rebcannonshooter

The signature looks to be YOSHI- CHIKA, and the date looks like SHO WA NI JU NEN SAN? GATSU, MARCH? 1945. (picture not too clear, but I think it's a three!)

The signature looks like YOSHI- SHIGE, the date picture is not clear enough to give you a date. All I can make out is "SHOWA......." Tom

It looks like "Seki ju nin(?) Tsuka-Hara Kane-Tsugu saku" (made by Tsuka-Hara (family name) Kane Tsugu (art name) a resident of Seki (city), unsure of the "nin" kanji, but not sure what else it could be. Tom M.

My Yasukuni YasuMitsu has the family Mon intact, but the silver dedication on the fuchi was removed. I've often wondered if it had some imperial connection that caused the officer to remove it?? Tom M.

Hey Stephen, thanks for posting this auction info. I'm bidding on lot 1436 it looks like a diamond in the rough (or more likely a diamond in the very very rough) Thanks again and good luck on what ever you bid on, Tom

Hi Kane, Ray beat me to it while I was typing! SHINKAI is a BIG name, very famous, but probably the most faked signature out there.

Hi Kane, your sword is signed INOUYE SHINKAI. The other side with the Chrysanthemum is the date which is giving me problems. (maybe one of the other guys can help) ShinKai worked from circa 1673-82 Tom

Ray beat me to it, NAGASONE KOTETSU NYUDO OKISATO , Hope this helps, Tom M.

Hi Mark, The sword is signed "SHINANO (no) KAMI FUJI-WARA DAI-DO" There were three generations, in Mino, that signed with the "shinano no kami" title, spanning from 1624 to 1716. You will need to do a lot more research to establish which generation this is, or if the signature is correct. The picture of the blade doesn't give us enough detail to establish the condition let alone the detail of the hamon and other important features. Tom M.

Hi Charlie, I think you're right, possibly family name of "Ishi Hara" ??? (Ishi for sure, but not overly confident on "Hara") Tom

Good morning "YooperSkipper", your sword is a late ww2 army officer's sword. The first picture of the tang is the date it was made Sho-Wa Ni-Ju Nen San Gatsu (march , 1945) The last photo is the swordsmith's name,"Yoshi-Tada" . I'm sure you would have trouble trying to translate this, this guy's writing is really sloppy! Hope this helps,if you have any other questions just ask. Tom M.

Jussi, you're right, Hawley showed just one TOMOTAKA with this kanji. The confusion for me is that the kanji for "ro" on the saya is not the same as on the sword? Also the other tang photo is blurred another photo would help. Tom M.

Hello, I'll take a try at the translation. the first picture of the sayagaki says "nan kai ta ro TOMOTAKA" and the date of KO KA ichi nen ni gatsu ? hi. The tang in picture 6 is signed "nan kai ta ? TOMOTAKA. The fourth kanji does not look like "ro" to me ( maybe one of the other members can explain that ) Hawley has one TOMOTAKA from Tosa who worked circa 1845. Hope this helps

Good morning, Your sword appears to be a WW2 stainless steel blade. It's signed Hira-Toshi Saku (made by Hira-Toshi) with a Toyokawa Navy arsenal stamp. The "toshi" kanji seems to be a little more "squashed" (if I can use that word) than normal, so I'm not 100% sure of that kanji. Maybe some of the other guys can correct me, or confirm that kanji. Tom M.

Thanks Steve, I was wondering what it could be!!! Tom M.

Hi Charlie, its kind of poorly written, but what I can figure out is: No-Shu Seki Ju Ni Ju San Dai, (?) Yama Kane-Fusa Saku Kore. Twenty third generation Kanefusa made this, (having a mental block trying to figure the family name (something Yama) There was a ww2 smith that signed 23rd gen Kanefusa, but he used the Fujiwara name??? Hope this helps, Tom M.

Hi Brodie, the signature looks like "NO SHU MURA YAMA KANE SHIGE KITAU" Looks like a showa (ww2) blade, but I don't see a date. Odd that it has two ana? Tom M.

Here's a Koto Bizen, "KiyoMitsu" with a 1550 date. The bottom two ana are originals, the top one is WW2 time period to re-mount into shin gunto. Tom M.

I can make out NOSHU SEKI JU KANE ??? SAKU chippy style of writing was not unusual in showa swords, and this looks showato to me. A better photo on the second to last kanji may help. Hope this helps, Tom M.

The star stamp would be a great thing if you had one, the're usually pretty easy to see. Some other stamps are small and can be missed, I would suspect that your sword would have a "seki" stamp indicating a non-traditional made sword. Look in the military section of this board, I think Bruce has lots of stuff on stamps and general info.

Your sword is not made by Minamoto YoshiChika he is a well thought of Gendai sword smith, who used different kanji in his name. (I have a sword made by his son who was also a very good swordsmith) Minamoto is an old Japanese clan name that was used by unrelated swordsmiths for centuries. As to translating sword signatures there are a number of articules on this site that walk you through how to approach sword translations. There are quite a number of good reference books on the market, I would start with John Yumoto's "the Samurai Sword a Handbook" ( my first book and still a good one). John Slough's "An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868-1945". Fuller an Gregory's "Military Swords of Japan 1868-1945. Jim Dawson's "Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945" Yumoto's book is general reference with some kanji, Slough's book is all about sword translations, the others are focused on military swords. There are members on this board who sell books and they would be good sources for books and advice on other books, and they will treat you right! My main advise buy books and read, read, read. BUT.... be careful this hobby is addicting and expensive! Good luck and welcome, Tom M.

Hello, your sword is signed "YoshiChika". There was a yoshichika with a similar writing style from Seki City in Noshu Province, and I think its the same guy (but no way to prove that) As you suspected your sword is NOT a "naval landing forces sword". Its an Army sword, called a type 3 or sometimes called by collectors a '44 pattern. The date on your sword is "Showa ju ku nen san gatsu" which translates to "March 1944". I didn't see a stamp on the tang, but I suspect that there's one. A real Japanese military sword, Good luck collecting! Tom M

I'm kinda in the same boat as Ray, I can't make out the first kanji, but the next kanji looks like "TOMO" (if you remove the rust on the top part of the kanji) and "saku" I'm very confused as to the attribution to Ryokai YoshiHito, or Ryokai YoshiSune. I don't see anything that leads to that suggestion. What am I missing??? Tom M. Also there looks to be another kanji between the two ana, BTW I love the carp fuchi-kashira

Whoops, Grey beat me to it! Tom

Your sword is signed "No-Shu (no) Ju O-Zawa Kane- Hisa Saku. The stamp at the top is a Seki stamp, and the one at the bottom is a "kakihan" or personal seal. The transliteration is "Made by KaneHisa" whose family name is "Ozawa" who is a "resident of Noshu" province. Tom M.