TheTinkerBard

Of course, It was just meant as a humorous remark Thanks everyone for the identification assistance, I appreciate it!

Kind of surprising considering how the Japanese are known for being structured, precise and well organised...

Right, that's just everything out the window then lol... To me these are four completely different characters. Maybe with some similarities but still... Comparing them side by side and trying to decide whether or not they are by the same person I'd guess absoluteely not since they are too different.

Thanks very much for the explanation! I find it much easier to compare signatures side by side rather than comparing a signature to proper form to be honest, and I absolutely agree that the signature on my sword does not look like the other swordsmiths sign for Kane (even though I still have a hard time seeing it as Nori). Either way, I think since most agree on what the Mei says we can likely determine that this is the correct translation. Now I just want to find more infoi about this swordsmith!

Hey there Ray, good to see you again! I do not doubt your judgement, just looking for any and all info I can find about this sword and its maker. I think we can most probably say that the Mei has been interpreted correctly as Noritsugu since most agree on this, now I just hope to find out more about this swordsmith Cheers! Yup, that would indeed seem to be the case. I'm still having a hard time seeing certain characters as what they supposedly are even when comparing them side by side. I guess this is the equivalent of bad/sloppy handwriting... Thanks mate, I appreciate it!

I also tried to fill in the chissel marks using red lines while comparing with the tang by eye in order to perhaps make the lines a bit more clear. This is what it looks like to me:

I tried to fill in the chissel marks using red lines while comparing with the tang by eye in order to perhaps make the lines a bit more clear. This is what I see when I look up close:

Thank you very much for the clear explanation Bruce, I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn! To me it looks like thee "three boxes" have been left open on the top left and bottom right corner making it look almost like a backwards S, which is why I still have a hard time identifying it as Nori... I tried taking some better pictures but it's difficult to get my phone camera to focus properly across the entire length of the tang so I tried splitting the picture in two. I don't know if it reveals any new info though...

Tbh I kind of have a hard time seeing either Kane or Nori, I don't know what that Kanji is supposed to be... The three stacked boxes in the Nori Kanji, if that is what it is supposed to be, looks like they have been left open in the top left and bottom right corners giving them the appearance of a backwards S sort of... The only Reason Kanetsugu could kind of make sense to me is because everything else matches, but I doubt a swordsmith would make a type in his signature... I'll try and take some better pictures. Edit: Here are the new pics, I had to split them up since I couldn't get my camera to focus properly across the entire tang. Hope these are a bit more clear:

To be honest I'm having a hard time seeing either, the Nori kanji also looks weird to me... The only reason I thought Kanetsugu could maybe kind of make sense is because everything else matches, but perhaps it's because it's a common name... I'll try to take some better pictures, perhaps that can clear things up.

Thank you, this seems likeely to be true since others read it as the same. Thanks for the info! It was suggested to me by a person on another forum that the signature looks like it is quite similar to/might have some relation to 濃州住塚原兼次 - Kanetsugu Tsukahara, resident of Mino Province, real name of Jiro Tsukahara, a swordsmith in Nagazumi-cho Seki City. Any chance that this is what the signature is supposed to say? I'm not able to find any record of a Noritsugu but there is some info about Kanetsugu... I'm not very good at interpreting the signature at all, not really sure I can see it as either 濃州住塚原則次作 or 濃州住塚原兼次 but the two do look similar if the majority of the signature is read correctly.

Thanks very much for the info! It was suggested to me by a person on another forum that the signature looks like it might have some relation to 濃州住塚原兼次 - Kanetsugu Tsukahara, resident of Mino Province, real name of Jiro Tsukahara, a swordsmith in Nagazumi-cho Seki City. Any chance that this is what the signature is supposed to say? I'm not able to find any record of a Noritsugu but there is some info about Kanetsugu...

Hey all! New to these forums, thanks for having me! I'm looking for info on this Sword I bought recently, can anyone please help me interpret the signature? I've asked around on a couple of different forums and results are varying, some read it as Fujiwara Noritsugu, others think it says Tsukahara Noritsugu... Would like to find out more about the swordsmith so if anyone knows anything I'd appreciate any and all info. I believe it is a WWII era Gunto, but it doesn't seem to have any mass production stamps commonly seen on Gunto/Showato of that era so I began to think that maybe this could possibly be a Gendaito?... I'm no expert but I think it looks a bit nicer than mass produced Gunto/Showato sometimes tend to do. It appears to be folded and water quenched as it has a discrete but visible Hada and prominent Hamon. The Nagasa is just under 61cm, the Sori is about 14mm and it has proper geometric Yokote (though not very prominent) and not just a cross polished Kissaki. Can anyone help me interpret the signature and possibly identify the Swordsmith and manufacture time period? Thanks in advance! /Anton

Hey all! New to these forums, thanks for having me! I'm looking for info on this Sword I bought recently, can anyone please help me interpret the signature? I've asked around on a couple of different forums and results are varying, some read it as Fujiwara Noritsugu, others think it says Tsukahara Noritsugu... Would like to find out more about the swordsmith so if anyone knows anything I'd appreciate any and all info. I believe it is a WWII era Gunto, but upon dissassembly I couldn't find any mass production stamps commonly seen on Gunto/Showato of that era so I began to think that maybe this could possibly be a Gendaito?... I'm no expert but I think it looks a bit nicer than mass produced Gunto/Showato sometimes tend to do. It appears to be folded and water quenched as it has a discrete but visible Hada and prominent Hamon. The Nagasa is just under 61cm, the Sori is about 14mm and it has proper geometric Yokote (though not very prominent) and not just a cross polished Kissaki. Can anyone help me interpret the signature and possibly identify the Swordsmith and manufacture time period? Also I realised I posted in the wrong forum section, is there any way to move or delete the thread? Thanks in advance! /Anton