I was at the Turkish Military Museum in Istanbul this afternoon and saw this Japanese sword. The plaque reads that is was given to Sultan Abdul Hamid II by the Japanese Emperor. Addul Hamid II reigned from 1876-1909. Sorry about the glare.
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Nice! Istanbul is a great city to visit. I was there several months back and while poking around in the grand bazaar, I found a legit. gunto for sale. Didn't think I would run into something like that, but there it was.
TomComment
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I once had the opportunity to handle a collection of Japanese swords that were part of a weapons collection in Mexico. Among the swords was a tachi mounted unsigned blade that had been a gift from the Emporer Meiji to the leader of Mexico in the late 18th century. The blade was an unsigned Shinto with a flamboyant hamon. It was evident that the impressive part of the gift was the mounting as an important blade would have been a waste on a Western leader at the time. I also had the opportunity to handle a gift from Emperor Hirohito to King Edward of England at the time of his coromation. It also was a tachi mount with unsigned Shinto. The mountings metal parts were all 18 carat gold! The mounting was quite heavy. The point being these imperial gifts were likely all similar when given to Western leaders.Comment
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It has the crests of the Tokugawa family, so the Meiji Emperor either gave the sultan a second hand sword, or it was sent to an earlier sultan by the Tokugawa Bakufu.Comment
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