Thanks Guy! The “handwriting” at Mantetsu varies enough that it’s now clear there were quite a number of people doing it. Some guys will reject a Mantetsu mei because it varies from the examples they have, but the more I study these the more variaion I see. This “Na” is so different from the ones I’ve seen, it threw me off a bit.by ghp95134
Thanks to Ontario_Archaeology, at NMB, for finding this one. A '41 with inscription attribution to a Col Nakagawa. 激戦! ペリリュー島戦 守備隊長 中川州男大佐佩刀 興亜一心 滿鐵刀 最上研磨済 上拵入 /【Buyee】 "Buyee" Japanese Proxy Service | Buy from Japan! Auction site claims he served on Peleliu. Full wavy Hamon. These have generated some belief that they are geimei on otherwise unsigned blades to drive up the sale price. This is the second I've seen recently, both '41's. Kanji styles seem to differ, so not the same faker if faked.
Thoughts?
I've had this transcription in my files for years ... dunno if I ever posted it. However, I think it is not off-topic. Joseph Svinth sent the article to me around 1999 during our correspondences.
--Guy
==========
Swordsmiths Rush to Chinese Front to Mend Broken Blades
Japanese-American Courier, June 4, 1938
TOKIO -- Swords are still a prime necessity in war time, despite airplanes, armored tanks, machine guns and repeating rifles. It has been found, and the government has taken special steps, to see that officers have blades which will suit their needs.
However, the blades they carry these days are not up to the standards of olden times, according to Hikosaburo Kurihara, expert swordsmith, who recently returned from the Shanghai area, where with a party of smiths he has repaired 15,000 swords for Japanese officers.
So great was the need found for this repair work that the master smith has gone to the North China area, where he will attend to the needs of the officers there.
Manchurian steel [e.g., steel manufactured by Krupp processes] has been found the best material for blades as proved by experience of officers in the Shanghai district, the expert said, and he recommended to the War Ministry that metal of that kind be used in future whenever found available.
"We mended about 15,000 swords in Shanghai," the swordsmith said at his home in Hikawacho, Akasaka-ku. "Blades of good steel do not snap easily, as did some of those we found. I recommended to the War Ministry that they make available Manchurian steel to all the swordsmiths in the country. It is about as strong as any we know of."
"An officer with a damaged sword, and who expects a battle next day is a pitiful sight. I saw many of them working late at night on their weapons, which may mean life or death to them."
=========
*In 1933, in an effort to save the craft, Kurihara Hikosaburo, a sword enthusiast and a member of the National Diet, began a project to recruit and train swordsmiths from all over Japan. [ex this link]
*Nihonto Tanren Denshusho located in Akasaka, Hikawa-cho, on the estate of Kurihara Hikosaburo (aka Akihide)...[ex this link].
Last edited by ghp95134; 04-30-2019 at 07:00 PM.
Post#32, that is another fake. How many so-and-so general's and colonel's swords we've seen in recent months? Are you still buying the bullshit?
I have read this, but it's still amazing each time I read it. Can you imagine the operation setup to repair 15,000 swords?! Wow.
Sporter,
Without proof either way, I'm filing them as "Suspect". There is growing evidence they are faked. These all have the same look and attributions to high ranking officer. The numbers are in the 200 range.
There is a pattern. Those swords all have a line which says so-and-so general's or colonel's sword (〇〇〇〇佩刀). What more proof do you need?
I'll explain it one step further. The wording of this line "so-and-so general's or colonel's sword" that it is a third party's attribution of a sword to a certain general or colonel. (it's written on the tang as 〇〇〇〇佩刀. You can fill in anyone's name and rank in the blank area 〇〇〇〇.) However, this third party's claim is without proof whatsoever. Make sense at this point?
Without a proof, this claim is no more credible than the next person's claim either for or against it. Let me know if you're still in doubt.
Sounds to me you each are in "violent agreement" with the other: absent proof, no credibility.
I think I'll coin a word for that: 乱協 Rankyō [disordered (riotous) cooperation]. This is the opposite of 和協 Wakyō [harmonious (Japanese-style) cooperation].
--Guy
The whole point I present here is the absence of proof. More importantly, it is whoever claims what it is to prove it. Do you agree the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim? If someone claims a sword was owned by Yamamoto Isoroku, then he better come up with some kind of evidence. A line inscribed on the tang is no proof of such claim, because all it says is what it claims to be. It just repeats itself.
The fact that several swords showed up in recent months that they all had the same line of inscription only different names and ranks, that is a clear sign of forgery.
Sounds to me you each are in "violent agreement" with the other: absent proof, no credibility.
I think I'll coin a word for that: 乱協 Rankyō [disordered (riotous) cooperation]. This is the opposite of 和協 Wakyō [harmonious (Japanese-style) cooperation].
--Guy
Ha! We're getting pretty good at it!
Sporter - are you really my wife pretending to be a collector?! We argue the same way!
So, we here at Warrelics, and the other forums, are essentially an informal Shinsa-en-mass. The person showing up at shinsa doesn't have to prove anything. It's the team or evaluator that makes a proclamation - "Legit!" or "Geimei". That's what we are doing here.
I agree with you the evidence is stacked in favor of "Geimei". But I can imagine a legitamate scenario where these were created as a custom group where a shop boss comes to the floor and says "Gonzo, we have 10 custom jobs to make, and here's the names." Then Gonzo goes and makes the 10 swords. That would explain the close serial numbers and craftsmanship styles.
But at the moment, the scales are tipped toward "Geimei" in my book.
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