SteveM

Hopefully this is what you are looking for?

Do you know who the consignment seller is, or is it just being sold by an anonymous person on the internet? The one small tidbit I can provide is that the sword was registered in Ehime prefecture, and the Kamata family was indeed from Ehime. The Vice Admiral's son (Kamata Hideo) was an accountant who died in 2009, and the accountant's son (Kamata Toshiya) is a music producer based in Tokyo. He's got his own twitter and instagram page.

Name of the theme of the kozuka with the chrysanthemums on it is 枝菊図 (edagiku-zu), or chrysanthemum branches. I believe it is a common theme of the Gotō artists. There is an explanation of this theme at the link below, which basically says it contains various elements: elegance, nobility, strength, endurance, all present in the chrysanthemum in the field. http://katana.mane-ana.co.jp/touwa0510renjyoukiku.html Here is the theme again as part of a set https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/472635

Usually bamboo is used for mekugi on swords when they are out and in use (i.e. not in the shirasaya). Longtime NMB member Guido Schiller said that bamboo is used because bamboo doesn't make a clean break when its placed under stress, which would allow the sword to fly out of the handle. Instead, bamboo is fibrous so it might split under stress, but the strands of bamboo will retain some structural integrity, so your sword has less of a chance of flying out of the tsuka. It sounds like a very plausible explanation to me. For shirasaya, I think bamboo is actually the default material, but horn is an inexpensive, nice-looking, and long-lasting upgrade, so you see a lot of it being used. The sword in the resting (shirasaya) tsuka isn't under a lot of stress, so the mekugi doesn't need to be bamboo.

The article above was written by Tanobe-sensei. He says, (my loose translation of the salient bits) Regarding Tomoshige 1st; he is said to have been either a student of Rai Kunitoshi, or a student of Kashū Sanekage. However, by looking at the the oldest extant sword believed to have been made by Tomoshige 1st (Important Art object in the Atsuta Shrine) the former claim, while not impossible from an age standpoint, seems difficult to accept judging by the style in which the sword was made. Meanwhile, the latter claim is inconsistent with the age of the sword. Indeed, judging from the work of the jiba, and from the shape of the nakago jiri being in the style of Katayama, and from the workmanship being of the kind often seen in kanmuri-otoshi blades, it seems as if it is a continuation of the Yamato tradition, and swordsmith groups coming from Yamato, such as the Uda who settled in Etchū in the Hokuriku, and Nobunaga et. al who carried on the Taima tradition in Echizen Asago, are gaining attention.

Inside of the cup says "commendation" Outside of the cup has the date of Showa 9 (1934), and looks like these were presented to some support group for Imajō Station, in Fukui Prefecture.

I saw this one from your other thread, and one thing that I got stuck on was 直指人心見性成佛 the kanji in red doesn't look like the kanji that Tesshu has written. I was wondering if he wrote it in some idiosyncratic way, or if he deliberately used a different kanji. I couldn't get the other poem at all, but it is an odd coincidence that it uses the same 水せず phrase in both scrolls.

I'm just reading the descriptions from the auction sites (like the one Baby Joe linked to above). The person/company selling these knives is claiming they are made from tamahagane.

I think it is a modern (post-war) utility knife. Maybe the cutout near the tip hints at it being some kind of special-purpose knife, I don't know. It bears the inscription "made using traditional methods", which hints at it being made with tamahagane. I can find other utility knives with this same inscription showing up on several dodgy auction sites, as well as Japan's Yahoo auction site. It could be a legitimate tamahagane product, but it could also be something churned out of some forge/factory in Japan, China, or elsewhere. Not enough information to pinpoint what it is. Edit: hit the "send" button without seeing Baby Joe's answer above. I agree for the most part with what he says.

Looks like katakana カケヌ (kakenu), but it doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe a tradesman's contraction/jargon.

Yes, its usually pointless to try to assign a mon to one specific family, unless you have a provenance for the sword (a surrender tag, etc...). Another site suggests this crest was used by the following families. Oddly enough, it lists neither Abe or Sakai as a possibility (but this list is not exhaustive); 佐野、金子、岡島、上原、梶、窪島、神、杉枝、中西、岩佐、貝瀬、大木、保科、中島、堀川、水上、原田、平山、山本、池原、小野、中山、田中、山本、中沢、有賀、梶川 https://irohakamon.com/kamon/kaji/marunitachikajinoha.html

Here is a gassaku with a Nagatsuna mei on one side. Construction of the mei is different (Settsu-jū Fujiwara Nagatsuna), but its the writing of the "naga" character that strikes me as being different from the one on the sword in your post. But...this single gassaku is probably not a great reference. Anyway, I add the link here for reference, and snip a bit of the mei.* *As always, credits to the owner, and reference is only intended for educational purposes. https://www.seiyudo.com/ka-098129.htm

I think this is true for all of us. The quality of the images in the foundational texts leaves much to be desired

呰部 I think this is pronounced Azae. It's an unusual reading.

The black writing says 権之丞寫 (Gonnosuke utsushi), meaning "copy of Gonnosuke". Gonnosuke is a name, but I'm unsure if it is an historical figure or fictitious character. There is a Gonnosuke who fought Miyamoto Musashi, but the clothing of the figures in this picture look as if they predate Musashi's time. I haven't cracked the red artist's seal yet.

I don't quite understand your post. What I'm saying is that shōwatō (aka guntō), especially ones that have signatures by known smiths, have been successfully licensed and some have been papered. It would have been unthinkable before the 2000s, but Japan seems to be more open to seeing the historical value of these swords, if not their artistic value. We see these swords being licensed with increasing frequency. I'm using the word "guntō", but its virtually interchangeable with the word "shōwatō". Items that were mass-produced for the war effort. Some items were produced with a bit more effort, skill, and artistry, but all of these were deemed weapons, and were not eligible for licenses; hence, illegal to own.

Couldn't crack this one. The first three are 大和守 (Yamato-no-kami) as you might already know. The last one I assume is 作, although it looks unusual. Which leaves the 4th and 5th kanji, which are obviously the swordsmith's name, but here they both look so strange as to be illegible. Well, if we know the smith is allowed to use "Yamato-no-kami" we can go to the list of smiths who were granted that title, compiled by Markus, and search through the list for possible/plausible matches. Unfortunately the kanji on the sword look nothing like the kanji used by any of the Yamato-no-kami smiths. Actually, both of the kanji on the sword look like parts of kanji, or unfinished kanji. This one has me stumped.

Some WW2-era blades have torokusho. Some even have NBTHK papers. I think there has been a gradual reappraisal of the term "art sword", and relaxing of standards that were formulated in the immediate post-war era. This sword is an example of that.

Hello Nicholas, not an oshigata, but here is an authenticated (Tokubetsu Hozon) example showing the 2nd Generation Masanori's signature (photo on the left of the certificate). This is a gassaku, made together with Masakatsu, whose signature is on the right side of the certificate (tachi-mei style). There may be more out there, but this is the first one that popped up in a search. https://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2013/1310_1005syousai.htm (Embedding the photo in case the link goes dark. For educational purposes...no copyright infringement intended. All rights to e-sword.)

No, nothing about the blade other than the type of blade (katana), attribution, and the length. This is normal for Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon certificates. Unfortunately, they never mention anything about the blade, or the conclusions drawn by the shinsa team.

Hmm, the link works for me. From the site. A sword featuring the inscription Nio Masakiyo

Hi Frank, This is not particularly bad handwriting, and there is no dialect involved. It's just highly stylized. Those seeing the banner at the time it was written, wouldn't have any problem understanding it, because they knew the person in question. And, they were closer in time to the age where calligraphy of this kind was in daily use. Piers, I got your drift - I just didn't think these were Shimazu. But...I haven't shut the door on that possibility completely. The way the brush strokes flick seem too different from 島津 as written on the name on the left side (below). So I'm stumped.

Hmm - I hadn't even considered that. Actually, I don't have much confidence in the 津 in that part, but I couldn't come up with any other possibility. The Shimazu on the left (the writer's name?) looks a lot different to the large kanji written in the center, so I think I'd rule out the possibility that they share the same last name. And the other bits above Toranosuke... Is it 之? 定? or 之人? The whole thing might be 応集勇途之人 近衛寅之助君 (Sending off the brave Konoe Toranosuke-kun), but I feel I'm grasping at straws now.

Slightly unusual in structure, so it's a bit hard to parse. Anyway, the vertical writing is 祝 (congratulations), 歓送 (congratulatory send-off) and then the word 近衛 (Konoe) which is a rather noble family name, but also a word used to describe a guardian of the court. I don't think its meant to be a name here. Maybe its use is intended to be patriotic, or invoke a martial spirit. But it seems slightly weird to me. Under that: 應集 (a word used to assemble a group, sort of like the military command to "fall in") 勇途 (another word to invoke a glorious send-off of a brave person). Then we have what should be the recipient's name, but I can't quite get it. Maybe 津寅之助 (Tsu Toranosuke)? Anyway, its somebody Toranosuke. Then on the left side is the writer's name (I think) Shimazu Hatamata, although I'm not 100% sure of this. The two kanji at the top of this name might be a location name (Sata? Yuta?).

Japan Sword and Aoi Art are other Tokyo-based shops dealing in various sword-related goods, and might have something for your budget. Both are used to dealing in English, and both can communicate in English, at least via email. As Brian says above, all swords are subject to export restrictions, so you won't be taking any swords back with you in your checked baggage. But koshirae and other decorative elements are normally not subject to restrictions. There have been some reports of customs agents demanding export certificates for higher value items (tsuba over a certain value), but generally you won't have to worry about koshirae. Sometimes customs agents don't actually know the latest laws, and get over zealous. http://www.japansword.co.jp/js-e.html https://www.aoijapan.com/