ChrisW

A shame you had them removed! String wrap tsukamaki is a rather expensive option. I'm assuming that it just disintegrated beyond what you could save. A real pity.

I agree with Barry. In fact, I'll go a step further.. Shinshinto "Sonno Joi" Loyalist sword. The over-the-top hamon, the nagasa, the long nakago, and the lack of sori are a dead giveaway. The strong yasurime and lack of deep dark regular patina all point to this being a young blade.

Rarely is there anything ever definitive within the nihonto world. But these tsuba do look like they pass for a daisho set. Short of being signed and dated by the same smith, this is as close as one can get really.

Prices have been adjusted: 1. 28" katana in shirasaya. $2100 2. 19" wakizashi in substitute saya. $1400 -> $1350 3. 27" katana in partially restored gunto mounts. SOLD! 4. 23.25" o-suriage early to mid Kamakura tachi in assembled mounts. Off the market. I have decided to get this one put in shirasaya and papered. 5. 24.5" katana in remnants of WWII leather-cased mounts. $1800 -> $1700 6. 26" katana of WWII origin. No further reduction on this one. SOLD! 7. 17" wakizashi in American-made saya. No reduction on this one! SOLD! 8. 11.25" tanto in restored mounts. $1200 -> $1100 9. 26" katana of WWII origin. $1050

Hey Simon! Give me a little bit of time and I'll get back to you with a response to your inquiries. ~Chris

Loosely approximates what military mounts would look like from a distance... So probably carried by Gunzoku (civilian military contractors; think desk jockeys, military installation labor organizers, etc) but it might have also been carried by someone of rank who could ignore regulations. The first option is much more likely, given the quality of the piece. If an officer was of such consequence that he could ignore regulations, he'd probably have something a little more fancy. Third option? Civilian piece surrendered at the end of the war and taken home as a war prize. This is also very likely. Either way, nice find! ~Chris

Congrats on your first blade! It has a very attractive boshi with all the hakikake (I believe is the term for the swept gravel look).

I think the backstrap is a cast replacement. The badge on it looks soft and indistinct. The lines on the side look chiseled. The original should have been brass, so I think it was probably broken/damaged and then a cast copper replacement was made using the original; thus the weak appearance of the badge and the chiseled line trim.

I realized I had mentioned that it comes in shirasaya but had neglected to post pictures of said shirasaya, so here it is!

Additional batch of photos:

Additional photos:

Hello again ladies and gentlemen, today I am offering up for sale a very nice 29.5" mumei (but extremely likely Soshu Wakasa Fuyuhiro) katana! Type (Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto, Naginata, Other) : Katana Ubu, Suriage or O-Suriage : Ubu Mei : (Mumei, Signature) : Mumei Papered or not and by whom? : No Era/Age : Early Edo, circa Genna to Kan'ei (1620-1640ish) Shirasaya, Koshirae or Bare Blade? : Shirasaya Nagasa/Blade Length : 75cm or 29.52" Sori : 4cm or 1.57" Hamon Type : An irregular and beautiful Soshu midare-ba with notare and sudare-ba elements. Ko-maru boshi. Jihada : Long flowing itame with masame. Other Hataraki Visible : Kinsuji, inazuma. This blade has all of their characteristic traits along with some Bizen influence as appropriate for the Soshu Wakasa Fuyuhiro lineage. Flaws : A small stretch (about 3") of shinae in the mune of the blade down low in the habaki area. Evidence of it having been bent and straightened. Some tiny ware as expected of a blade composed primarily of itame/masame hada. Sword Location : Canada to Indiana, USA (will explain below) Will ship to : USA primarily, international contingent on laws of destination country. Payment Methods Accepted : Paypal, Cashapp. Shipping discussed below Price and Currency : $3200USD (Shipping included for USA buyers) Other Info and Full Description : Comes in shirasaya with silver-plated habaki. A very nice and very long ubu, mumei katana that is almost certainly produced by 5th or 6th generation Soshu Wakasa Fuyuhiro. This blade is a long one at 29.52" with a WHOPPING 1.57" sori that gives this blade a tachi-like feel (Shinsa may even bear out and call it as such). The first-generation Wakasa Fuyuhiro (若州住冬廣) was an early Muromachi period smith. He was believed to be the son of the 2nd-generation Sōshū Hirotsugu. During 1st generation's life, he relocated from Sagami to Obama in Wakasa Province around 1460, founding the prestigious Wakasa Fuyuhiro school that lasted for 17 generations. The later Fuyuhiro generations picked up Bizen traits and blended that with their Soshu styling to create a well-regarded hybrid style. I predicate my belief that it is 5th or 6th based on all the aforementioned traits and apparent age; however, Shinsa may even call it a late Koto blade. I feel this is a possibility as I've seen some very well-perserved nakago like this one that ended up being late Koto. One important thing to note is that this blade is ubu which is always a big plus! Given that this blade is rather long and is in shirasaya in good polish, the price at $3200 is quite decent. The other thing to note is that this blade is currently located in Canada with the current owner and I am performing the role of estate liquidator. The cost of the blade includes shipping insurance, and tariff/import fees (as of 6/5/26) but may change as geopolitical situations change. Since I am the estate liquidator, the sword will be shipped to me and then I will ship it direct to you! I am doing this at the request of the owner to protect their privacy. There are a couple videos of this sword also available upon request. If you are interested, please drop a message in this thread, then DM me here on the message board or email me at ChrisW7290@gmail.com First come, first served of course. ~Chris

This is a great discussion gentlemen! I look forward to any other input others may have.

Hello gentlemen, I am currently trying to puzzle out this mei on this blade and accompanying tsuba. The blade's mei is written on Sosho script, aka grass script and is proving to be somewhat problematic for me to discern. After working on this a while and discussing it with a few others, I've come to this much of the mei as a working but still yet not wholly decided translation: I came up with Hirotaka and Kansei 6 at first; however Moriyama san has furnished a far more comprehensive translation and I just want to run this by everyone else before settling on it. 藝州住廣隆 – Geishu ju Hirotaka 寛政五年春二月 於 – Kansei 5th year (1793) spring, 2nd month, At … 秋水亭造之 – Shusuitei, made this. 明珍紀 宗古作 - Myochin Ki no Soko saku I also want to publicly thank Moriyama san for his assistance. Thanks to everyone else who contributes! ~Chris

Without seeing the blade itself, it is hard to estimate an age based on the nakago (tang) by itself. For the best results, share some pictures of the blade without any fittings on it with some measurements as well. Buuuut.. based on the crispness of the yasurime (the filemarks on the nakago) and the lack of dark patina, I would hazard to guess that this blade is probably no more than 200 years of age.