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It's not quite 十十 , rather its one of the variants of 廿 (20) listed on the page below. (But, you're not wrong for assuming its 10+10, as all of these alternatives are more or less variations on that theme). https://glyphwiki.org/wiki/u5eff

It's either a Murata-sword, or someone trying to fake a Murata-sword. The first two are 小銃囗囗. If this were a Murata sword, the last two characters should be 兼正 (Kanemasa). Obviously the ones on this sword are different. Possibly 元定 (Motosada). But as far as I know he only used Kanemasa with the surname Shōjū. The stamps say Murata Tsuneyoshi in stylized tenshō script. The stamps, the idiosyncratic "20", the 小銃 all point to a Murata sword. What does the sword itself look like?

Yes, that would be correct, so Meiji 21. There are several alternate ways to write many of the numbers.

Good morning, Here is the link to a discussion we had on warrelics forum about these 1883 swords, getting very precise on regulations thanks to Nick Komiya and Thomas : https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/1883-series-naval-swords-800328/#post2190172 And below a presentation of this sword with documents and items of same period

Kikuichi 菊一

It is a Jinsen Arsenal made Type 95 Military Sword. The serial number is hard to determine on this one, possibly ヘ300994 or ヘ301994? It would be best to wait for @Stegel or @Shamsy to look at it. Cross-Reference Gunto identification help

I think we'd just call this a wakizashi. If authentic, this would be a good candidate for a professional polish. Don't be tempted to polish it yourself, as these things need to be handled by people who understand what they are working with - people who have been trained to polish antique Japanese swords. (Youtube is full of people ruining Japanese swords...check on this site for people who can advise how to go about finding a polisher).

Yes you are correct about the signature You could look for authenticated examples of the mei on the internet and compare to yours Afaik the workmanship of Osaka shinto can be fairly characteristic so you could compare examples you find to your own

The first one is a tanto. The shirasaya says Masahide. The others are kitchen knives. Masahide was a good smith whose work was faked often. Even if we see the tang and it says Masahide we cannot confirm if the signature is good (shoshin) or fake (Gimei). It looks like the blade needs a polish.

Cross-References to the same sword. Meiji date help and Help with Mei and Tensho Script

I'm personally into that combination of age and personality with swords. I also LOVE a beautiful type 94/98 gunto mounted ancestral blade. I wanted a Mantetsu because it seems the most recent and last militarily/war used Japanese engineering attempt to improve the sword. I prefer 26" and above nagasa. Didn't want a wakizashi originally but now have 3 (still not that into them). Didn't want a yari but now I have one...those make you want a naginata...the classic rabbit hole. I love non-traditional themes in fittings preferably attached to myth/stories/artistic themes. I've found I also love different bohi styles on blades and love the different ways to accent/decorate a blade. I still need an o-kissaki blade (preferably with naginata-hi) and will always be tempted by a blade with a red laquer bohi...always. Beyond that I really haven't gotten into a strong desire to focus on specific smiths/schools or even hamon styles as I find something to love in each. Prefer early edo and older. Would also love a daisho with personality and will always keep my collection at 20 or less swords. If I ever get to 20 I have to sell one to buy one.

Hope I could help.

Item 101 signature is Tôhu or Tôu. It is the nyudo name of several Yasuchika.

Sorry Dan, it’s quite stylised - I think we have to wait for the cavalry: SteveM or Nobody san.

That's right, registration cards only describe the piece of metal (how long, how many holes, any inscription, etc.). The people doing to the registration don't make any judgment on the maker, or the authenticity of the name, or the quality. The only thing they judge is: is the sword in front of me eligible to be registered (or is it, for example, a replica, a toy, a factory-made import, etc...?

Ok, folks. Let us get to the point here. This is not nijuba but Aoi Art’s wishful interpretation of the hamon. They are often, let us say, “creative” in the way the depict hamon. The rather crude nie kuzure is symptomatic of lack of control as it is not consistent along the habuchi.

Registration card basically says what you can see. Dimensions and what is on the tang. It verifies nothing. Original registration card outside of Japan usually means illegally exported sword.

Well, now we know who to go to when someone shows up with a navy kyu! We'll be sending them your way. Nice digging.

Item No. 101 - Iron Tsuba with brass and gold 6.17 cm x 5.61 cm x 0.45 cm Tanto sized tsuba with subject of Heron and water margins , signed with inlaid kao Unusually shaped tsuba for a small blade - any help or suggestions with the age, signature and kao would be appreciated. Item No. 102 - Iron Sukashi Tsuba 7.43 cm x 7.30 cm x 0.62 cm Subject of Plum tree - attributed as Akasaka Ume no ki Nice , heavy iron tsuba with fully rounded mimi , shakudo plug , 18th cent ?

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen. Can't tell you how much I dread opening this thread expecting things to fix or that people hate something new. It is SUCH a relief to see compliments or than new features are noticed.

From the handful I have noted they are chiefly on field scabbards. My best guess is personal preference of officers/NCO's adept in different sword schools.

Seki update: 61 smiths - 124 blades (large Seki) Awaiting request for prefectures on several smiths, but what shocked me was I already have 9 smiths from prefectures outside the Seki/Gifu authority: Kanetsugu - Gunma Kazunori - Aichi Masatsune - Chiba Masayuki - Yamanashi Nobumitsu - Fukuoka Sadakatsu - Osaka Yoshichika - Tokyo Yoshikane - Tottori Yoshitada - Saga I will update if any of the unknowns turn out to be from someplace other than Gifu. Why would blades made outside Gifu be inspected by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association?

Dear Jiri, your tsuba looks nice and is signed Nagatsune with his kao. As you may know, he is a very famous maker, so there are many gemei copies of his work (and your tsuba does not look like his work to me).

Yes, the Gassan group is a well-known line of swordsmiths. I don't know anything about this particular smith. The authentication paper is not from the well-respected NBTHK or NTHK. The paper you have is issued by a group that is somewhat mysterious, and they seem to be connected with a dealer in Osaka.

Another found by Marco: https://pre98.com/shop/thu-aug-26-Japanese-army-officers-shin-gunto-sword-very-old-ancestral-blade-from-the-late-1400s-with-family-crest-tassel/

Looks like the text of the description says its Gassan Sadaharu (月山貞晴). The second column from the left indicates he is of the Sadayoshi group.

Second row from left looks like gassan sadyoshi !

I'm not fond of posting links but for the sake of transparency, it's not mine and I'm not interested in buying it either. I was just curious as I've never seen one like this before. https://pre98.com/shop/thu-aug-26-Japanese-army-officers-shin-gunto-sword-very-old-ancestral-blade-from-the-late-1400s-with-family-crest-tassel/

Hello, Hi John, Thanks again. For me, this thread had many post that lead to lot of readings that seem to connect, and form part of the Nihonto world (Blade history and smiths). I enjoyed the articles. Time well spent. Also, the worn/tired low cost Swords I have must be one of the many made throughout the times. There was more Kanesada Schools/smiths, too. Hachiya Kanesada, many Seuseki and Ganmaku School students that many have been Kanesada.. I was going to try to get the blade "re polished" and into a shirasaya , but, .... I do have other blades to look up and read/learn more. This post is over.. Thanks all . Alton Added : Ohtani Hits 41st Homerun ..

In the description: There are few cracks

I was referring to this thread specifically, which may be of interest to you, Paul: I find the idea plausible, Paul. I'm not sure why they would do it though (since the swords already had numbers) and seeing that this is the only example, if it was a practice they employed even temporarily, I would expect to see a handful of these pop up by now. Intriguing, but I am remembering how much money I wasted chasing stories over facts and restraining myself from trying to buy the sword for my own collection.

The ones Shamsy mentioned are what we believe to be swords made in occupied China for Japanese forces. Could this simply be a Type 95 used/issued over there? Who knows. I wish, truly, that I had a good memory. On this NMB site there is a discussion, or a document in the records, discussing the Japanese officials that were in charge of inspecting and sorting confiscated swords, looking for the nihonto/gendaito that could be saved. In the report, it stated that the inspector put a number on the item. That particular discussion came on the heels of painted numbered blade, so I don't know that this one is the same as that. But considering your story, it very well could fit the practice, although after reading what I just wrote, a Type 95 would not qualify for a "National Treasure" nihonto. Just brain-storming ideas.

Rob is correct, very poor fake. Sorry. I still have my first fake I bought as a rookie!

http://ohmura-study.net/792.html Some good reference photos of originals.

Sorry to say this Luke but IMO this is a fake, and a very bad one at that. It may be that the seller believed it was genuine but I can assure you it is not. I am sure there will be other similar comments in due course and hopefully it may provide some leverage for you to recoup your money. There are a number of sites that explain how to tell a fake Type 95 but just search on this site "fake Type 95" and you will find lots of info and, with respect, examples of much better fakes than your purchase and reasons why. Dont be put off collecting...adapt and overcome! Rob

Jussi - That was Mike Yamasaki... https://tetsugendo.com

We could fork the thread. I'll just add one note: I think some of his motivation is that he may be thinking in terms of a long term preservation foundation for the blades. So he is pulling things that he thinks are especially worthy and he seems to be interested in advancing preservation techniques. Consider the abuse that swords are going though right now of people messing them up with uchiko, getting them polished unnecessarily, cutting off the mei (as we saw in that Enju blade) and so on. I received some blades from a collector this summer that had been polished before he got them, they hadn't been looked at in 10 years and arrived rusty so had to be polished again. I think he is thinking long term, like permanent multi millennium type of timeframe and will leave behind a legacy to care for the swords. I only know a small bit about this but this is the impression I'm getting.

It amazes me how relatively poor many post war mei are, I actually thought this must be a chinese blade. However there are many top smiths with similarly uninspiring Mei.