Greetings honored members.
This is my first post in this most excellent forum. I have for a longer time thought about acquiring an original Japanese sword. I have always been a sucker for WW2 memorobilia and an imperial Japanese officers sword would be the peak of what I had in mind.
In an auction I found this Katana. I have been told the blacksmith is Nagamura Kiyonobu who is listed in Slough's book "Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868-1945", page 85. What is rather unusual is that the Katana comes with a photo of the officer holding the sword when he reportedly was stationed in Burma during WW2. Also there seem to be a tang stamp near the habaki but the picture is pretty vague.
Earlier this site has warned about swords coming from this auction house as "put together". E.g. see this thread:
http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopi ... =1&t=19793
Therefore before I proceed I would humbly like to request to hear your honored opinions on the matter. Is the sword authentic and if so what should a realistic price be for a signed WW2 Katana with photo of original owner?
Any input on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards Simon
