Kunimitsu Oshigata Request

[SwordGuyJoe]

Can anyone attach a photo or copy of the three Kunimitsu's listed in the Gendai toko meikan pgs 140, and 2 on pg 143? I am traveling and unfortunately, I do not have my books with me. I HUGELY appreciate it!

[k morita]

Hi,

[SwordGuyJoe]

There is another listed on 190 something. I'm looking from Miura Kunimitsu from Sendai and signs "Oshu sendai ju Kunimitsu". I'm not sure if he's listed or not.

[k morita]

Joe,

You should have up-loaded the photograph of the Tang, before you request Oshigatas.

Don't you have a digital camera in the business trip?

Miura Kunimitsu is not listed on [Gendai toko meikan].

 

Attachd oshigata from [Nihonto oyobi Nihonshumi]pub 1938.

The mei says "Oshu Sendai-ju Kunimitsu" , His real name was Miura Gonpei.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Sorry, you're right. Here is the mei. I've seen multiple photos of his mei signed in grass/soshu script (?).

[k morita]

Hi,

Thanks for the pic. Seeing is believing. Yes,this mei is grass/sosho script.

The swordsmith of above oshigata(Miura Gonpei,Kunimitsu ) is different smith from mei of this pic.

 

The mei of the pic says "Oshu Sendai-ju Kunimitsu".

This sword smith's real name is Miura Shogo, not Miura Gonpei.

Maybe Miura Shogo Kunimitsu(pic) was son of Miura Gonpei Kunimitsu.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Thanks. Every mei I have seen from this smith has the same mitsu character where the chisel was not lifted between the horizontal stroke and the lower-left leg of the character whether grass script or not.

[george trotter]

I can add a little bit to Morita san's information...from "Nihon Gendaito Shoshi" by Uchiyama NBTHK 1969 I can report that this is one of the obscure lines of (usually) father/son or elder brother/younger brother where little is known about their work style or history.

 

This is a small line in Miyage Prefecture (old Oshu) line...of 4 smiths (up to 1969)

What is known is that from a smith named

Tsukamoto Michi? no Suke---- (#1)

came Miura Kunimitsu (#2 )---

came 2 men

a. Miura Kunimitsu (son? so # 3)

b. Miura Masamitsu (#2's brother?, so #4?)

 

As the info does not include the Miura smiths' personal names I can't say which is Shogo or Gonpei...but "Tosho Zenshu" says that the line had 4 names. The one it discusses is Miura Shogo Kunimitsu. He was RJT, so he looks like yours...born Meiji 33, masame, suguba.

From this it seems that Miura Gonpei must be #2, the father?/teacher of #3 Kunimitsu...so yours seems to be #3 Miura Shogo Kunimitsu.

Sorry, nothing more I can tell you.

I have seen a few pics of this mei...looks nice IMHO...is it masame/suguba?

Regards,

Edit: PS if this Miura Shogo Kunimitsu is yours now, I would download the oshigata of his father? Miura Gonpei Kunimitsu 1938 that Morita san posted for you (with the details he gave) and put it in your Kunimitsu line file...just a suggestion.

[cabowen]

George-

 

Can you post a scan of the original Uchiyama reference?

[SwordGuyJoe]

It is now mine! :D The blade is done in a very nice choji in suguba. See photos.

 

[george trotter]

That looks nice Kai. Nice find. Can you post an overall of the blade? with date/fittings? If it's not too much trouble while you're travelling.

 

Chris, my scanner is playing up and I can't scan for you just now. If it's any help it is Uchiyama article VI, pages 6.7.8.

 

Regards,

[SwordGuyJoe]

Here is the info:

 

Blade

 

Period: Showa.

 

Mei: Oshu sendai ju Kunimitsu with star stamp. The obverse of the nakago dates the sword to 1943.

 

Sugata: Shinogi-zukuri, tori-zori, iori-mune.

 

Overall length: 33.86 inches (860.00 mm).

 

Nagasa: 25.47 inches (647.00 mm).

 

Nakago: Ubu, 8.39 inches (213.00 mm). Kiri yasurime with kesho, ha-agari kurijiri nakago-jiri, one mekugi-ana. The numbers on the end of the tang are not a serial number, but part of the Imperial Japanese Army's internal accounting system. The paint marks relate to the sword being assembled with its koshirae.

 

Kissaki: Chu-kissaki, 1.39 inches (35.40 mm). O-maru boshi.

 

Moto-haba: 1.32 inches (33.50 mm). Saki-haba: 0.91 inches (23.00 mm). Moto-gasane: 0.30 inches (7.70 mm). Saki-gasane: 0.24 inches (6.00 mm).

 

Sori: 0.56 inches (14.30 mm).

 

Hamon: Chu-suguha mixed with notare. Deep ashi and some sunagashi.

 

Hada: Itame.

 

Blade condition: In good recent polish.

 

Mounts:

 

In unrestored but near mint 1944 pattern Landing Forces koshirae. The saya is black lacquered wood. The tsuka is bound with the usual katate-maki. The locking mechanism is relatively unusual, in that it has two buttons, though this is known from other 44 pattern mounts. The habaki and the menuki have also been blacked, presumably to reduce reflection. Even small reflections can carry a long way at night at sea.

 

Comments:

 

The smith is Miura Kunimitsu (Hawley KUN536, TK216).

 

This is a traditionally made sword. The presence of hada and a water-quenched hamon is obvious. The star stamp indicates a blade made by swordsmiths of the Rikugun Jumei Tosho (Army Certified Swordsmith). To become Rikugun Jumei Tosho, a swordsmith had to pass tests and examination of his blades. If the smith passed, he was given a regular allocation of tamehagane with which to make sword blades. A complete list of Rikugun Jumei Tosho swordsmiths was published in Showa 17 as "Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo". The NBTHK is on record as papering star stamped gendaito.

[cabowen]

Does anyone have a copy of the Rikigun Jumei Tosho Meibo? Morita san???

 

I have tried to locate this document without success for a long time....

 

Nice sword by the way...Agree with George that it would be nice to see a few full length picts. Congrats!

 

No big deal about the scan George- thought I might be able to shed more light by seeing the kanji for the Tsukamoto smith....I don't have access to the article as it is packed away who knows where....

[SwordGuyJoe]

Here are some full length.

 

[k morita]

Hi,

Although I am looking for the Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo over the long time, it is not found yet.

Here is a pic of Uchiyama's on NBTHK issue.

My thought is:

a= Miura Kunimitsu (real name Gonpei).

b= Miura Kunimitsu (real name Shogo), RJT smith, Also appear Honma's meikan on page 298.

 

Nice sword Joe!! :D

[cabowen]

Thanks for posting that scan Morita san!

 

So if you haven't been able to find a copy of the Rikigun Jumei Tosho Meibo, it must really be a rare document....I have looked for many years unsuccessfully.

 

I see there is no smith name mentioned next to Tsukamoto Michinosuke. I wonder if he is related to the Fukushima Tsukamoto line???

[SwordGuyJoe]

Thanks all for the kind words about the sword. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to have it!

[george trotter]

A nice find indeed...my favourite length c.25 ins. The kitae and hamon are different from those stated, but I have seen plenty of variation in RJTosho's work...so that is not unusual. Nice that your koshirae is in such good condition too. Congrats.

 

I see Morita san has posted the Uchiyama page so now that my scanner is working again, here is a pic and info from Nihon Token Shoko Meikan 1942 p.136 of Miura Kunimitsu and his staff at his forge. It also gives the Tsukamoto kanji you requested Chris.

This info seems additional to that from the Tosho Zenshu info...if I read correctly it says...

The beginning generation (must be Miura Gonpei), through the removal/leaving of Yamato Fusuido Yoshimitsu's student Tsukamoto Michi? no Suke in Meiji 21, was able to complete/conduct the swordmaking...so Miura Gonpei was first.

The 2nd Miura Kunimitsu (Shogo) continued this path with his younger brother Masamitsu co-operating as his assistant to work in

his strong point of masame and suguba.

So, here the pic of who I assume is Miura Shoko Kunimitsu.

regards,

[cabowen]

I think it says that in Meiji 21, the previous Kunimitsu became the student of Tsukamoto Michinosuke, who was a student of the Yamato den smith Mito Yoshimitsu...It would seem that this Tsukamoto has no sword making connection with the Tsukamotos of Fukushima.

[george trotter]

Hi Chris, thanks for that correction...den + Mito eh?....that probably explains why Fusuido didn't make sense

so 1st gen Kunimitsu was a student of Michinosuke as stated in the Uchiyama article ,...I wonder who Michinosuke was?

No, I agree, I didn't get a sense there was a connection with Tsukamoto line of Fukushima as the Uchiyama article would have mentioned it prominently

regards,

Edit: I sure hope a copy of the Meibo turns up...it would be fantastic.

[cabowen]

Hi Chris, thanks for that correction...den + Mito eh?....that probably explains why Fusuido didn't make sense

so 1st gen Kunimitsu was a student of Michinosuke as stated in the Uchiyama article ,...I wonder who Michinosuke was?

No, I agree, I didn't get a sense there was a connection with Tsukamoto line of Fukushima as the Uchiyama article would have mentioned it prominently

regards,

Edit: I sure hope a copy of the Meibo turns up...it would be fantastic.

 

Yes, it is a bit of a mystery who this Tsukamoto was...It is possible he wasn't a full time smith, or made very few blades due to the circumstances present while he was active.

 

Uchiyama would have mentioned it if he had had information that addressed it. The fact that he didn't doesn't mean it isn't so...but I think, given the time frame, it is unlikely there is any sword lineage between the Fukushima smiths and this person. It doesn't rule out a blood relation, but that too is probably unlikely.

 

By the way, there is a way to reconstruct the Meibo, I have just been too lazy to do it.....It was used as a source for the Nihon-to Meikan. One could go through the entire Meikan and pick out all the smiths listed as RJT. That would then reconstruct the list.

[george trotter]

(naruhodo)...Nihonto Meikan o motte arimasen no de, shikata ga nai!

Anata wa....?

 

genki de,

[Peter Bleed]

Friends,

I tried last night to post the scant information on Kunimitsu that is in the Sendai meikan, but it failed to go thru. Recent posts have made most of what I could add redundant, but...

The Meikan shows a rubbing like the one present here. It is identified as by the son of the first Kunimitsu who was a tsunet of YOSHIMTSU of Mito. The second generation Kunimitsu died at the age of 67 in Showa 43.

The first generation worked from Meiji, thru Taisho, and into Showa times. Both generations seem to have worked in Yamato tradition with gonome.

Peter

[cabowen]

(naruhodo)...Nihonto Meikan o motte arimasen no de, shikata ga nai!

Anata wa....?

 

genki de,

 

Too bad indeed- you really ought to get one....

 

With my home building, 3 year old, etc., I just don't have the time to sort through it all.

[SwordGuyJoe]

Thank you all so very much for all of this information on this line.

[Agincourt]

Rather late to this thread but thought out of interest to post this.

 

This sword is by the 2nd Generation Oshu Sendai Kunimitsu who made this sword in January 1937 who in addition had thankfulky recorded his age of 63. The sword is done in a Yamato Hosho Den as befits his teacher’s teacher Mito Yoshimitsu who was taught by Mito Norikatsu hence the Hosho influence.

 

Most interesting of all is what is written on the Shirasaya:

 

Sho: Dai Ninju San Shidan cho Ogisu Chujo

 

Prize or Award 13th Divisional Commander Lieutenant General Ogisu

 

Sendai shi Kawahara cho, Okubo Kenjuro Kizo

 

Donated by Okubo Kenjuro of Kawahara cho, Sendai City

 

Showa 13 Nen Ku Gatsu 21 Nichi

 

21st September 1937

 

This sword was gifted to Lieutenant General Ogisu Ryuhei who was appointed to the tri prefectural 13th Division. This General became famous (or infamous) in 1939 when he launched his divisions against the Russians at Nomanhan without authorization from Imperial General Headquaters and after the sound beating the Russians inflicted on the Japanese was forced to retire (short of being chashiered the service) dying in 1949. Okubo Kenjuro was apparently an admirer of the then divisional commander in 1937 and the 13th Division being a local Division for Miyagi, Fukushima and Niigata was thought appropriate to present a Sendai To to the Divisional commander.

 

Dr. Bleed mentions the death of the 2nd Kunimitsu but this surely mistaken as the age and date of this sword proves otherwise.

 

Enjoy Mr. SwordGuyJoe

[Kiipu]

On 7/28/2012 at 10:07 AM, cabowen said:

Does anyone have a copy of the Rikigun Jumei Tosho Meibo? Morita san?

&

On 7/28/2012 at 5:08 PM, k morita said:

Although I am looking for the Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo over the long time, it is not found yet.

 

Is this document, 陸軍受命刀匠名簿 [Rikugun jumei tōshō meibo], by chance reprinted in 日本刀銘鑑 [Nihontō meikan] by 本間薫山 & 石井昌國 編著 [Honma & Ishii]?  If anyone has this volume, can they look and see if this is the case.

日本刀銘鑑

[george trotter]

Hi Thomas,

 

About the Nihonto Meikan by Homma and Ishii, yes I have a copy and no...as far as I have seen there is no distinct Meobo list included...but from reading it I can tell you that (I think) ALL RJT are mentioned...you just have to go through it - only 1226 pages with about 25 smith details on each. I seem to remember Chris Bowen saying long ago that "someone" should go through it and do that...list them all...(I pretended not to hear him ha ha).

 

Regards,

 

 

 

 

 

[Kiipu]

Thank you for the answer.  As you surmised, I was looking for the actual wartime document and not the list compiled from observed blades.  I am attempting to discover the actual sources used versus what has been repeated on the Internet.

[george trotter]

Hi Thomas,

Yes, it is a bit of a mystery why no-one has found a document that shows this list...this might be a request to put to Bruce Pennington to ask his friend and researcher Nick Komiya of War Relics?

Hope you have success...I'd like to see it.

Regards,