SteveM

Hello Kay - John nailed it previously with 梅沢六左衛門 切落之 Umezawa Rokuzaemon Kiri-Otoshi kore - with Rokuzaemon being verified by Guido Schiller's list of sword testers. I also think the two Johns are right with 正元 being the last two kanji (maybe the top line of 元 has been scratched off - or, if it is in inlay, the inlay has fallen out). Maybe this is the name of the person who did the actual writing of the saidanmei - but that's just a wild guess.

My attempt at the date. Showa 39 = 1964

No telling exactly how old the koshirae is. Say anywhere from 300 - 150 years old. I have read that this type of "aogai mijin nuri" (mother-of-pearl) koshirae was popular towards the end of the Edo period, which would make yours roughly 150 years old if it was made during that time. As is often the case with Japanese swords and fittings, older doesn't necessarily mean better. Think of koshirae as replaceable parts, and the sword may have had several different koshirae throughout its life. (Yours certainly would have since the sword was shortened at some point). The koshirae in your pictures looks to be in very good condition. Could be even more recent than edo period. In any event, it looks fabulous. As for the sword itself, its looking very much like a kanbun shintō, the name for swords made during the latter half of the 17th century, when a shallow sori was popular. It fits with the 延寶 date on the sword. Of the 包永 I linked to, there are two entries for Kanenagas in Enpō era, but these two actually point to the same smith (KAN205). This KAN205 Kanenaga is from Settsu province, which is right next to Yamato. So, close enough to be a potential candidate I think. There is also a Kanenaga (KAN201) from Kanbun era from Kii province, which is also next to Yamato - so I think that is another candidate. Given the shortened length and the flashy koshirae, it could have been owned by a merchant who had it shortened to comply with rules forbidding non-samurai from keeping katana-length swords - but this is complete speculation on my part.

There is a bucketload of Kanenagas. Check out the list here. At least one of these are Enpō 延寶 http://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=All&mei_op=contains&mei=%E5%8C%85%E6%B0%B8

I think Thomas nailed it. Sasshu ju Kiyosada 薩州住清貞

I would suggest the smith might be 包永 (Kanenaga). And John's date of 延寶 Enpō is correct.

Haha - yes, that's how I would read it phonetically. Translated word-for-word (or close to it) it would be For body warrior inability standing this merit/achievement 為身戦者不能立其功 Now anybody's guess is as good (and hopefully better) than mine.

蔓延辛酉正月胤吉作 Man'en 2 (1861), January 為身戦者不能立其功 Kanbun style: the reading is beyond me, and I would be completely guessing at a meaning - so here goes ; maybe some sort of message to invoke martial bravery ("may this sword bring you success in battle" sort of thing).

Yes I learned a new word and kanji today - 餌畚（えふご）　efugo Seems to refer specifically to the bag or basket which holds the food used to feed/reward falcons when going out on falconry/hawking expeditions. Apparently the hitsuana on the tsubas resemble these baskets (I didn't quite catch the resemblance, but for sure I am more literal-minded than the people who came up with these words). Today the word comes up in the tea ceremony, where there is a specific tea container that is supposed to resemble this basket as well. (picture below) http://verdure.tyanoyu.net/kensui_efugo.html Yet another case where the sword world has expanded my vocabulary.

I don't know about the arsenal stamps. This smith is a bit of a mystery. I just had another look and the Kunihide mentioned on Jinsoo Kim's site uses a different "hide" from yours, so I really don't know anything about your Kunihide. There were at least two other smiths in the distant past who used 国英, but I wouldn't assume that your sword is a few hundred years old just yet. Would need to see more pictures (and even then it can be hard to tell). The best thing to do would be to have an expert look at it.

Sukisagebori A method of carving out the tsuba so that the design is lower than the seppa-dai. (Thanks to Google-sensei). And 赤銅容彫色絵??図 Shakudo katachi bori iroe?? zu 龍虎図　Dragon & Tiger

I think you got it right. Looks like Seijō to me, too. (There are at least 4 different Seijōs... my reference doesn't show examples, so I can't help you there.)

I may have some of the English terminology wrong, but it should be close enough. 左右餌畚鐔　無銘肥後 Bag-shaped openings on left and right, openwork tsuba. Mumei Higo 竪丸形鉄篠鑢地 Circular shape, file-marked 左右大透金布目象嵌丸耳 Large openwork (sukashi) on left and right, gold-inlay shading, rounded edge

Hello James, If you are getting into nihonto, I would suggest checking out some of the links in this site (especially under the "research" button). You can get a ton of good information from browsing around there. Also, its a good idea to invest in some reference books. There is a list of recommended reading in one of the links. These will help you get acquainted with some of the things you usually find on swords, and the terminology associated with it. Otherwise, we're just tossing you fish instead of teaching you how to fish for yourself. I'll give you a push to get you started. The first one is; 備前住則光 Bizen jū Norimitsu. Bizen is an old province name in Japan, and one of the most important swordmaking regions. 住 (jū) means reside/live and is often seen after location names. So basically it would translate as Norimitsu from Bizen or Norimitsu who resides in Bizen, if you want a literal translation Typically signatures include location and the smith's name - and usually in that order. Depending on the era or the fashion of the time, the inscription may include more information or less information. So, this is the long way of saying, yes these inscriptions point to a specific region and smith (which usually makes the school obvious). The reverse side of the tang on the bottom sword has the date, which I've given in my post #5 above. The top one doesn't have a date inscribed on it, but you know the smith and the location, and if you do a bit of searching around on the internet you should be able to come up with a date for it based on the signature. Good Luck!

You are welcome Bruno, I hope its a match, but I can't guarantee that your 春秋 is the same one mentioned in the reference (and of course, as always, the signature could be faked), Having said that...here you go

I think the bottom one is 備州長船勝光 Bishu Osafune Katsumitsu The reverse side is is 明応二年八月日 Meiō 2 (1493) August. The old kanji "應" is being used in place of 応. Here is another signature of the same for comparison http://www.touken-sato.com/event/katana/2014/05/W-katsumitsu-02.html

On page 274 of Wakayama's 刀装金工事典 there is a 春秋 (my guess is the pronunciation is Haruaki). Says he is a student of Yanagawa Naoharu, was allowed the use of the Yanagawa name, and that he sometimes signed 柳川春秋.

Yes - Hidetoshi is the smith, and Showa 17 (1942) is the date of manufacture. With these WW2 blades you have to understand that the smith may not have actually hand-forged the sword. He may have just overseen the machine production of it. I think the presence of the Seki arsenal stamp virtually guarantees this one is a mass-produced sword. Still, it is an interesting artifact and I would refrain from scratching it up with a piece of steel wool. There are a lot of threads here that discuss the dos and donts of blade cleaning. Search a few threads to see what the guys here say.

丸に篠笹　or 丸に根笹 Maru ni shinozasa Maru ni ne sasa #05 on the list below http://homepage3.nifty.com/omaturinotakahasi/kamon.sasa37.htm

Found this one on the web, if it helps. http://www.e-sword.jp/katana/1510-1085.htm

Yes, this last round totally stumped me. This piece, the ura-mei of the signature on the WWI sword in the other thread, and the art name on the tsuba. Morita-san hit all three out of the park. That ura-mei particularly stumped me. I couldn't pick out anything but the final 作

秀俊　Hidetoshi Reverse side says 昭和十七年　Shōwa 17 Seki arsenal stamp on the tang. Ignore the painted on numbers. They say "1726", but they are of no importance to determining the sword's value. You ought to get those fingerprints off the sword asap. Hopefully they are not rusted on to the blade.

国英 Kunihide Kuniteru is another possible reading, but I saw Kunihide on Jinsoo Kim's site (for WWII blades) so I think this is probably Kunihide. Enjoy as is. Polish it only if you have money to burn.

算経 Sankei

I think those couple of characters in that line are 小反 (kozori). Also, the 伝 (den) at the front is worth mentioning.