SWORD COLLECTORS - Please help Identify!

Z

zinje

Joined
Oct 2, 2002
Messages
17
Hi All!

I have a friend who has a sword from WWII era but has chinese characters not Japanese on the guard. It is said to be very old....several hundred years maby... Japanese Embassy people from New Orleands want him to donate it back they say it is National Treasure.

THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD FOR 56K MODEMS as it will contain huge graphic files.

http://www.cutleryxpress.com/antique/sword.htm

Any information at all would be greatly appreciated.
WORTH?
HISTORY?
KIND OF SWORD?

Thanks!

Zinje
 
That's a japanese sword. The character would be japanese, Kanji. If the Japanese Embassy said so, it would be an interesting sword. Worth spending some $$ to polish the blade. I can't see the character on the tang.

The mounting is a military mounting that was used during WW2.

I can't figure out the age of the blade since the picture is not too clear.

Seems to be handmade as opposed to machine made Gunto sword.

What I can say for sure is that the blade seems older than the mounting.
 
It is very interesting that the Japanese embassy people feel that this sword is one of the "National Treasure" swords. They have access to experts on Japanese swords so your friend is very fortunate if they feel that way. Your friend should also have the sword appraised by his own expert.

The Japanese government's Cultural Agency regards certain swords as priceless "National Treasures". I read that there are about 110 such swords and 70 percent of them are from the Kamakura period (1180-1333). A dozen or two of these swords were brought to the U.S. as war trophies after WWII and the Japanese government would like to have them returned. Was this sword obtained as a war trophy?

Seems like it could be possible that your friend has a very valuable sword and he should have it examined in person by a bona fide expert. Keep us informed of any future developments.
 
I was hesitant to answer in regard to this post, because of my uncertainty in the matter. I admit to knowing relatively little about wartime swords, but this looked a bit off. So, I went and asked around a little bit to find out if this was a type of military sword that I haven't seen, or if it was something else.

One of the responses I received was from Harry "Afu" Watson, whose opinion I value rather highly. He wrote:
Robert,
This looks like what Mark Walberg lovingly referred to in his auctions at
the shows as a jeep spring. Could have been made in China during the war by
a Japanese or a Chinese out of whatever was handy, and not necessarily a
recent fake. Also, as you know, that is not a gunto tsuba.
Click to expand...
This explanation covered pretty much all of my questions. Do not consider it the absolute final word in the matter, but this does seem to be the most likely.
 
I will tell you what my friend knows about the sword....He
personally got it in Japan during the Korean War. The guy who
gave it to him owed him some money and gave the sword as payment.

He told my friend that he took it off of a Japanese Colonel who
was being put in prison at end of world war two.

My friend let a couple of Japanese guys who worked with him
take the sword and have the handle removed and a translation
made. They gave him a typed piece of paper that said the sword
was 350 years old and was made in a village at the foot of Mount
Fugi that no longer existed. My friend lost the paper. This was
fifty years ago.

Sometime later the Japanese Consolate in New Orleans contacted
him and told him he had a Japanese National
Treasure and he should return it. Of course my friend ignored
their request...he did not know how they found out he had the
sword unless the guy who took it apart told someone.

My friend has had the sword several years without checking on
anything but recently got it out and had another guy take it
apart and I took the photos of it at that time. Someone at a
Chinese resturant locally wrote their version of
the writing on the guard and that is in the photo attached.

He doesn't understand why a sword with Chinese writing that his
Japanese contacts can't read is supposed to be a National
Treasure for Japan. They
also told him it was much older than World War ll.

ANY COMMENTS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
 
Without official papering by an organization like the NTHK, a sword will not be designated a national treasure, and if it was, it would not be in the US. In the condition/finish it is in, it would need a lot of polishing to even be considered for shinsa (where it would be authenticated and papered). It is extremely unlikely that the story about being a national treasure is truthful, and the age is doubtful as well.

I don't like giving negative info though :(
 
I agree w/ Robert...Just doesn't sound right.

a friend of a friend of a friend...
 
Originally posted by zinje
...
He doesn't understand why a sword with Chinese writing that his
Japanese contacts can't read is supposed to be a National
Treasure for Japan. They
also told him it was much older than World War ll.
Click to expand...

First of all don't be fooled by the Chinese characters. The chinese language is thousands of years older than then any written form in the region. You will find that both the Japanese and Koreans have incorporated Chinese in their written languages.

So, his Japanese contacts CAN read the chinese writing.

Secondly, if the sword is truly suspect then it makes sense to take it to the next level. The market for antique Japanese swords is very sophisticated and the aftermarket is ridiculusly high-priced.

Given that, large auction houses and insurance companies have resources available to them to accurately appraise the sword.

Contact Sotheby's Auction house and tell them you have an antique japanese sword that needs to be authenticated and appraised. They will definitely know who to contact from that point.

Another method, which is less reliable is to contact a large insurance company and request the same authentication and appraisal for the sword to price out a policy.

Both of these methods will be free. I know Sotheby's will do it for free, but you have to drive to NY. (I don't think I would mail the sword, or check it in baggage.)

The chances of this being a 350 year old sword is slim at best, however, some people win lotteries despite the odds. Your friend may be on of them.

Just take care of the sword. Wrap it up and lock it up. Don't play with it or cut anything with it.

This is really cool if the guy actually has a national treasure. Scary too, with the possibility of ninjas coming to reclaim the blade....
:D
 
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