Is this genuine?

[Gazzer]

Hi, I would be so grateful for some advice.

Earlier this year I bought a beautiful sword from what I thought was a genuine seller.

A friend with more experience than me has taken a look and expressed his doubts. He feels that the markings on one side of the blade look genuine, but not the other.

I would appreciate any comments or opinions regarding this.

Many thanks

 

Hello again,

Many thanks for the replies, they are much appreciated.

I am just about to add some additional pictures ( minus my shoe!) as requested. Once again I would much appreciate any information you are able to give me.

The information I originally received was that the characters on one side looked OK, but the other side looked more Chinese in style? 

Thanks in advance.

Gary G

[SteveM]

Possible to see pictures of the blade? The handle is interesting, but the blade is the thing.

The mei could be genuine and authentic to the time it purports to come from, and then again it could be some post-war addition, scratched into the blade to make it look like a WW2 blade. 

 

 

Anyway, the mei reads:

 

三州足助住長運斎重光作之

Sanshū Asuke-jū Chōunsai Shigemitsu saku kore - Chōunsai Shigemitsu of Asuke town in Sanshū province (present-day Aichi) made this

 

昭和十九年八月日

Shōwa 19 nen, hachigatsu jitsu - August 1944

 

 

Also, can we get your name? Forum rules. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

There were a few Gendaito smiths signing Shigemitsu, the mei and nakago look appropriate for the date. I wasn't able to find a similar example bearing this smith online, there are still many "mystery" smiths from the war era. 

[raaay]

 hi Steve

 

  handle ?  is that  not the tip of his shoe   , I had to look 2 or 3 times to figure it out !

[tbonesullivan]

The writing on either side looks pretty much the same style, and honestly unless it's a super well-known smith, I don't see why adding a fake maker would really increase the value. That's not saying people don't do it, but with all those chisel strokes, the amount of work to add that MEI and make it look that nice really wouldn't be worth the added value, if there is any.

[k morita]

Hi,

 

This smith's family name is Hirose (広瀬).

Hirose Shigemitsu　(広瀬重光),
This name is listed on a name list of Military Swords Exhibition in 1944.

[PNSSHOGUN]

He's listed as Rikugun Jumei Tosho as well.

[Gazzer]

Possible to see pictures of the blade? The handle is interesting, but the blade is the thing.

The mei could be genuine and authentic to the time it purports to come from, and then again it could be some post-war addition, scratched into the blade to make it look like a WW2 blade. 

 

 

Anyway, the mei reads:

 

三州足助住長運斎重光作之

Sanshū Asuke-jū Chōunsai Shigemitsu saku kore - Chōunsai Shigemitsu of Asuke town in Sanshū province (present-day Aichi) made this

 

昭和十九年八月日

Shōwa 19 nen, hachigatsu jitsu - August 1944

 

 

Also, can we get your name? Forum rules. 

 

Thank you, thats very interesting.

I have now posted pictures of the blade.

Regards

Gary

[PNSSHOGUN]

Nice original Type 98 by an RJT smith, the lack of the RJT star and more complex mei may indicate a custom ordered blade for an officer.