Robin T

Thank you all! From what it sounds like, we've reached the limit of what photographs over the internet can do, but what they do suggest is that this sword would be worth a proper appraisal, which should be able to determine if it is worth a full restoration. So the next question is, where and to whom would someone in western Canada be well advised to go to?

Some more pics have been added to the gallery I linked to earlier, which has had almost 300mb of bandwidth used so far! This is the best I could do at exposing normally, and balancing for colour, so computer monitors notwithstanding, that should be pretty close to human eyesight for judging the patina on the tang. That said the flash I used makes it seems more reflective than it is, but couldn't be avoided. And that nasty white stuff is some corroded something that was under the habaki.

Thank you for your input Paul! Thankfully I've calmed down a bit now :D . I have to admit, I expected just from the bit I know of Japanese history and the story I was told to explain this sword's origins, for it to turn out to be something quite ornamental from the Meiji, or I guess Gendai period, of no particular interest besides being genuine as opposed to fake, so I'm quite surprised and pleased at these assessments. Based on your comments, John, I think I'll remove the handle to expose the tang, and try and give some complete images of the blade. The Hamon is fairly subtle, at least underneath the layer of nicks and corrosion, but in the right light it should be clearly visible. The brass (?) piece surrounding the base of the blade just above the tsuba, Habaki I believe, should I try to remove it as well?

Wow! Thanks everyone for the quick replies! John, you feel this sword could be Koto-era? As in pre-1596?!?! I won't hold you to it, but that's astonishing! I'm shaking in my chair... And I went and rotated the tsuba rick As for pictures of the blade characteristics, if you guys let me know what exactly, I can get huge magnifications if required, and/or flexible lighting, perspective, hopefully enough to give you some more info. (I like taking pictures of insect eyeballs, among other things.)

Just a quick intro, I'm from Canada, BC to be not very specific :D , and my grandmother has left me a Wakizashi, in what seems like so-so condition. I've been browsing various sites looking at how to identify and evaluate it, and I've hit the point where I'm reasonably sure it's real, but nothing much beyond that. All I know is a vague story that it was given as a gift to a distant relative in the British foreign service, presumably in some sort of diplomatic exchange, probably around the turn of the last century, but for all I know this is a vague story and that's all. My intention in doing this research is to see what can be done to restore it, how to care for it, and to understand some of the history around it. I have no interest in parting with this (maybe?) heirloom, so I'm not really worried about value. Finally I apologize for my knowledge of proper terminology, I took Japanese in another lifetime, but besides some terms I've known for a while (like tsuba) I haven't absorbed it yet. The ruler is 1 foot long. I've made a quite careful inspection of the blade, looking for "fatal flaws" based on an internet article or two, and can't find anything seriously wrong. Basically it has some chipping (doesn't extend past the tempered edge) and corrosion. But you don't need to take my word for it, photography is something of a hobby of mine, and HERE is a gallery of images of the sword. When photographing I carefully removed the handle, and exposed the mei on the tang. So I was a little surprised to see gold (?) lettering instead of a stamped signature or mark, so I wondered what the significance of this is? Anyways, if you had the courage to read all the way to here, you know as much as I do about the sword! I look forward to hearing from someone who knows a bit more than I do!