The May Shinsa for Japanese swords by NBTHK had 1700 available slots and was filled in less than 40 minutes.
Anyone considering sending swords to Japan for shinsa needs to be aware of the time constraints. Swords shipped to Japan must arrive prior to the end of the month in order for a licensing appointment the following month. Once licensed, the sword is eligible for shinsa registration after the month of licensing (if shinsa is offered). Shinsa submission follows in the month after shinsa registration. This means just getting a sword into Japan and submitted for licensing and shinsa is a minimum four month process or longer depending on when the shinsa is offered.
For reference, here is a link to the NBTHK (English) Website with the Shinsa Application, and below is the current Shina Schedule for 2024 & 2025:
2024
April Tokubetsu Juyo Shinsa Submission dates 4/1-4/3 on-line registration 3/1-3/25
May Kodogu Hozon/Tokubetsu H. Submission dates 5/7-5/9 on-line registration 4/1-4/25
June Swords Hozon/Tokubetsu H. Submission dates 6/3-6/5 on-line registration 5/1-5/25
Aug. Kodogu Hozon/Tokubetsu H. Submission dates 8/5-8/7 on-line registration 7/1-7/25
Sept. Swords Hozon/Tokubetsu H. Submission dates 9/2-9/4 on-line registration 8/1-8/25
This WWII Japanese Tank Corps Sword (Gunto) was taken from a captured ‘Type 95 Ha-Go’ light tank on Guam Island. It was brought to the US as a ‘war souvenir’ by Leroy Joseph Miller, and recently purchased for a client of mine at Leroy Joseph Miller’s estate sale auction (Mar 28, 2024).
Leroy Joseph Miller was born February 26, 1926, and grew up in the Beaumont, Texas area. During World War II, Leroy served in the U.S. Navy from January 1944 to January 1946, and was assigned to an amphibious operating base in the South Pacific. Leroy passed away on October 17, 2023.
About the Sword
I rewrapped the tsuka in traditional Type 98 Gunto style. The blade is in near full polish, with a few minor scratches and several small chips, but overall it is in very good condition. One of the things that caught my eye was the tag attached to the saya (see pictures below).
Sword Signature (Mei): Seki (no) ju Fukuda Sukemitsu – Made by Fukuda Sukemitsu in the town of Seki. Shin-gunto koshirae with a Suguha temperline (hamon), a blade length of 23.75”.
All the stamped part numbers on saya, seppa, tsuba, and fuchi match ("08").
Note, this sword has an unusually small tsuka (8.25") and saya (26"), similar to other Japanese Air & Tank Corps swords.
About the Smith
Fukuda Tesshinsai was born on the 10th of October 1909. He became a Seki Tosho (Sword-smith) at the town of Seki in the Mino Province of Japan on 12th Sept 1941, changed his name to Fukuda Sukemitsu, and produced both gunto and gendiato until the end of the war.
After WWII, from 1945 until he retired in 1958, he produced both traditionally made Japanese swords and high-end cutlery.
I recently replaced the leather wrap on this Shin-Shinto Tanto. Although two-thirds of the wrap was missing from the tsuka when I received it, what was there gave me a good understanding of the original color(s), texture, leather ito size, and overall finish... I'm comfortable in saying that I accurately reproduced here.
All the fittings are original, with solid silver fuchi/kashira, solid gold seppa and shitodome, and silver foil over the habaki - the only thing I replaced was the leather ito... Let me know what you think.
Over break, our friend Tom Gibbons built a door around a stained glass window for Andrea and me, in exchange I built new Koshirae (sword fittings) for one of our Japanese Shinshinto era sword blades (circa, 1820). Now we have a beautiful new door, and Tom has his first antique samurai sword - Excellent Trade!
Cutting and carving the wood for Tom G.'s sword.
The saya (scabbard) at different stages before being lacquered.
Recently, I was presented with a late Edo tsuka from a sword that had been used as an iai-to. I needed to repair the mekugi-ana, and put on a full wrap of same' to strengthen the tsuka. Interestingly, the owner requested gyakumenuki (gyaku meaning "reverse") wherein the menuki are positioned the the other way around, so that the menuki fits into the palm of the hand when held with a standard right handed grip.
On traditionally mounted swords this is rare, but among modern iai-do practioners which way the menuki are mounted is largely personal preference. Most people are used to the standard configuration, some find the menuki feels more natural and comfortable when in the palm of their hand.
Rebuilt Charles Heesh's sword - It has a totally new tsuka/same'/ito, matched and fitted period sets of seppa and shitodome, fitted the tsuba, and put 10 coats of urushi on the new saya... The sageo is still on backorder.
For this project there was a slight external delay, I took the liberty of having the menuki gilded then aged, and the menuki look pretty close to old originals now, but the jeweler took a little longer than I expected. I was having some other brass fittings plated/gilded, so I included these with that lot... no extra charge.
As requested by the client, I used old rayskin, and I happened to have an old original gunto eyelet for the kashira. Now all they need is a surate, or tassel loop. Here's a couple of quick snapshots of the prepped tsuka, and after the wrap. Sorry for the photo quality...
Ahead of their big event this weekend, this morning my wife, Andrea Buck, and I delivered this gift to our niece Aryana Buck and her fiance Evan Meyer (owners of Empire Coffee).
In addition to a nice two tiered hand carved sword stand, they received a 27 inch, mumei (unsigned), late Shinshinto (circa, 1850) Katana from the Mino Province in Japan.
Here's an interesting project, in the photos I finished the initial wrap, but I still have to make a few minor adjustments so everything is uniform and all the crossovers are consistent in shape and size.
Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think. The client only had one menuki, so I rummaged around and found one similar in color and size... Can you tell which one is the replacement menuki, and is it close enough?
Here are some photos of our tachi with the lacquered "string" saya... I purchased it in the late '80's. It is a 27.75 inches (70.5 cm) gendaito. Interestingly, we have two tachi by this smith, the nakago and mei are virtually identical, but the styles of the blades seem like they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. On this tachi I just finished rewrapping the tsuka and saya with ito that matched the orignal braid in color, weight, material (a silk cotton blend), and style... Any feedback on this blade would be more than welcome.
I was recently asked, "What colors work best with black rayskin?"
In general, it's a matter of taste, but personally I prefer greens, golds, and blues/teals. Here are three examples from our collection that kind of illustrate what I'm talking about...
If you can think of other colors that work with a black rayskin, please share.
A good friend in the sword community recently received recognition by the Japanese government for his excellent work.
Hans Koga (formerly Hans Igelström of Sweden) has been studying the restoration and preservation of Japanese swords since 2008. After moving to Japan in 2011, he studied at a Japanese sword studio in Tokyo before moving to Kumamoto Prefecture in 2015, where he learned the technique of Higo-koshirae. Today, he works as a koshirae craftsman devoted to both production and restoration.
Recently, we were given this sword... initially I believed it was simply a pre-WWII Chinese officer's sword that was made in Japan... But after some help from a friend who is a Chinese military historian, it turns out that this sword was gifted to a member of the KMT (Kou Ming Tang - Chinese Nationalist Party) by a Chinese politician named Wang Zhaoming (林文傑 - the name engraved on the first side of the blade), with wishes of "deep wisdom and profound courage " (engraved on the opposite side of the blade.
Wang Jingwei (Wang Ching-wei; 4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming (Wang Chao-ming), but widely known by his pen name "Jingwei", was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang (KMT), leading a government in Wuhan in opposition to the right-wing government in Nanjing, but later became increasingly anti-communist after his efforts to collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party ended in political failure. His political orientation veered sharply to the right later in his career after he collaborated with the Japanese.
Wang was a close associate of Sun Yat-sen for the last twenty years of Sun's life. After Sun's death in 1925 Wang engaged in a political struggle with Chiang Kai-shek for control over the Kuomintang, but lost. Wang remained inside the Kuomintang, but continued to have disagreements with Chiang until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, after which he accepted an invitation from the Japanese Empire to form a Japanese-supported collaborationist government in Nanjing. Wang served as the head of state for this Japanese puppet government until he died, shortly before the end of World War II. Although he is still regarded as an important contributor in the Xinhai Revolution, his collaboration with Imperial Japan is a subject of academic debate, and the typical narratives often regard him as a traitor in the War of Resistance.
This is a very interesting addition to our collect, if you have any further information in regards to the history of this sword, please share. See the pictures below...
A good friend in the sword community recently received recognition by the Japanese government for his excellent work. 
Recently, we were given this sword... initially I believed it was simply a pre-WWII Chinese officer's sword that was made in Japan... But after some help from a friend who is a Chinese military historian, it turns out that this sword was gifted to a member of the KMT (Kou Ming Tang - Chinese Nationalist Party) by a Chinese politician named Wang Zhaoming (林文傑 - the name engraved on the first side of the blade), with wishes of "deep wisdom and profound courage " (engraved on the opposite side of the blade.
Wang was a close associate of Sun Yat-sen for the last twenty years of Sun's life. After Sun's death in 1925 Wang engaged in a political struggle with Chiang Kai-shek for control over the Kuomintang, but lost. Wang remained inside the Kuomintang, but continued to have disagreements with Chiang until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, after which he accepted an invitation from the Japanese Empire to form a Japanese-supported collaborationist government in Nanjing. Wang served as the head of state for this Japanese puppet government until he died, shortly before the end of World War II. Although he is still regarded as an important contributor in the Xinhai Revolution, his collaboration with Imperial Japan is a subject of academic debate, and the typical narratives often regard him as a traitor in the War of Resistance.
