A naginata ... real or fake.

[CutlassCollector]

My interest in Japanese arms faded some time ago but I retained some items including this naginata.

I post it here as it is a similar shape to Fernando's but it is of much poorer quality and I have doubted it's authenticity because of that. There is no signature on the tang but good file marks and a punched hole. The pole is missing some fittings. Perhaps it was mass produced for a foot soldier rather than a superior signed blade fit for a samurai.

It has also lost some red lacquer from the fuller which does not help the look. I decided give it the benefit of the doubt and kept it with no intention of making it shiny - just preserved.

CC

[Ren Ren]

Originally Posted by CutlassCollector

I post it here as it is a similar shape to Fernando's but it is of much poorer quality and I have doubted it's authenticity because of that.
CC

Your item could very well be an imitation made in Siam or Vietnam. Then this is a significantly rarer thing than the original Japanese one. The first difference between objects from Indochina is the round section of the pole (in Japan, the section is usually oval). The second difference is the shorter tang. Philip wrote about it on the forum. I well remember that he noted that in Indochina they used natural resins for additional fastening and therefore there was no need to make long tang. There are other differences, but they relate to the details of the decor.