ROKUJURO

My impression is that the YOKOTE is not in the correct place.

Ron, in some cases, when corrosion has eaten away too much material, signatures remain guesswork. In this case, I also thought the first KANJI might be TAIRA, but I have no books on blades or signatures to check that. What you could try would be making photos on a plain dark background, in a dark room and spotlights (not too strong to avoid glare) shining from the side. I found that extreme magnification often does not help much.

Looks very Chinese from a distance.

Nicolo, then it is not a WAKIZASHI but a TANTO. A desirable form of a Japanese sword, but in this neglected condition, there is not much that we could say. I can only strongly recommend to let a professional polisher (= TOGISHI) have a close look at it. If the basic condition was still good (= the blade has not been in a fire or so), it might be saved. There are some of these guys in the U.S. so sending it to Japan is perhaps not necessary. But a complete restoration will not be cheap!

Might be KANESADA. It seems as if the NAKAGO had been "cleened" (= sandpapered) which is really very sad as the patina is gone. Big value loss! Is the blade longer than 303 mm (measured from the notch on the back just above the HABAKI to thr tip) ?

Ian, is it magnetic?

Hi Ron, translation requests are best posted in the TRANSLATION section.

That one is better. And now the BÔOSHI in magnification so we can see how the HAMON ends on the MUNE, or if there is a KAERI

To be sure about that we should see very good photos of the BÔSHI, if possible in magnification. Dark background, dark room, using spotlights, sworg oriented tip-upwards.

Dave, thank you for sharing! Well made and quite interesting!

Anthony, if you want to put the photos in the correct orientation and post them in the TRANSLATION section, you might have more success. First and second photo (not much to read) with a 90° left turn. Third photo with a 90° right turn, but then it is still mirrored (= backside). Forth photo with 90° left turn, but it is also mirrored (= backside). I assume these papers are just a kind of padding or a means to stiffen the object. I don't think they have to do with the armour; might even be printed.

I have seen some YAGYU with completely different steel surface, looking more "sandy" than this one.

Ron, with a dark, non-reflecting background you get a much better contrast. This will allow the experts to see more.

Probably a carefully made national treasure.

The outside water temperature was never a factor as hardening was always done with warm water.

Signed TACHI MEI.

Bruce, you probably meant to write URUSHI ? It is close, but not the same!

That looks like an exceptionally fine TSUBA!

How does the other side look like? First comes a diagnosis, then the therapy.

In my eyes it is not an "ICHI". Could be a simple file test for hardness but also a secret mark to recognize it from other NAOTANE blades..

From the workshop in the neighbourhood of the first one?

Yes, that is one of the crude theories, but it is ridiculously unlikely when you think about it. I am working scientifically on this TEKKOTSU subject and hope to be able to present results in the near future.

Yves, this is called TEKKOTSU (= "iron bones"). It is a special feature of some TSUBA makers or schools. There is some discussion about what it is and how it is done. Unfortunately, most writers have no metallurgic background and try to approach the subject from the aesthetic side which does not lead far. Your TSUBA would be classified as HEIANJO style, in this case an earlier one with HIRA ZOGAN technique (flat inlay), most of which is still present. There are information that some TSUBASHI working in that style did not make the TSUBA plate themselves but bought them from more specialized smiths to decorate them afterwards. This may be the case here. Attached is an image of a HEIANJO TSUBA with another decoration style.

HIRAGANA character "KU"? Whatever, I like it!

Last one could be MASAYOSHI.