nihonto ken korekuta

Excellent, I appreciate everyone's help on this. Thanks again for all your imput and knowledge. domo arigatou gozaimasu

I did a very rough drawing of what I see in person but my pen strokes are not the best as far as angles. I hope this can clarify things. Ive looked and cant see anything exactly the same but im no good with translation. If everyone agress it's: bishu osafune sukesada saku than im happy with that. Sorry John, you mean shiono or shioya is written on the kabutogane? is it the soldiers name or something else?

So the blade might be signed: bishu osafune sukemune (but I think there is more kanji than that), and is the kanji on the kobutogane possibly the soldiers name? shiono or shioya? Its a really nice sword and really light compared to showa era blades I have. I do believe its at least late 16th century as the seller said. it also has a mintamoto clan mon on it. So a lot of information and history with it. If any one else has any ideas on translation of mei and kanji on the kobutogane please let me know. thanks, Andy.W

Ok thanks guys, I will try and add some better photos of the tang and of the blade over all. I might buy some chalk or do something to bring up the mei better, any ideas of the kanji on the kobutogane, maybe the soldiers name? I tried to up load better photos hopefully these are better. cheers, Andy W

Ok Thanks George, I haven't heard that explanation before but you probably right. If a Japanese soldier killed more than a few people I don't think his tassel would be long enough for all the knots. So the logical answer is usually the right one. cheers, Andy.W

Hi everyone, I just acquired a new katana which I was told was signed bishu osafune ju suke sada saku. there is also possibly a date on the other side but the tang was grinded down during ww2 so its hard to make out. There is also some kanji on the kobutogane in silver which im un sure of. I was told the blade was made in the 1500's, can anyone please help with translation? P.S: sorry about the poor photos and drawings. Andy.W

Hi all, this may have been answered previously so please forgive me if I'm going over old ground. I have had swords before that have tassels with knots in them. Sometimes there are 1,2,3 or even more knots in the tassel. Some people say its just the soldier making the tassel shorter and I have also heard others say if the soldier has a confirmed kill with his sword he puts a knot in it. Could it be either of these or is there any other reason or tradition they do? Does any one know for sure or have any clues? again I'm sorry if this is already answered successfully before. Andy.W

I had a star stamped sword that also had a seki stamp, I know each sword must be judged on its own merits but I would say that a star stamp doesn't always mean it's traditionally hand made when it has an accompanying seki or other factory stamp? I currently own another star stamped sword without any other stamps and it is traditionally made, I wish I knew for sure the reasoning behind all stamps. I will keep my eye on this cause its very interesting for me, ive had swords with seki stamps that I thought looked like "gendaito" or traditionally hand made. But I guess it is probably near imposable to tell what metal was used even if it looks like a hand made blade. But I don't understand why they would put a factory marking on it like a seki or showa stamp just because its made from a non traditional metal. So many un answered questions for me.. Andy.w

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend, I will pray for Mr Bryant, his family and friends tonight. God Bless and may he rest in peace eternally. And to all His Friends and Family.. It is good bye for now, but not forever. sincerely, Andy.W

Hi Adam, yeah its a really nice sword in original polish. The better swords in type 3 mounts were dark brown like this mount. I have a theory that it belonged to a higher ranking officer and was handed in on surrender. From what I've seen the higher ranking officers swords were more often in better condition or near mint condition (maybe lack of use or maybe they were taken better care of because they were higher quality gendaito). And Star stamped swords made traditionally were more often reserved for the higher ranking officers. I believe there are signs this may have had a tassel at one stage but was removed like many during surrender. But there is no way of knowing any of this for sure without knowing its history. Either way I'm happy with it cause its getting harder to find them in this condition and time will only add to that.

Ok cheers, I've added some photos for future reference or if anyone see's a similar sword by that smith with the same mei. Thanks for all your help, its much appreciated. Andy.W

Hi Chris, you may be right. I thought that it could be a possibility that the sword smith used a different name. The nakago looks similar, I'm not too sure about the mei and the different Hamons ive seen before but I'm no expert. Could have had several different scribers engrave the mei for the RJT too. I guess without comparing the blades in person or without complete photos there would be no way to be 100% sure. I guess I will keep my eye out for another sword similarly signed to see if this happened more than once but I havnt seen another yet. I will add some more complete photos of the sword and koshirae so if anyone see's this link in the future and can confirm this or find another signed the same. Can anyone please translate the kanji next to the 84 stamp on the date side? and also I'm just curious if the date says a lucky day in may 1943 or just a day in may 1943? Merry Christmas All and thankyou for your help. Andy.W

Hi Chris, hmm that's what the seller said, takeshita hirokuni but I cant find any info on this maker. the seller said he was a rare smith, not much work of his around/ if any cause ive never seen another. ??? really weird. Also there is kanji on the dated side of the tang next to the number 84, im not sure what that says, maybe manufacturing related? I was told the dated side of the tang translates to May 1943. It just seams bizarre to me that who ever made this sword was very capable but the maker is not known. Maybe a mistake in the mei ? the star stamp and everything is genuine and I had the impression before that I found this smith in rikugun jumei tosho list but it wasn't in another list I looked in. Now I cant find him anywhere. Sorry for the photos of the blade, doesn't show everything. Andy.W

Here is a couple of photos of the hamon. Andy.W

Ok thanks guys, I've been trying to get some photos to upload so hopefully it works this time. Thanks for the link Geraint, I'm not great in translating mei and comparing it sometimes but from what I could see it look different in a spot and also the hamon is different compared to my blade. Hopefully these photos will upload now. If it works I will add a few more to show comparisons. Andy.w

Hi, I have a traditionally made WW2 era sword in type 3 mountings I bought a year ago or so. the blade is star stamped (no showa /arsenal stamp) and the seller says it was made by takeshita hirokuni. I thought when I bought it I checked out this smith and although hard to find he was listed in the rikugun jumei tosho list of smiths. But today I double checked this sword and the only smith I could find who was rikugun jumei tosho and had a similar name was takeshita yusukuni . Does anyone know if there actually was a army approved smith named takeshita hirokuni? the seller said it was a rare smith, but now I'm thinking he may have been rare cause he never existed haha. (mistake in translation) The sword is great though and I have no regrets. Can anyone give me any info? Im going to open a new topic to have the mei read correctly soon when I work out how to up load the photos. Thanks. Andy.W