Help with sword Identification/History

Hi guys, I am totally new to world so please bare with me. My stepdad acquired this Japanese sword about 30 yrs ago from his grandmother after her husband passed.. which is not my stepdads blood grandfather...the sword was given to the grandfather by his nephew who served in WWII...anyway that is the history how we got the sword. Now after 30 yrs of sitting in a closet I was asked to learn what I can about it. If my findings are correct (which i have no clue if they are correct) this sword is Pre-WWII. The text on the tang translates as... omi no kami fujiwara tsuguhiro, so if this correct the blade dates back into the mid 1600s at the earliest and the early 1700s at the latest. I also understand there were two generations of smiths with the name tsuguhiro. It is my presumption this sword is from the 2nd generation because his work is described as being characterized suguha hamon which I understand is the milky look the the cutting edge of the blade takes on during the tempering process. Remember I am new and understand very little about this art so all is presumption. This journey at times has been overwhelming, so much to take in, but it has been very satisfying also.

My question to anyone who will listen is...PLEASE HELP!

Hello!

Please sign your posts by your real name; it is nicer to discuss when you can address the other members by name...

You seem to have a real, shinto period katana/long wakizashi (depending whether the blade length is over 60 cm or not). You did a good job translating the kanji! I would also say that this is not the work of the first generation who worked in the Kanbun period (1661). You can see yourself how different the two last kanji are as compared to the 1st gen. mei example in a reliable reference book (Fujishiro's).

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Whether this is a 2nd generation signature, I do not know. There is something in the signature that does make me uneasy, but I am no expert. As we all do all the time in our research, you should also take into account the possibility that the signature is gimei (false). Gimei does not mean that the signature is a late addition, nor does it compromise the fact that the blade is real and old.

Veli

Thanks Veli, much appreciated. Blade itself is 23 7/16. Can you tell me where to find more signatures to study up on? I would like old books that would show examples. Last of all, what in the signature makes you uneasy?

Regards,

Troy

Hello Troy!

By uneasy feeling I mean that the mei does not seem very elegantly carved, and I would be amazed if the mei style would change that drastically between successive generations. But as I said, I am no expert.

For more online references, please check the link provided in the post above or these ones:

http://www.ryujinswords.com/tsuguhiro.htm (not papered)

http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/G30344_W5055_PUP_E.htm (low res picture, but look at the "tsugu" kanji)

Veli