ROKUJURO

Fabio, welcome to the board! It was a good idea to ask for advice here! That might save you from a lot of trouble! First thing: You cannot bring a sword into Japan. It will be confiscated and you can expect a severe penalty. You need a local agent with a permit to handle swords, and he has to receive the blade from the customs. The new owner needs a permit as well to be allowed to own that sword. It will then be registrated as in his possession. As a non-specialist you are probably not able to tell a genuine first generation TADAYOSHI from a copy. Probably there are many more copies on the market than genuine ones! And it is not just the signature that tells you about the difference but much more so the many properties and details in the blade that you have to learn to see in a long process. Everything is experience in this field, and that takes years of studying good genuine blades. A blade with a false signature may still look good, be well made and not necessarily be inferior, but for collectors it will not have the same value of course. Your picture shows a pencil rubbing of a tang, but it is not made like a real OSHIGATA and will not help much to judge the signature of the blade in question, I think. So wait a moment before you jump into the airplane with a sword in your hand!

Uwe, you are right, it is HACHI, so 1943.

NAKAGO looks like an elongated FUNA GATA shape. Not completely unusual, I have seen that elsewhere.

Geoff, welcome to the NM board! Your SHIN GUNTO seems to be made by HIROMITSU in November 1944. This does not necessarily mean that this blade was actually hand-forged by a smith. More and sharp photos of the 'naked' blade are needed to say more about the quality.

Scott, welcome to the NMB board! It is rare to see a sword in such a marvellous condition! Help keeping the sword this way by not touching the blade with bare fingers, keep it away from moist, children, and silly adults. Read about maintenance and care here on the board, and to get more information, make some sharp photos of the bare blade: full naked blade (without HABAKI), and of details like NAKAGO (tang; are there stamps to be seen?), KISSAKI (tip), and HAMON (cutting edge).

Thomas, as said above, some good photos would help to say more about the blade. It seems to be made in WWII time, so it is probably an officer's blade. If it was hand-forged, you may mount it in traditional 'SAMURAI style'. But take your time for such a project, and don't let untrained amateurs try their hands on it!

Athomasgpc, please sign all posts with at least a first name plus an initial so we may address you politely. Your blade was made on a day in February 1945. The smith signed HIZEN no KUNI TADATSUGU, if I am not mistaken. You can look up the smith in books about this subject. I think there was a NAKAO TADATSUGU. If you want to facilitate reading, please show the NAKAGO (tang) vertically (tip up). Photos of the blade in full length and details of tip, NAKAGO and cutting edge are necessary to say more. Are there any additional stamps on the NAKAGO? If not, there is a possibility that this could be a handforged blade of some value.

To me it is obvious that the NAKAGO was broken at the upper MEKUGI-ANA and this was an attempt to repair it.

Ken, I cannot find informations about the 'YOSHII floods'. Do you happen to have a link?

It could be a hidden weapon like a pointed 'pocket stick', but also a nice awl. Not necessarily a NINJA item, but might sell better with that tag on it!

A bit difficult to wear on the wrist.....

Krystian, polished SHAKUDO TSUBA may look quite glossy if their surface is intact, but if this one is an iron TSUBA (it seems to be one), it might have been sprayed with clear paint. If so, it is a good candidate for an Acetone treatment. This powerful solvent will not attack the patina or the metal, but dissolve all kinds of paint. Don't do this inside your house and use nitrile gloves as Acetone is harmful to your health.

Ed, the KAESHIZUNO 返し角 is needed when both swords are being drawn for a fight. The SAGEO secures the SAYA of the second sword (in most cases this will be the WAKIZASHI) to the OBI so the blade can be drawn one-handedly.

It is also called Kaeshizuno (返し角) - a hook shaped fitting (part made usually from horn) used to lock the saya to the obi while drawing. (WIKIPEDIA)

Alexsandr, this could be a late KINAI TSUBA.

Chris, probably name in a short MEI. A long MEI may contain province, title, and family/clan name. Other side of the NAKAGO will show the date.

Matthew, that depends on how much is being offered actually. Generally speaking, an artful, individually handmade item will always have a better value increase over time than something factory made. But if you keep your sword in good shape for the next 300 years, you may also get some money for it!

John, thank you, you are right, I got the wrong number. This one may be better, but my general opinion remains.

András, if you really have that money to spend, you could get way better swords elsewhere. The KATANA is extremely straight, more than I would expect from a KANBUN blade. Perhaps it was made for a cane sword. The WAKZASHI seems better, but as I said, compare first what you could get from the dealers who are members of the NMB forum.

George, thank you! Very revealing!

Christophe, if you like SOTEN style, then they are not bad. In fact they are nicer than the average stuff. You know certainly that a SOTEN MEI does not mean much unless there is a paper with it. Unlike many SOTEN style TSUBA, the first one does not show a SAMURAI fight scene, but SHOKI hunting for a fearful ONI. Actually and to my amazement, I have seen some SOTEN TSUBA wth relatively high price tags on them.

Me neither. A photo with the respective KANJI (no plural 's') would be helpful.

Jay, the first question is of course: What oil do you use? And then: How much did you use? How long was it on the blade? There is also a slight possibility that the KOGATANA is not made with TAMAHAGANE and that a different steel reacts differently with the oil, as Chris already mentioned.

Justin, the KIZU are not nice, but they are small. The one in the SHINOGI is not too bad, looks a bit like spider rust in a KITAE WARE. I think, both will be reduced in size in a good polish; the blade seems to have a lot of NIKU. The starting corrosion looks as I would expect from a handmade (TAMAHAGANE) blade. It is a kind of a gamble, but if you could negotiate the price a little down and save enough money for polish and SHIRA SAYA, you might have a nice and valuable GENDAITO with a potential. But keep the complete costs in mind; just possessing the blade in that state won't be a solution.

That is really generous, but we should see the respective blade first, see the condition and have measurements. There is still some time until Chrismas! And Christian, you will look fine on a sledge with a white beard, a red coat and jingle bells! Do you like reindeer?