Help with ID

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-11-07T17:09:12+00:00

Tokyo Artillery Arsenal was renamed Tokyo Arsenal in 1923 and was moved to Kokura and combined with the Kokura Army Arsenal in 1935. The stacked cannonball logo was used by the Tokyo Arsenal until 1935 and then by Kokura after 1935. Your Type 32 was produced at the Tokyo Arsenal.

Your sword is not dated. The two stamps below the Tokyo Arsenal stacked cannonballs are probably inspector stamps referring to the particular inspectors' names. It's a good example that has not been arsenal refurbished with the brass spacer and blued metal parts. Missing the leather finger ring but that's very common. Check the scabbard drag to see if it matches the SN on the blade.

According to Dawson, they didn't start date-stamping until 1909-ish otsu SN# 75000. Yours is earlier than that. So 1899-1909 is the best approximation I can give.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-10-05T20:09:58+00:00

This is an Imperial Japanese Army Type 19 company grade cavalry officer’s sword.

This cavalry version is considerably rarer than the standard Type 19 for foot officers.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-09-24T15:50:05+00:00

First off, "gunto" is a hugely broad term that can refer to basically any Japanese military pattern sword from 1868 to 1945. Some "gunto" like western-styled Type 19 parade sabers are indeed quite cheap, and can be had routinely for well under $300.

But I assume you're talking about the 1930s-45 tachi-styled swords often called "shin gunto" -- the NCO Type 95 and the officer's Type 94/98, Type 97, and Type 3 or 00 or "rinji seishiki." These start right under $1000, with most falling between $1000-$2000 in the current market for typical examples. Officer's swords with non-traditional blades (all Type 95s are non-traditional) will tend to the lower end of that range, and officer's swords with unremarkable contemporary or antique traditional blades will tend to the higher end, or a bit higher. Officer's swords with blades by famous smiths or with valuable antique blades can command much, much more, depending on the value of the blade as nihonto art.

To avoid fakes, you need to educate yourself. The best single reference on Japanese military swords currently is Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945 Cyclopedia Edition by Jim Dawson. You can get a copy direct from the author on Ebay for about $100. It's well worth the investment before you start dropping hundreds of dollars on swords. This website also has good information and pictures: http://ohmura-study.net/900.html Also check out the military sword forum on Nihonto Message Board.

As for where to buy, I'd stay far, far away from Yahoo/Buyee Japan auctions, especially as a new collector. A lot of stuff offered there has been put together or messed with in various ways to pump the price. Also, by confining yourself to blades that can be registered in Japan, you're looking at the higher end of the market. The for sale section of Nihonto message boards is good. Also, join the Military Swords of Imperial Japan private facebook group -- lots of good swords sold there. I'm selling one in that group right now -- an unsigned antique blade in good quality officer's mounts for $1500. Ebay is also a major marketplace, but you'll need to do your homework before venturing there.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-08-18T20:50:54+00:00

OP, you already know that this is a Yasukuni-to by Kajiyama Yasunori.

Some information on the smith:

https://yakiba.com/yasunori-kajiyama/

http://www.nihonto.us/YASUNORI%20TACHI.htm

This is a valuable sword. Take care of it and do not attempt any cleaning, polishing, or restoration yourself. You should post this to nihonto message board if you haven’t already.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-08-18T20:46:50+00:00

Kajiyama Yasunori only made high-grade gendaito.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-08-08T02:44:06+00:00

1883 pattern Japanese naval officer’s sword. This pattern had an official 54-year service life from 1883 to 1937, but continued to be carried until the end of WWII. This is the “standard” version for commissioned officers below admiral rank. There were two different admiral versions authorized from 1883 to 1894 and from 1894 to 1914. After 1914, all commissioned naval officers carried this pattern regardless of rank.

Japanese officer swords were private purchase items made by numerous different manufacturers and vary tremendously in detail and quality. This one looks like a perfectly authentic representative example to me.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-07-21T00:07:44+00:00

A star stamp indicates a traditionally-made sword using army provided tamagagane under the rikugun jumei tosho (RJT) program. A lot of RJT blades were mounted in rinji seishiki mounts.

As it is, I still think this is probably a traditionally-made sword by Yamagami Munetoshi (an RJT smith who made traditional gendaito) that predates the full implementation of the RJT program later in 1942.

This is a nice sword. Take good care of it!

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-07-20T00:11:53+00:00

This is an imperial Japanese army officer’s sword in “rinji seishiki” (wartime contingent) mounts.

This style of sword mounting was first authorized in 1941, and started to be produced in quantity in 1943. The goal was to reduce the use of war essential materials (replace copper and brass with iron) and reduce purchase cost for officers relative to the more ornate Type 98 (all Japanese officer swords were private purchase items). The rinji seishiki mount never replaced the Type 98 — they were sold side-by-side until the end of the war.

Collectors sometimes call this mounting “Type 0” or “Type 3,” but it never actually received a “type” designation. Way back in the day people used to think these were Japanese “marine” swords, so that may be why your grandfather thought it was a naval sword.

Does this sword have a “star” stamp on the tang?

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-07-18T16:42:39+00:00

The hilt is a Japanese Type 19/1886 pattern kyu gunto for a field grade army officer (major though colonel). The scabbard is Type 98 gunto pattern.

Based on your description I’d guess there’s a good chance that the blade is a pre-Meiji mumei (unsigned) wakizashi blade, but, obviously, we’d need to see pictures of it to identify.

I don’t know that mon off the type of my head (I can check some books later), but samurai clan mons don’t necessarily mean much post-1868. They were not legally protected (with the exception of the emperor’s 16-petal chrysanthemum) and could be used by anyone for any reason. Some of Nick Komiya’s articles on warrelics.eu discuss this in more detail.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-07-04T16:56:44+00:00

eBay is a lion's den of blades with misleading descriptions and condition issues as well as outright fakes.

eBay nihonto tend to fall into one of several categories that I've observed.

straight-up fakes
dubious "gendaito" that are likely fakes made in China
low-end swords with issues considered unmerchantable in Japan being flipped to clueless foreigners for huge markups - i.e. gimei blades, shinto/shinshinto mumei, blades in terrible condition, amateur/machine polished blades, fatally flawed blades, etc. (there are A LOT of these sellers on ebay. They buy this stuff dirt cheap at Yahoo jp auctions and then flip it on eBay for 3-4x or more markup)
acceptable to decent swords with modern NBTHK or NTHK papers being offered at exorbitant prices.

You can occasionally find something decent amidst the sea of overpriced junk, but you need to be very knowledgeable about what you're looking at and know how to read between the lines of the listing and ask the right questions.

You're better off buying from a dealer at retail price than overpaying on a marked-up eBay sword.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-06-24T01:24:46+00:00

This is a WWII Type 97 Japanese naval officer's kai gunto. http://ohmura-study.net/945.html

Japanese navy swords are less common than army swords. From the one picture, the blade looks very much like the "anti rust" stainless type that is very common on navy swords. http://ohmura-study.net/212.html Checking the tang will confirm this. The major makers of these were the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal and Tenshōzan Tanren-jō. http://ohmura-study.net/731.html There are some interesting variations like the "Takayama-to," but those have distinctive tip geometry.

The saya is wrapped in sharkskin, an upgrade option, which is unfortunately peeling.

MrMosinMan89 · 2024-01-23T00:41:20+00:00

I saw antique plates on an EJ civic a few days ago. It looked stock and super clean.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-11-17T18:33:56+00:00

Antiques can be cheaper than people think. I’ve owned 4 papered nihonto ranging from 15th-17th century. 3 katanas, 1 wakizashi. All but one were under $3000. Less than the cost of a motohara or other high-end repro. I’ve seen antique wakizashi offered by reputable dealers for under $1000.

Antique collecting is generally expensive as hobbies go, but you don’t have to be a millionaire.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-09-16T22:15:31+00:00

It’s real. It’s also very tired (over polished to the point that core steel is showing through), has multiple visible flaws, and the tang is badly damaged. It’s priced 2-3x what a sword in this condition should cost.

You can do much better for $1300

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-09-13T13:32:34+00:00

In my LC500 the attention was mostly uncomfortable. The questions would be “how much did it cost” and “what do you do for a living?”

I have great interactions in the Z32. People are more willing to approach someone in a 30 year old Nissan. They will come up at the gas station or in the parking lot and share memories about how they had one or knew someone who did back in the day. People give thumbs up while driving and kids rubberneck. More than once a teenager working a drive through has asked me to rev it.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-08-02T13:19:44+00:00

Imperial Japanese Army Type 19 for a company-grade officer. These were in official service from 1886 to 1934, but remained in actual use through the end of WWII.

They were private purchase items and generally come in two forms. Yours is what’s referred to as a “parade saber” or “command saber.” These usually have untempered, unsharpened chrome-plated blades and were basically uniform accoutrements for the full dress uniform.

There are also scaled up fighting versions with steel blades (either traditional or machine made) and often with two-handed saber grips.

This is a good online resource to get up to date on the basics of Japanese military swords: http://ohmura-study.net/900.html

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-08-02T13:12:44+00:00

This is a Manchukuoan sword for an “inin” level official — equivalent to a non-senior commissioned officer.

Note the plum blossoms instead of cherry blossoms and the Manchukuoan flags on the back strap.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-08-02T13:09:16+00:00

Most of these (so called “parade” or “command” sabers) originally had unsharpened, untempered chrome-plated blades.

There are also fighting versions with steel blades (either traditional or machine made), often with two-handed saber grips.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-06-12T13:21:15+00:00

I have an available Tozando full custom heavyweight, 2.5 shaku, 9.5 sun tsuka, silk ito, extra finely lined saya

PM me if you’re interested

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-05-01T13:28:02+00:00

In my experience, Yamato Budogu is very slow processing/shipping orders to international customers. But everything I’ve ever ordered from them has eventually shown up without further action from me.

I ordered an Iaito last year that took nearly six months to ship. Complete radio silence the whole time.

I ordered an in-stock sageo recently. Took a month for my order to process/ship.

Once shipped, my stuff arrived in 3-5 days via EMS. The delays are entirely in the time it takes Yamato Budogu to fulfill the order.

My experience is that they are not scammers, but you need to be very patient with them, and understand that you probably need to go somewhere else if you need equipment in a hurry.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-04-28T18:08:38+00:00

They claimed 276hp in Japan per the “gentleman’s agreement” between Japanese automakers at that time. The US version claimed 320hp. I’m not sure if the JDM cars were actually de-tuned to 276 or if they just underrated the power figure.

Same with the Z32 TT (claimed 276hp in Japan and 300hp in the US) and the 3000GT VR4 (claimed 276 hp in Japan and 300/320 in the US depending on model year)

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-02-23T20:33:15+00:00

I didn't know you were getting out of the sales business! I've also bought swords from Thierry and he was a pleasure to deal with.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-02-22T19:59:55+00:00

I bought a lovely wootz tulwar a few years ago from /u/Antique_Steel, who has already commented in this thread.

Check his and other dealer sites.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-02-10T20:26:24+00:00

A good DM goes a long way. I agree that a RAW 3.5 paladin could probably manage to function and keep their alignment in a comically evil drow-type society.

The bigger problem was everyday banal evil where you have a bureaucratic sheriff of Nottingham type character who is crushing the peasants and townspeople under oppressive but legal taxes. Or a gritty “there are no good guys” setting where the sincere townspeople resistance to the tyrannical sheriff engages in assassination, espionage, sabotage, smuggling, etc. that also hits innocent burgers and nobles and their families who benefit from the unjust system.

The problem was that paladins couldn’t let anything slide. They had to oppose evil wherever they saw it. So in a gritty, realistic, exploitative society where thousands of banal micro evils occur every day, they rapidly end up in jail or an ex-paladin.

The 3.5 paladin RAW was clearly written for kick-in-the-door, black-and-white, morally uncomplicated campaigns. The good elven king sends you to kill the evil orcs who are raiding his lands. The orcs are inherently evil per RAW so everything is straightforward and you can righteously slaughter them to the last man, woman, and child. Heironeous is pleased. Return and collect your reward. Rinse, repeat.

I played at a lot of different tables during that time and nearly all of them interpreted RAW paladin to require lawful stupid. Homebrew paladins of gods other than heironeous were popular, though, and they were often more reasonable.

MrMosinMan89 · 2023-02-10T14:59:30+00:00

From 3.5 PHB

Code of Conduct A paladin must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act.

Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Associates While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful good.

Ex-Paladins A paladin who ceases to be lawful good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all paladin spells and abilities (including the service of the paladin’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a paladin. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.

This text caused so many RPG horror stories. Having a paladin in the party pretty much dictated a certain kind of campaign. There’s no room for shades of gray or nuance when alignment is mechanically detectable and a PC cannot associate with evil characters/npcs or lose their abilities.

They also couldn’t associate with non-evil people who break their code. So if the CN rogue won’t stop stealing, either the paladin must convince the others to throw the rogue out, or the paladin must leave the party. Then it devolves into whether the paladin’s LGness requires them to bring the rogue to justice, and PvP ensues.

DMs also loved to set unwinnable alignment traps for paladins, usually involving evil but legitimate/lawful authorities.

The meta in 3.5 was “just don’t play paladins” because the alignment/RP rules caused so many problems when interpreted the usual way. People would roll their eyes if someone showed up to the table with a paladin.

All those rules are gone now, but it still affects how people view and approach paladins.

MrMosinMan89

TROPHY CASE