Joseph P.

Here is my attempt. Keep in mind I am still learning. I am unsure of the first kanji, even though I should know it. (?) Nobumitsu Saku

The signature says it was made in Showa 18 (1943), in the month of July. The side with only two characters is the name of the smith. Someone else will be able to translate this for you.

It is possible the signature may read "Endo Ichimonji".

Here is my attempt:

Downloaded it, look forward to reading it. Thank you Brett!

Well you know, not really. https://photos.app.goo.gl/5kgsGduA5w17fy3W8 Unfortunately the mouth is quite worn, especially at the top. There was a leather strap with a button to keep it secure, but it tore off at some point. It doesn't feel too bad with all the fittings on when it's in there, but definitely not secure.

I have a wakizashi with a cut in the nakago as well. This one is in gunto fittings.

Hello Brian, Here is my opinion. It is a decent blade on it's own, with no major flaws and seems honest. It is a genuine antique Japanese sword. Is it worth the asking price? Not really imho, especially when you include the cost of shipping/fees. The paper with Japanese writing that is displayed in the photo is a registration certificate, it is required to possess a weapon in Japan. They are not authentication papers (NBTHK) on their own though. You can find NBTHK papered swords within the $1,500-$2,500USD range, so it would be more worth it to buy a blade for around the same price that comes with papers. For that reason, it's hard for me to recommend this blade at this price for someone new to the hobby. Just to compare: https://rva-katana.com/collections/antique-swords?filter.v.price.gte=&filter.v.price.lte=&sort_by=price-ascending

Hello Gerry, I have seen a few of these wrapped saya recently. I don't think any of them were in type 98 fittings though. Hopefully someone can provide some more information.

Yes, this is likely a chinese fake. The kanji look bad, the yasurime looks bad as you pointed out. The nakago is not finished properly, does not have any patina either. The number one telltale sign for me though, is the presence of the typical chinese "damascus" running throughout the tang.

Hey Forest, I am not fluent in Japanese (yet). I have been studying for several months. I learned Hiragana and Katakana in one or two months give or take, it was really fast and easy. Basically I practiced writing the entire Hiragana/Katakana alphabet over and over again, and used what I wrote as a chart to study. If you watch Japanese TV shows or read manga, any Japanese interest really, you can practice writing words in hiragana and katakana using the chart as a reference (like katana, wakizashi, anime characters, Japanese actors, etc). You will memorize the characters pretty quickly. Kanji is where it gets challenging, it may be easier to learn the spoken language than to learn kanji. As for the spoken language, I have learned some but not really a whole lot. It's actually less difficult than it seems. It can take years to properly learn spoken Japanese and kanji, in my opinion. Usable Japanese though? Not really that difficult to learn.

I would classify it as a late war sword, having been made in the last year of the war. It is decent quality and looks to be in good shape. The mounts are called Rinji Seishiki, but they've been known by many different names over the years (such as Type 3 or 44). Someone may be able to chime in with more information on this particular smith. The blade is stamped which indicates this sword was not produced in a traditional manner, or it involved some sort of non-traditional component. This is typical for many gunto, early and late war. Edit: After searching, this may be the guy we are looking for but I am not 100% sure on this.

Hello Chansen, From what I can tell, Nobumitsu (信光) seems to be accurate. It is also signed "Showa 20", or 1945. First month (January).

Bruce posted this above: "Wartime sword that likely had a damaged tsuka (handle). Someone along the way crafted a new wooden handle, but kept the Army kabutogane (end cap)." So the wood handle is not original, but whoever made it kept the kabutogane (the brass end cap) and put it on the new handle. The flower was a personal touch by whoever made it, no Japanese tradition or anything associated with it. This is more what it would have looked like originally. A Type 98 Gunto.

Hello Jon, Welcome to the forum. I believe the sword is dated "August, 1943". The shorter signature with only two characters should be the name of the smith. Please wait for this to be confirmed and for further translation, as I am still learning.