Marius

Rich is absolutely right. One has also to consider that Japanese fittings have symbolic meaning and often refer to legends, tales, poems, etc. I have an aikuchi koshirae that has a menuki of moon and sun and the kanji for jin (man) on the saya and it refers to a Chinese poem about the transient nature of life. When you have a cuckoo, the moon will be a matching motif, plovers will go together with waves, where there is a pine needle, expect plum blossoms and bamboo, etc, etc. I recommend reading "Legend in Japanese Art": https://archive.org/details/legendinjapanese00jolyuoft

Attributed to Etchu Norishige, but it is an Uda tanto

Cast fake.

ko-kinko kamoshika menuki. Charming (IMHO)

Looks like late Edo/Bakumatsu revival tsuba. Still, if it were. it would a nice example of how revival stuff differed from the original. Nice in any case.

I guess Darcy's picture is appropriate as a comment.

Well done, Grev

James, Thank you Of course you are right. I should have looked at the nakago-jiri. This must be a tanto by: MITSUHIRO (光広), Eishō (永正, 1504-1521), Kaga. A few pics attached.

Thank you, gentlemen If we settle on Matsuhiro and accept the signature as genuine, according to Markus's excellent Index this could be the Kozori smith working in the Nambokucho period. I will post some pics later on if you are interested. Again, you guys rock!

John, yes, this is what I meant. But I think we can disagree with the torokusho. Thanks

Dear Friends, may I as you for help on this one? Those kanji make no sense to me. The registration paper of the tanto was Mitsuhiro, but I see no big resemblance. The tanto itself looks like a Nambokucho/early Muromachi sword, not thet it matters. I shall be happy to publish pics of it. Disclaimer: I might offer this tanto for sale here on the NMB, so if you feel uncomfortable with it, I will understand. Just wanted to be honest. Thank you

John, No, they are not. That is why your sword has received Hozon

obviously... Thanks, gents

http://www.ni-hon-to.com they seem almost identical to: http://www.e-sword.jp/

What I see in your picture looks like tate ware. Hagarami is a crack similar in nature to hagire, but unlike the latter, it is not perpendicular to the edge.

Yup. China. Awful, too.

I got a reply today. No sweat.

Hm... Part of the omote was exposed to corrosion to a much larger degree than ura. The tsuba has been subsequently cleaned (look at the lack of patina on the sekigane) and repatinated.

Gentlemen, Peter said: "I bought this blade not from Tsuruta San". I hope you didn't pay too much, Peter

Peter, I think that your sword might be good value for the money. Alas, the photographs you have provided are - excuse me for being blunt - substandard. I cannot see the hamon, just the hadori finish. I cannot see the hada - is it itame with masame? I see some black spots in the ha, but I'd like to have a close up so I can see what they are. If they are rust, I'd like to be able to see if the rust is serious. I also see that the new shirasaya has an inserted sayagaki. I think that people here on the board would help to translate it (as long as they are warned that the sword is for sale). I'd like to know what is written there, and surely, prospective buyers would like to know it, too. It takes some effort to sell a $2k item. You should make this effort and if the sword is as good as it seems, I am sure it will sell. Whining won't help, good pictures will. Sorry to be a bit harsh, but it is in your interest, not mine.

Francis, I'd say, you might want to buy this: http://www.lulu.com/shop/markus-sesko/e-swordsmiths-of-Japan/ebook/product-22166224.html So convenient to look up a name in a PDF

Seller's nick was katana-maeda, or something like this, I think (judging by the pics). This shop seems to have pretty decent stuff and their asking prices are reasonable. Blade looks very nice, has koshirae, too. Chances are you have done well

More like late 1500s. Still respectable, especially for people with a knack for all things romantic

No shinogi zukuri wakizashi, to be precise

Kaufwut... Best translated as feeding frenzy (among buyers).