Jim

Thank you everyone for your advice on my wakizashi - I very much appreciate your sharing your expertise. I have been trying to teach myself the correct terms by reading the glossary and the FAQs that are made available here on this website, as well as starting to read articles published elsewhere on the web. I think my one last question at this point is to ask if there is any way to narrow down the timeframe and smith. What I understand so far is that its maker was a Bungo smith named Fujiwara Sadatsugu, and he may have worked sometime in the late Koto or during the Shinto periods (1500s, 1600s, or the 1700s). From your comments I understand that there are two smiths by this name noted in the reference lists (one who worked in the 1500s, and one who worked in the 1600s), but no one knows what their mei or blades look like. Also it could be an entirely unknown and unlisted smith from those centuries, or even one working in the 1700s who made good quality, very sturdy blades designed for reliable use by a working samurai. Is there no way to narrow this down within this 300 year period? Thank you again for your kind patience in teaching me. Jim

Thanks to everyone for the education so far. No one will hurt my feelings if they say this wakizashi is only an ordinary blade, I would like to know what it is and what it is not. I place a personal value on it because it is from my father, but I also place a high value on knowing the facts. So what I am hearing so far it was made by a smith named Sadatsugu who was in the Fujiwara clan, and that it was most likely made sometime during the 1700s. It is a wakizashi in that the overall length is 26 and a half inches, but that includes the tang. The habaki was made in two pieces (now that you point this out I can see it) and it may have originally been covered in a metal foil. It is in nice condition and it might have a value in the range of $1,000 give or take a few hundred. Was this smith, Fujiwara Sadatsugu, recorded in the lists of smiths in Japan during the 1700s, or was he just an ordinary smith that did not make it into the records? Is the straight temper line typical of this era? Thanks for pointing out the FAQs on caring for it and the etiquette - I have downloaded those now and I will definitely care for it according to the procedures laid out there. Please keep the information coming - I very much appreciate your generosity in teaching me about this blade. Jim

Please excuse my ignorance if I use terms incorrectly, but I am a complete novice. My father was a squadron commander in the US Army Air Force during the war. When it ended he took a job with Northwest Orient Airlines running an office for them in Kyoto to get the airline rights to start service between the US and Japan which it did in 1947. When he left the office he managed, one of his employees gave him an old sword. Before my father passed away, he gave me this sword and I have always wanted to know more about it. From what I have been able to read on the internet I have learned that it should be called a Wakizashi because of its short length of 26.5 inches. I have also learned that it is in a plain wooden scabbard with matching handle that is called a shirasaya or sleeping scabbard, and that the markings on the tang are called kanji and should be the smith's name and clan and possibly other bits of information. It has a fairly plain brass (bronze?) hibaki (the little metal sleeve) and it is in a silk bag with blue/purple colored tassels. The bag has a white silk lining and both have fine detail work woven in. Several years ago I took it to a guns and swords show and no one could tell me very much about it other than it had little value and they offered me anywhere from $50 to $300 for it. In reading through many of the postings on this forum I am hoping to learn things like the approximate age of the blade; what the kanji say such as who was the maker - assuming one can trust them; and, is this just an ordinary working blade of minimal value or is it something more - I do not expect it to be a super high quality blade but it seems to be very well made to my untrained eyes. I have read about having blades sent to Japan for experts to examine and receiving documents to certify them - would a blade like this be worth asking such experts to take their time to examine it and would it be worth the the cost to me to have this done? Or anything else you can tell me? Thank you. Jim I am attaching some photos - please let me know if you need any additional photos.