SteveM

浅井良云魚拓名人也良寛門人江戸四谷住 Something about this one (拓) one doesn't feel right. 彫 was a possibility I was considering, but I think it needs to be kane-hen. And the far left line? I think I can get it, but I'm not 100% confident.

季✕ 秊〇 时　I'm never sure if he is deliberately using this kanji, or if he is using 時 in a highly calligraphic style - but he uses it all the time. I know he tends to reach for the obscure words/kanji when it suits him. Anyway, this is a highly specialized translation job: a mixture of kanbun, sword jargon, and weird kanji...and you absolutely nailed it. Very impressive.

Yes, not certified by any organization, just by Tokuno-san himself. At least, that's what it looks like. But he is using a format that is similar to other organizations.

Hi Matt, I was/am critical of the date engraved on the tang, and critical of the sales pitch used on the site, but the sword itself is an authentic, typical WW2 sword, so if that is what you were after I think you did well. I disagree with Bruce regarding any added value the date may impart. I think this date is so bad that it is likely a later addition. Could have even been made by some western person not used to writing kanji. But it doesn't change the fact that the sword looks to be a genuine WW2 sword.

Outstanding. I think the sentence should be split as below, but its a minor thing and doesn't change the overall meaning too much. 中直刃ヲ焼キ、刃ニ近ク直映ガ立ツナド And the length and date? Only mildly tricky.

藝州住源綱慶作 Geishū-jū Minamoto Tsunayoshi saku 藝=芸 Two versions of the same kanji. Geishū is the old province name for the area around Hiroshima. (You can tell there was a lot of consensus on Matt's translation because there were a few of us agreeing with him - note the "like" icon at the bottom of Matt's post).

I also took a sword bag to a dry cleaner in Japan. They took care of it with no problem. (But they are kind-of used to silk brocade items).

Hello Tom, The inscription is 福本兼家 (Fukumoto Kaneie). It is the name of a WW2 smith, and you can see the Seki arsenal stamp (関) near the top of the handle part (aka the nakago, in Japanese sword jargon)

Wikipedia says they never resumed production after the August 7th raid. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/豊川海軍工廠 No cross-reference for this factoid, so take it for what its worth.

麿 = maro

明治六癸酉五月 (I'm assuming its Meiji, although only the "ji" is legible)

藤原・・・・ Any hints?

Wakizashi saya in red lacquer with stone-finish, etc..etc... Its a real certificate. These old, green certificates are well out of favor with sword enthusiasts. I don't think their reputation is as bad for tōsōgu, but bear in mind they all carry some stigma due to some fraudulent certificates being issued during this time (early 70s).

1965

Its a name: 一柳大里 Ichiyanagi Ōzato (not 100% sure of the reading). Late Edo smith. Edit: Maybe Hitoyanagi Ōzato/Ōsato

Is this ubu? Or is it shortened? (It looks ubu, but can't quite tell).

Yes, standard WW2. Not so much a "samurai" blade as it is an arsenal blade.

Looks like the smith's name is Kanesada (兼定). The last character looks a bit funny. (This is a way of saying, "If I am wrong, I blame the bad handwriting of the swordsmith"). The other side shows the date. Shōwa 18 (1943) June. 昭和十八年六月

濃州関住服部正廣作 Nōshū Seki-jū Hattori Masahiro saku It means: HATTORI Masahiro, of the town of Seki in Nōshū Province, made this. This is a well-known WW2 swordsmith.

I saw Nick's comments regarding the stamps on the other site. The four characters of the name Murata Tsuneyoshi (村田経芳) are combined into a two character motif. So the components of the kanji for Murata (村＋田) are combined into one character, and the components of Tsuneyoshi (経＋芳) are combined to form another character. From Ohmura's site 村田経芳の四字を篆書して、二字に合成した刻印を打った http://ohmura-study.net/203.html

Just to further round out: Nōshū is an area in the middle of Japan, which corresponds to present-day Gifu Prefecture. "Nōshū" is the old, traditional name of that region (used when Japan was organized under the feudal government). This area was always famous for sword production, and it still produces high-end edged tools (knives and such). It was, and still is, quite common for smiths to continue using the traditional names of the prefectures. There is a ton of information regarding gunto (army swords) on this site. Another site you might have already checked out is http://ohmura-study.net/900.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifu_Prefecture

I wouldn't be in a rush to polish it. I would have someone more knowledgeable look at it first. Polishing is a bit of a commitment both in terms of money and time, so you would want to be fairly certain that: a) the signature isn't a forgery, and b) there aren't any problems with the sword that would only worsen (or be further revealed) by a polishing. Sometimes these things are unavoidable, and you can't tell if there are any flaws until you get it polished. But by having an expert look at it close up you might get some confidence that the few thousand dollars you are about to spend on a polish will be money well spent. And yes, some people do get swords polished even though it may not be a financially wise move. But keep your powder dry for now. The smith (or, this group, I should say) is a well-known group, and they made good, distinctive swords. Hopefully you can get some good advice. (Better close-up pictures of the tip and the "machi" area might help others chime in as well).

I think we'd just call this a wakizashi. If authentic, this would be a good candidate for a professional polish. Don't be tempted to polish it yourself, as these things need to be handled by people who understand what they are working with - people who have been trained to polish antique Japanese swords. (Youtube is full of people ruining Japanese swords...check on this site for people who can advise how to go about finding a polisher).

It's not quite 十十 , rather its one of the variants of 廿 (20) listed on the page below. (But, you're not wrong for assuming its 10+10, as all of these alternatives are more or less variations on that theme). https://glyphwiki.org/wiki/u5eff

It's either a Murata-sword, or someone trying to fake a Murata-sword. The first two are 小銃囗囗. If this were a Murata sword, the last two characters should be 兼正 (Kanemasa). Obviously the ones on this sword are different. Possibly 元定 (Motosada). But as far as I know he only used Kanemasa with the surname Shōjū. The stamps say Murata Tsuneyoshi in stylized tenshō script. The stamps, the idiosyncratic "20", the 小銃 all point to a Murata sword. What does the sword itself look like?