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I think these would be the sayagaki 相州住正宗 - Sōshū jū Masamune (for this I did not know the first kanji but it seems common way of writing 相 in sayagaki as I checked some reference sayagaki from various authors) 大和国貞行 - Yamato Kuni Sadayuki 和泉守兼定 - Izumi no Kami Kanesada X国弘 - X Kunihiro (I cannot read first letter with confidence but guess this could be Sa Kunihiro 左国弘) 濃州住兼X - Nōshū jū KaneX (I cannot read last one confidently) 尾州住政秀 - Bishū jū Masahide 備州長船兼光 - Bishū Osafune Kanemitsu 備州長船祐定 - Bishū Osafune Sukesada X兼安 - X Kaneyasu (I cannot read first one confidently) - This one is too artistic for me to read 越前国下坂貞治 - Echizen Kuni Shimosaka Sadaharu 無銘粟田口 - Mumei Awataguchi 相州住定宗 - Sōshū jū Sadamune (Not the Sadamune but a different one from c. Tenbun) 三条小鍛冶宗近 - Sanjō Kokaji Munechika

Here's some with the Habaki off as well.

Here's some with the Habaki off as well.

Here are some better photos too. I know those first ones were not the best quality.

Better overall shape and look to it. Torei Enji (1721-1792) Enso Nakagawa Soen (1907-1984) Mu Both dynamic flying white examples

Matthew, What is the weight of the blade? Thanks. - Barrett

Alex, If you look at the top of the page, on the banner there's a section marked "nihonto info," under that heading there is a "links" section which includes links to legitimate dealers in Japanese swords. You can use that to begin to get a feel for the market and what you can get for your money, but there won't be any Masamune blades by "the" Masamune on any of them. You can also check out the sales section on this forum as members are often selling blades and there's some nice pictures to look at. Please avoid buying on Ebay or the Japanese auction sites (probably best to avoid buying at all right now as you're shark bait; sorry): there are a lot of blades tricked out to look like something way more attractive than they really are like the second one you've posted above. I don't know where you get Masamune from there, it looks like a shinto blade that has been doctored to appear to be by Sekishu Naotsuna, I think. So in effect, you've been deceived twice in one go and you've barely got started. The new looking kinpun (gold) attributions on them is a big giveaway as if you check between blades, the style of writing is identical so someone has bought a comic with a free Japanese swordsmith kanji stencil set in it and they're really making use of it. Essentially if it's a blade claimed to be by a big name smith and it doesn't have modern NBTHK or NTHK papers, in most cases it can be discounted as a fraudulent attempt to deceive. Even if they do, you need to be sure that the papers are to the smith the buyer is claiming it to be as the names can relate to mulitiple generations of smiths with the same name, not all of which are well regarded or smiths from a different province with the same name who again may be inferior. A long-winded way of saying you need to know more before parting with any money.

Thanks for the quick reply, I really appreciate it! Well now I’m going to contact the seller and eBay about getting my money back. I hope that goes well!

Usa Ju Nobukuni Newest sword in my collection. And yes, almost sliced my hand off coming out of the box. Haven’t had the chance to study it in depth yet, but here are some specs: Nagasa: 75.4 cm Sori: 2.8 cm Motohaba: 3.02 cm Sakihaba: 1.93 cm Motogasane: 0.67 cm Sakigasane: 0.43 cm Weight: 681 grams Signed “Usa Ju Nobukuni – August Day”（宇佐住信国 八月日）, this katana was forged in the Tenshō era (1570s–80s), during a time of great upheaval that culminated in the infamous Honnō-ji Incident. It was made in the final days of the Buzen Nobukuni school, just before they left Usa after their patrons, the Ajimu clan, were overthrown by Ōtomo Sōrin in 1582. The smiths later continued under Kuroda Nagamasa in Chikuzen, forming the Chikuzen Nobukuni lineage.

I bought this book not so long ago from Malcolm, he is great to deal with. Been after it for a long time and had never been able to get it, so get it whilst you can. Lots of info, actually found out more about about a Mino tanto i own, which was good. A signed copy too, so will thank Brian for that idea.

This is a very helpful start! I just can't seem to find any mention anywhere of an Ujitada completing a blade like this with Hitatsura hamon. Maybe it's just a one off?

For a "young blade" those fukure along the hamon are an issue. In the other hand, the style of the meï is sharp and don't sounds koto... I would have guessed early shinto, but absolutely not sure.

Didn’t want to post a wall of text, but the kabutogane seen here is also typical of Chinese fakes.

Hi Troy, Your suspicions about the quality of the fittings are correct. If you compare with genuine examples, you will see the seppa and tsuba are very crudely executed, especially the areas cut out for the side release. The detail in the saya hardware (haikan and ishizuki) is also lacking. The tsuka is also poorly wrapped and does not befit Japanese quality. From the pictures you posted of the blade, the nakago’s shape looks non-Japanese and the characters appear to be Chinese gibberish. Conway

Thank you Rayhan, I appreciate your input. I think that concludes this entire distasteful meander conclusively.

Agreed, but why do dealers use such fuzzy photos?

Mike, the dō is made quite elaborately and bears nice features, like the mentioned leather cover (kawa-tsutsumi) or the (bear) fur trimming on the pendant sections of the hip protector (gessan), called ue-kuma-ge, besides others…. However, the minor damages of the lacing, cords and toggles aside, my main concern is the obviously broken upper back plate (oshitsuke no ita). The pictures are small and blurry, so let’s wait for better shots (front, sides, back, top, bottom and a view inside). Later some close ups of certain areas…

Best to research further into Soshu-Den and Masamune before purchasing anything, unfortunately new collectors are the prime target for such forgeries. In the unlikely event a true Goro Masamune was offered to the open market (not ebay or yahoo auctions), it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars. https://markussesko.com/2015/03/20/masamune-his-work-his-fame-and-his-legacy/ https://nihonto-museum.com/blog/goro-nyudo-masamune

I’ve never posted here so I really appreciate any help you can give me on this. I recently purchased this sword on eBay and it was advertised by a seller with an excellent record of being an authentic WW2 Japanese sword. However when it arrived today I immediately became suspicious because the part underneath the wrappings on on the handle that is supposed to be ray skin looks like a plastic strip to me. Also I didn’t feel like markings on the tang looked engraved or stamped, they just seemed off. However I then started second guessing myself and thought maybe this is just what happens with age to one of these and the fact that I don’t know a whole lot about swords to begin with. So any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Calling 1-800- @mecox

I was thinking Kanbun by shape... better photos will be required. Nakago looks bizen shape, without better photos I would venture Bungo. Congratulations on your sword amd venturing into Nihonto.