Sword

[dixiedrummer]

I have a friend who wants to get a bit of info on a sword he's going to be buying. It's from a co-worker who's grandfather brought it back from Saipan. I don't know anything about swords, so any help would be appreciated. He seems to think that the blade is older and was remounted for WWII. Scabbard is two piece. Sorry for the pics, this is what he sent me.

[dixiedrummer]

1

[GHP]

菊一文字之作
Kiku Ichi-mon-ji kore saku
This Made by Kiku-Ichi-mon-ji.

Kiku = chrysanthemum
ichi-mon ji = "the character 1" [a horizontal line]

Wiki Article.

The sword experts will want to see the full tang. From the photo above, it looks relatively modern -- no rust.

--Guy

[Bob Coleman]

This is a war era blade made by a smith named Amahide, who signed blades with this signature. I bought one of these from a vet back in the 1970's. What was interesting is he worked for my grandfather before being drafted. The one I owned was a nice quality gendaito.
There is absolutely no connection between this sword and the masters of the original Ichimonji School as detailed to some extent in the wiki article.

[nickn]

I have a tanto in shira saya with the same signature

[GHP]

This is a war era blade made by a smith named Amahide, who signed blades with this signature. <...>
There is absolutely no connection between this sword and the masters of the original Ichimonji School as detailed to some extent in the wiki article.

Thanks Bob! Your experience and knowledge shows WHY it is necessary to know more about the subject than mere kanji.

Whenever I translate a name, etc., I hope it is with the understanding that I'm merely translating and not authenticating. Hmmmmm .... maybe I should make a disclaimer part of my signature?

--Guy

[Bob Coleman]

Thanks Bob! Your experience and knowledge shows WHY it is necessary to know more about the subject than mere kanji.

Whenever I translate a name, etc., I hope it is with the understanding that I'm merely translating and not authenticating. Hmmmmm .... maybe I should make a disclaimer part of my signature?

--Guy

Guy-
I once looked at a military sword that was a war time gendaito that had a Showa date of 1940. I made the owner a reasonable offer to where the owner rebuffed me saying "that is not much for a sword that is seven hundred years old." At one time he had taken the sword to a professor at Northwestern University who read the kanji and evidently had a reference that listed Japanese eras phonetically. There was a Showa era that began in 1312-1317. However, both kanji were different from the 20th century Showa. There was no sense arguing with the chap as he certainly believed the professor over me, a mere mortal. As you know, kanji can be very confusing and partial information can steer one in the wrong direction. Your ability to read kanji outside sword mei to me is remarkable. You provide a great service to the membership which is much admired.

[dixiedrummer]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll make sure to pass on the information to him.