Hi Rick,
You have a pretty sharp eye there Rick! There are indeed distinct connections between the Ainu and the Indians of the Pacific Northwest, and the overall anthropological complexities get pretty fascinating. A good book concerning pertinant material is "The Shamans Coat" but dont recall other details at the moment.
I had not heard of the 1930's novel you mentioned but sounds really interesting. It seems you and I have the same interests in lots of these old adventure books....what got me going on the Khevsurs was Richard Halliburton's "Seven League Boots".
Fearn, your question is not in the least bit pertinant, and its good to hear from you. Actually, in my own way, I was asking the same questions and was hoping someone better informed on these weapons than I, might address these issues. I tried to find anything that might directly suggest the blade had been decorated by the Ainu, but as I noted, found nothing that would with any certainty indicate it was.
What I found even more amazing than the suggestion this is a 15th century Japanese blade, and even more esoteric, an Ainu weapon, was that the highest bid was so low. I tend to read these descriptions warily, and despite authorative comments, felt uncertainty.
These weapons of the Ainu come up so incredibly infrequently that it would be difficult to guage the sellers claim against other known examples.
The last Ainu sword I saw posted on the forums was posted by Therion Arms in January of 2001. It was first mistaken for a Korean sword, but was correctly identified as Ainu in subsequent comments. There was one other sold by Seven Stars about two or three years ago.
As noted, not only is this scabbard not flat, nor carved, it is rounded as for typical Japanese Wakizashi saya. It cannot be disputed that this is a Japanese blade, and the carved repeated designs on the blade, along with the groove, may well be 'horimono' (carvings) that were applied as good luck charms in often stylized designs.
Unless the design can be directly associated to either a known Japanese or Ainu design or fugure, and without a distinctive Ainu scabbard or hilt, there is nothing to say this sword is Ainu. My comments should have been more direct and expressed that.
I am hoping for some insight into the significance of these markings, and wish the seller might have added more on how the Ainu attribution was determined.
All very best regards,
Jim
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