Ray Singer

To my eyes, closest would be 安貞 Antei nen. Mei does not appear Kamakura.

It was pointed out by a friend offline that this is likely what is being referred to. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burakumin

A friend helped to fill in the gaps. Iwasaki Hikokichi/Hikoyoshi (岩崎彦吉) Hana-buraku (花部落)

Thank you Peter! 岩崎 does appear to be the correct surname. 岩崎_吉 花_落

Struggling a bit, perhaps: 岩 _ _ 吉 (祀) _ 落

There are a number of sources both printed books and online references which allow for a search via radical. An example below. http://www.edrdg.org/cgi-bin/wwwjdic/wwwjdic?1MMJ%E6%8B%BE

Someone reached out to me for assistance translating the attached tag, but unfortunately this is beyond me. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Ray

拾 = 10. This reads 11th year. Same as 十一. No relationship to the number of people who made the sword.

This very interesting smith's work is rarely seen, so I thought it would be worthwhile to share here. http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/wakizashi/291/00.html He was a very talented smith who was well-known (infamous) for his forgeries. A few reference links below. https://markussesko.com/2013/11/10/a-natsuo-motif-on-a-kajihei-blade/ http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/19966-on-the-1936-kajihei-shingi-oshigata/ http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/19724-kajihei-oshigata-1984-vs-kajihei-shingi-oshigata-1936/

No objections from me. There have been some great reference examples & discussions around items for sale, which were unfortunate to see deleted when the piece sold. In the case where a buyer does not want the price shown, perhaps it could be edited out while still preserving the photos, descriptions and discussion. To kick it off, here are a couple of threads which could be moved to a Sold archive (if the new owners don't mind). http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/24065-wonderful-koto-fujishima-katakiriba-katana-in-koshirae/ http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22729-two-top-quality-nambokucho-swords-for-sale/

I'm convinced . Sorry for the mistranslation...

A smith may recycle the material and forge a new sword if a crack develops, however antique Japanese swords with hagire are definitely not destroyed when found. Strongly recommend reassembling and preserving your sword in spite of the flaw.

Cast fakes.

I was looking through some websites today and was very surprised to see a number of shinsakuto by Masahira (koto utushimono) for what appear to be top-dollar prices, being sold in kajioroshi condition (rough foundation work only). While they look like very interesting pieces, all are copies of famous smiths and schools of the Kamakura period, it is difficult to imagine that a collector would purchase at this level with no visibility into the quality, presence of kizu, etc. http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/051/00.html http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/052/00.html http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/053/00.html http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/054/00.html http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/055/00.html http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/tachi/056/00.html

Hirotaka (汎隆) If authentic, Jo saku (Fujishiro, Shinto Hen, p. 449) http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/H15531_W7001_PUP.html http://www.kandatoukodo.com/nihontou/katana25.html

I don't think it would have sense financially to invest in restoring this blade.

Yes, looks late (ie. Shinshinto or later) in a very poor quality amateur "polish".

Jim Gilbert made that same comment regarding string/cord in one of his articles. "One thing you need to watch out for is the two little nails that hold on that center post. The post can come off and then the nails are sticking up to scratch up your tsuba. I've never had this happen with a box I bought, but I've seen it on other ones that have been beat up. I think the problem comes when people use these boxes for transport. The weight of the tsuba knocking back and forth probably breaks the post loose. I use cloth bags when I transport tsuba. Supposedly you can get better boxes that don't use nails for the center post, but they don't seem to be readily available in the US. There are boxes with the bottom pad cut out to custom fit the shape of an individual tsuba so that the center post isn't needed. Also, you can modify a regular box to hold the tsuba in place with a small cord and toggle to avoid the nail problem entirely."

The NBTHK-AB website is accessible on an interim basis at http://nbthk.org

Bump

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/tsuba-%26-kodogu/t167-dont-transport-tsuba-tsuba-box

Perhaps Kanemasa? 兼政

https://www.aoijapan.net/?s=Ichihara+Nagamitsu&x=0&y=0

I agree with Uwe. Looks like this may be Mizunoto Hitsuji (癸未). If that is correct, this would equate to 1943.

Sorry I missed your comment Patrick. I am not certain of the full inscription, but the last two kanji are Sho Gatsu (first month).