Hello to you all! (New Member w/sword)

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by medar1

.....

What I am curious about is if any member here has any further information they may be able to shed light on for me.....

Hullo medar1,
Welcome to the forum!
To complement what info you already have, please bear in mind:

- Okinawa of today was previously known as Ryukyu and was different from the rest of Japan because of its remoteness. It was independent until the beginning of the 17thC, when Occidentals started coming into the area. Using weaponry from them, Kyushu conquered Ryukyu in next-to-no-time. Ryukyu then remained under Kyushu as a semi-independent state until the Meiji Restoration, when it was absorbed into the rest of Japan.
- Until Perry's Gunboat Diplomacy, the Dutch were the only Occidentals allowed to trade in Japan after the Christian Rebellion.
- Your blade looks like a typical trade blade.
- The dress on your blade looks more Japanese than Nusantara.

I hope this will help you to gain the info/understanding to form your own conclusions to your satisfaction.

Best,

[Jim McDougall]

I just realized there were more pages to the thread linked from the other forum, and the information added pretty impressive and rendering my notes pretty redundant, particularly the data from Ian Bottomley.

Still this is truly a great mystery!!!

[Rich]

This is a good tale. I've not heard of VOC swords previously and I've been into
Nihonto for about 40 years now. Neat to see and hear the story of something
new. Any more info about this sword appreciated. Is it signed, marked, anything to identify it.
How about some close up pics of the hamon and boshi
for those of us who drool over cool Nihonto (not literally of course - it would
stain the blade :-)

Rich S

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

[medar1]

Here are some other pictures guys. And thank you again (so very much) for your time and consideration in this mystery. This has been enjoyable but finding information on the VOC blades seems hard to come by.

[medar1]

More pictures

[David]

Originally Posted by Rich

How about some close up pics of the hamon and boshi
for those of us who drool over cool Nihonto (not literally of course - it would
stain the blade :-)

Rich, i don't think you are going to find a hamon or boshi on this blade as the blade itself seems to be a European VOC trade blade placed in Japanese dress.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by David

Rich, i don't think you are going to find a hamon or boshi on this blade as the blade itself seems to be a European VOC trade blade placed in Japanese dress.

yes, for sure the owner should NOT polish the blade, or remove the patina, there will be no hamon on a european VOC blade as they do/did not differentially temper these mono steel blades and it would lose not only value but it's soul. oil it and treat it with the respect due it's age.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kronckew

yes, for sure the owner should NOT polish the blade, or remove the patina, there will be no hamon on a european VOC blade as they do/did not differentially temper these mono steel blades and it would lose not only value but it's soul. oil it and treat it with the respect due it's age.

Absolutely perfectly said Kronckew!!!! Someone who truly appreciates what these old weapons are...they are the sentinels of history, and their patination and age are well earned and deserve proper respect. The ONLY exception is when the weapon is compromised by active rust or corrosion and utmost restraint must be employed to remedy that situation.

There are any number of possibilities for this VOC blade being in these interesting mounts, but it is certain this is a proper VOC blade, typically from the hangers they were in originally in the 18th century. As we have noted, these mounts were clearly not executed in proper nihonto standards so probably the work of an artisan in the Dutch East Indies or environs where these VOC blades were available . The provenance from a Japanese officer as a heirloom blade suggests early combining of these components and in Japanese context of course, so the scenario for VOC occupied Japan seems likely.

I cannot see why the scabbard would have Dutch East India company inscription otherwise, and it would be interesting to know exactly how this inscription reads.

I had minimized some of the entries on the linked forum in my first post because I had failed to read the following pages, and the subsequent entries were actually quite informative and well placed.

I am glad that Rich came in on this as he is undoubtedly the best informed authority on Japanese swords I have known of, and in my opinion the 'go to' guy for anything related to them.

Medar, actually we have a thread running on this forum presently which specifically addresses VOC blades (in fact that is the title of the thread). You may find it interesting to read through that to discover more of the history surrounding your blade.

[David]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

I cannot see why the scabbard would have Dutch East India company inscription otherwise, and it would be interesting to know exactly how this inscription reads.

I'm i missing a photo here Jim. I don't see any inscription on the scabbard.