RARE and early SABER MOUNTED Nihonto

Hello,

I would like to offer this very large nihonto in ultra rare and very early saber mounts. It is in superb condition and an excellent state of polish. This is the only example of these type of mounts I have seen or heard of.

Here is some info about the blade and mounts:

The blade is massive and has a nagasa of 29.75 inches (76cm). It has a wide mihaba and strong sugata. Shinogi zukuri, iori-mune, Shinto or Shinshinto katana. The blade is healthy.

The hada is mostly itame with areas of mokume. The hamon is nie deki chu-suguha with ko-gunome and ko-ashi. The nioi guchi is bright and deep. There is sunagashi running through the hamon. The boshi is chu-suguha with sharp turnback. The workmanship reminds me of Hojoji Masahiro.

It is mounted in ultra rare and early saber mounts. The mounts show a saber-style tsuka made of wood and what looks to be shakudo. It is Western-styled with a basket hilt and gripped backstrap. The tsuka is reminiscent of American and British models of the late 19th century. The tsuka has also never been taken off the blade. The saya is covered in nicely aged leather that is stitched together. It has a massive kojiri, two ashi, and a koiguchi that are made of the same metal as on the tsuka.

The fittings have some resemblance to early examples listed in Fuller & Gregory’s (pg. 19-20). Given their resemblance to a Western style, I think the fittings date from the late 1870’s to early 1880’s when Western military consultants and influence were prevalent in Japan. I think this sword either belonged to an early member of the Japanese military or to a Westerner stationed in Japan during this time who had a Japanese blade mounted.

The blade is in a good state of polish. There are no nicks, little rust, and some slight scratches. There are no kizu. The mountings are also in excellent condition.

I am asking $5,000.00 usd or better offer. Hi-res pics available upon request. Please PM or email me at mdiddy8000@gmail.com if interested.

Thanks!

Matt

Here are pictures of the blade. There are activities in the hamon that these pictures do not capture or show.

Hi Matt,

Really nice and rare peice. Give us the background of how you found

and recognised this sword, I've been collecting since the 70's and have

not seen one.

Alan.

Did it belong to a rear admiral?

Thank's Pete, I fixed it.

AL

Alan - thanks for the comment. I found the sword at an estate sale earlier this year. The estate had a couple of other sabers that looked like they were likely from the U.S. Civil War. I assume that is why this sword was collected with them. The saya was noticeably different and when I pulled out the blade immediately recognized it as Japanese - sugata, hada, hamon. I started researching and it became clear it was likely a rare mounting from a very interesting period in Japanese history - the transition from medieval to modern Japan. The question then became whether it belonged to a Japanese officer or a Western officer stationed there.

I showed the sword at the San Francisco and Baltimore shows earlier this year. No one who looked at the sword had seen anything similar. The consensus leaned toward it belonging to a Western officer.

Please let me know if you have additional questions or thoughts to add. Feel free to discuss as I'm curious to get others thoughts as well. It's an interesting piece and more research and discussion is warranted.

Matt

FWIW, here is a pic I found of Jules Brunet and officers. A Japanese officer has an early cavalry saber with similar basket style hilt.

Once sold, I will move this one to the Military swords section, as I think it is rare and unusual and would like to keep this thread for reference.

Brian

Brian - please do. I'm happy to discuss it here as well if forum members have additional thoughts to add.

I have more pictures, historical pictures, and research I can add too.

Moved to the Military section for future reference.

Brian

Never seen anything like this before...Although it looks "clunky" at first glance, the quality and overall "balance" tend to grow on you...not a bad sword at all.

Looks like the hilt nut would have to be unscrewed (if it is a nut) to see the nakago. It would be interesting to know if the blade was "adapted" to the mounts of made new with the mounts.

One question...pic 4 shows what looks like writing or numbers on the chape/drag...are they numbers or a vice mark left by a bubba san?

Thanks for sharing.

George - I agree, unscrewing the nut would allow the hilt to be removed. I think if you did that it would likely damage it. I left it on as is.

My opinion is that the sword is Shinto and that the mounts were made later. I expect the sword was adapted to the hilt but that the saya was made specifically for this blade. The blade is long and fits perfectly in the saya. The saya is also oversized compared to Western sabers from the 1860s-1870s.

There were no markings or writing on any part of the mounts that I could discern. What you see on the kojiri looked like a series of X's.

Very interesting sword. Went for $2700.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221337796611?ss ... 1438.l2649

In researching the hilt, I noticed that the metal parts had a lot in common with Victorian-era British examples of the P1821. The wood grip however was different and more aligned with the American M1902. I think the hilt falls somewhere in between the two.

Here is a cut-up I did for the listing. Hope it adds a little more.

Greetings,

I think I see hagire, I hope I'm wrong and that this is only seen in picture.

Otherwise a very interesting and nice piece of history.

Regards,

Miha G.

Miha,

You have a good eye. But I can confirm it is not hagire. It looks like a scratch and there is no corresponding abrasion on the other side of the blade.

I am glad That it is not hagire because it is very nice.

Regards and

Merry Christmas to all NMB members,

Miha G.

Hi all

I just re-read this thread. Anyone know where this sword is? Did a member get it?

Kind Regards

Daniel