SteveM

My attempt at the next one. Yoshimitsu Last name of Aoyanagi. Called Eigoro. Brother of Yoshihide/Yoshiteru. First studied under Horie Okinari, and took the name Mitsunari. Later apprenticed to Yoshikatsu. Signed with "Aoyanagi Yoshimitsu kaō", using designs of shishi, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and rabbits on fuchi/kashira and kozuka. Lived in Edo, Kanda, near Sukiya riverbank. Art-name of Ichiyōsai

My attempt: Yoshitoshi. Last name of Kimura 木村 (also spelled as 木邑). Apprentice of Inagawa Yoshikatsu, and later learned from Toshiyoshi. Signed with "Kimura Yoshitoshi (kaō)", as well as "Ejō Higashi Momijikawa-hotori Kimura Yoshitoshi seinen jūgo-sai shikōshite kore wo tsukuru" (Kimura Yoshitoshi of East Edo near Momijikawa made this at the age of 15). Extant works of shishi and people both in high relief (takabori) and half-cut carving (katakiri-bori). Resident of Edo. Latter part of Edo Period. 江城東紅葉川辺良寿生年

It's the personal signature of the maker (kaō in Japanese), which is more of a stylistic flourish than a legible character or characters. Usually the artist signs with his name, than adds the flourish underneath. Without the name part, its a bit tough to figure out. Just for clarity, its the signature of the habaki-maker, not of the swordsmith.

Not hair pins, just chopsticks - or I should say utility sticks that are generally used for eating, but were apparently also used to arrange heavily oiled hair. I don't know about the 5th generation Kanefusa. Maybe one of our other members knows.

I would also advise that once you have a kozuka/kogatana or two in your collection, you should save your money for your next step on your nihonto journey. I know because I wasted a lot of money on mediocre pieces just because I could afford them. I was trying to find treasure in the bargain basement, when I really should have been saving my money for a piece that helped me progress as a sword enthusiast.

Post #3 Left knife signature is 関兼元 (Seki Kanemoto). Right signature eludes me. 三囗包囗　Mi-something Kane-something. Maybe something like Minami Kanenobu (包宣）? Or Kanesada（包定）? Post #8 The knife is upside down, but the writing is 金華於濃州長良川邊藤原清長 Kinka oite Nōshū Nagaragawa-hotori Fujiwara Kiyonaga It means Fujiwara Kiyonaga, from the Nagaragawa region of the Province of Nōshu near Mt. Kinka forged this. Note that the general consensus is that most signatures on these kogatana are not authentic signatures. They are said to be mostly fake signatures (or, as we say, an homage to the smith mentioned). This is almost certainly the case with the Kanemoto signature above.

The paper doesn't mention which generation. It only says what's on the mei "Nōshū-seki-jū Kanefusa". The vendor says 4th or 5th generation. You mentioned two knives as part of the koshirae set... the items in the picture are actually chopsticks. Very nice ensemble.

Your translation is fine. The original is 鑑定書 長一尺七寸四分 一． 脇指　無銘　（末三原） 右は當協會に於て審査の結果保存刀剣と 鑑定しこれを証する 平成二年一月二十九日 財團法人日本美術刀劍保存協會 Kanji in blue are old style.

The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords is one of the bibles of the sword collecting world. It is an excellent general reference guide. Since it tries to cover a broad range of topics it can be both too dense for the newcomer, and too shallow for those looking for more deep discussion of topics. It tends to be very dry reading. If one only has experience with low-end swords, one might find The Connoisseur's Book to be very rough going. It is, nonetheless, a very good reference book. Don't overlook the fact that you are already using one of the best English-language resources for Japanese swords. The forum and the many links are indespensible, I think, for people who don't have easy access to Japanese swords or Japanese-language resources. The recent discussion on the Tametsugu attribution is a good example. And the thread from the poster that details his journey from picking up a promising, but obscure sword at a police auction, to the sword being sent to Japan and being appraised as "Tokubetsu Hozon" (worth of special preservation), is not to be missed. If you haven't checked out Markus Sesko's site, you should do that as well. For a site full of eye-candy and a discussion of a variety topics of interest to sword afficionados you should also check out Darcy Brockbank's site. Both are occasional posters here, which is another reason why you should deep dive into some of the threads on this site.

壽命　Jumyō　

First one is not at all what I was thinking, but I still can't read it. Second one... 若 ? Sorry, still not much help.

The tag is a surrender tag. It contains the name/details of the person to whom the sword belonged. 奄美郡島徳之島 獨立混成第二十二聯隊本部 陸軍大尉里信春義 Amamiguntō Tokunoshima　(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokunoshima) 22nd Independent Mixed Brigade Regiment Headquarters Army Captain Satonobu Haruyoshi Bruce's reading of the swordsmith looks good to me.

Hello Dan, I saw this on the other thread and spend a while trying to make it out, but its just too far gone for me. There is a resemblance to 平 , but in the end I didn't have any confidence in that reading. I didn't like the placement or the balance (one would expect the 正 and the 平 to be placed in a straight line with the 八月, and they should be about the same size, spaced the same size apart. I would expect to find the kanji 年 (year) after the era name, and/or the zodiac signs. Often we find the zodiac/sexegenary signs slightly smaller and offset, so I considered the possibility that the writing above 八月 is some part of the sexegenary cycle name. Anyway, as I said, the more I looked the more the confidence drained from me. The other side has 兼廣 right? So if I'm not mistaken its katana-mei, which again pushes me away from a 正平 date. Is the sword shaped like one would expect a Nambokuchō-era sword to be shaped?

浅野侯爵　Marquis Asano 阿部伯爵 Count Abe

丹波守藤原照門 Tanba-no-kami Fujiwara Terukado

Yes, the first kanji on the tsuba doesn't look like 遊 . Actually I can't tell what the radical for the first kanji is supposed to be. Sanzui? Shinnyō? Kind of looks like both, but the balance seems way off for sanzui, that's why I was thinking the radical was shinnyō and the whole kanji might be 遊 (sometimes used in art names). But looking at it again, I think my first idea was wrong. I don't know what it could be.

I think we can rule out 遊. It's got to be something else.

Yes, a different light angle would help.

I don't think so. Maybe one of our native speakers will lend a hand.

probably 羽方公彦

遊囗家囗 is my guess. The final one looks like a cross between 射 and 駒. I don't think its either of those.

Yes. Feel free.

磨り上げ額縁銘 Suriage "gakubuchi" mei I think they mean "gakumei", which is a mei that is cut out (or cut off) of a sword and then re-inserted back into the sword once the sword is shortened. Its a technique for preserving the mei when a sword is shortened. In this case, this looks like a simple hotstamp. It isn't a mei that has been cut off and reinserted, so its not a "gakumei". My guess is that the owners removed the date and signature to reduce the risk of the sword being confiscated by the authorities. It seems to be a worry that is diminishing with each passing year - but it would have been a concern in the last few decades of the 90s.

正真　武州住千住院源守正作　寛文　長壱尺伍寸参分有之 Shōshin Bushū-jū Senjuin Minamoto Morimasa saku Kanbun Nagasa Isshaku Gosun Sanbu ari kore True signature Bushū-jū Senjuin Minamoto Morimasa saku Kanbun (era) Length 1 shaku, 5 sun, 3 bu

It is wordplay, but not the one claimed by that link. Grapes and Squirrel = 葡萄に栗鼠 (budō ni risu). Budō ni risu sounds almost identical to budō ni rissuru (武道に律する) which can mean roughly "pursue the discipline of the martial arts" "uphold the way of the warrior". Plus, both grapes and squirrels symbolize fertility, so they are considered good luck or auspicious symbols.