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SteveM

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Everything posted by SteveM

  1. 奈良利壽 Nara Toshinaga Not an authentic signature.
  2. Not a poem. It should be a signature. 友雄鏨 以彫?鍛 I think its saying made and carved by Tomo-o. I can look for other references if you let me know what the item is.
  3. 昭和十五年 (Shōwa 15. The last character is "year"). The other side says 山本正雄 (Yamamoto Masao). Not a swordsmith name. Not typical writing for the name or the year, and the patina looks funny. I have some doubts about this being a Japanese sword.
  4. On your sword you have 越前守源 Echizen-no-kami Minamoto 越前守源 Echizen-no-kami Minamoto Minamoto is a clan name. It is common to put a clan name on swords, and Minamoto is the most common clan name. It wouldn't be too hard to give a final verdict, I think, but often it is hard to do so just by looking at photographs. Actually the sword tends to be more important than the inscription. What I mean is, the appraisers will look at the sword, the shape, the tip, the steel, the grain, any crystal structures in the steel, etc... and base their determination largely on those things, rather than on the signature. Well, of course they look at both, but if the sword is a perfect match for what a Nobuyoshi sword should look like, they will accept some slight variations in the signature. On the other hand, if the signature is a perfect match, but the sword shows a lot of deviations from a typical Nobuyoshi sword, they may deem the sword to be a fake. Swords were shortened for a variety of reasons. It is very, very common in the sword world to find a shortened sword. Maybe the sword was damaged and was shortened to remove the damaged bit. Maybe the original size was too long for the person who acquired it, and so they wanted it shortened for ease of use. Or maybe the sword was acquired by a non-samurai, who wasn't allowed to have a long sword, so it was shortened to comply with the rules for swords for commoners.
  5. Hello Hylke, The actual name, Nobuyoshi, is cut-off. We can guess that the name Nobuyoshi would have been on the part of the tang that was cut off, but it doesn't actually say Nobuyoshi (nor does the registration card). If you have photos of the NBTHK certificates, it may indicate who they believe the maker is. Echizen is the name of a province. It corresponds to current-day Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures. The actual title is "Kami" (守), and it was granted by the government. Its more or less a courtesy title, meaning Lord, or sometimes translated as Governor (although the title doesn't come with any special authority). So its kind of of like "Lord of Echizen". The smith would apply to the government to receive this title. The emperor would have little to do with it. And the smith might not even live or work in Echizen. Its just a title granted to show that the smith is a good smith. Well, the government makes some money from receiving the request and granting the title, so it is a bit "transactional" as they say. The chrysanthemum symbol may require the emperor's approval - I'll have to dig into the books. My gut feeling it that all of these privileges were controlled by the government (not the royal family), and the emperor was marginally involved, if at all.
  6. ↑ That's the one I saw. And here's a screen grab of the papered one (Shōami) from Yahoo Japan. I like the design, and I think I like Robert's the best out of these. Looks just a bit more delicate, but that may be a trick of lighting. Anyway, a nice-looking tsuba.
  7. I would have said Owari or Akasaka, but as I was looking around for references I saw an identical one on Yahoo, papered to Shōami. (And, I just found a similar one advertised in Europe, labeled - but not papered to - Owari).
  8. I don't think you're being a dick. It's a post from someone who wanted info, and he got a ton of info. He didn't reveal any personal information, there isn't anything libelous, there isn't even anything really embarrassing or cringe-inducing. The only reason he might want it deleted is that it now pops up on an internet search for Suishinshi Masahide, and its somehow inconvenient. I suppose I feel slightly vested in the thread because I took time out to search for a sword with this exact date, just as others used their time to search and link and comment. So the poster came here and said he just wanted to learn about the sword, and in return he got a bunch of volunteers to help him learn about his sword. So far, so good. Now he wants to disappear and delete the whole thread, along with the efforts of the guys who helped him out. Well, lock the thread and let it sink to the bottom of search results if you like. But he shouldn't get to decide to "disappear" everyone's efforts.
  9. I hope he comes back. He asked for info and we gave him a torrent of info and links and opinions... Even the guys who suggested the signature was gimei did it with qualifications, and almost always followed it with, "send it to an expert to be sure". I feel bad that, for whatever reason, he felt he had to leave and slam the door behind him. Now he's on Reddit asking the same questions. If Matt is still out there, I'd say come back to NMB and keep us updated and continue to ask questions and don't be offended if some people doubt the signature on the blade. Learning to see the blade and not the signature is a tough, tough thing to do.
  10. Hello Footslime Here is another one. Bunka 3 (1806) https://www.touken-s...6/K-masahide-02.html
  11. Or possibly 天正子四年 (Tenshō - rat - 4)
  12. Chippy writing, typical of WW2 smiths. This Yoshitsugu (義次) is probably the Seki smith whose real name was Hibino Komajirō. I would expect it to be a typical arsenal blade, not stainless steel, not tamahagane. If its stainless steel, the inscription on the tang usually says "made with anti-rust steel" or something similar. I think as the war dragged on, the Japanese stopped using real ray skin, and opted for cheaper, more readily available substitutes, which may account for the plastic rayskin that was on the sword. (Don't know if they used plastic or celluloid or something similar). So I think you've got a fairly typical WW2, signed, arsenal blade. If it had any hamon, it was most likely a cosmetically applied one.
  13. The sword should be pointing with the tip up. (Otherwise the signature is upside-down). 越前住日向守藤原貞次 The translation is mostly correct: Echizen-jū Hyuga-no-kami Fujiwara Sadatsugu 日向 can also be pronounced "hinata" in some cases, but in this case it is a certain location, pronounced Hyuga. There are no less than three smiths who signed using this name and title. I don't know which one signed this. Could also be a forgery, as forgeries are very common in the world of Japanese swords. More pictures of the sword might help. The fittings are a hodgepodge of antique, samurai-style fittings, and a wartime leather scabbard: interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the sword itself will be.
  14. I think you got a very nice and collectible piece of WW2 memorabilia. Signature on the sword is 関住星谷義長 Seki-jū Hoshiya Yoshinaga (Made by) Yoshinaga Hoshiya of Seki The fittings are in good/very good condition, the sword is in good condition for a WW2 sword, and the sword has a distinct mei, and is from a known smith...its all good. I think if you Google the smith's name, you can find other threads discussing other swords by him. The issue of the surrender tag is a side issue, but I think its probably OK, just a bit less worn than we normally see. With a WW2 sword and fittings in good condition like this, the presence (or lack) of surrender tag has minimal affect on the value of the ensemble. I think most people would like to have the tag as evidence of the sword's history, but, really, the condition of the sword and the scabbard are the important things - which is why I think think its a side issue. In any event, it is a real location in Japan, so if you ever wanted to research the presumed former owner, it can be done.
  15. Wakayama's Index of Metalsmiths https://www.amazon.co.jp/刀装金工事典-若山-猛/dp/463900379X
  16. 二コ一 would normally mean "one of two" (one of a two-piece set). The name looks like 関場正志 Sekiba Masashi. Not sure about the first character.
  17. Reverse side of your sword says 皇紀二千六百年五月 護国 Imperial year 2600, May. Protect the country Imperial year 2600 is 1940
  18. Here's another papered example. Showa-era smith. https://nihontou.jp/.../katana/1565/00.html Edit: Your translation is accurate. But your paper makes no mention of the mei on the opposite side (which looks very much like the inscription on the sword at the Nihontou.com link above. So, when I first posted this I didn't have any doubts about your sword or paper, but now, I'm not so sure. The sword you posted has the same inscription as the one on the "nihontou" site, but the paper is different. The one on the Nihontou site has a paper that correctly matches the inscription on the sword tang, and notes a size of 2 shaku, 2 sun, 1 bu. Your paper doesn't match your tang, and your paper notes a size of 2 shaku and 2 sun (but its a funny notation for the 2 sun.... its got an inexplicable "0" in front of it). And...weren't they using actual photographs in Heisei 29 (which is the date on your paper) and NOT hand-drawn oshigata? I think your paper may be, um, problematic.
  19. There is one Hirashige listed in Wakayama. Metalworker to the Tokugawa. Died in Meiji 12 (1879) at the age of 51.
  20. 明治三午年二月日 1870 (horse) year, a day in February
  21. 平重造(花押) Hirashige zō (tsukuru).
  22. Here's something about the metallurgy. https://markussesko....-thoughts-on-utsuri/
  23. Marking on the bottom sword (2nd picture) is the smith's name: 兼吉 (Kaneyoshi) The marking on the top sword should also be the smith's name, but part of it is obscured (or missing) so I can't make it out. Something + 國之 (~Kuniyuki), but the part before that is unclear, so I don't know if Kuniyuki is the smith's name, or if those two characters have some other significance.
  24. The chances would be pretty high, I think. Looking online, I can find 8 people named Abe living in what was that section of Wada city (now part of Takahata city). I wouldn't go cold-calling them, but if I wanted to repatriate that sword I might send a letter to one (or more) of them and ask if they were related to Shuichi. The problem is that if this is a real guntō, you couldn't return it to them because it couldn't be registered, or even imported. If its an older blade, you could do it, but I don't think Mike has repatriation on his mind, and its dicey to try to contact these people out of the blue unless you wanted to return the sword.
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