Jacques

Hi, A better picture, You can see the "mekugi" hole and the lack of machi on it.

Hi, The horizontal stroke and the right one of the kanji dai are engraved in a wrong way and are not similar. I wonder why there is no yasurime under the mei.

Hi, On this picture, i see the reflection of the cloth on which the blade is posed but not konuka hada.

Hi, On Kenukigata tachi the habaki cannot be fitted sliding along the nakago but it is fitted sliding all along the blade.

Hi, I agree with Barry, this jigane is far from Konuka hada usually found on tadayoshi school blades

Hi, Something makes me trouble, i have checked Fujishiro shinto hen, Kanzan oshigata dictionary, toko taikan, limura shinto taikan, Nihonto craft.com (where is a nice Article about Mishina School), Japanese sites, i don't found that signature, but Mishina tango no kami Naomichi, or Tango no kami Fujiwara Naomichi.

Hi, It is a good sign :D Edit; But after some seeking, i have a bad news, this blade seems gimei. look at the oshigata below specially the ji Dai 大

Hi, It could be a blade forged by the yondai Masahiro (died in 1733) but i've a doubt because the location of the mei. Is this a katana or a wakizashi?

Hi, off topic on (sorry :? ) It is the second like this i see, it seems that is not an unusual zukuri for this smith. Off topic off Come back to the kanemoto, Look at the picture "File comment: Grain." this is not a sign of a healthy blade, and also (i could be wrong) i seems the hamon is very weak i can't see the nioiguchi nowhere and there is absolutely zero nie (i am aware kanemoto made mostly nioi-deki but some ko nie must be present).

Hi, Something like this, About ware all those which are in the hamon and in the yakiba are unenviable, about tiredness, i can be wrong but the picture of the fukure seems showing loose hada and slight opening. Is it a big difference between the moto kasane and the nakago kasane?

hi, Please, forgive my frankness but i see a tired blade in a poor polish with awkward flaws. Far from a very nice blade.

Hi, I think someone needs new eyeglasses

Hi, To my eyes these kitae (shinogi) ware seem numerous and some seem deep, i would call them fukure. If an solitary mune ware can pass, it is different when they are numerous and deep.

Hi, There is a Yamashiro Norisada listed in the toko taikan and in the Iimura's shinto taikan but the mei does not look like this one. However it seems have been two generations. I hope this can be helpful.

Hi, I believe the mei reads Etsu no Zenshu ju Kanetane 越之å‰å·žä½å…¼æ¤.

Hi, I think also this blade is gimei, below an oshigata of a blade made one year later.

Hi, This kind of gunto is far from being exceptional: http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_112.htm

Hi, That is really strange the NBTHK comment seems in contradiction with its meaning, indeed, how can we discern if there are no works by Sadamune if there is no substantial peculiarity in the different swordsmiths works? A comment by Clive Sinclaire about Hosho ha

Hi, what about this one?:

Sorry for off topic: Quote Fujishiro shinto volume:

Hi, We know kotetsu made at least one kogatana (and kozuka), why not more? About Tsuda Sukehiro below an example of a kogatana (the mei looks very like his one).

Hi, Signatures on kogatana blades should not be taken too seriously in general. Though many famous names are found on them, most of these masters did not have the time nor the ambition to work on decorative blades like these. Drifting into speculation, I guess some of them were made by co-workers as a side-job; some of them were made by agreement by other smiths specialized on these kind of blades. reinhard Many swordsmiths made kogatana as others blades, a book named Shinto Shokan Yoroku, and written in the 19th century lists around 30 kogatana signed by smiths like Sukehiro, Masatoshi, Yoshimichi, Umetada, Kanewaka, Tadatsuna etc....

Hi, As Mark says, Etchu no kami Fujiwara ????

Hi, this second blade is signed Hishu Kawachi (no) kuni Fujiwara Masahiro. It is a nidai's (second generation) if it is genuine. A better high resolution picture of the signature can be helpful.

Hi, That i say is valuable only for Tadatsuna. An oshigata of a good one: