Please some help translation mei

[hagekure]

Hello im new on this forum and would like to know the signature,and if possible if the katana is a shinto or shinshinto. I have this blade already 35 years. The nagako is in reality almost black. Anyway I would be verry gratefull if there is a kind soul in katanacountry THANKS Bob

[Brian]

Bob,

I would prefer if ppl would upload the pics and not a zip file. Makes it easier to view for the max number of ppl. I have taken the liberty of extracting the zip and re-uploading the pics, and then deleting the zip. Also rotated the signatures to read the right side up.

I am hesitant to make a call on this one. Look at the signature. It is really hesitant and shaky. Not fluid like a signature should be. The filemarks are a bit coarse and look recent, as does the mei, and the location of the ana (holes) is very odd. The nakago is also unusually long, almost like it is machi-okuri without being suriage. All adds up to an odd one, and I am not confident in a call just yet.

 

Brian

[Mark]

looks to say Kunihiro is the maker. I agree with Brian, does not look like an antique Japanese sword

[Grey Doffin]

This doesn't look like Nihonto to me; my guess would be recent Chinese fake. All sorts of small details here and there are wrong and taken together they suggest fake. I could be wrong but I'd be surprised if I am.

OK; so surprise me. Grey

[hagekure]

Hi Brian, I bought this kat some 35 years in Rio de Janeiro from a Japanese family. the pics are verry bad ,the tang verry dark difficult to make a picture(my daughter made them because i could not even show the pictograms on a photo) now it looks as if the file marks are verry course but they are not in reality also the tang looks longer than it is (7,5") I think I need to make better pics to put on your great forum Thanks a lot for looking at my blade! Bob

[hagekure]

Hi Grey, yes they are lousy pictures flash flash and deformed ,the tang even looks NEW!! but i just wanted a translation of the caracters. NO ITS NOT A FAKE CHINESE! im absolutely sure of that,Iam already an old geezer and bought the blade long time ago from a known Japanese family in Brasil for chrise sake. So i will suprise you one of these weeks with good pictures Cheerio Bob

[Brian]

Bob,

Judging by the first pic, if that is the true patina, then that makes it look more ok. But the mei is still shaky and I suspect gimei at best. The yasurime could be ok too under certain circumstances. But the nakago is still very long, which only means it might have been altered strangely sometime in its life.

Nakago jiri is very sharply angled. Gotta allow for these combined features to raise some questions, that's the process we go through. Good thing is that here on the NMB, you don't just get the info that you ask for, you get the whole package. More bang for your buck, so to speak :D

Let's see who can provide a full translation.

 

Brian

[hagekure]

Brian thanks a lot, the tang is even more dark(almost black) then on the picture , but i welcome any info, i used this katana to train iaido so many years ago(what was I thinking) I am still training a bit with a iaito ,a chinese and good iaito, not a cheap one and boy they really know how to make ugly koshirae I really know how a chinese katana looks! and now im thinking of polishing and repairing the tsuka of my old katana, it will be good to know if i dont trow my poor shekkels away ! Thanks again for the kind way you responded to my inquire

Bob

[cabowen]

Here is my guess: Brazil has the second largest population of Japanese outside of Japan with tens of thousands of immigrants relocating there over the last 100 years... It is likely that this sword was made there by an amateur smith. It does not look like the work of a professional....

[John A Stuart]

Maybe this, 月昭雄国廣作 勹口[名?]一五 but, I can't really understand the intent beyond the Kunihiro saku part. John

[Nobody]

The third kanji is 庵.

The last part of the inscription may be クロ一五 (ku-ro-1-5). I guess that the characters were intended to be a serial No.

Anyway, the mei looks suspicious to me too.