WWII Japanese sword w/questions

busselover said:
Takayama To Masahiro kore saku

Made by Masahiro (at) the Takayama Sword (factory)

Not a traditionally made nihon-to. Western steel and oil quenched.....Naval Officer's mounts.....
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Thanks for that info, that led me on a lengthy search through Japanese WWII sword history. Got to see lots of Japanese swords, all really sweet! Here is a few tidbits;

nihon-to - Japanese sword

From Nihonto Message Board (www.militaria.co.za)
It was Ishihara Masanao who made blades with thick kissaki that I referred
to. He and Hattori Masahiro opened a forge at the Takayama prison in Hida
province and used prisoners as students and for polishing in a manner similar
to the system set up by Chounsai Emura (Nagamitsu) in Okayama prison. At
times Takayama blades featured the prisoner-polisher's name in the mei.

The United States Strategic Bombing Survey of January 1947 lists "prisoners
in prison workshops engaged in swordsmithing" as;
240 in 1942,
290 in 1943,
303 in 1944, and
380 in 1945; but no figures are given for blade production.


Showa - WWII era (The Showa era (1926 to now) is considered to be a part of the modern sword period. It is during this time that WWII occurs ...)

Oshigata - rubbing of the signature on the nakago

nakago - tang

Nihanto - blade


Toyokawa Naval Arsenal stamp

HATTORI MASAHIRO & made in Takayama prison in Hida province
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Gunto (Army and navy swords) and their mountings

Kyu-gunto (proto-army sword) mountings: The scabbard was chrome plated. The handle was wrapped with shark or giant-ray skin and bound with gold-colored wire. There was a strip of metal starting at the base to the top of the hilt.


The most recent reference to MASAHIRO swords are the 'Hattori Hanzo Swords', Kill Bill swords, made in China. How weird is that?
 
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"The most recent reference to MASAHIRO swords are the 'Hattori Hanzo Swords', Kill Bill swords, made in China. How weird is that?"

It would be very weird but actually there is no connection or reference....there were many smiths who used the smith name Masahiro....The smith's name in Kill Bill was a pure fiction....
 
That's what I figured. The swords offered by this 'Masahiro' were mostly 'wall hanger' junk.

By 'not traditionally made' do you mean that it was machine made? Some interesting references were found for a 'Takayama stainless' steel, would that be the 'western steel'?
 
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A member of the Japanese Sword Forum led me to this info. Translation by Google.

What the two websites agree on is that Takayama-tou is a WWII sword created specifically to be made of stainless steel (18% chromium, etc.) for use by Imperial Navy officers, specifically to fight saltwater corrosion. The name does not come from some forge but the name of its inventor, (could be his full name or just means "Master Takayama"?) and the other (Takayama Masayoshi/Masakichi etc.).

The swords were made chiefly in Seki, Gifu Prefecture (known as the center of swordmaking) and either refined at Seki or sent to refinery at Naval Machine Works in Toyokawa (Aichi Prefecture) or in Kamakura (Kanagawa Prefecture). In Seki, the swords were simply made into basic blade form by machinery. The name engraved into the sword is very possibly the name of the final polisher. There is no mention of "prisoners" being employed for refining, only "polishers" who were drafted into the armed forces to cater to military needs.

The quality of the Takayama-tou varied widely. This sword was also used by some Imperial Army officers.


Stainless steel blade.
A navy has much use of a stainless steel blade. The blade had the necessity for the measure against damage from salt water in a sea service. A stainless steel blade is a product made from a machine of an one-piece no forging. These blades were made from Toyokawa Naval Arsenal or Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop. Situation: There was the first - sixth charge part in the Seki Cutlery Industrial Guild those days. The sword making of the stainless steel sword was almost carried out by the swordsmith of Seki. Each swordsmith inscribed the Mei on sword-tang of the no forging, and supplied it to Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop in the state of the rude polish. The navy technical official of Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop stamped the inspection mark on the acceptable product. And the commandeered polisher gave the last polish of those blades.
It is surmised that Toyokawa Naval Arsenal was also in the same situation.

Stainless steel sword master Yoshi Masa Takayama, who invented the method of instruction at the naval combat swords "high panga"

It was also considered Toyokawa navy arsenal.

A stainless steel blade is a product made from a machine of an one-piece no forging. These blades were made from Toyokawa Naval Arsenal or Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop.

The sword making of the stainless steel sword was almost carried out by the swordsmith of Seki. Each swordsmith inscribed the Mei on sword-tang of the no forging, and supplied it to Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop in the state of the rude polish. The navy technical official of Navy Kamakura Tenshozan Workshop stamped the inspection mark on the acceptable product. And the commandeered polisher gave the last polish of those blades.
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