Jnuzzo Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 I’m a newbie to nihonto, but am trying to ID some swords that my grandfather shipped home during WW2. This blade appears genuine, but I can’t make sense of the mei. Some of it is too far gone to decipher, but the first kanji is clear, I just can’t seem to identify it. Resembles Rai but not exactly. Don’t have photos of the blade handy, but it’s a katana with bo-hi on one side and futasuji-hi on the other. Hamon is fairly straight and slender (though blade is out of polish), and blade is on the lighter / slender side overall. Thanks if you can help! Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Please show the entire mei in one vertical image (not closeup photos of individual sections). Perhaps: 武州神田住__ Bushū Kanda ju ___ (remainder cut off, or not shown). https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=All&mei_op=starts&mei=武州神田住 Quote
Jnuzzo Posted January 1 Author Report Posted January 1 First pic is the full mei, or what’s left of it. Below that three-lined character is too pitted to see anything Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 The kanji with three horizontal strokes is ju (住), which wouid typically be followed by the swordsmith artname, clan + artname, etc. The name itself is not shown here, but unless it is an unlisted smith this is likely Bushu Kanenaga or Bushu Kanetsune (one of two generations). Even if the inscription is corroded , it is still worthwhile to try and show us a photo of the entire inscription top to bottom in one vertical image. Sometimes just a couple of strokes can distinguish between one or another possible craftsmen (in this case, determining if it may be Kanenaga or Kanetsune). Not making any guarantees, but as you are asking for assistance with a translation it is helpful for us to try and evaluate everything. And one additional note, please don't do anything on your own to try to make the inscription more readable (no chalk or cleaning). This may seem obvious and I am sorry to mention it, however I've seen a number of cases where new collectors have tried some amount of cleaning to improve readability on an inscription that was already readable, removing the natural patina and destroying the originality of the mei in the process. 3 Quote
Jnuzzo Posted January 1 Author Report Posted January 1 Ah, that makes sense, thank you. I’ll try to play with lighting and effects to see if I can get more details out of it. I used to collect, clean, and deal western arms n armor, I won’t damage them. They’re not the best pieces but will still treat them right Quote
Jnuzzo Posted January 1 Author Report Posted January 1 This is the most clarity I can seem to get. Does look to be three strikes for “san” after “ju”, but what follows doesn’t look like “shi” to me. Granted I don’t know kanji at all and it’s pretty pitted Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 The nakago itself is slightly suriage (the end has been reduced) however the mei is fully present. There appear to be two kanji after 'ju'. The first is definitely 'Kane'. The last kanji is unclear as it is been washed out with the light. I would suggest trying different lighting conditions so that the glare is not so intense in that area. 1 Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 I looked on a different screen, and it does look like 兼常 (Kanetsune). 武州神田住藤原兼常 (Bushū Kanda ju Kanetsune) 1 Quote
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