ROKUJURO

My first impression was even plastic, but then I saw that an insert was glued into the hollow underside, so possibly bone. I don't see Schreger lines. In addition to that, I don't see HIMOTOSHI.

Sorry, I don't have books on swords to compare, that is something you will have to do now, perhaps online or with books. All online comments you will get from people on the authenticity on your blade are just opinions, based on photos. The only way to be more secure (never reaching 100,00%) would be a SHINSA panel in Japan. They can issue certification papers (= ORIGAMI) for blades and TOSOGU. And there is still another thing: A blade with a faked signature may still be genuine and nice to look at.

So you probably didn't see many. The MEI is chiselled in the NAKAGO on the outer side of the blade when worn. We call that side OMOTE. In rare cases (e.g. KATANA from HIZEN province), the signature is on the other side. We call that TACHI MEI because TACHI are worn cutting-edge downwards so the ura faces the outward side. So there is no right or left side of a blade but inner and outer side as worn by the SAMURAI.

The MEI (= signature) is on the correct side.

Gary, weelcome to the NMB forum! There is not much you could do yourself to improve the condition of these swords except giving them a thin layer of low viscosity mineral oil AND wiping it mostly off so no oil gets into the SAYA (= scabbard). But luckily you have a real expert in Australia who you could ask for help: Andrew Ickeringill https://touken-togishi.com/ He will probably not work on these machine-made military blades but he could advise you what to do. In the meantime you could clean the red rust off the NAKAGO (= tang) just with a cotton rag, a soft brush, and A LITTLE oil. Nothing abrasive, so the patina is not damaged! This is normally not done on traditionally made Japanese sword blades, but in your case, it is all about preserving a piece of recent military history. Be patient as you clean, as damaging is easy! The MEI (= signatures) are nicely readable on two swords; they were probably made industrially in MINO province in the war.

....which will be the difficult part! Artur Oskroba has a wide range of TSUKA for sale, but fitting one to an existing NAKAGO is a lot of slow work!

I definitely think so. The TSUBA could have some age, maybe end of MUROMACHI or very early EDO, but unfortunately, corrosion is not a good indication of age.

Well, that is not a contradiction in my eyes. They just used a typical Western design for their anchor emblem. Traditional Japanese ones are not made that way.

Brad, to make it easier, better post this in the TRANSLATION section where the experts are. I think I can read TOMOTSUNE.

A western style anchor and SAKURA SUI - cherry flowers on water. Not easy to bring that together!

Hi Laura, welcome to the NMB forum. These plaques are looking like decorative items, MEIJI era or later, maybe for the tourist trade. They seem to be press-molded, the casing is probably made from a different alloy, perhaps nickel silver. I do not see typical SHIBUICHI colour, instead it might be SHAKUDO or blackened copper. The exact purpose will be difficult to guess; I have no clue. Cleaning should be done with great care! A soft brush or a moist cosmetic cotton pad should work in case there was really dirt on them. Any abrasive material (or rubbing) will damage the patina beyond repair. True SHAKUDO will somewhat "heal" its patina after a while, but not blackened copper.

New video:

Looks like an AINU knife to me.

Very sad to hear! I never met Richard, but I absolutely admired his photographic skills. My condolences to his family and friends!

It might be a SHODO box, a container for writing equipment, MEIJI era. From the looks of it, it could be made of lacquered leather or papier mâché, but you can guess that by its weight. You will certainly have tested with a magnet if it is thin iron? Right after the end of EDO era, many sword artisans were forced to look for other kinds of work, so an armourer might have been able to make this as well.

Don't feed the trolls!

To me, this is clearly not a BOKUTO or BOKKEN, but nice!

I think these are all modern, with more or less hand-finishing or polishing. Have you ever seen them appearing in older collections or on sale in auctions 10 years ago?

Or perhaps end of SHOWA?

If you mean the script then it is SOSHO. But I don't think it is SOSHO, it is just a bit sloppy. Let the experts in the translation section decide!.

Tony, what makes you believe the MEI is SHOSHIN? Could we please see the (naked) blade as well?

No Bruce, these are two different blades.

Very beautiful! I'm also thinking of TSUBAKI SANJURO....

John, these HANAIRE were not meant to hold water. As far as I know from more recent pieces, a container was made/soldered from tin or copper to fit into it. You can stand them upright (then they don't even need a closed bottom) or hang them on a nail. Many years ago I got my hands on big bamboo and made one myself for IKEBANA. I always dreamt of having a TOKONOMA..... Piers, your HANAIRE is nice! Is that a Camellia flower in it?

Piers, one of the small items shown in your last photos could also be such a "HANAIRE", made from the foot of a big bamboo, now interpreted in bone.