La Espada Ancha

Here are more photos of the hamon from the obverse of the blade:

Hello, I recently traded for this wakizashi / uchigatana, and am graciously asking for any assistance the knowledgeable members here may be able to provide to help me identify the period it was produced and the school (or maybe even the smith) responsible for its production. The wakizashi measures approximately 19 5/8 inches / 49.8 cm measured in a straight line from the mune machi to the kissaki. The nakago is unsigned, though there are (remnants of) painted markings on the obverse. What strikes me is the hamon. The character/style of the hamon is distinct and different on each side; the hamon on the obverse seems - how can I describe it? - "wispy," like the tops of clouds, while the hamon on the reverse seems to rise and fall with something (a little) more closely approaching regularity. The boshi, however, looks to be nearly the same on both sides of the blade. I have tried to photographically document the hamon - this has been a frustrating exercise, as while I have been an avid photographer for over thirty years, I just can't quite capture the essence of the hamon as seen with the naked eye in person. Nonetheless, in the following two posts, I will present multiple photos of the hamon from both sides of the blade, in the hopes that combined with the form, someone here can help me place a time and hopefully a school or even a smith to this blade's manufacture. Thank you in advance for any and all assistance you might be able to provide. Obverse: Reverse:

Hello Jean, The numbers really do put it into perspective, and I guess "low volume" is a relative term. While I maintain that a known European smith probably made many more blades on a per annum basis, when you factor in the sheer number of known / documented / ranked smiths in Japan, you are indeed talking about a lot of swords. Yet working with your own numbers - say 10 swords a year by a given smith - it still seems as if it would have been easy enough to verify at the time whether or not a given smith actually produced a given sword, no? Anyway, this has been an interesting discussion for me - not to mention an education. Hopefully, someone will chime in on the question I put forth in my previous post... Regards, Chris

Given the following: Is it possible that some of his work possessed a nengo that was not carved in the sosho style? That is interesting... I've long known that the trade marks of some known European makers who's names had achieved a degree of brand recognition (e.g., Andrea Ferrara) were often copied by other smiths. I guess I am surprised to learn that such acts occurred in Japan given (what I understand to be) the comparatively low volume of production by known Japanese swordsmiths.

Well there you go... that's what i get for attempting to translate anything in Japanese. :lol: I think from here on out, I'll simply defer to the lot of you...

More photos, of the nengo and habaki: One quick last note about the sword: As someone who has been collecting antique edged weapons for over a quarter century (though an admitted novice to the world of Japanese edged weaponry), there are certain things I look for while assessing authenticity. And while from an investment standpoint, you "buy the sword and not the story," from a collection standpoint provenance is entirely important. This sword comes to me out of the La Jolla estate of a late gentleman who, according to his widow, originally acquired this "at least 40-50 years ago." For those of you familiar with San Diego, La Jolla is our own coastal Beverly Hills. The wealth there is immense, and this family had their share. Anyway, thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread and my knowledge base.

Hello again, I have taken a few more photos of the katana, which I am including below and in the following post. As you can see, the blade is in far-from-perfect condition. It is in need of a polish and there are a couple nicks along the edge. I have tried to capture the hamon and other relevant details in the photos. The habaki is of worked silver over copper. The measurement (in a straight line) from the kissaki to the mune-machi is approx. 711.5 mm. I have included photos of both below.

I am on my way out to attend an auction elsewhere in SoCal. If there is not enough available light for photography when I return, I will take additional pictures of the sword (nengo, et al) tomorrow.

Hello Morita san, As I was able to translate the nengo on the other side of the tang, I have not yet taken any photos of it. I will however take and upload a couple photos of it tomorrow. In the meantime, I have included below three photos of the sword (including a larger photo of the nagako). I apologize for the quality of the photos. The hamon shows better than it appears in the photo. Also, the sword is in need of a professional polish. Thank you all for your input and assistance. Regards, Chris

Hello John & Grey, Thank you both! As this is my first pre-Showa katana, I am excited to learn as much about it as possible... Given I plan on eventually having it professionally polished, and would like to source Edo-period mountings (considering when I bought it it came dressed only in a Shirasaya and Habaki) - both which are beyond my budget at the moment - the knowledge is IMHO equally enriching and will gladly suffice until such time I can afford to complete this project. Regards, Chris

Hello to all, I was referred to your forum by way of another member here when I reached out to seek translation assistance with the rather long Mei of a Shinshinto katana I recently acquired. Your site - along with his - has already proven to be of invaluable assistance with my own humble efforts to translate this Mei. So far, I've been able to decipher the date / Nengo from the inside of the Nagako, which translates to the 5th day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the Ansei era. Using the wonderful resources on this site, I have been able to translate the last two characters of the Mei, which read, "Tsukuru Kore." Now, however, I am stuck. :? I am thusly writing to humbly request any assistance the members here may be able to provide, and warmly thank you in advance for the same. Below I have attached four images of the Nagako. The last three show close-up images of the Mei, though there is a little overlap with each, for which I apologize. The first photo will show the position of each character for reference. Regards, Chris