My cousin has had a Japanese sword for years. Just sitting in his closet I think. He showed it to me and I had a crack at translating the signature, but would love to get some additional input from anybody knowledgable. Some of the characters do look suspect as maybe a few of them contain backwards, missing, or incorrect strokes. So maybe a forgery?
My best crack at a translation is "Keian Ni Nen Hachi Gatsu Hi / Echigo no kami Fujiwara Arihira Saku"
"A day in August, 1649. Made by Echigo no Kami (Fujiwara Arihira)" ???
I found this about the smith, from https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanewaka.htm
This isn't for commercial purposes. But I wonder if it's worth having the sword restored/polished and authenticated or if it's a waste of money?
It's in shirasaya (fittings in bad shape) and it's a really long sword.
