tanto for comment

[jonng]

Hi All,

Appreciate if anyone can give more info on this tanto. It's mine, so feel free to comment. Supposedly first collected in Malaya during WWII.
Thanks!

[Jason Anstey]

Hi Jonng

It's an interesting piece worth a closer look.

Are you able to nock out the bamboo peg (meguki) and take a photo of the nakago (tang)

A photo of the mune (spine) of the blade will help and a photo of the horimono (engraving)

My initial thoughs are that it could be a kamakazi tanto, but it might be better than that.

Cheers

Jason

PS. Please forgive me for putting the Japanese terms if you already are familiar with the nomenclature.

[David]

Originally Posted by Jason Anstey

Please forgive me for putting the Japanese terms if you already are familiar with the nomenclature.

Hi Jason. It is always a good idea to define your terms. Jonng might be familiar with them, but i'm not and i am sure their are many others out there who would also be otherwise in the dark.

[Rich]

Very nice tanto, not a kamikaze dirk. Much earlier than WW II. Handforged
and folded blade. Nice monkey theme fuchi/kashira and menuki. A very
nice same'-nuri saya (sheath covered with polished rayskin). If you can
remove the bamboo peg (they are tapered, so only come out one way),
the entire handle will slide off the tang. If there is any writing (Kanji)
on the tang, please post picture. DO NOT CLEAN THE TANG or Blade.
I suspect this is at least mid Edo period, but that is a guess without
seeing the tang.

Rich

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

[Jason Anstey]

Originally Posted by Rich

Very nice tanto, not a kamikaze dirk. Much earlier than WW II. Handforged
and folded blade. Nice monkey theme fuchi/kashira and menuki. A very
nice same'-nuri saya (sheath covered with polished rayskin). If you can
remove the bamboo peg (they are tapered, so only come out one way),
the entire handle will slide off the tang. If there is any writing (Kanji)
on the tang, please post picture. DO NOT CLEAN THE TANG or Blade.
I suspect this is at least mid Edo period, but that is a guess without
seeing the tang.

Rich

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

Boy am I glad that I covered myself by saying that It might be much better than a kamakaze blade?

Jonng, can you also take a pic of the other side of the saya (scabbard) so we can see if there is a slot for a kozuka (utility knife) as the tsuba is shaped to fit around such a handle.

cheers

jason

[jonng]

Thank you guys for your help. Managed to knock out the wooden peg. Nothing but rust on the tang. Pics attached.

jonathan

[Ruud B]

Could you please make a picture of the tang? so we can see the shape.
all detail is important to find out more.

[Rich]

Still need a clear pic of tang. The type and color of the rust is important
in dating the tanto even tho it is not signed.

The tsuba is not original to the piece as it is cut out for kozuka and kogai
but the saya has no slots for them. Not unusual. A lot of tsuba switching
went on even back in Edo times.

Rich

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

[Jason Anstey]

Hi Jonathan

Sometimes a non-signed tang may not be such a bad thing as many tanto were not signed, however I will stand to be corrected as you are very lucky to have Dr Rich making comments on your piece.

Often a signature (mei) is added later to add value (gimme = fake signature)

My thoughts were that is it a composite piece but again this is not unusual or reason for concern,

I am also interested in the shape of the tang, is there only one hole?

In addition can you take a photo of the pommel (kashira) so we can see if it matches. To me it looks like buffalo horn but I might be mistaken.

A full matching set of the Fuchi gashira and Menuki (handle ornaments) in this monkey theme is certainly desirable (woops sounds like the bloody antique road show!! )

I have a feeliing that the tsuka (handle has been rewrapped) due to the unevenness of the seam.

Can you aslo take a shot of the kojiri (sp?) (the fitting at the end of the scabbard)

look forward to discovering more

Thanks for sharing

Jason

[jonng]

Hole in tang looked to have been widened.

[Rich]

The color of the rust (reddish brown - assuming the photo is true
color) would make me think Shinshinto Period approx 1780-1870 ballpark
date. Nice tanto, take good care of it.

BTW, Jason is likely correct in that the mounts are possibly a mixed,
remounted set. This was not uncommon during Shinshinto period.
There were two periods of major production of tanto; the Koto (pre 1600)
and the Shinshinto. Shinshinto was a sort of "revivalist" period for the
Japanese sword. Not uncommon for smiths to "reuse" older mounts with
new blades they made. IMHO it doesn't detract from the tanto, just part
of its history.

Rich

[jonng]

Thank you guys for your input. This was supposedly given to a guy who worked as a local scout by the British officers when they were clearing the area (Malaysia) immediately after the Japanese surrender. Were Japanese soldiers allowed to carry non military issued tantos?
Appreciate if you can help estimate the age of the other parts as well as I know no one here in Singapore who has any knowledgeable experience with tantos.

jonathan

[Rich]

I would guess that the metal mounts are Edo period. Hard to tell for sure,
but certainly not WW II period. Don't know about soldiers carrying non-
regulation tanto although they certainly carried non-regulation swords -
commonly ancestral blades remounted into gunto or partial gunto (military)
mounts.

Rich