What does this say?

[herbert museum]

This very rusty Wakizashi is in the reserve collection of The Herbert Coventry England it has not been touched for 40yrs and is in very poor condition as conservation is to be finished we would like to know what these characters say

[Mark]

Sagami (no) Kami Fujiwara Hiroshige, maker is Hiroshige from the Fujiwara clan with the title lord of Sagami Province

[k morita]

Mark,You are great!

[Mark]

Thank you Morita-san, but i am still a beginner, i am happy to help with anything i can as i appreciate you and others who help me when i get stuck

[Bazza]

The Herbert Museum asked :

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This very rusty Wakizashi is in the reserve collection of The Herbert Coventry England it has not been touched for 40yrs and is in very poor condition as conservation is to be finished...

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Most of us know that museums are places where swords go to die by slow neglect - I have seen this personally. In this instance it would appear remedial work has been done to arrest a case of neglect. Can I ask what "conservation is to be finished" means in this case and what constitutes "conservation"???

 

Regards,

Barry Thomas

(Melbourne, Australia)

[Brian]

Brian,

I see you are listed as "volunteer conservator of arms and armour" and as such, I applaud your move to come here and ask for info on it, instead of just neglecting it as so many are.

We would all love to know the sword is getting some respect and attention, and if you need further guidelines on care, storage etc, let us know.

We are lucky to have a number of UK experts on board that I am sure can assist.

 

Regards,

Brian