The greeting of a Guntō site

Search in a pageSearch　Distortion of postwar Japan | Occupation policy | Foolishness of postwar Japan | Repose of souls

The motive of homepage establishment

I do not know my father.
Two days after I was born, the father who was a doctor was called as an "army surgeon", and died the death of a warrior
one year afterward in Attu.
After discretion attached me, the photographs of the father of a military uniform figure who held the Guntō in the Red Cross arm band hung up over the room were all the father's impressions.
I was wonderful in the childish mind in why the army surgeon for helping an injury soldier on the battlefield has the Guntō.
The interest to my Guntō began from this one photograph.
Since then, the thought "I would like to know the meaning of a Guntō" is continuing precipitating at the bottom of my heart.

Army surgeon first lieutenant Tomoji Ohmura
T. Ohmura was born in Ikuta, Kobe in 1901 (Meiji 34).
The first Kobe junior high school.
The third high school(Kyoto), a Rugby player.
Tokyo Imperial University medical department (Graduate in 1925=Taisho 14).
A ship's doctor of the Nippon Yusen foreign route.
Japanese Red Cross Society doctor.

The Tokyo Imperial University era, four new records of Japanese land short distance.
The 3rd place of the Far East Olympic Games land short distance.

Hi became a village doctor of Hikari-mura Kumage-gun, Yamaguchi, a doctorless village, by invitation of Y?suke Matsuoka's parents' home. Hi was called at the beginning of 1942 as an army surgeon of the 33rd troop (Kakogawa-shi, Hyōgo) of an army independent field battle anti-aircraft gun. Hi was killed in war in Attu on May 29, 1943. 42 years old of age at death.

Distortion of postwar Japan

On the other hand, I did practice of kendo at the high school and the university.
I touched the beauty of the Japanese sword in the process.
A desire to have a Japanese sword on the day of when had budded in my heart then. These two thoughts crossed actually, after I exceeded my father's age far.
My purpose had clarified.
In the first place, I wanted to know the meaning of the officer Guntō. This was a subject which has continued considering from young time. I wanted to actually feel the Guntō which officers were carrying.
And I wanted to approach their feelings.

For that purpose, I needed to get to know the actual condition (a blade and mounting ) of the officer Guntō which the father of those days carried. I was not interested in the mounting of an ordinary sword at all.
The object of my interest was only the Guntō of Japanese sword preparation.
The Guntō was a very big field at the history of a Japanese sword.
However, I was surprised that there are no systematic Guntō data in Japan.
The Japanese army was effacing army relevant data with defeat. Therefore, the information on a Japanese Guntō was in the deplorable situation only of a foreign publication.
It was amazed at this present condition of Japan of the birthplace of the Guntō by me.

Under such a situation, I began to investigate the actual condition of the Guntō.
There were very few dealers in swords handling the Guntō, and especially the thing for which the good Guntō of a mounting is found was difficult. When considering, the operational unit's Guntō was disarmed by defeat of Japan, and was
altogether requisitioned by the Allies.
All the Guntōes that remained in the inside party of a country were also confiscated by the Occupation Forces.
Only few Guntōes kept secret and the Guntō which returned from overseas were circulating in the market.
The reason which research of the Japanese Guntō preceded in Britain and U.S.A compared with Japan depends on such the actual condition.
Moreover, even if the good mounting(Koshirae) was found occasionally, the blade was removed when the most.
The dealer in swords tended to obtain double profits by carrying out the option of a blade and the mounting.
Although trade could not be denied, the dealer in swords did not have at all the consideration to the heart of the soldiers who were carrying the Guntō.
The sword community was making missing recognition of the Guntō which is a precious history inheritance.
It was one of the reasons that separating the blade and the mounting cannot sell the blade with the Guntō mounting highly. The sword community had despised the "Guntō."
In this way, the Guntō which remained slightly was disassembled.
I felt intense anger. Only by taking out the word "Guntō", the partner wore the dubious face.
I experienced a serious humiliation from the sword community.
And at first, since I was ignorant, the crude Guntō was forced on me from the dealer in swords.
I experienced such a failure several times. I was just groping in the dark.

Occupation policy

The background which became such a situation was clear.
All the senses of values of Japan during the war were made wrong by the skillful occupation policy of GHQ(General Headquarters / Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) prewar days.
Since some Japanese had the large reaction to the dark time which the fanatic army leader caused, they have accepted this occupation policy simply. This occupation policy was making Japan into the state of emasculation which can never rise so that it might be represented by the Constitution of Japan in which GHQ carried out the draft.
60 years of the postwar period of Japan were an unusual social trend realized on the unqualified denial of the history of Japan before defeat.
Politics, the mass media, the educational world, and public opinion sealed the history of Japan to defeat.
Also school education, the subject of Japanese history was erased. It was a taboo entirely to touch the old army.
Especially the Guntō that was a support of soldiers' heart was regarded as the symbol of militarism.
This is a big prejudice. Militarism is supported by sharp situation judgment with the cool-headed calculation which gets to know an enemy and gets to know itself.
The large number of people of the old Japanese army leader and a military bureaucrat did not have such calm knowledge.
In such meaning, militarism etc. did not exist in Japan.

About the Gunto, the misfortune overlapped further.
In the Japanese race's long history, the Japanese sword was a symbol of Japanese culture. Occupation forces' GHQ is exterminating a Japanese sword, and aimed to destroy the Japanese heart and soul thoroughly.

The Japanese sword persons concerned were busy in order to overcome this crisis.
They used the expedient, saying "A Japanese sword is not arms but a work of art" in order to avoid the plan of GHQ.
Although the crisis was barely overcome by their efforts as a result, the compensation lost in collateral was also large.
That is, it is having specified the Japanese sword as the "artistic handicraft article."
As a result, the concept of the Japanese sword was perverted.
Only the Japanese sword of "the manufacturing method from ancient times ※" does not have existence accepted by law.

※The "manufacturing method from ancient times" which a fine-arts sword community says is fabrication.
In detail, refer to "Which used Western iron","The common sense of a Japanese sword is asked" of another section.

Foolishness of postwar Japan

When Japan became independent, this perverted concept should have been corrected, but it has continued up to now as it is involving the rights of a political policy and a fine-arts sword community.
In the process which is studying the Guntō, the special blade was a big subject which cannot be bypassed.
The coarse thing was in the special blade, and the excellent blade which exceeds a Japanese sword from ancient times by the power of modern science also existed. Many these blades to the Guntō were used.
However, preservation of these blades and a government supply noncommissioned officer sword was forbidden with law ※.
Blades, such as this, can perform neither dealing nor possession. If possessed, a blade will be fractured cruelly.
These Guntōes that exist in overseas cannot return to a homeland, either.
Many of soldiers who carried these Guntōes sacrificed themselves to the homeland. What do they think of this reality ?
This is historical erasure and is the same as the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to the homeland being disregarded.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　※ This law has specified the sword to permit only as "the advisory process."
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The fine-arts sword community interpreted this law freely, and has erased the military swords Guntō.

I can never be convinced to such a distortion of Japan after the war.
How such an idea is foolish and dangerous does not need to show the example of destruction of "the Buddha with which the cliff was engraved" by Taliban.
The person in future generations is not allowed to erase and destroy history and a history inheritance by a sense of values and liking of him.

A national historical museum and Military Museum exist in every country.
The country is doing storage exhibition of the arms carefully there.
This is because it is a fact of the history of the country.
Japan "erased" the history of one time of its own country intentionally. Probably such a country is only Japan except some autocracy countries.
A previous war was a vital problem historical for Japan. Japan has many things which should be learned from here.
A country and the people have to learn in history. Those who ignore history certainly repeat the again same fault.

I am not a fanatic militarist. Moreover, I am not the man of culture who went dotty peacefully, either.
Only by the empty slogan which both assert being different, that of the thinking is the same.
For the reaction to prewar days, the postwar Japanese inclined toward the counter direction too much.
Japan has exceeded the limit of "a scalded cat fears cold water."
Therefore, the fault which the foolishness and fine-arts sword community in postwar Japan committed will be convicted by the historian in future generations.

The fine-arts sword community spread the concept of the Japanese sword mistaken for its profits hard using such a state
and an occupation policy, and has suppressed the military swords Guntō thoroughly.
The anger to a fine-arts sword community also became the motive to study the historical fact of my Japanese sword.
It is the reason which added the field of the Japanese sword to this site in addition to the military swords Guntō.

Repose of souls

The persons of the large majority in the soldiers of 2,400,000 killed in war were a pure serviceperson, and the citizens and student who were called up for military service. They are unrelated to the responsibility for war.
The surviving serviceperson is the staff officers which guided reckless strategy, and are the milytary upper leaders who there were back themselves and ordered the soldiers of the front easily to perform an honorable death and a suicide attack. They on whom responsibility is not imposed did not feel a little pain and itch for failure of strategy, either.
Therefore, tactless strategy was ordered easily, and when stuck, a unit and soldiers were forsaken very simply.
The army leader who took responsibility and committed suicide has only 2 or 3 persons.
Ordinary soldiers accomplished the duty silently in severe conditions. Even if it was the unit forsaken from the center of an army, the soldiers of the front believed the homeland and fought to the last with Japanese pride.
I think that I should clarify such a fact. It is that this learns in history.

My homeland is not yet performing the funeral as a state to such the spirits of the heroic dead.

The U.S. Forces buried the Japanese soldier to every place.
And the U.S. Forces built the cross which wrote the number of Japanese soldiers. The Japanese memorial team built Shiraki's grave marker in 1978.

I consider the mind of the end of the soldiers who died for the country. Therefore, I can never forget history.
I think that it is the minimum courtesy to people of the "spirits of the heroic dead."

The soldiers who did the carrying of the military swords(Guntō) are going to be left beyond historical by the trend in which the postwar period was distorted.
I groped for the method of expressing the repose of souls to the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to the country.
The Guntō was a symbol of the homeland, and was a support of their heart.
I believed that leaving a Guntō to a historical fact became one way it keeps them in to memory.
By such thought, I opened this homepage.

I thought that I would like to apply the pride of the mother country of a Guntō, and to solve the whole aspect of a
Guntō in the scarce Guntō investigation environment in Japan.
Fortunately by the persons concerned's support, I have solved the actual condition of the Guntō to some extent.
However, the way of search and the incomplete thing cannot yet deny it.

However, I will be joy if this site is consulted at those who get interested in the Guntō.

Writer profile:

　Born in 1942,
　Kyushu Industry University (Graduation in 1966)
　Into a trading company. and Fuji Photo Film, Inc., cooperation.
　The design increase in efficiency of the manufacturing industry and drawing standardization are guided.
　The head of the Japan Microphotography Association lecture committee.
　Hitachi Zosen Information system (entrance in 1985), a director.
　Work:
　　 "Information retrieval theory", "CAD/CAM introduction" and "Essay", etc.
　It is based on a scholar and a specialist. "international CIM= computer integrated manufacturing = symposium,
the chairman: Professor Iwata of Hokkaido University" holding, the director.

　Photography:
　 The NIKON silver salt single-lens reflex camera (F2、F301、D7000 and others ),
   Taking lens: Ai Nikkor 24㎜ F2.8S: and AF Nikkor 35㎜ F2D (For a mounting and blade complete views).
   Ai Micro Nikkor 55㎜ F4.5・AF-S Micro Nikkor 60㎜ F2.8D(Close-up photography and for portions)
   Image processing: NIKON or Epson film scanner: 3,200dpi taking in,
   Photograph processing: Adobe Fhotoshop CS-6, Negative: TIFF form.

　　　　

Gunto cooperation:   Mr. Satoshi Matsubara (Guntō collector), Tōgō Jinja "Admiral Tōgō's sword",
　　　Ground Self Defense Force Omura garrison "Type 32 Gunto", Mr. Noriaki Hashimoto, Mr. Kazunobu Ogino,
　　　 and people of other text displays.
Data offer: Yasukuni Jinja "marshal sword", Tōgō-Kai Mr. Katsuma Nojiri "photograph about Admiral Tōgō and data",
　　　 Mr. Shigeo Ishikawa "Sukehiro and Nagamitsu", Zuisen Sword Workshop Swordsmith Taneomi Horii "Mikasa sword and
　　　 expression-of-gratitude sword",
　　　 Mr.Ronny Ronnqvist(The chairman of a "Finland-Nihon Bunka Tomo no Kai". Finland National Board of Antiquities in
   Helsinki, Mr.Guy Vanduyfhuys in Belgium,
       Japan Institute of Metals attached metal museum and Tōyō Hamono Co,Ltd. "Shinbu-tō".
       Seki city office "the edged tool industrial data under wartime and the photograph", Gumma prefectural museum,
   Mr. Takahiro in U.S.A "bayonet", 施純男 (Taiwan) "artilleryman sword and bayonet",
   Persons-concerned testimony of those days, Mr. K.Morita "Kōa-Issin-tō", Other overseas donators
Reference: Mr.Kanji Naruse"The Japanese sword to fight" and "Talk of a battle sword",
   Swordsmith Akitsugu Amada"Iron and a Japanese sword ", Hitachi Metals, Ltd. "Tatara."
   Mr. Richard Fuller(JAPANESE MILITARY and CIVIL SWORDS AND DIRKS).
   A Japanese official gazette and army relevant data, Others.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Since November 28, 2013　

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