Need Help With Translation

[Preachere]

I was directed to this site as being the go-to place for assistance.  I collect and deal in militaria and have for years; every so often Japanese items come to me, but not nearly as often as I would like.  Recently I was offered this sword and a Type 30 bayonet with scabbard.  I purchased both and now need help.  Upon disassembling the sword to look for a swordsmith's inscription, I came across gold lettering on both sides of the tang.  Whenever I have found a signature at all it has been chiseled into the metal.  For all I know there are chisel marks underneath the "gold" but I have no intention of altering this in any way to find out if that is the case.  

 

The blade is, as you can see, well out of polish and has been abused in the past.  Nothing is beyond the skills of a good togishi to repair, and it is my sincere hope that, should this sword be worthy of the expense of a full and proper repair and polish, that is the route I would like to go with this.  Even in it's poor condition it is still extremely sharp!  I also would like help with the tsuba and fuchi, because if the blade/swordsmith be identified and deemed worthy of consideration for a polish, I am sure the fittings will be sold separately and the new owner of the blade would like to have fittings of their own properly installed.  

 

So, without further delay, here are the pictures of the sword in question, and thank you for any and all help you may be able to provide.

 

Regards,

Eric Seavey

[Ray Singer]

Appears to be an attribution to Choshu Akikuni. I am not certain whether it is a kinpunmei (gold lacquer). The gold appears rounded and raised above the nakago as one would expect to see in a kinpunmei mei. If it is a kinzoganmei then yes, there would have been a mei chiseled into the nakago in which the gold has been inlaid. If it is a kinpunmei as yours seems to be, then the gold lacquer is simply applied to the nakago.

 

Best regards,

Ray

[Preachere]

Thank you Ray!  Who is Choshu Akikuni and when was he making swords?  I will go and practice my Google-fu and see what I can find out.  Any idea as to when the attribution took place?

 

Regards,

Eric Seavey

[Brian]

The mei looks very well done, which is a first sign of it being original and real.
What is the corrosion on the mei though, as gold does not rust, and neither should lacquer? I would at this stage apply some oil to the nakago and wipe with your fingers and a soft cloth very carefully. There is a lot of active rust going on there. The kao at the end will point to the person who did the attribution. Hon'ami Koson possibly?

In which case, if legit, you scored nicely. Take care of this one.

[Kronos]

From the sugata this would most likely be the sandai akikuni if the attribution is correct, working around oei. The kinpunmei I believe is one of the honami but am at work so can't check until later.

 

Looks like a nice sword that should be shown to a Japanese trained togishi who would have a good idea about the rust.

[Fuuten]

Post #11: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/18048-the-naoe-shizu-that-was-a-masamune/?hl=%2Bshizu+%2Bthat+%2Bused+%2Bmasamune

 

Kao is a match.

 

 

The Hon'ami papers are fake. Doesn't even come near normal Hon'ami Koson papers. However, this can't be blamed on Tsuruta-san, people sometimes regard these papers as being a nice add on, nothing more.

 

fake.JPG

 

Compared to real examples:

real.JPG

[Preachere]

Looks like a nice sword that should be shown to a Japanese trained togishi who would have a good idea about the rust.

 

That is my intention if the blade warrants the cost of a professional restoration and polish.  I have David Hofhine in mind because I have seen the magic that he works up on blades in far worse condition than mine.  Your help is very much appreciated.  We are all but caretakers of history, and I hope to bring this back from disrepair as my part in its path forward.

 

Regards,

Eric

[Preachere]

Post #11: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/18048-the-naoe-shizu-that-was-a-masamune/?hl=%2Bshizu+%2Bthat+%2Bused+%2Bmasamune

 

Kao is a match.

 

Is this a good match or a bad match?    From what I could see it would appear to match the legitimate writing and not the fake.  Am I correct in this?

 

Regards,

Eric

[Brian]

You are talking about writing vs lacquer/inlay. can't really compare, but it does appear fairly well done.

This one is a good candidate for shinsa.

[Kronos]

That is my intention if the blade warrants the cost of a professional restoration and polish.  I have David Hofhine in mind because I have seen the magic that he works up on blades in far worse condition than mine.  Your help is very much appreciated.  We are all but caretakers of history, and I hope to bring this back from disrepair as my part in its path forward.

 

Regards,

Eric

 

 

Looks like a nice sword that should be shown to a Japanese trained togishi who would have a good idea about the rust.

[Stephen]

Eric  What James is politely  saying David is not Japanese trained in the traditional  sense. Fine for Gunto IMHO, this me thinks Japan is better for this sword.

[Preachere]

Stephen, I was always of the impression that David HAD trained as a professional togishi in Japan.  Having said that, who should I turn to and what is the process?  

 

Regards,

Eric

[Brian]

I would send it to one of the USA shinsas, or at least take it to a sword show for the guys to look at, and thereafter you can decide if you would like to have it professionally polished.