No chance. Besides it says So-cho ,not Gun-so.
No chance. Besides it says So-cho ,not Gun-so.
Given the market for gunto with surrender tags, it was really only a matter of time before a faked one turned up!
Yes, the tag is fake. The name looks like it's written by a chimp, missing strokes to make it borderline gibberish, and the rank looks like it was written by R2D2 or Miss Hospital Corners.
Nick,
I've been seeing some gunto in combat saya (leather-covered wood) with the all-brown tassel. The blades can have a used look, scratches, etc, like it was in the field. Is it safe to say some of the Hanin-kan were stationed with units in the field, in combat locations? I have always assumed they served all over the war zones, not just in mainland Japan. But someone recently asked me, and I had to say that I didn't know for a fact where they served.
Bruce,by Bruce
At least two members of the Akimune Konno Swordsmith Guntō Repair Team carried swords in combat covers. Here's an image of Naruse Kanji (right, Sōnin rank) and a man misidentified as Kurihara Hikosaburo [Kurihara was a Diet Member and 56 years old at the time so this cannot be him]. Note the length of Naruse's sword -- he was the master of Kuwana-han Den Yamamoto Ryu style of swordsmanship ... and a master of shuriken-jutsu.
During a particular 9 month period he repaired more than 2,000 [swords] ranging in age from a variety of historical periods: 25% were Koto, 60% Shinto or Shin Shinto, and 15% were Gendaito. Of these, only 3 had been damaged in battle meaning that most of them (70%) had been damaged in training or through mishandling.
-- GuyThe types of damage they suffered is very instructive. Scabbards required the least attention: about 10% of scabbards had been broken or split --- a problem primarily caused by the stress of incorrect unsheathing or re-sheathing the swords. Blades, of course, were a problem, but not the most numerous problem. About 30% of the swords suffered bent or broken blades. For the most part, these were the swords that had actually been used in battle. Naruse was shocked at the high rate of blade failures. The main problem, however, was not the blades. It was the sword handles. A full 60% of the swords needed to be repaired because their handles had broken. Worse, Naruse reported that almost every sword he examined need to have the handle's mekugi (retaining pins) replaced. Even without severe use, the mekugi quickly wore out or became damaged.
Read this for actual example of Gunzoku in the war zone Map case translation
Nick,
Having a discussion about a late-war Type 95 with an all brown tassel on it. Any chance a Ko-in carried a Type 95?
Why specifically a Ko-in? Type 95s were worn by NCOs and officers alike by the end of the war, due to officer sword shortages, so a Gunzoku Hanninkan or Ko-in, both requiring all brown tassels could have worn Type 95s, too. Higher grade Gunzoku also could wear Type 95s, but with tassels with colored backsides.
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