Satsuma

Hi Nick! Oops! - I now add a photo of the obverse. Sats

Gentlemen! I am touched by your interest and kind responses. I am more than happy to attach additional photos and have done so below. (After my opening post, I saw a better than half explanation on about our Page 28, but didn't want to renege on what advice I might have received anyway. Thanks for your help.) I hope the extra photos can provide further light. All good wishes Satsuma

Hi Everybody! I have the above order and don't doubt its authenticity. However, the case in which it sits has me stumped. I attach two pictures and make the following observations. First, I have not seen a case for a Class 4 with a lid that comes off separately - usually, lids are hinged. Second, to help the lid to stay with the base, it can be tied on with the purple tassels attached to the base. Third, indeed, I have not seen a case with tassels. Fourth, I have not seen a case with the three Paulownia leaves, as depicted. Last, the lacquer inside the lid (and this is not pictured) seems to have been mixed with gold-coloured "glitter". Unusual in its own right. I'm not sure of its era but, although "as new", it looks pre-WWII. My wild guess is Taisho (1912 - 1926). I am wondering if anyone can help me better understand this particular and wonderful piece. All good wishes Satsuma

Hi Dieter! Congratulations on and thanks very much for your fine effort. The medal for your own chest is the honour of having the post "pinned". Good call Paul. Satsuma

The removal of the plaque is an unforgivable sin! But, alas, the milk is spilt ... I encountered a sword that was said to have belonged to the commandant of Changi Goal. However, the "papers" supporting the claim had been lost, so the claim was irrelevant. If the papers were with the sword, then name your price. Without them, the sword was just a very nice piece and was for sale at about AUS$5K. Also, tassels make no claim to an owner's rank. That is, they are transferable. Indeed, I have a colonel/lieut-colonel/major's tassel (the brown and orange one, if you don't know) and I have, without any justification, put it on a sword that is all orange and brown tones. It looks fantastic, but I make no claim it ever belonged to a man of these ranks. One of these days I'll work out how to post pictures and then I could show you. Keep well Satsuma

Hi Kevin! I found a site that tells us a little about the swordsmith, whose name appears on the tang of your sword, Fujiwara Masahiro : http://www.hizento.net/index.php?page=history. To your blessing, he is a noted smith and this adds greatly to the value of your blade. (Did the person who polished the blade, a Japanese artisan I suspect, have anything to say about the smith or the blade?) Fujiwara Masahiro was also a teacher and the teacher/s of any famous smith is/are always an important part of their biography. (I'm not sure, however, who he taught that became famous.) If I read the site correctly, it says your sword was made in either 1628 or 1641. I love fittings and it is good you retain those from the war, which I presume were with the blade when you aquired it, and the shirasaya (plain wooden scabbard), that would have been returned to you with the blade after its professional polish. The fittings are very samurai (as opposed to standardised post-1868 modern army variants). This is a family blade and the owner (the "high ranking" officer you refer to) would have been of samurai heritage. Also, because the blade is that of Fujiwara Masahiro, that heritage would have been prestigious. However, and with regret, we cannot tell. Therefore, the blade must be assessed on its merit alone and the fact it was made by a famous smith. (Also, but to a lesser and seperate extent, it can be assessed on its wartime/samurai fittings). Overall, this is a beautiful sword and well worth the effort of the polish. The scabbard's combat cover is Imperial Japanese Army. Also, if it came from the British army officer you mention then, most likely, it was surrended to him somewhere in the British theatre, probably Burma. However, this is a wild and silly guess, but a good starting point for glass-of-whisky conjecture. Thanks again. Keep well Satsuma

Hi Kevin Beautiful piece! Now, I've just come back from 4 days leave and will be back in touch with the post shortly. Thanks for sharing. Satsuma

Entrancing and jaw-dropping, to be sure. Well done! It was a filthy campaign and most would be posthumously awarded. I'm not aware of the rare variant you mention. Satsuma

Hi Kevin Yikes! Don't ask me questions that are too hard! However, I'll accept any challenge, when the time comes. Indeed, I look forward to your upcoming posts that feature the pieces you mention. (I always melt when I see a good sword - unless it's being used against me!) Anyway, today I learned a new word - ricasso : a part of sword and knife blades; the section just above the guard or handle, sometimes unsharpened and unbevelled. I must use it in Scrabble next time. Thanks Satsuma

Dear Kevin Thanks for showing this sword - I agree with Brian: no such thing as an uninteresting sword, and you are blessed to possess it. I know nothing about it (being a Japanese sword specialist) but am fascinated to see how this post will pan out. It will start my education on swords British. Bring it on! Satsuma

Dear Alexandre I know that you asked your question back in 2006 but I have noticed that there is a recent forum which may provide an answer. That is, on this site, look up the Rest of the World : Medals and Militaria, then Japan, then the post called "japanese swords - German generals", posted by Chris Boonzaier on 19 March 2010. It is an interesting topic; these swords I'd never heard of before. Keep well Satsuma

Nice piece Bob! Do you ever eat out of it? - dried squid, some pickles and rice would be a good IJN dish. I have a couple of crystal tumblers from Battleship Nagato and I use them to toast the IJN with sake each 27 May, the anniversay of the Battle of Tsushima Strait, and subsequently the IJN's Navy Day. Call me crazy ... Satsuma

Wow! The blade survived who knows how many battles and wars and ends its pretty existence by falling two floors from a window! If the scene made a "funny home video" show, I couldn't bear to watch! What about the smarty-pants who carried a sword and the blade slipped from the sheath and cut his thigh. Twelve stitches later ... (Always wise to bag the swords to prevent this.)

I'm reminded of a nice piece of furniture - it doesn't get chips from sitting in storage but gets them from the times it's moved. The history of a document's condition, no matter how old, boils down to those few times it was (mis)handled. A document may be 100 years old and ruined due to a single mistreatment. I have a Japanese sword that has an "idiot's" fingerprints rusted into the blade and a tin case of general's epaulettes with the similar marks. There is a well known eitquette for handling swords that honours the owner and the piece itself. I hold that if it is historical, and can't be replaced, then handle safely and properly and with awe. Cheers Satsuma

Hi Alex! I could have responded much sooner than this but needed to scrape my dropped jaw from the ground, because these photos, and the items within, are just that good! I recall a diary wisdom from long ago (and no doubt it awaits some reappearance) : you probably can't be the world's richest man, but you might become the world's happiest. That is, when is enough, enough? When I saw Mr P Murphy's Field Marshall's badge (kindly displyed here on a previous topic), I thought I'd seen it all. However, one's eyes still wander and hopes of a lottery win still accompany us. One other member of this club said the collecting journey never ends. I agree. It is good, my friend, to see other (and, indeed, all) collectors have eyes bigger than their wallets. Thanks for the photos and for the dreams they provide. Keep well Satsuma

Hi Chris! This looks very genuine to me, including the stains that are, in all probability, the owner's blood. It would have been taken, as a grusome souvenir, by an allied fighter from a dead Japanese serviceman. Not too rare but an interesting part of any collection. I mean, of the roughly 20,000 Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima, about 19,800 died. And, as most soldiers carried these flags, you would estiamte there were, in theory, many thousand available as "souvenirs" from this campaign alone. I apologise I can't translate. However, the writing would be signatures and well wishes from (as examples) class mates, his neighbours, or family and friends. Sometimes "good wishes" would be "death is the greatest honour!" On eBay you would expect (roughly) US$150 to US$200. Is image three a different flag or the reverse side of the flag in the opening image. Being silk (I'm guessing) you should see the writing on the obverse side, in reverse, on the reverse side. If it is all the one flag then this is surprising and would be the only extent to which I would doubt its authenticity. Keep well Satsuma

Thank you gentlemen for your detailed answers. It's a Monday morning and already I've learned lots! Well, after all, anyone going to bid?

Hi Paul and Dieter! It is always good to be in the company of experts and I apologise if I dived in thinking the order is a fake! All order ribbons I've ever seen seem so much more "plush" and the backs always seem to have bevelled, or smoothed, edges - the back of this one appears to be machine-scratched and the edges are sharp (?). However, I've never seen a post-war order so my knowledge is very incomplete. I wonder if I will ever solve the mystery of this piece. Keep well Satsuma

The ribbon looks too thin for my liking and the ends look to be trimmed with pinking shears, often used by a tailor to minimise fabric threading. Hardly imperial issue. Also the back of the order has a sharp edge indicating it may have been pressed out from a sheet. If in doubt, steer clear. Refunds are too impracticle on eBay. Satsuma

Yes, images of Japanese troops, all wearing their victory medals, being photographed in front of the White House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Big Ben, the Marco Polo Bridge, etc, come to mind. Anyway, there's been over a hundred wars since then ...

Hi Dieter! I have many books published in Japan over the last century and I'm sure, from these samples alone, that the paper in the picture is post-WW2. For one thing, it has no "foxing", or mould and the creases have not "settled" over decades of humidity variation. Therefore, this (and the medal) are very likely to be reproductions and I'm guessing they're from the 1970's. Also, like my own medal, the case is moulded plastic! I believe that if this technology was available in Japan in WW2 then we would see it here, there and everywhere in their war time manufactures and not just in this isolated medal case. Having said all this, I'm still mad keen to get a copy of the medal's paper leaflet, and a translation. It might even make a good wall poster! Keep well Satsuma

Hi Dieter Oops! I forgot to give the address of the listing : http://offer.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=120516012983 Satsuma

Hi Dieter I was checking ebay and noticed a version of this medal is currently listed. It seems identical to the one a friend bought for me in Hawaii all those years ago. Anyway, bidding seems brisk and I thought, merely, to bring it to your attention. All good wishes Satsuma PS I have no vested interest in this ebay listing but hoped it would add to our discussion.

Good on ya mate! Keep well and I look forward to learning a lot more about our shared interests in the new year. In the meantime, I was watching some Imperial Japanese Navy footage on You Tube and noticed two drill movements I never saw before - both related, I guess, to minimising the chance of losing one's balance when one's ship is steaming on high seas. If you're interested : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RaUdub_djU I trained in Australia's navy reserve and this training is traditionally similar to what is taught in the Royal Navy. We never learned these moves. Now, many IJN traditions have been taken from the traditions of the RN. Therefore, I'm thinking these two drill steps/positions are unique to the IJN. One, (midshipmen?) is at the 22 second mark. Two, (NCO's?) is at the 1 minute 37 second mark. Last, I apologise if this is not the best location on the club site to offer this observation. Anyway, please forgive me if this is the case. 2010. Yay!