Showa-stamped Blade in Civil/Military Fittings?

[Bruce Pennington]

Somebody help me underestand this gunto. It's a Showa-stamped Kanemune blade fitted in what is normally the civil/military koshirae of a family donated older blade. Why would a WWII era blade be fitted out this way?

Here is the original post: Questions about a Japanese sword - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

[ghp95134]

...Somebody help me underestand this gunto. It's a Showa-stamped Kanemune blade fitted in what is normally the civil/military koshirae of a family donated older blade. Why would a WWII era blade be fitted out this way?....

It's not "civil/military" -- it is fully military ....except for the (cow horn?) kashira. I think the kashira might have been retro-fitted during the lifetime of the officer; it looks like some sort of epoxy was used to secure the knot. Also, the kashira is a bit smaller on the top side in the photo -- note the slight difference in the geometry from the handle to the kashira compared against the bottom side?


--Guy

[Sporter90]

I think not only the kashira replacement, the handle was rebound, and likely other works and replacement were done to this sword. These are detraction from the gunto in desirability and value.

When we buy old military rifles and handguns, refinish and rework are very bad things. Buying gunto is not different. I see some dealers (it's not just a few dealers) selling reworked swords. Don't fall for it.

[Nick Komiya]

This could be another form of private NCO gunto allowed in 1945. Though the main intent was to make use of dormant Samurai swords, the regulation did not word it as "old family samurai swords", but merely as "privately owned swords", so it was possible for a NCO to purchase a blade for a WW2 army officer's sword and set it up in this type of Koshirae. Families back home were allowed to make use of military mail to send swords to their sons in the front lines, so such swords could have readily been supplied by mail from home as well.

[Sporter90]

If you look at the menuki, it's relocated from the front to the rear. There is a shadow still in the front. This is a sign of careless handle rebound, or a way to cover up some issues.

[donnywinardi]

I think that "shadow of menuki" is nothing more than a repair patch to cover the damage on the same, since they're not using a good same for sword like this

the most likely explanation is this late war version was losing its kabutogane, and someone with quite proper knowledge shorten the tsuka a bit, and replace the missing kabutogane with horn kashira (this practice is common and acceptable for Japanese sword restoration) - and cheaper, too

[Sporter90]

We all agree the handle was reworked and the cloth was rebound.

The location of the menuki is in relation with the outside (表) and the inside (裏) of the handle. They aren't randomly placed there. Although the location of the menuki is not a critical point to some people, a professional handle maker always observes the rules and the traditions. Which, is missing on this handle.

[DaveR]

I think it is a quick repair rather than a re-wrap. Menuki placement can vary according to school, and whether a blade is Tachi or Katana. Personal observation has shown me that on Shin Gunto it is pretty much random, some seeing the sword as a Tachi (which technically it is) and others placing them in the more common and better known Katana configuration. When the repair was done is another matter, and will probably be impossible to determine.

[ghp95134]

Even Japanese people forget that the original purpose of the menuki was to aid in gripping the handle. Today, most swords have the menuki in the wrong position to facilitate grip. Changing the menuki location so that they are "properly mounted as originally intended" is called gyaku-menuki (逆目貫, reverse menuki); this placement acts as a "palm swell" for better grip as it places each menuki in the palm of the hand. My late teacher, Nakamura Taizaburo, was a "Combat Martial Arts" (実戦武術) instructor in the IJA from about 1940-45; he taught bayonet, dismounted bayonet, and two-handed swordsmanship to NCOs and officers. He always advocated use of gyaku-menuki and I had all my tsuka wrapped in gyaku-menuki.

When common use of the sword transitioned from tachi (blade downwards) to uchigatana (blade upwards), the tsukimaki craftsmen continued to place the menuki on the ura/obverse side as they always done with tachi, i.e., being close to the mekugi on the ura (表) side. When worn through the sash, the menuki was in the same location where it was for tachi; HOWEVER! when drawn, the uchigatana menuki placement caused the menuki to NOT be in the palm.

However, according to Nakamura Taizaburo sensei,

Few schools of swordsmanship retained the practical method of positioning the menuki. The one notable traditional style is Yagyu Ryu; the modern styles which adopted this method are Toyama Ryu and Nakamura Ryu.

Below image from The Spirit of the Sword: Iaido, Kendo, and Test Cutting with the Japanese Sword, a translation of Nakamura's Nippon-To Tameshigiri no Shinzui. (Don't know what page in the book, this was from a review copy.)


--Guy

[Frankiie]

Bought a Japanese sword and wonder if anyone has an idea what it might be. I did get information from a local group but still have questions.
I think it may be a broken sword redone into a dagger. It looks to have two stamps that might be arsonal stamps. They are smaller than the others. If I can post a picture I will . For the life ofe I can't find a way to upload pictures. Not happy