SteveM

Would be better to look at the sword itself, rather than this one section of the nakago. It could be a real Japanese sword, with a fake signature. This bit, in isolation, looks slightly suspicious. 囗氏作 (something-uji-saku).

赤松彫鐫 Engraved by Akamatsu. I have no idea who Akamatsu is. This name doesn't show up in my reference book of metalworkers. He doesn't show up in a quick internet search either.

First one, left side in handwriting, looks like the name of the person who ordered the piece. Maybe 村田様 Murata-sama Can't make out the next line. The line on the right: 本？？ Everyone's got the hot-stamp right. The horizontal bit on top is probably 越後 (written right to left, with the circle in-between). The circle probably has 木 in the middle. Then vertically it says, as everyone mentions: 木村, 攺良製 using a variant of 改, and maybe in this case it means the tansu was renovated? And then 川町 again as Uwe mentioned.

Fujiwara is a name that has historical, aristrocratic connotations, and so people of importance often claim descendency from the Fujiwara clan. It is very common on swords, but even historical figures, like IeyasuTokugawa, claimed connections to the Fujiwara clan as it gave authority and legitimacy to their administration. It doesn't add or detract from the sword. In this case, its just way of signing a name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujiwara_clan

No, its supposed to be 国 (or any of the other million variations). However, according to this site I just found today, it is a name (Yukikuni), and the work in question is indeed a gassaku. Wakayama doesn't list this the name Yukikuni (之国) under any of the four possible "Tsunenobu" entries, but according to this dealer it is supposed to be a name of Fujiwara Tsunenobu, a late Edo artist along with Yasumitsu. I guess this is validated by the authentication paper, but it seems slightly unusual to not find the mei in Wakayama. http://aoyamafudo.co.jp/product/1630/

No, just the work of Yasumitsu. I don't quite understand why the other name says Nobutsune no kuni. If I hadn't see the dealer's site, I might have also said the last kanji on the right side is 図 (zu - illustration) like Uwe. In any case, my guess it that it points to an inspiration - an original work from Nobumitsu that Yasumitsu is copying, or some effect Yasumitsu is trying to replicate.

法眼常信之国 水府之住安光 according to the shop that is selling it.

天照山鍛錬場作　Tenshōzan tanrenba saku (Made at the Tenshōzan forge) More info here http://ohmura-study.net/731.html

It seems to be a common theme, but I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation. https://tokka.biz/fittings/TS533.html https://blog.goo.ne.jp/onikuma1210/e/1bb5c6b54d87a3b4ef971727bd596849 http://tsubaryuken.com/mo_15.html https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/b166820306/

This to me looks like a particular kind of kuyō called ja-no-me kuyō (hollowed circles instead of solid circles). https://kamon.myoji-yurai.net/kamonDetail.htm?kamonName=蛇の目九曜 The habaki is signed 越前大掾源長常　－ Echizen Daijō Minamoto Nagatsune. Family name was Ichinomiya. It is certainly an exquisite habaki. The sword looks nice too.

As David says, 州 in grass script

This one, I think https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/HIR541

Mei is 肥前國住保廣 Hizen-kuni jū Yasuhiro Yasuhiro is a wartime smith. The numbers on the parts are likely to be assembly numbers. Wait for the military lads to come on line to give you more info.

昭和戊寅秋 Shōwa tsuchinoe-tora aki Autumn, 1938

Or made without any item in mind, but able to accommodate any saya that had a pocket on either side (or both sides).

I had to make one change - from bamboo to clove. Lines 5 and 6 are one sentence, so without knowing that one kanji I am only guessing at the meaning. "Additional Notes: the layout of the design, the thickness, and the plum blossoms, make the item described on the right an elegant work." On this hakogaki, and many others like it, Torigoye refers to this tsuba as "the right" (右). This just means "the item described on the right". In other words, the item herein. I can't read the kanji following 雅. It sort of looks like 掏, but that kanji doesn't combine with 雅 to form anything, and it doesn't seem to make sense in this context. I could be mistaken about 雅, but that still doesn't help me figure out the next kanji. Given Torigoye's other hakogaki, where he often finishes with some complimentary comment about "the tsuba just described herein", I think this lid is no different. 雅 by itself means elegance and refinement, and I think its use here suggests he feels this tsuba is an elegant work.

A lot of free time in lockdown, a lot of practice on NMB, better search engine skills....And also, a lot of the gents on the board are getting better as well, so there is the feeling that these guys are catching up. Robert got maybe 50% of this not-so-simple hakogaki, and probably could have picked up another 10%-15% without too much trouble. When I get good enough to read the back of Bruno's kozuka on the other thread, that will be a milestone.

Torigoye's writing is always just on the edge of legibility (with frequent lapses into illegibility), and is made only slightly more transparent by virtue of his following a very similar pattern in his hakogaki. His writing is always a good challenge because at the end of it there is usually a satisfying resolution, whereas some of the deeper "grass script" writings often just leave me drawing a very frustrating blank. This one I think I've got, except for one kanji, so I will post as a spoiler With that you should be able to figure it out. That one missing kanji is bugging me. If I'm not mistaken its repeated in his gō.

Here's a katana with both slots. https://www.seiyudo.com/ka-020620.htm

I think there are plenty of koshirae out there that make use of slots on both sides. I was looking at one on Tokka yesterday. https://tokka.biz/sword/nobukuni5.html I think the relative peace of the Tokugawa-era meant that the focus becomes less on the utility of these items than on their use as expressions of wealth and taste. Merchants start to spend their money on items like the one in the picture, because they can. So in a sense it is the opposite of what you have posted in your original post: "accessories would be less useful when relaxing". It is the fact that the samurai become idle (mostly), and this stability allows people with money to spend it on flashy items. Also, the competition among daimyo to sponsor the best artisans results in the creation and accumulation of items with more artistic merit. The explosion of bling may be one reason why the government needed to impose restrictions on koshirae that could be used while on official business. If I recall, koshirae had to be black lacquer (rounded ends for wakizashi), and mitokoro-mono had to be simple nanako (with family crest if desired). I wish I could find the original source of this proclamation, because it comes up every now and again, and I'd like to go by something other than my memory. Anyway, that was for samurai on official business. In the privacy of your own home, and among the merchant class, anything goes. If you've got the money, why not have something absolutely gorgeous like the item on the Tokka site.

I think it an excellent kozuka, by the way.

Signature could be 秀現斎 (Shūgensai). A search for the same artist turns up a page with the following photo: As you can see, the composition is similar, the material is similar. Unfortunately the signature on the photo is too low-res to see. The back of yours would be a waka poem, I think. Could be from Genji, or one of the other classical sources. All credits to the original site: https://www.leomax.co.jp/koramu/naka06.html

Tabs at the top of this page Nihonto Info > Links > Commercial Have a look at some of the names under that heading. Some offer the custom-made services you are looking for.

Nanban tetsu is steel imported from outside of Japan.

南蛮鐵聖綱　Nanban tetsu Kiyotsuna