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Damon I have seen a few "collaborative" decorated tsuba - But not signed in this way. The ones I have seen have had inlay work with a signed plaque beside each piece of inlay. Would you believe there is a collaboration of SEVEN artist on one tsuba? Walters Art Museum 51.410 https://art.thewalters.org/object/51.410/ There was another collaborative tsuba here: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2005/Japanese-and-korean-works-of-art-l05860/lot.852.html

Honestly, considering the clumsy writing of 藤原, I thought the third kanji was a poor attempt at 兼. The last one could well be a partial 是, or a partial 恒.

Another interesting sword at the Nihontocraft website. Kotani Takenori (Yasunori) Yasukuni Shrine Tosho Special Order at the request of Vice Admiral Jinichi Kusaka, Commander of the 11th Air Fleet and Commander of the Southeast Area Fleet. October, 1942 https://nihontocraft.com/Takenori_Yasunori_Tachi.html

Bishu ju Masayasu saku, dated 1942. https://www.google.com/search?q=mano+masayasu+site%3Amilitaria.co.za&rlz=1C1YTUH_enUS1164US1164&oq=mano+masayasu+site%3Amilitaria.co.za&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAjIHCAMQIRiPAtIBCDYwNDVqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I'm considering updating the forum to the latest version, which is a complete revamp of the current software, and has been in development for a number of years. I'm currently trying to raise the $600+ that would be needed to get someone to assist, as it is a huge update with lots of new features and benefits. Frankly, we'll have to do it eventually anyways, as this version 4 won't be supported forever, and it will allow us to improve a lot of things. That aside, I don't have a date yet when we will do it. But there is one thing that I need to warn all members about. Most forums nowadays, across most platforms, are moving away from logging in using your username. This is because usernames are visible to everyone, and it is a security risk when hackers etc use various methods to run common passwords etc. The modern convention is to have everyone log in with their registered email address, and their usual password. This is because emails are not visible and are far more secure. So I am putting this out there now, so that people can start transitioning from logging in using their username, to logging in with their email address. YES...I know how many people can't remember their emails they used, or have changed it by now. Hence why I'm giving everyone plenty of warning to see what your email is here, so you can use to to login. Or update it if you like. Your forum email address is in your profile. You can find it here: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/settings/ Make sure you know what it is, and probably best to make sure you know what your password is, or reset it if you don't. For now, you can log in with your username OR your email address. But eventually that username won't be a login method. Your username will display as it does currently, no changes there So please start transitioning over, and post here if you have any questions.

Sword is not fake, but the description and inscription are fake enough that I think this one deserves a place here.

Hi Nick, What Ray said, and here you will find care & cleaning, which you should read twice. https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Grey And if you have a bunch of questions and would appreciate talking with someone who is not an authority but has been at this for 40 years and won't try to get you to sell the sword to me, feel free to call sometime. Grey 218-340-1001 US central time

It is possible the next kanji is Tsune. Bishu Osafune Tsune__. Several smiths used this kanji including Tsunehiro and Tsunenao. https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=All&mei_op=contains&mei=備前長船恒

I replied to you on reddit. My comment there is repeated below. Wonderful find. This appears to be a Nanbokucho period or earlier tachi, signed Bishu Osafune __ (the remainder of the inscription is not readable in the photos, however please do not do anything at all to try to improve the visibility of the inscription). There may have been a date on the other side of the nakago, not presently readable. Do not try to remove rust on the nakago (tang), or to clean or polish the blade in any way. It has every indication of being a valuable sword. Best regards, Ray

Hi Dekabyu, I bought my KaneZane in 1980 from the old vet who brought it back. It was the second Japanese sword I ever owned and at the time I couldn't even translate the tang. (I think I paid $250 for it). I knew an old sword collector who translated the signature for me, I guess I got VERY lucky and got something nice. Later I bought Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory's book "Military Swords of Japan 1868-1945" they had published a letter from a collector who wrote to Asano Shinichi (KaneZane) and received an answer from him. I think that article really established KaneZane's fame, and showed just how much care he and his students poured into each sword. He spoke about his work as a swordsmith as being "the flower of (his) life" and a "fragile dream" that ended when the war was over. After reading that, how can you not be romantic about Japanese Swords? I really don't know the going price of KaneZane's swords, over the years I have seen quite a number come up for sale. (KaneZane stated that he was making swords full time for 10 years) As mecox alluded to, the sword is in good polish, the fittings look to be in great shape, so I think its a great example of a '98 with a tassel. But, it is more than likely not a traditionally made sword. Good luck with the purchase, buying from an unknown person can be nerve-racking! Tom

Sort of feels like authentic Bizen[???] Osafune signature which is almost gone. The blade can be early-mid Muromachi.

Ishihara Yoshisada. A WWII era showato smith. This one has a Seki arsenal stamp. It is not traditionally made.

The inscription in the first picture, 應武□嘱朝波作於大連 – Responding to the order from “武+something”, Chao-Po made in Dalian.

@CuriousNewbie Jay , as noted by Ray your sword is made by Masayasu. and dated 1942. For interest are there any stamp marks on it? For more examples of his work and background see this paper from NMB Downloads (at top of page):

Jay: Bishu in the inscription indicates the smith worked in Owari. Masayasu is his art name.

We've all seen the swords tightly covered in leather, head to toe, but spotted this one in the hands of a pilot in this photo. Interesting to see one "out in the wild" so to speak:

Logged out and tried the email address instead of a user name. No problems encountered at all. One is just substituting an email address instead of a user name and then entering the same password as usual. Strongly recommend everyone give it a try now versus later. I would also suggest having another member's email address at hand in case of a problem. They can contact one of the moderators on your behalf if there is a glitch.

Happy new year!! After getting some help in the translation section, I'm here to ask your opinions on a peculiar piece. I picked up this Echizen Myochin Yoshihisa tsuba which is also signed on the other side: "水戸士 Mito shi (Retainer of the Mito clan)" and "高山千□造 Takayama...zo". Although the characters are not easy to read and not definitive, it seems to allude to a samurai from the Mito clan having/making/reworking it. The question is why the second signature? I'm not sure I've seen a piece signed this way before, so I'm wondering if this indicates: - a collaboration piece - a case of signing to show ownership - gimei signature(s) - something else If both signatures are legitimate, then this seems (to me) like a special piece given the rarity to find similarly double-signed pieces. I'm really curious and interested to hear from those with much more experience than me. Appreciate any input you have. Damon

Happy new year Dale! Thanks for sharing. That 7-artist piece is really amazing. I love the little signed plaques. And the father-son collab makes sense. As for my Myochin Yoshihisa, if you've not seen anything signed in a similar way, that is saying a lot. Not sure if that's good or bad at the moment. But I'll continue to research and do some light cleaning to see if the signature can come through more clearly. Damon

This is what I provided for the date. 嘉永五壬子年 - Kaei 5, mizunoe-ne (zodiac date for 1852)

Clinton, as noted Yoshisada from Seki. Produced a lot. WW2 made, not traditional methods, this one is in wartime civilian mounts. There were earlier posts on him.

Hopefully no one here will bid on this. It is certainly not an authentic Yasukuni-to. At best, it is a showato arsenal blade, doctored up with a gimei and frankenstein'd koshirae. i'm sorry to be so blunt, and I don't like to comment on active auctions, but this is one of the worst things that I've seen posted to the group.

Hi Dekabyu, Yes this is an authentic KaneZane. It's a Nakirishimei for him just like Oshigata "D" in Slough's "Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868-1945". And, an almost identical copy of the signature on my KaneZane! Good looking sword and mounts look great. hope this helps, Tom

@Dekabyu Rugger, from pics looks like a good example of work by Kanezane with complete fittings. Possibly has been rebound, but well done. Maybe a stamp (Seki) has been filed off above signature? Others can comment on value. For more info and background to Asano Kanezane see this paper in NMB Downloads (at top of page):

https://japaneseswordindex.com/kanezane.htm Read here for more information on this smith.

Hi Gary, Neither of these blades are Japanese-made – however, they nonetheless appear to be high-quality replicas. The inscription on the wakizashi is 大耳 = Ōmimi; indicating that it was made by Howard Clark. The other image is rather low-resolution and I can't read all of it: 應武[?][?]朝波作於大連 = ???? Chaobo made this in Dalian Chaobo (朝波) is the given name of Paul Chen – a Chinese maker of Japanese-style swords.

Kogai looks good. I cannot tell much detail from that one photo, but I can guess it is probably Yasuda, Yoshioka, or Waki Goto stuff. The tsuba looks promising with plovers on it? A signature at all? Feel free to post more pics of it. Some of the vets mixed and matched the bits n bobs of the WWII bringbacks. Sometimes you get great tsuba on ho-hum swords.

Just in time for the New Year, a sword by Kojima (Taro) Kanenori from January 1930. In four years, it will be antique :-). He was the younger brother of Kojima Kanemichi and was born in 1907. That means he was just 23 years old when he forged this sword. He became an independent swordsmith in 1931. I hope you like it. All the best for 2026!

for comparsion NBTHK papered Kajiyama Yasutoshi I would be very happy, to see more genuine signatures by Kajiyama Yasutoshi here

Hello everyone and my sincere thank you for the information and taking the time to respond. I guess this explains the reason why I was having trouble with the Mei and was confused by my results. All three pieces display beautiful workmanship. Myself and another long time collector, would have sworn they were traditional Shinsakuto. It is for sure, a continual learning experience. Thanks again…..Gary

Very interesting sword that definitely needs to be examined in hand. But what Ray, Kiril and Grey said. This should end up with someone eventually that will consider having it professionally restored. Don't try any restoration yourself, and be wary of the inevitable offers to purchase that you may get privately until you know more about it.

Indeed, Howard Clark swords are highly regarded as cutters and for their performance, and although not Nihonto, would likely have decent value among the custom knife/sword guys.

I'm trying to find out anything I can on this sword. It was gifted to me decades ago and I k ow nothing about it.

Thank you!

So catawiki keeps their standards. @Scogg could you move this thread to fake’s tab?

There is nothing here even remotely resembling a Yasukuni-To, clearly an oil tempered junker.

I am buying this katana and I am in talks with the owner. Not sure if it’s authentic, collectors worth and any information about the sword itself. Any information is much appreciated

For the tanto I agree with Reinhard that jigane has more rough Muromachi appearance and Uda is worth considering, even though I would prefer long to see long kaeri on Uda. Still think Tosa Yoshimitsu is a good option, and it might be that in hands the blade looks better which would open more appreciate possibilities. On the last blade the main problem it has a lot of sori, so it can't be daito Kamakura blade cut down to waki. It can theoretically be slightly shortened kodachi, but those usually retain sori in nakago, this one does not. It has some interesting utsuri, well formed nioi-guchi... It might be early Bizen, but I am much more comfortable with very end of Kozori, early Muromachi, or frankly - Kaga, Muromachi.

These are unfortunately not authentic swords.

The second photo is upside-down, but even if it were correctly positioned, KANJI in etching technique are not seen on Japanese swords, as Chris stated above. The first photo is not nicely focused, and we should see the complete NAKAGO (= tang) without HABAKI, oriented vertically (tip-upwards), and with light from the side.

Wakizashi - supposedly late Kamakura period to Nanbokucho period All your input and expertise show me that it is justified to review the original descriptions before questionable descriptions are entered into the collection catalogue. I am truly grateful for your comments. The next nihonto in question is a wakizashi, which was also dated to the late Kamakura or Nanbokucho period at the time. Below are the corresponding dimensions and photos. Blade probably shortend in a old polsh. Jitetsu (Jigane) Mokume and utsuri and chikei in jitetsu. Hamon (Temper line) Choji midare, Ko-Nie-deki, Kinsuji Sunagashi. Boshi Midarekomi Komaru Blade length (Cutting edge) 47.4 cm Sori 1.7 cm Motohaba 28.0 mm Motokasane 6.7 mm Thank you !

Wow, Ray, thank you very much vor that incredibly swift and equally helpful reply! :) So the sword was forged in 1942 in Owari by a smith going by the name of "Masayasu", that helps a lot! Would there by anything more to be learned from this about the sword? I will try to read through the threads you suggested, thank you very much for that as well!

I'm afraid this is a clear case of a Chinese fake/reproduction. The Japanese never put kanji on a blade in this manner.

Eternal newbie Thank you so much for your reply, I have compared them and they do look very similar indeed,

Hello everyone: As many know, swordsmiths change their mei for a variety of reasons over time. RJT smith Kanehide was no exception. But since there has been no readily available study on these changes, I've compiled as many examples of Kanehide's mei as I could find - 76 to be exact. That's not to say there aren't others, however I believe the sample is large enough to paint a definitive picture of his changes and when those changes took place. I'm including the first two pages of the study here in (low res format) for those interested in just the conclusion. The entire study, which includes an extended biographical background and all of the collected samples plus references, has been submitted to Brian for approval and inclusion in the downloads. In the meantime, if you are a fan of Kanehide, have a general interest in RJT smiths, or are just interested in smith mei changes, please enjoy the short read. Respectfully, John C.

To add to this - at the price range you're looking for, and even up to double that amount, there's always going to be something 'better' (or at least compelling in a different way) than anything you can get. By the nature of the market, anything in that value range is going to be lacking in some way, so what you're really hoping for is someone selling something decent at a lower price than it should be; and you're not going to find that here or at a reputable dealer, because anyone fitting that category would know what they have and roughly what it's worth. I would recommend spending at least a portion of that money on some good books; if not the usual Nihonto guides then at least one or two catalogues from a museum exhibit (the Sano Museum ones have English indexes, which is nice) so you can look at the best of the best and see what sort of shapes, hamon and jigane appeal to you and then look for scaled down versions of those in the range you can afford. If you must have a sword, right now (and I can understand the urge, I really can) then look for something that appeals to you personally, even in spite of any flaws or shortcomings, even if you can't really explain why. Something that, when you look at it, you just feel really moved or inspired on a personal level, and then when it's in your hands and the initial buzz starts to fade, use it as a jumping-off point to learn more about your own personal tastes and goals in the field - the things that drove you to pick that particular piece. At this lower-end, the best you can really hope for when it's time to move the piece on is to get back roughly what you paid for it; abandon any hopes of selling at a profit and using it to buy something better. The real value you gain will be knowledge and understanding - if not for the blade itself, then about your own aesthetic preferences and desires that led you to that point.

No. 2 is Hara/wara (Gen) 原 No. 3 is… Gei/Kujira??? 鯨

Type Type 32 cavalry Saber Era/Age : 1899-1935 Nagasa/Blade Length : ~32 inches/ 82cm Sword Location : Eastern Virginia Will ship to : USA Price and Currency : $475 USD Other Info and Full Description : I have decided to sell this gunto to make room for more nihonto. It is in good shape, with matching serial numbers. At some point it went through a factory refurbishment, and an older serial number on the saya was struck out and replaced with 018996, to match the blade, and a zero was added in front of the serial on the blade. The blade is still quite sharp. I believe it has a (poorly struck) Kokura Arsenal stamp and an inspection stamp and two other stamps that I'm not sure about. The leather finger loop appears to be cut off, perhaps at the time of its refurbishment, though its remains and the rivet are still present. The latch still works well. I believe it is the longer cavalry model. Let me know if you would like to see more pictures. Edward

Osuriage mumei katana, 66.5cm nagasa with copper habaki and saya only. Gunome hamon in nie-deki with a thick habuchi. Deep sori, extended kissaki and raised shinogi. Futatsuji-hi on one side and the reverse with bo-hi and soe-hi. $700 + shipping & PP

Well, I'll be damned if I leave info on FB to waste away, so I am sure that @Andrew Ickeringill and @Adrian S won't mind if I blatantly plagiarize their posts and share the info here. Very happy to see that the sword that Adrian "discovered" a few years ago that eventually went Juyo to Go Yoshihiro, has now passed Toku Juyo. Wow...what an incredible find and story. And what a high praise for Andrew and his polishing. This is a masterpiece and a proud moment for both owner and togishi. Well done to both, I am sure we all share in your achievement, with a little jealousy thrown in