mecox

More on the Takahashi brothers to support Neil's post

Masatsugu has now been sold, thank you.

Price reduced to US1950.00 including shipping.

Its a hard one, possibly KANEYASU 兼安

Did you search NMB for Kunimitsu, there is some good info.

As per Thomas, name at left likely to be: Hayashi Kiyoshi 林清. At right may be, but not sure: Korei dai san bu ni katsu kai. Army group??

Keen to sell, reduced price and included shipping.

@John C @Bruce Pennington the kaigunto John found Pic 1: stamp in circle of Toyokawa arsenal plus か "ka" katakana. The ink characters are assembly no. same as the fittings 941 九四一. Looks to be typical stainless steel blade. Pic 2:　ink writing looks like a name (is it the owner, or the assembler?) Suggestion is: SHIRAKI 白木 HIKOICHI 彦市 (shira is not clear). Pic 3: probably a fault not a stamp.

@Bruce Pennington @John C IDO HIDETOSHI (井戸 秀俊) was a key tosho in the Amahide workshop in Seki and also commonly did daisaku with Amahide and others. various blades have the Amahide kokuin stamp, also a few other stamps e.g. "flaming ball" and a "one-punch". I have not seen an "8" but it looks more like OO ? That was a very productive workshop and there is a range of mei and stamp combinations due to daisaku and combined work.

"Hizen Kuni Ju Masatsugu Kore Kinsaku" dated 1977, made at age 73. He was a fully trained smith and wartime Rikugun Jumei Tosho. Nagasa 80.1 cm, sori 3.2 cm, hamon varied gunome-midare over notare. . There is a paper with his full history of work and training showing numerous examples in NMB Downloads; this sword is on pages 33-34. This is a very long sword and due to the overall length it will need to be shipped by courier, which is also more secure. Type: katana shinogi-zukuri Ubu: original condition with good polish in shirasaya. Mei: "Hizen Kuni Ju Masatsugu Kore Kinsaku” Papered: copy of Torokusho (Saga Education Committee, Showa 53 (1978) January 10); Aoi Art Appraisal with photos, full length traditional oshigata on scroll by Aoi Art. Also an informal “description paper” (not an assessment). Era/Age: “Showa Hinoto-Mi Sai 12 gatsu kichijitsu” (lucky day 12th month Year of Snake, December, 2007) Shirasaya: quality wood saya with clear grain. Comes with quality purple storage bag. Total length is 111 cm. Nagasa/Blade Length : 80.1 cm (31 1/2 in); total length of blade + nakago 113.3 cm (40 6/8 in). Sori : 3.2 cm (1 1/4 in) of koshi-zori. Hamon Type : gunome-midare with ashi within long notare “waves”. Jihada : ko-itame and ji-nie Other Hataraki Visible : nioi-deki Flaws : nil, perfect condition Sword Location : Brisbane, Australia Will ship to : selected countries giving permission. Payment Methods Accepted : Paypal Price and Currency : US$2500 including shipping and fees. Other Info and Full Description : unusual long sword with deep sori attractive sugata. Possibly a custom order. Mei are clearly cut in Hizen style. Two piece copper habaki with gold foil on one piece.

Sesko listing: SANEYUKI (真行), Enpō (延宝, 1673-1681), Bungo – “Bungo no Kuni Takada-jū Fujiwara Saneyuki” (豊後高田住 藤原真行), Fujiwara-Takada school.

There are occasionally tosho not in lists but swords found. For Seki registration I think at least 4-5. Often they are later in the war and in an arsenal. In Seki there were a few late registration tosho (e.g. 1944) with "katsu" e.g. Katsunori and Katsufusa. Some are young some are old.

Here are some other Kaneyoshi, and listed as Okada , some look like yours but depends on how mei is cut? (1) －　関住岡田兼義作 Sekiju Okada Kaneyoshi　－　日本刀の通信販売　明倫産業株式会社 (nipponto.co.jp) here is an Okada Kaneyoshi......his 兼義 cut looks like yours ?? (2) 【研ぎ上がり・斬れ味保証】「濃州関住兼義」66.4cm 、鑑賞に・居合・試斬刀として！！！ (ikedaart.net) (3) 濃州関住岡田兼義作之　附九八式軍刀拵｜刀剣・日本刀販売の【黒金の舎】 (kajiyahiroshi.com) (4)　濃州関住岡田兼義作之 Noushu Sekiju Okada Kaneyoshi　－　日本刀の通信販売　明倫産業株式会社 (nipponto.co.jp)

There were 2 in Seki with that signature, Okada Takeshi Kaneyoshi and Kawai Yoshifumi Kaneyoshi. But based on the mei style and yasurime shown in Slough it looks like Kawai, but needs confirmation. But I am not 100% sure...in post below are some other Kaneyoshi. listed as Okada and look a bit like yours ??? So appears some confusion in descriptions. 兼義 Kaneyoshi (河合 義文 Kawai Yoshifumi) Born: Meiji 35 (1902) Oct 25; Reg: Showa 14 (1939) Oct 25/20? In 1937 at Kamo-gun, Kajita-mura, Shita-machi. In 1939 same address. Had one deshi in 1937. He was a nephew of, and trained under Watanabe Kanenaga in Seki-machi. Became independent in Showa 9 (1934). In 1941: 6th shinsakuto exhibition was 2nd level of 5. In the 1942: Toshu Banzuke was 5th level of 7 (Chu Saku). Became Rikugun Jumei Tosho. Slough (p.74) oshigata below: Seki ju Kaneyoshi saku 関住兼義作. This has Sho stamp and early war. F&G 1983 oshigata similar cut date and nijimei (but takanoha yasurime) assuming is same smith, same as yours and looks like arsenal product. With Nagoya "NA" stamp @Bruce Pennington Some tosho worked in both arsenals and private workshops.

Yes looks like Showa ju hachi nen roku gatsu "Showa 18 (1943) June. Were a few of these Kaneyoshi, does this blade have any stamps?