Inoue Shinkai signature

[daniel5822]

I have a sword with this signature Inoue Shinkai. I inherited this from my dad who was a Marine in WWII he got it in battle in Guam from a Japanese officer he killed. This officer also had an olympic medal. Any opinions? Should I get it authenticated by a Shinsa? I don't intend to sell it but I want to pass it on to my children. I have gotten all kinds of varied feed back. One collector told me to put it on e-bayand price it for 1,200 and he would buy it another told me it was authentic. One offered me 6,000.00 as is. Don't know who to believe.

[Brian]

Daniel,

At first glance, that horimono looks badly cut, and not of the level one would expect on a Shinkai. That said, the pics are not clear, and we can't see how much of the horimono has been eroded through polishing.

The mei looks well done and neat, but Shinkai is very often faked, so if I was you, I would send it to one of the USA shinsas (if you are in the USA) and have them give an opinion. The work confirms the mei, not the other way around, so it all comes down to how well made the sword is, and if the workmanship matches his.

 

Brian

[daniel5822]

Here are more photos

[daniel5822]

Here is another

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

Clearly gimei.

 

There is no katana made by Shinkai with horimono.

[cabowen]

 

There is no katana made by Shinkai with horimono.

 

 

What is your source for that information?

[chrstphr]

 

 

What is your source for that information?

 

 

according to this webpage, No katana have horimono that were signed by him,

 

http://www.nihonto.com/abtartshinkai.html

 

Horimono could have been added later, but i dont think the mei is correct. I would vote gimei as well.

 

 

 

Chris

[daniel5822]

A gentleman from Tokyo named Albert Yamanaka told my dad in 1966 that it was an Inoue Shinkai blade and offered him $3,000.00 back then. The dragon is only complete on one side, the other side is not finished. Not sure why, I did see a sword online that had an almost identical dragon. It may have been added later. I'm pretty new to this so bare with me.

[Eric H]

Regrettably for the owner the mei is a fake. For what can be seen, the horimono is poorly executed.

 

Eric

[cabowen]

"What is your source for that information?"

 

 

according to this webpage, No katana have horimono that were signed by him,

 

http://www.nihonto.com/abtartshinkai.html

 

Horimono could have been added later, but i dont think the mei is correct. I would vote gimei as well.

 

 

 

Chris

 

 

I would think gimei as well but I wouldn't call the above source definitive.....

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

 

What is your source for that information?

 

Nihonto Koza (shinto volume), and i was told the same thing at the NBTHK museum.

[Jimmy R]

Hawley makes mention of a Shinto smith that signed Inoue Shinkai.

Jim

[jct3602]

My father sold an Inoue Shinkai katana back to Japan through John Yumoto in the mid 1960s for 6500$ (do not know gross or net).  Was originally papered in 1948 by Hakusai Inami.  It has a Fudo myo horimono (could have been added later).  Has never shown up since, so was either treasured or a fake.  My father only got it out of Japan after the war because of a legal nuance.  If anyone is interested, I will take a picture of the paper and post it.

 

 

john twineham

[BIG]

Hi John, please post the papers. Very int. stuff, ..

 

Best

[Brian]

Please post them in a new thread, as this one is a necropost from 7 years ago.