Ray Singer

Signed Rai Kunimitsu, but unfortunately does not appear to be an authentic example of his inscription. The blade itself appears to be koto, however it looks to have been cleaned or wiped down with something abrasive and very little of the workmanship can be seen. How long is the blade, is it not tanto rather than wakizashi length?

Please see below for other examples of Mantetsu-to mei. https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/koa.htm

Soshu ju Hiromitsu This is not an authentic example by the famous early Soshu smith who used that mei.

Appears to be a showato arsenal blade by Fukumoto Kanemune. WWII era blade, not fully traditionally made.

Examples below. https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=85427b9423f451d4&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1136US1136&sxsrf=AE3TifNl6HyAhyPtSRMRy6sEIuzysY2-9w:1756742766322&udm=2&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZ1Y6MJ25_tmWITc7uy4KIeuYzzFkfneXafNx6OMdA4MRo3L_oOc-1oJ7O1RV73dx3MIyCigtuiU2aDjExIvydX85cOq96-7Mxd4KSNCLhHwZjNl1D--59A3Pz1jRAtenzCJ-qzCnOKtvU69k0YYAuhlzxHSrRNQ-gtEYBj8xSow3FJ3v7l7zsi4eO0Nw9mEGcGVLxNQ&q=近江守高木住助直&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHqbHk-LePAxWBSDABHaKYAO8QtKgLegQIFRAB&biw=1536&bih=791&dpr=1.25

Hi Martin, the would indicate that it is by or purports to be by the famous Shinto Settsu smith Omi (no) kami Sukenao: 近江守高木 (住助直) Omi (no) kami Takagi (missing portion: ju Sukenao) It is dated Enpo 6 (the year 1678). https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SUK358

There is a partial MUNE at the top. If the blade is signed Kunimune, then very likely that is what the sagagaki led with. The bottom appears to be a partially nagasa, which is information that you would have based on the current length. The middle section is unclear to my eyes.

The license (torokusho) does not give any meaningful information about the blade other than to say that this is a mumei wakizashi with 42cm nagasa registered in Showa 44. The blade itself appears to be an osuriage naginatanaoshi wakizashi, from what I can see in the photo.

I believe this is Naoharu

If you are interested Forest, please reach out to get more information on the flashcards. I crafted them to be tailored specifically for Japanese sword collectors with examples of commonly seen swordsmith names, provinces we often see in inscriptions, time periods that appear in nengo, etc. https://swordsofjapan.com/product-category/supplies/flashcards/

Naminohira Yukiyasu

Date is not fully visible. ___ nen sho gatsu __

I believe it is Bishu Osafune Hidemitsu

No worries, additional examples below. https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=d181c16464dde945&sxsrf=AE3TifPraQHQurvj_6hW1F5EI9ThqK51kg:1755448366157&q="Maegawa"+Sukefusa+site:www.militaria.co.za&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOgKXiopKPAxU8SDABHU0vOWQQ5t4CegQINxAB&biw=411&bih=865&dpr=2.63

Noshu Seki Maegawa Sukefusa saku

Unfortunately I do not know Emilio. Chris (the Minneapolis show runner connected with Motoshige) runs the discussion group below on Facebook. You may want to ask him directly there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1728933930663768/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

Oguri Motoshige attended a show here in the US. I remember studying and enjoying examples of his work at the event.

They're very common to encounter. You can see a few examples of legitimate osuriage yari remounted as tanto here within the discussion group. https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=2bfcaaea2384c7b9&sxsrf=AE3TifPoslwv4YhitHhPuLVPMb1LgJ_g7g:1754992778757&q=tanto+yari+site:www.militaria.co.za&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHz2LkAPJDdeiKYzFgacvjxVmKaDDQLwycTxV2L0apBPyNTRLJN5Yi1fzSp12MAsxdeaIXGtpn83-U0_rPXqfbBYHI_6MRGAM5GT-Jk44eqm_NLeFGIQvAMLCAnX0EpIKaWXEXUWNi2G3LshYKQdwC_13f6w5JLvLuMwC4uT8VJ9c_M2S-7C4tDKTvnbMJSq5mbDzXZ6tCNI8KS0vJFyWM7cKn9p1FnUxd_EBtJJmfnTcY8MLr4&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp66TJgYWPAxWISTABHRn9ObUQ0pQJegQIHxAB&biw=411&bih=785&dpr=2.63

Ikkansai Kunimori kinsaku https://www.google.com/search?q="Ikkansai+Kunimori"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za%2Fnmb&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1136US1136&oq="Ikkansai+Kunimori"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za%2Fnmb&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDQxNDdqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Please be aware that there are many gimei (fake inscriptions) purporting to be by the shodai Tadayoshi. Best regards, Ray

Per Markus Sesko "HIDEMITSU (秀光), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Hidemitsu” (秀光), real name Hirata Hideo (平田秀夫),born August 1st 1903, he worked as a guntō smith * https://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords3/KY327965.htm

I do not see an issue here. The blade appears to be Showa era.

I believe it is Hirada Hidemitsu.

Hi Bruce, I actually answered this one earlier for the owner on Reddit. Yoshida-ke (Yoshida family)

The sword below was made the same year. The description seems to indicate this was made by Ogawa Kunihiko. https://ginza.choshuya.co.jp/sale/gj/r2/01/19_kanekuni.php