SteveM

Maybe also try "Hakata Urasaki" dolls

Year is Showa 18.

Wakayama lists tsuba-maker Haruma (春馬) as a relative of Tsunemasa (both of the Bamen family). I think the ebay seller is mistaken about the reading of the smith for the listing: I don't see how Yoshimasa could be possible for 序政. Wakayama only lists Tsunemasa as a possible reading, but Nobumasa could be another possibility, and indeed the Japanese reference page that the seller posted on the ebay listing says "Nobumasa". I tend to defer to Wakayama, so I'll stick with Tsunemasa.

色絵 昆虫類

In addition to being wrong, the way the year is cut is also horrible - as in unskilled, amateurish, clumsy. Meanwhile, the actual mei, Kanekuni, is skillfully done. The two sides are done by different hands. Note, the kanji character 一 (one) can easily be made into a 十 (ten) with the addition of a vertical stroke, so even if the person who wrote the year mistakenly wrote 一三 instead of 十三, the mistake could have easily been fixed. But on this sword the mistake is just left there, unfinished. It makes me think someone, maybe non-Japanese, was using this sword to practice carving in steel. The single stroke after the 一三 isn't placed in the right spot or the right angle for 年, so that mark also makes me question who was holding the engraving tools and what their intention was. Plus, I think the language used to describe the sword is intended to deceive, and is in its own way, horrible. The dealer is playing a shell game with words; is it a samurai sword? a katana? a gendaito? He is adamant that it isn't a showato. Already the newbie is being bamboozled by buzzwords. Was it picked up off the battlefield, or was it assembled afterwards from various parts? It has an arsenal stamp, but it is "clearly, and without question" a handmade blade? The stamp alone causes us to question it. The funky 一三 for the date causes us to question it. It seems to be a frankensword that the dealer is trying to sell as something more than what it actually is, and I guess he was successful. I also have several complaints about syntax and grammar used in the description. And my pet peeve is using the word "samurai" to describe swords of the 20th century, but these are petty compared to the other complaints.

Hello Andrew, Regarding restoration of your sword, you may find this thread informative: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/29769-if-i-buy-custom-fittings-will-they-fit-on-a-new-sword/?tab=comments#comment-302760 It discusses the process from the starting point of having a new sword made, but if you skip that step, the rest of the steps still apply. Look at the links at the top of the page under "Nihonto Info" for commercial sites that offer various aspects of restoration. I think a couple of dealers will walk you through the entire process, which is probably the best option (rather than you trying to coordinate the various craftsmen involved). I don't know if its already been mentioned in this thread, but the polish is more important than the bling. This absolutely must be handled by a professional, as an amateur polish will certainly destroy this centuries-old treasure. Beware of the dude who says he knows how to polish Japanese swords because he saw some guy do it on youtube. Better to leave your sword alone with rust patches, rather than hand it to some guy who apparently bought some stones off the internet and "self-trained" as a restorer of Japanese antiques.

Nice one, Mike. An enviable package.

Every day I pick up something new myself. I wouldn't have guessed that reading...I found it in the Wakayama reference.

The name looks right to me. Well, I should say its too tough for me to read through the corrosion, but I found another example of this smith on the internet, and a few of the characters look like a match, so I'd say you got it right. I think the date "might" be Showa 17, followed by 卯月 (April). Again, its too badly corroded to be sure. A closer picture, or a different angle might help.

You are right about the kanji, but the reading should be Mototaka (元珍). I don't know about the subject matter.

Tadamitsu is correct. As above, I can't comment on possible age. The tsuba is trying to say 正吉 (Masakichi), but yes I agree it's some kind of modern cast replica.

Fuchi is 政随 Shōzui, aka Masayuki. He is an artist from the Hamano group.

The gourd has another art name in it, 丹鳥斎 (Tanchōsai)

芳月堂正名 Hōgetsudō shōmei 奥村文角政信正筆 Okumura Fumikado Masanobu shōhitsu The artist is Okumura Masanobu, who used the art name Hōgetsudō (among others) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okumura_Masanobu

I think the seal says 永寿板 (Eijūban), using a stylized version of 寿/壽. Eijūban refers to the name of the publishing house, Eijūdō.

豊國画 Toyokuni ga The seal below is the mark and seal of the publisher, Nishimuraya Yohachi, but I can't make out the words in the seal. In other seals he uses stylized versions of 出版 or 出板 (shuppan - publish) and it looks like it could be a similar device here. But I can't say for sure.

The tsuba carries part of a saying from a Chinese historical figure, Jiang Ziya 天有時，地有財，能與人共之者、仁也；仁之所在，天下歸之。免人之死、解人之難、救人之患、濟人之急者，德也；德之所在，天下歸之 Heaven has its four seasons and the Earth, its resources. Being capable of sharing these with populace is truly benevolent. Whoever has true benevolence, all under Heaven will pledge allegiance to him. Sparing the people from death, eliminating hardships, relieving misfortunes, saving people from dangers, these are virtues. Whoever has true virtues, all under Heaven will pledge allegiance to him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiang_Ziya

Believe me, many is the time I have written off signatures as "too weird to be true", only to find out they are authentic. In fact, I suspected this one was bogus, too. The fittings, well, at least the tsuba, are laughable (apologies to the op). The name is one that seems unusual at first - different from naming conventions normally seen on swords - and so the whole package had an air of fraudulence about it. However the year of Ansei 5 seemed specific and a strange thing to copy, so it hinted that the thing might be legitimate. I'm not familiar with this smith, so thanks to the OP for posting this sword, which led me to Markus's site. (nb: To the original poster: As always, there is no guarantee the signature is authentic. It could be a forgery. The sword itself is the thing, and should be compared with known authenticated pieces. See below for a link to a sword by this smith.) https://www.e-sword.jp/katana/1610-1075.htm

荘柳齊　Sōryūsai The 柳 (ryū) used on the item is a variant, so it looks slightly different from the one used here on this post.

藤技英義太郎 Fujieda Teruyoshi Tarō　（name) 安政五午年 Ansei go uma nen　(1858, year of the horse) From Markus Sesko's excellent site: https://markussesko.com/2013/05/13/from-the-life-of-fujieda-taro-teruyoshi/

Navy officer sword is 後藤廣正 Gotō Hiromasa Other sword is old. Looks to be centuries old (and possibly repurposed for the war). 備州長船囗囗 Bishū Osafune ?? Bishū is the name of a province in old Japan, corresponding roughly with present-day Okayama prefecture. Osafune is the name of a famous sword-producing region in Bishū province. The two names (Bishū Osafune) are often found together on swords. Many well-regarded smiths come from this region. Some more close-ups of that area of the tang might help us make out the actual name of the smith. Pictures of the whole sword would probably tell us more. Forgeries are common, so there is no guarantee the name on your sword is genuine, however it does look like an old tang and old signature.

Yes, that's right.

Great job, Brian. Up and running like a champ, with hardly any down time. Let's hope the same for you and your surgery.

Looks as you surmised in your other thread 永正二年八月日　(some marks after that, but I am unsure if they are intended to be kanji or if they are just scratches) Eishō ninen hachigatsu-jitsu (Eishō 2, August) 正清作 Masakiyo saku

勘囗郎 It's a name, Kan?rō. I can't make out the middle kanji. There are several metalworkers who had names that might match what is on your box 勘兵郎　Kanpeirō 勘四郎 Kanshirō etc... Could plausibly be the name of the owner rather than the artist, which opens up other possibilities 勘五郎 勘正郎