Rafuino

Wow they really do change over time then. Still none look like mine but it’s fascinating to see the differences

Thanks, James and Bruce, for the responses. Very interesting comparisons, Bruce, I appreciate it. The owl stamp definitely gives it away as gimei, but as James said, just because it's a forgery doesn't mean necessarily it's not worth checking the quality. Regardless, I'm investigating further with my family about its provenance. I did try to get in touch with the man who gave it to my grandfather when I studied abroad many years ago, but he'd already passed, unfortunately. Could be a continued mystery, but we shall see! James, yes, I found that the registration card has nothing to do with authenticity. It's just interesting that I have a card for a totally different sword! I'll need to seriously bone up on my sword terms if I want to email the Mie prefecture government to ask about sword #3577 in their log book.

Tom — Very good point. I think I’m coming from the wrong side of the tracks! It looks like the sword I have is a forgery based on the input I’ve received in the forum, but I’ll still consider joining as a member so I can attend next month’s meeting. -Andrew

I believe it is slightly longer than that at around 71.4cm. This is definitely strange.

Thanks, Bryce. You're right that the kokuin and kao are way off. The kokuin in particular is a tell with the middle strokes not connecting on the legit example and them connecting on my version, as well as the roundness of the owl's torso overall being a different shape. Oh well! No need to bring this to the NCJSC meeting next month and waste time. The registration card is definitely bothering me too since the meibun section doesn't at all match what's on the nakago. Maybe the name written is the actual smith who did the forgery? Would be strange though for sure...

I welcome Bruce's input for sure! I've found this site showing the kokuin for Sadakazu, though I'm not sure if the site is legitimate: https://www.aoijapan.net/tanto-gassan-minamoto-sadakazu-kokuin/

My disappointment is immeasurable. Told myself I wouldn't get my hopes up but I did slightly and it hurts! Just to add a bit to the mystery, I just found the boxes that came with the sword containing some sword oil and other tools, and I found a registration card at the bottom of one of these boxes. I've translated most of the front side of the card, but the 銘文 section does not seem to match anything written on the nakago. Frankly, I can't make out these handwritten kanji, so if anyone has an idea, I'm all ears. I've recognized these characters (州長) and started searching the signature database (https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=sword_record&mei_op=contains&mei=州長), but I haven't found a match yet as I can't read the handwriting on the remaining characters. Maybe there was a mixup when the sword was exported to the US or some crazy switcheroo happened...?

Thank you for the kind welcome, Franco, Tom, and Charles! Franco, the interview with Jimmy Hayashi is incredibly interesting. Tom, I knew I recognized your name from the NCJSC site. I'd love to attend next month's meeting since I just missed this month's! I can literally walk to the cultural center (though probably shouldn't with a sword in hand!). Charles, I definitely found a great community here, I can tell! Looking forward to learning more from and with you all.

Thanks, Bryce. I've definitely been comparing signatures as best I can and I do also see some differences. It seems Sadakazu signed in many different ways over the years though (sometimes no kao, sometimes no Minamoto, etc etc), so I have some hope it could be real still, but like Brian said, it's best to assume it's fake until proven otherwise with the name involved. The 浪華 and 貞 look most suspect to me while the 山 and 一 seems closer to confirmed examples I've seen. I'm looking for better kao examples to compare and will look again through the other thread. I tried to take detailed photos of the blade but the lighting I have is pretty bad. I'll keep trying and will read more threads on photography tips/tricks. I suppose you might not be able to see the hada/hamon given the condition though, so it's a bit of a chicken/egg dilemma! I do have a basic maintenance kit, so I'll try to remove the oil that is on the blade now, take photos, then reapply oil as best I can. I don't want to ruin what I have though so I'll study up before I make an attempt.

Hi, Bryce. Thanks for the response! That's disappointing to hear it may be gimei. Do the photos in this Imgur page provide better detail by chance? If not, I can try to take more photos tomorrow morning. https://imgur.com/a/5UhaDdR What in particular stands out to you as a potential forgery at first glance?

It seems most of the posts on this thread were from Sadakatsu and it seems definitively that he had his own habaki style. Was there a habaki style typical of Sadakazu (1836-1918)?

Hi, everyone! I just submitted my first post in the Nihonto board, but I noticed this thread and thought I'd stop by to introduce myself. I'm Andrew, based in San Francisco. I studied Japanese heavily in college and a few years post graduation, and spent ~1 year there studying abroad in for an internship. I've never really used my Japanese knowledge for work, but it's provided so many great opportunities to make friends and have interesting experiences when visiting Japan the few times I've been able to over the past ~15 years or so. I've been interested passingly in Japanese swords but the interest became tangible when I inherited a sword from my grandfather who worked with Japanese companies as part of his work in the auto industry. He received the sword from a business associate, and it's been passed to me, so I want to learn how to authenticate and care for it. I can see myself getting into further collecting, but first and foremost, I want to protect this great gift I've been given. I lurked on the forum intensively for the past few days after I heard about it, and I'm happy to participate as I learn more from the many experts here.

Hi, everyone -- I've inherited a Japanese sword from my grandfather and have some reason to believe it could be authentic. I speak/read some Japanese but sword terminology is definitely not my forte (yet!). I've taken some pictures of the vital parts of the sword and am hoping for general comments on whether my mei translation is correct and then thoughts on the condition of the sword and whether it is salvageable. If it's totally fake, of course, by all means don't hold back and do let me know. I originally posted a version of this on Reddit's r/swords and the reply received encouraged me to come here with additional pictures. That post for your reference is here: I've since updated the pictures as best I could based on the photography guide in the Reddit wiki, and while these are of course majorly amateur (I only have an iPhone, not a real camera or lighting setup), it's sort of an improvement over what I had before. Here's the link: https://imgur.com/a/EkhaDIx First of all, reading the nakago, this appears to be from 1866 (2nd year of Keio era) on a day in November. 慶應二年十一月日 The signature side reads 浪華月山源貞一, for having been made in Naniwa (aka Osaka) by Gassan Sadakazu, followed by the signature and then an imprint of the Gassan owl (I believe). My grandfather was involved in the automotive industry and this sword was gifted to him by a close Japanese business associate. The man who gave this to my grandfater included his own written translation of the signature as Gattsusan Minamotono Sadaichi, but I'm pretty sure he just misread the signature. If it is Gassan Sadaichi, well... he was born after this sword was made, so I don't think that's right (https://markussesko.com/2013/07/21/gassan-sadaichi/). If it is Gassan Sadakazu, well, it seems he didn't always use the Minamoto character in his signatures (found one here though: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Gasan_Sadakazu_Tanto.htm), but the date of creation seems possible based on his lifetime. He didn't use the characteristic 造 kanji I've seen in other Gassan signatures, but I don't think that's a dealbreaker. Of course, it could absolutely be a fake (super interesting review of a fake vs a real Gassan found here: https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/The_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_5_1972.pdf), so I'm keeping my expectations LOW. I found that article, by the way, by searching through the forums here, so thank you! As for the rest of the nihonto, the nagasa is ~28.75 inches, though I'm not sure exactly where the mune-machi begins, so it might be ~28.125 inches. Definitely not a wakizashi or tanto, so I'm assuming katana at this length. The condition isn't great from what I can tell, but I'm hoping it's not too far gone. The saya (scabbard) has some damage primarily from rubbing against the stand my grandfather kept it on for many years, the mekugi (peg) appears to be missing, and one side of the tsuka (handle) is cracked down the middle. The ito (braid) is a bit frayed, as is the sageo (cord). I see some rust on the what I think are the seppa (spacers) and habaki (blade collar), and there's a loose piece of thin metal that would seem to hold some of the parts in place, but I'm not sure what it's for. The sword came with some basic maintenance kits, though I'm not sure how long sword oil is good for and am DEFINITELY wanting to speak with an expert about how to maintain, and possibly restore, this sword. For that, would you all recommend I reach out to the Northern California Japanese Sword Club? I assume I should pay for a membership and show up to next month's meeting, but I welcome any ideas. This is not for any commercial purpose! I want to maintain it as a memory of my grandfather and, ideally, learn more about its provenance and history. Thanks for any guidance and sorry for the long first post. Andrew R.