow width whereas others have either a sharp or smooth, but certainly more pronounced, indent prior to the taper.

 

Again, thank you for your comments...I have much to learn and appreciate the input.

 

Regards,

Stu

[cabowen]

The head smith Kajiyama Yasunori switched his style of nakago to kiji-momo after his nephew, Kotani Yasunori, became a full time smith. He made many blades subsequently with the kiji-momo.....

[Bruno]

I knew I had seen this shape of nakago from a Yasukuni smith before, just could not remember whose.

 

May one says Stephen's sword have been forged by a Yasukuni smith? Or this type of nakago was made also made by many others gendai smiths?

[cabowen]

Possible Stephen's was made by Kajiyama but doubtful. Closeups of the blade to judge the workmanship would be necessary in any case.

 

This style nakago was rare and I do not recall any other smiths that made it regularly. Probably a one time thing in this case...

[Bruno]

  cabowen said:

Possible Stephen's was made by Kajiyama but doubtful. Closeups of the blade to judge the workmanship would be necessary in any case.

 

This style nakago was rare and I do not recall any other smiths that made it regularly. Probably a one time thing in this case...

 

Hmmmm interesting....Please Stephen post close up of the blade for us.

[k morita]

Hi,

 

I guess that this sword is a cold-resistance sword manufactured by pupils group of Koshimizu Moritoshi in Hiroshima in around 1940. 越水盛俊

The commercial name of this sword was "new style Japanese sword". 新日本刀

The steel frame structure of this sword was devised by the president of the publishing company of [sword Craft]magazine.

[Stephen]

Morita-sama

 

Thank you very much for that info. Its the most i have learned about it in a long time.

[Brian]

Wow..great info Morita san. Stuff like this just isn't published anywhere in English.

 

Brian

[runagmc]

Anybody care to give us an overview of what the paper says about the shin-nihonto? That's too much translating for me...

[Bruno]

What kind of steel was used to make this type of sword? Is it tamahagane, Yasuki steel or something else?

[reeder]

Congrats on your sale. Was following it on eBay to see how it did and from what it sounds like you did a little better than you were hoping.

 

-Brandon

[Ron M]

  On 3/22/2012 at 11:15 PM, Stephen said:

to make it short and sweet, i want to find a home for my WW2 gunto, made with five plate forgeing, kijimono nakago signed Schisai hokoku...Seven lives for my country...same covered saya with hard lacqure on top of it. Red and brown tassle, high grade sarute. this was sp order blade for someone with big Yen in the war years.

 

Looking for someone that will study it, care for it and when its time to move on find the same like minded person. PM if you think you have what it takes. ill be looking for a few Ks maybe four, on this so its not cheap, i just dont want it to go willy nilly to anyone in case im not around to pass this on to right person. have a few pix waiting for the right lignt for blade pix.

Expand  

Hello Stephen can you tell me where you got the information about the nakago shape and the “five plate forging”? I believe I have a similar gunto in my possession. Regards 

[Stephen]

Thanks Ron for digging this up, i had those pix on floppy disk which are now under a desk corner to keep it even.

I had it polished back in the day before i knew whos who in that world. Thankfully it wasn't a national treasure. He told me it was difficult to polish because of different harnesses of steel layers which by the way goes with Morita san chart. Hawley used to have a poster  with a diagram at the bottom showing different construction methods I assumed that it was the five plate because of the steel differences.

Sure brought back a lot of memories I think it's a good read for any of today's newer members thank you for resurrecting it what usually I frown on but in this case outstanding!!

Id give a a kidney or part of a lung or any other body part that's not cancerous LOL to  have it back. Please post pix of your nakago. Maybe in a new thread to not test the gods. 😉

[Lareon]

  On 11/24/2021 at 4:47 PM, Stephen said:

Thanks Ron for digging this up, i had those pix on floppy disk which are now under a desk corner to keep it even.

I had it polished back in the day before i knew whos who in that world. Thankfully it wasn't a national treasure. He told me it was difficult to polish because of different harnesses of steel layers which by the way goes with Morita san chart. Hawley used to have a poster  with a diagram at the bottom showing different construction methods I assumed that it was the five plate because of the steel differences.

Sure brought back a lot of memories I think it's a good read for any of today's newer members thank you for resurrecting it what usually I frown on but in this case outstanding!!

Id give a a kidney or part of a lung or any other body part that's not cancerous LOL to  have it back. Please post pix of your nakago. Maybe in a new thread to not test the gods. 😉

Expand  

 

where did it head to? no chance of getting it back? seems a shame since you obviously hold it dear