SteveM

As with the Masamune blade owned by Ishida Mitsunari, the above blade, being a signed and ubu blade Bizen blade from the Kamakura/Nambokucho period, is an important art blade despite the kirikomi, not because of it. Particularly telling is the complete lack of reference to either the hakobore or the kirikomi on the NBTHK appraisal paper, and on the sayagaki. I cannot imagine anyone at the NBTHK saying (of any blade), "Flawless sword. Too bad it doesn't have any kirikomi.".

Its not a dating system. I think it refers to the name of a ship (this is what the ~maru suffix usually means). Naishin means princess, so something like HMS Princess. I searched online and couldn't find any reference to this name, so I'm not 100% confident...usually you can find some reference to almost any military vessel. One other possibility: Naishin also means relatives on the father's side of the family. But this leaves me without an explanation for ~maru, so I think this probably points to a ship. Edit: I should add that I have never seen a ship's name on a sword, so that adds to my lack of confidence.

My impression is 服部正広 Hattori Masahiro, but I am not overly confident.

The reason they do nothing for me is because I cannot authenticate them, and, unlike the soldier coming back from the field, the sword cannot tell me whether a cut or a scratch was made in battle, or was the result of a careless mistake, or worse, was deliberately added using a well-placed flathead screwdriver and a mallet by some unscrupulous trader who was trying to tart-up an otherwise featureless sword. I cannot place a value on a kirikomi. I cannot go to Kurokawa-san with a sword to sell, and argue that he should give me a better price for it since it has a kirikomi. Even the words "mark of honor" seem to assume too much.This, I think, is the crux of my argument to Jason. Now the contrary argument, "kirikomi add mystique", is something I have no rebuttal for. It is a subjective thing. I don't deny that some people may find sentimental value in them, but putting a monetary figure on sentimental value and mystique is a Sisyphean task. I think the advice to novices has to be: resist getting sentimental about swords and their imagined histories. The Ishida-Masamune linked to above is the very definition of the outlier that I mentioned in my earlier post Regardless of the kirikomi, this sword has great value both as an art sword, and as a historical artifact.

The seki blade is 囗藤井兼音作　　(?) Fujii Kaneoto Saku The date on the Tenshin blade could also be Showa 20. I think what looks like a 二 is actually part of 年. Like Jean, I have some doubts about the blade, or at least the signature.

And you might want to squeeze in some time to check out the Japan Sword Museum if you've never seen it before. http://www.touken.or.jp/english/

I don't think anybody is offended. They are just trying to lead you to other avenues of inquiry, rather than fill in all the blanks for you. There is a surprising amount of info on Japanese sword smiths in English on the internet. Usually google will point you to a page from Markus Sesko's Meikan, but I also find that google will direct me back here to another thread on NMB as well. This name is one of those cases. The last character on your kogatana is illegible, but in googling for other similar names, I find two strong possibilities: 永 (naga) or 守 (mori). When I google bit more, I can find a near match to this latter signature here on this very site, and submitted a few years ago by none other than Morita-san himself. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/6302-kozuka-translation-please/ Bear in mind that kogatana are notoriously bad for gimei, as is mentioned in the above link. The market knows this as well, and so not a lot of people are excited by kogatana. Even big names tend to get met with a shrug.

Thank you, Malcom. I am, however, standing on the shoulders of giants. Here is one of the very few things I found with both Wisteria Maiden and Oni no nembutsu (sometimes referred to as Oni no kan'nenbutsu). http://www.creyon-nurie.com/ukiyoe-next/newpage50.html I haven't found anything where the oni is carrying the maiden, so the origins of that particular vignette still eludes me.

I think this Nakagomi has a more utilitarian translation: inner lining. Nakagomi (or sometimes Nakagome) can also be a last name, albeit a somewhat unusual one. I think in this case it is just a memo on a piece of wood that was to be used for lining the inside of the saya. 中 = naka: middle, inside 込 = kome(ru), komi: put, insert 中込 = lining

I have been googling this on and off for the past weeks, and I haven't come up with a satisfying answer. Be that as it may, I think; 1. Oni no nembutsu is not a name or an oni turning "good". It is an idiom in Japanese, "The prayers of the devil". It is similar to the English phrase "Even the devil can quote scripture". It points at the superficiality and hypocrisy of taking on an outward appearance of piety, while still harboring an evil heart. In other words, a devil dressed in priest's robes is still a devil. If you google for this you will see similar images of devils/oni wearing priestly robes and carrying the drum. It is a popular motif of a certain kind of rustic art. (see below) 2. The girl is Fuji musume 藤娘 (Wisteria Maiden). I don't know her story. I don't know why she is being carried by the devil. I know she, along with Oni no nembutsu, is a common motif of traditional, rustic pictures produced in the city of Ōtsu near Kyoto, for the tourists who traveled on the 53 Stations of the Tokaidō. In Japanese these are referred to as Ōtsu-e (大津絵) - Ōtsu pictures. Some more info here http://shiga-ken.com/blog/2015/10/otsu-e-paintings-now-and-then/ I don't know how these two motifs got merged with the one carrying away the other. I should add that Wisteria Maiden became such a popular motif, they started producing kabuki plays with her as a character. I think she just represents an archetype of Japanese femininity.

The first two pictures are the date - and most of the salient bits have been translated by Thomas above 嘉永元 戊申八月吉祥辰日 心願之　奉納 Kaei gan'nen tsuchinoe-saru hachigatsu kichijō tatsujitu Shingan (kore?) Hōnō 1848, zodiac year, August, auspicious day of the dragon I'm not sure how to interpret the following line but the words are expressions of prayer and dedication. My guess is, "This sword is dedicated (to/for something that would be understood by the giver/givee, and is not specified on the sword)." On the other side 奉献 Hōken (Dedication) 短刀一腰 Tantō hitofuri (as above) The next part is either a name or an official title, but I can't make it out. 當村庄官 　　Tōson Shōkan　 Shōkan is an official title, and it means head of a village. I am not 100% confident in the second kanji. 圡居新左衛門 Doi Shinsaemon (Name, family name first, personal name second) I think he is the head/mayor/lord of a village in Shikoku, what is today the prefecture of Ehime. This site shows the area (look for the black pins) http://www.hucc.hokudai.ac.jp/~x10795/cgi/uwamap.cgi

I can't make out any of the cursive handwriting under 直胤. I can't even make out what appears to be 4 numbers on the other piece of paper, and those should be super simple...alas, they are indecipherable to me. The final number is "1", but the others?? The paper may come from one of the latter Hon'ami, 宗円 (Sōen?) is my guess.

The paper points to a pretty big name, I think. 武州大慶直胤 Bushū Taikei Naotane The vermilion seal on the paper says Hon'ami. I can't verify if its real or a forgery.

短刀一腰　One tantō illegible 土号 ? 新左衛門　越智通故　Shinsaemon (person's name) Ochi (another name) something

Hello Chris, Do you have the sword that goes with this paper?

Yes, your interpretation is correct, but take a look again at the Taishō date and your western calendar date.

I think any kind of scratch or cut in the sword should be regarded as the damage it is. Its a detraction from the sword's optimal condition. It should never be considered a plus. Unfortunately, ebay is the land where a blatant flaw can be described as a highly desirable "feature". Novices are easily lured in by stories of samurai battle, and a chip in a blade suddenly becomes a "must-have" talking point. Drives me nuts. But your second post is making a false analogy, because any sword that has a documented history of coming from a major historical figure will be appraised differently from a sword that has no such provenance. A sword that has a clear history from somebody like Ishida Mitsunari or Tokugawa, takes on value as an important historical artifact, in addition to any value it might have as an art sword. So we appreciate the well-documented historical item, with all its flaws, as being something different, but related, to an art sword without such provenance. It would be the same if we had a musket from, say, the George Washington collection, with proper documentation showing he owned it during the Revolutionary War, but was now rusted and didn't work. How would you value that compared to a working musket of the same vintage, owned by some random person? They are almost two different things, even though they may have had the same manufacturer. The only place were scratches and cuts add any value to a sword is in the magical marketplace of ebay.

Hello Grey, Take a look at Morita-san's reply in the thread below. Must be the same sword, or its match. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/10679-translation-assistance/

廣成 Hironari. No idea of authenticity. I will flip through Wakayama later to see if there is any info. Edit: No such artist in listed Wakayama.

Making as many misses as hits these days. 護国釼筑前刈萱之関住吉正謹作 Gokokuken Chikuzen Karukaya-no-seki ju　Yoshimasa Kinsaku (Nation-protecting sword, Chikuzen Karukaya-no-seki (location name), Yoshimasa) 昭和拾二年十月吉日 Showa 12, October Next one as a spoiler for those keen to have a go. 贈　日支事変為之造皇軍 秋山長三朗

刀匠　石原正直　　　swordsmith: ISHIHARA Masanao 研師　亀山実一 polisher: KAMEYAMA Jitsuichi

Japanese wikipedia is telling me that Otegine was located in one of the Matsudaira family's storage vaults in Ōkubo (Tokyo), when it was destroyed during one of the US fire raids on Tokyo in 1945. They took the molten lump of metal to Hon'ami Kōson to see if it could be restored, but there was nothing to be done. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%A1%E6%89%8B%E6%9D%B5

Note: the papers don't mention Shikkake either.

Edit of my previous post. It must be TAKISAWA Katsushi, if the opposite side indicates the first initial is "K" as mentioned in post #3

Maybe not so strange if the recipient (Mr. Erickson?) is a non-Japanese.