SteveM

I asked the All-Japan Swordsmith Association whether swords (didn't specify length) were required to be dated, and they told me it was managed on a prefecture-by-prefecture basis, and that there was no nationwide requirement to date swords.

@LastSamurai I think you are getting a little bit stuck in the weeds. The NBTHK has already attributed it to Kanetomo (note this is a different smith than Kanemoto, who Rivkin mentioned, and also note there are several smiths called Kanetomo who use a different kanji for "tomo", so if you are looking at English sources only it can become confusing). Your smith is Kanetomo (兼付) who was active in the early 1500s, and I guess if he had 2 or 3 successors who used the same name, they would also be early-to-mid 1500s. Anyway, the smith worked at the end of the Koto period. Often the only thing known about these smiths is where and when they worked, and sometimes their personal name (rather than their swordsmith name). The other bits have to be inferred from the work they left.

Yes, that's right. He is the swordsmith. There are two main databases for swordsmiths available in English. One is called Index of Japanese Swordsmiths, by Markus Sesko, (researcher, author, and sometimes contributor to this site). The other is an out of print English translation of Fujishiro's Index of swordsmiths (I think its called Nihon Toko Jiten) and consists of two volumes: Koto and Shinto. I think Markus Sesko's set would be more complete, accurate, and user-friendly. But, as I say, there may not be a great deal of information concerning this particular smith, as he apparently didn't leave a great body of work. The name Daiminkyō may also be read as Daiminkin. It's just one of the quirks of the Japanese language - kanji have multiple readings, and occasionally you come across names that have multiple valid readings. Presumably the smith himself had a preferred reading/pronunciation of his name, but there is no record of it as far as I know. So, some sources spell it as Daiminkyō, and other spell it as Daiminkin. He worked circa 1661.

Yes, I think you are talking about the character 明. It's the 5th character from the top. As I say, it is part of the smith's name 雲州住大明京　Unshū-jū Daiminkyō It means, "Daiminkyō, resident of Unshū" Unshū is a location name in Japan. It corresponds more or less with present-day Shimane Prefecture. The next kanji, 住, means "resident of". Daiminkyō (大明京) is the swordsmith's name. It's an unusual name, and I haven't looked in the books to find out why he chose such an unusual name for his professional name. And, that very last kanji can't be seen on the tang on your sword because it has been abraded and rusted away, as I mentioned earlier. (No need to worry about being offensive. If you have any more questions, ask away!)

↑　Yes, I think that's right. Takahashi Ihachi. For the sword, there should be one more character on the mei, but it is completely lost due to abrasion and rust. It's not a very significant detail. We can still surmise what the full mei would have been, and the details of the sword will validate who the maker is (or ought to be). Unshū-jū Daiminkyō　　with that last bit lost. I don't think he was a very prodigious smith. I don't know much about him, other than what I can find on an internet search.

Mumei, Kyō-sukashi. (無銘　京透) No further detail regarding the maker/era. The rest of the certificate describes the tsuba's features: design, style, etc. Edit: A few of the lines describe the tsuba's features. The rest is boilerplate, except for the date of issue.

I don't think Akira is the correct translation for Mr. Takahashi's given name. There are two characters used for the given name, and the second character is 八 (hachi), so the name is going to be 勘八 (Kanpachi) or something like. Can't make out the preceding character. A closer shot of that one section might help. Swordsmith's signature is 雲州住大明京 (the last character is either cut off, or obliterated). Plenty of fakes around, so there is no guarantee your signature isn't a forgery.

Posting as a spoiler for those wanting to try on their own. Lid (which is fairly legible, and doesn't need to be put as a spoiler) says 与四郎　Yoshirō The one in red is kind of iffy, but from the context it feels like this is the only possibility. If the tsuba is hira-zōgan, then there is no question.

Maybe trying to be 経家 (Tsuneie).

Hi Steven, Yes, we are still meeting. Usually we meet on the first Friday of every month, 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the address I gave above. This month we didn't meet because everyone was basically present at the SF sword show, so I think the next meeting will be on September 5th. Notices are usually posted on Facebook. (You can also contact the club via Facebook DM, or you can contact me through the private message feature here on this site.) https://www.facebook.com/NankaTokenKaiSoCal Steve

The first number is the era year, the following four are the western calendar year, and the last number is the month of the shinsa session. This one is Heisei 9 (1997), March. Starting with the Reiwa era, they added a "0" before any single-digit era year, so nowadays an era year of 9 would be listed as "09". I don't know why the month is expressed in three digits (i.e. "003" for March). This style changed to just a two-digit style from 1998.

Kozuka and fuchi/kashira are signed by Ryūchiken Teruyuki (龍池軒英随). Tsuba is signed by Koreyoshi (之芳). Interesting that the poem should be completed by fittings from two different artists.

The writing on the fittings is from a 4-lined poem by the classical Chinese poet Wang Wei (王維). Each fitting has a different verse. On the tsuba 弾琴復長嘯　 On the kozuka 深林人不知　 On the fuchi/kashira 明月来相照　 The first verse (独坐幽篁裏) is missing. Maybe it is supposed to be inferred from the other bits. Or maybe it was on a fitting that got lost. Anyway, the translation is Alone in the bamboo grove, I strum my lute (koto) and sit and sing, with only the light of the moon as my companion. 琴 in Japanese is the stringed instrument called the koto. In the poem it actually refers to a Chinese zither. In Japan, the poem represents a sort of Zen aesthetic (solitude, nature, contemplation).

Yes, the one on top is Hatakeda Moriie, the one on the bottom is Kunihiro.

千代治作 = Chiyoharu-saku. Location could be Koga (Ibaraki), or it could be Furukawa (Fukushima, also Hyogo), both readings are possible. I don't have my Wakayama reference with me (I'm here in SF enjoying the sword show ) so I don't know which one it is. Deep side note, I used to live in Koga, Ibaraki. It's where I bought my first sword.

Looks like カケヌ kakenu, something which has been seen on other saya, but the meaning of which is unknown. A few years ago I speculated that it might be a name, but I don't think its a name anymore. Interesting to see it repeated so often. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/28924-tsuka-mei/ https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52775-tsuka-kanji/ And... @Nicholas didn't we already see this sword from you a few years ago? https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/46754-type-98-mon-translation/

I'll be wandering around Friday and Saturday, giving scornful looks to the mistranslations of various hakogaki and other items.

I think Giyugun is used as an entrenched euphemism for volunteer army, so if you deconstruct it back into a literal translation, it leads to confusion, hence the default translation of "volunteer army"

Signature on the fuchi reads 壽家（花押）Toshiie (monogram). Writing on the wooden part of the koshirae that is normally under the fuchi looks like it reads 黒 (black) then 佐 + something, maybe 佐中 (Sanaka, a surname). I think this bit is just a note written by/for the koshirae maker, or maybe for the ito-maki shi.

This one is probably Giyūgun (義勇軍), which was a voluntary force who was active in PNG and elsewhere during the war. (pronounced with a hard G)

Hi Derek, I think nobody replied because there's not enough information at hand. The picture is almost too macro to provide any sort of context. Is it this one blemish on an otherwise spotless sword? If so, could be some discoloring left by some funky oil or some solvent that someone applied. Or maybe it had some scratches on that bit, and someone tried an amateur repair job. Too hard to say. It doesn't look like shintetsu. It also doesn't look fatal or irreparable, but whether it is worth sending to a polisher depends on the sword, and your budget.

Kane-something, but no idea what that something is.

篠田氏房　Shinoda Ujifusa Very similar signature in the thread below

五瓜に根笹 Goka ni nezasa (bamboo with roots inside five-lobed gourd shape) https://www.kamon18.com/cart/shop/07111.html Looks like an excellent piece, even if it is a bit distressed..

Not much to offer, but I see the same theme on another pair of menuki for sale in Japan, from a dealer who, for some reason, has restricted access to his site. (maybe a spam/spoof site). Anyway, I will attach the photo here just for comparison. I don't know the story behind the theme.