Nihonto Club

Gentlemen.
I recently acquired an unusual naval dirk with a family mon on the hilt. According to Hawley and other sources.
this mon was shared by five families. A thorough examination of the records of the Japanese Naval Academy,
from its inception, revealed two officers with family ties to the mon. They were Admiral Kyuji Kubo and Admiral Shinpei Asano. Kubo had an illustrious career, having been Captain of the aircraft carrier Kaga and the battle-
hip Kirishima. Asana was the fleet commander of the forces that invaded Truk, Indonesia and others. He was eventually hanged as a war criminal in Guam.

The blade,the subject of this inquiry, is in the Shizu Mino tradition and is signed Kanenobu Saku. It is 11" long
in good polish and is flawless. I have assembled considerable material on the perceived owners and on the
blade. What has eluded me is the one owner, the significance of the piece and the possible value. I am in touch with the Banzai chatroom to try to pin down the original owner.

I referred the item to your august group for any comments or additional sources of data that may be helpful.

Thanks for any Contributions. Gil Richland grichland@sbcglobal.net