D_Oberg

By the way: The dimensions of this Katana are: Nagasa: 27.5 inches Width at Hamachi: 31.16mm (1.226 inches) width at kissaki: 21.08mm (0.83 inches) sori: torii sori 1,7cm (0.20 inches) It is very graceful and well balanced.

Awesome, Morita san, Thanks! And I just got a response from my old friend in Japan, Yuichi Ezawa, and he has translated the other side, but I do not know which character is which. Never-the-less, it says: "(This) Katana was made for Mr. Riharu Okajima in Kyoto" And if I have it right, The side you translated reads" A good day of Showa 16 year, Ryuun Takahasi's son Hidetugu who lived in Osaka made this." (Again, with help from Yuichi.) I'm happy to finally have this done. I wonder if there is any way to find out who Mr. Riharu Okajima was. Also, as it happens, (and you may know this) that Hidetsugu won Jo Jo Saku in a sword contest in '41. Aside from him being a Gassan school via Sadakatsu, I know nothing else about him. Very much looking forward to seeing this one finished. Hopefully, it will be done in time for the San Fran Token Kai. Thanks a million for your help Morita san! All the best, Daryl

Hi Morita, Thanks for the response. Here are some more pix of the blade. I am sorry to report that my regular camera died, so these are taken here just now with my cell phone cam, so they are not very good quality. The part of the inscription I can read is the date: Showa 16 nen Lucky day In January. I do not know what any of the others are aside from Takahashi, and Tsugu. I have seen one other Hidetsugu, but that was in ayasugi hada. I believe he was a student of Sadakatsu. This blade was pretty rough when I got it; bent, chipped, twisted, and parts were deeply scratched by some heavy sandpaper it looked like. Half of it is now in foundation polish, with the hamon visible in some areas. I was recently over a friends house and he has a Sadakazu and a Sadakatsu both in fresh polish and the hamon in his Sadakatsu was very much like this one. I do not know yet if this is a subtle ayasugi or if Hidetsugu went a different direction on this one. When the polish is done we will know for sure.

Greetings, I'm a bit miffed trying to find some of these characters to translate this katana mei. I was hoping someone could assist me in getting this done so I can appreciate it more fully. I'm pretty sure it's a Takahashi Hidetsugu, and the top illegible character on ura is "Showa" but beyond that I can't make it out; Showa Ju-roku? Looking forward to your help. Thanks in advance! Cheers, Daryl

Indeed, thanks for the input guys. My own thoughts were similar on the points about much more learned folks trawling ebay and noticing what I would not. And now that you mention it, there is more curve in that Kuni ideogram on the Bunkazai than the on the ebay sword. And just to clarify: I'm familiar with the popularity of the name Kuniyoshi through time, I definitely wasn't being clear enough: I meant Awataguchi Kuniyoshi. (Don't know why I didn't say that.) And yeah, there are no treasures on Ebay! I got burned once. Not terribly, but I will never forget that sinking feeling in my heart and stomach when I opened my sword package. It was 'only' $600, but that was 10 years ago, and I never want that feeling again. I've done much better since Thanks again guys. I've got another question on a blade I recently purchased at the Florida token Kai which I'll post when I've got some more time. All the best, Daryl

Compare the mei with this one: http://www.sho-shin.com/1st-son.htm It's just above half-way down the page. What am I missing here? Someone kick me in the teeth and say, "Dude, look here.. see? total fakery..." I know we can't see the hamachi/munemachi. Could a real Kuniyoshi have that ji-are/fukure? (looks like one.)

hello all, and greetings! I am a novice collector what has loved Japanese swords my whole life. I've studied Martial arts since age 9, (i'm 40 now) and am currently and for the past few years; studying Shinkendo. Anyway, on to why I posted here: I was browsing this site earlier, decided to register and here I am with my first post. I noticed on ebay someone has what appears to be a Kuniyoshi tachi posted for sale. Now, call me crazy, but unless I am mistaken there is only ONE of these known. Which obviously casts a bit of dispersion on the possibility of this one being real. (reference: http://www.nihonto.com/abtartawataguchikuniyoshi.html The thing is, it looks legit. Nakago looks right, hi look right (what there are of them), Nagasa looks right. Can't make out much in terms of hataraki or jihada owing that its in bad polish, but is that a characteristic nioiguchi there? hmm. If it's a fake it is pretty darn well thought out. Let me know what you all think. I mean, I've taken my Ebay-lumps in the past, so my mind says,"Bahh!! No way." But if I look in the mirror while thinking that I have one eyebrow raised like "Dr. Spock." Obviously more and better picts should be posted of this sword. Let me know what you all think. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330416296668&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en Thanks all, Nice to "meet" you, All the best, Daryl