Hizen Kanemoto Star Stamped Gendai Katana in Type 3 Koshirae
Jun 11, 2022 21:17:49 GMT
Post by Drunk Merchant on Jun 11, 2022 21:17:49 GMT
So as promised here is the second of the two swords I'm listing to raise money for the Soshu
An August 1944 Gendai Katana by Hizen Kanemoto of the elite Rikugun Jumei Tosho program, its clad in very rare excellent condition prototype version Type 3 Koshirae
3000$2800$ +Shipping (Zelle) or 3200$3000$+ Shipping (Paypal) Also selling for 3600$ on fleabay lol the 15% rip-off tier fees they charge me mean I can't do better there, like always, lowest fees = cheapest 2500$ Zelle/paypalFF 2800 PayPal
Rolling out the vital stats lol:
Blade Length: 65.6cm (26 1/4") Total Length: 99cm (39") Sakihaba: 2.1cm Motohaba: 3cm. Provenance: WW2 Bringback Sold by Bonhams (ID 26792/lot/33/) Signature Translation: “Hizen No Kuni Kanemoto”; “August, Showa 19”
So this is pretty much a twofer, having cool stuff that militaria and nihonto collectors could want: firstly the blade belongs to the Hizen Tradition having the distinctive Konuka hada (very tight mokume with nie) and nie suguha and robust shape Hizento are famous for. Many top dealers will straight up say Hizen is one of the finest post 1590 smithing traditions to grace this earth. www.nihonto.com/459-2/
I'm inclined to agree: this sword was battlefield salvage and has some minute nicks on the monouchi having been smacked a lot, and despite that showed no structural damage or damage to the edge. It like other Hizen are tough workhorses with a very distinctive look and reputation for durability. While cosmopolitan edo smiths were chasing trends and the latest look and declining in functionality, Hizen was doing it's thing and using a koto Yamashiro derived style that served them well, this made them one of the prime sources of Wazamono during the edo period.
The particular smith is Hizen Kanemoto aka Motomura Kensaku who by 1924 completed an apprenticeship under the Mutō Hisahiro Hizen style. Despite competing against other top smiths his works were awarded cutting prizes at the 1941 Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai, seems to have disappeared after the war.
Note the Star? That's the mark RJT swords used. Imperial Japan was disappointed with the performance of oil showato, and they also had terrible sword shortage, so they started crash programs to produce as many first class swords as possible. Mantetsu (basically futuristic Nihonto) came from that drive and are worth their own thread, RJT swords on the other hand employed the best smiths of their generation, had their swords pass torture tests, and then gave them the "privilege" of producing as many swords as they could and doing it at cost (the military did give them their finest Tamahagane but honestly seems a raw deal). All star swords are gendai and use tamahagane (per regulation), they also had to pass harsh standards www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/rikugun-jumei-tosho-rjt-star-stamped-blades-documentation-789067-4/ www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5678-rikugun-jumei-tosho-manufacturing-specifications/
Honestly a pretty brave attempt to mass produce as many top traditional swords as they could but despite exhausting their smiths they never got as much as they hoped for. Still, a very brave attempt and an interesting view of a culture that loved it's swords hoping to raise spirits by kitting their new officers with swords they could be proud of.
Sword has some rust stains but it's totally superficial and if you run your fingers over it you'll notice no depth. Honestly in quite good condition for a bring back. The guy who caught this wasn't a buba.
What about those weird cheap looking fittings? That's Contingency Use "Type 3" Gunto Koshirae, and they're actually pretty well made and have a reputation for being rugged and containing superior blades www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/high-quality-type-3-guntos-670053/
So to understand the shingunto koshirae used in the run up to the war was Type 94 and then Type 98, very frilly gilt brass fittings with silk, they were meant to evoke court Tachi. Some had ancestral blades but the solid majority were inferior quality showato. Type 98 had lots of looks but they had problems: chiefly the brass was needed for the war effort and the silk ito was very time consuming, very. The whole thing was expensive and hard to fix. A bit like Tachi koshirae. So just like how Japan did away with tachi koshirae for easier to carry and much easier to repair uchigatana koshirae made of cheap and tough leather and iron Imperial Japan came up with contingency fittings that were easy and quick to make and spared brass using iron, these are called "Type 3" by collectors for some reason. Type 3 thanks to their make are tougher than Type 98, and because Japan was carrying out programs to produce high end warblades by that time they tend to have better blades than 98s.
This one in particular is prototype "Type 3" early Type 3 have design variations and still got pressed into war. Dawson catalogues the development of the Type 3 in his book and lists this particular one as one of the Prototypes. Since Type 3 became standardized prototypes are extremely rare, and most are unfortunately busted. This one isn't just rare Prototype Type 3, it's in excellent condition, saya, ashi, all fine, even the lock (busted on most) still works on this! As Dawson notes, most functioning Type 3 are in personal collections/museums so not a stretch to say rare late war fittings are the bragging point of this sale.
FAQ on next post but suffice to say this one does both awesome blades and cool fittings, part of the last ditch effort Japan made to rally right as the war turned decisively against them
Rolling out the vital stats lol:
Blade Length: 65.6cm (26 1/4") Total Length: 99cm (39") Sakihaba: 2.1cm Motohaba: 3cm. Provenance: WW2 Bringback Sold by Bonhams (ID 26792/lot/33/) Signature Translation: “Hizen No Kuni Kanemoto”; “August, Showa 19”
So this is pretty much a twofer, having cool stuff that militaria and nihonto collectors could want: firstly the blade belongs to the Hizen Tradition having the distinctive Konuka hada (very tight mokume with nie) and nie suguha and robust shape Hizento are famous for. Many top dealers will straight up say Hizen is one of the finest post 1590 smithing traditions to grace this earth. www.nihonto.com/459-2/
I'm inclined to agree: this sword was battlefield salvage and has some minute nicks on the monouchi having been smacked a lot, and despite that showed no structural damage or damage to the edge. It like other Hizen are tough workhorses with a very distinctive look and reputation for durability. While cosmopolitan edo smiths were chasing trends and the latest look and declining in functionality, Hizen was doing it's thing and using a koto Yamashiro derived style that served them well, this made them one of the prime sources of Wazamono during the edo period.
The particular smith is Hizen Kanemoto aka Motomura Kensaku who by 1924 completed an apprenticeship under the Mutō Hisahiro Hizen style. Despite competing against other top smiths his works were awarded cutting prizes at the 1941 Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai, seems to have disappeared after the war.
Note the Star? That's the mark RJT swords used. Imperial Japan was disappointed with the performance of oil showato, and they also had terrible sword shortage, so they started crash programs to produce as many first class swords as possible. Mantetsu (basically futuristic Nihonto) came from that drive and are worth their own thread, RJT swords on the other hand employed the best smiths of their generation, had their swords pass torture tests, and then gave them the "privilege" of producing as many swords as they could and doing it at cost (the military did give them their finest Tamahagane but honestly seems a raw deal). All star swords are gendai and use tamahagane (per regulation), they also had to pass harsh standards www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/rikugun-jumei-tosho-rjt-star-stamped-blades-documentation-789067-4/ www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5678-rikugun-jumei-tosho-manufacturing-specifications/
Honestly a pretty brave attempt to mass produce as many top traditional swords as they could but despite exhausting their smiths they never got as much as they hoped for. Still, a very brave attempt and an interesting view of a culture that loved it's swords hoping to raise spirits by kitting their new officers with swords they could be proud of.
Sword has some rust stains but it's totally superficial and if you run your fingers over it you'll notice no depth. Honestly in quite good condition for a bring back. The guy who caught this wasn't a buba.
What about those weird cheap looking fittings? That's Contingency Use "Type 3" Gunto Koshirae, and they're actually pretty well made and have a reputation for being rugged and containing superior blades www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/high-quality-type-3-guntos-670053/
So to understand the shingunto koshirae used in the run up to the war was Type 94 and then Type 98, very frilly gilt brass fittings with silk, they were meant to evoke court Tachi. Some had ancestral blades but the solid majority were inferior quality showato. Type 98 had lots of looks but they had problems: chiefly the brass was needed for the war effort and the silk ito was very time consuming, very. The whole thing was expensive and hard to fix. A bit like Tachi koshirae. So just like how Japan did away with tachi koshirae for easier to carry and much easier to repair uchigatana koshirae made of cheap and tough leather and iron Imperial Japan came up with contingency fittings that were easy and quick to make and spared brass using iron, these are called "Type 3" by collectors for some reason. Type 3 thanks to their make are tougher than Type 98, and because Japan was carrying out programs to produce high end warblades by that time they tend to have better blades than 98s.
This one in particular is prototype "Type 3" early Type 3 have design variations and still got pressed into war. Dawson catalogues the development of the Type 3 in his book and lists this particular one as one of the Prototypes. Since Type 3 became standardized prototypes are extremely rare, and most are unfortunately busted. This one isn't just rare Prototype Type 3, it's in excellent condition, saya, ashi, all fine, even the lock (busted on most) still works on this! As Dawson notes, most functioning Type 3 are in personal collections/museums so not a stretch to say rare late war fittings are the bragging point of this sale.
FAQ on next post but suffice to say this one does both awesome blades and cool fittings, part of the last ditch effort Japan made to rally right as the war turned decisively against them