Ray Singer

The Kai-Go sold privately in the US. https://www.sho-shin.com/kai-go.pdf https://www.sho-shin.com/kai.pdf https://www.sho-shin.com/hoku12a.htm https://www.sho-shin.com/kaipics.htm

Yes, unfortunately I would not put a lot of faith in the Muramasa mei however it seems to be nicely mounted in the current koshirae. I would suggest to your friend not to place the bare blade and soft metal fittings directly on a stone surface like this.

Please show the entire nakago clearly and fully. Are there any arsenal stamps present?

Kaneshige (no date)

Yasumitsu, dated November 1943.

Signed Muramasa.

Yes, Nagasa: 72.0cm. The fact that it is daito length and signed katana-mei (on the katana side of the nakago) is not a good sign as far as being a legitimate mainline Hizen-to.

Vit, the blade is signed Tadayoshi as is indeed an authentic Edo period sword. However there were many blades with gimei (fake inscriptions) from the Hizen Tadayoshi school and I could suggest holding for something with papers (kanteisho) which this does not have. The attached document is simply a torokusho sword license and does not authenticate the inscription or give any type of attribution for the sword.

The sides each have different information and are not read sequentially. Hizen (no) kuni junin Yoshitada saku kore The other side converts to a date of May, 1942 (the fifth month of the 2,602nd year of the founding of the empire)

The mei is 相州伊勢大掾源綱廣 - Sōshū Ise Daijō Minamoto Tsunahiro. This is the inscription of a Shinto (early Edo period) swordsmith. Best regards, Ray

Izumo jū Tadatsuna saku - 出雲住忠綱作

This smith's name is also read as Teruyoshi. From Sesko below: "he was then employed by the Matsudaira family (松平), the daimyō of Musashi´s Kawagoe fief (川越藩), he moved to the fief and was granted with the family name Fujieda, in the first year of Bunkyū (文久, 1861) he also got the permission to engrave the three-part tomoe crest of the Matsudaira clan"

Roland, you have not shown us the nakago (tang) of the sword which is the most important feature of the blade to see. It is not a good idea to estimate value based on photos vs. in-hand inspection, however a range of $950 - $1,500 is likely where were are looking at.

Unfortunately the sword does not have that level of importance, and the 'expert' you gave you that feedback was not one. It is a nice and collectible antique wakizashi, with a blade dating to the late Muromachi period (if the attribution on the paper is correct) and is mounted in fittings from the Edo period. If you sent it to Japan for current certification you would not have a challenge exporting it again (the sword would not be seized as a National Treasure). That used to be something it was common to hear collectors told here in the US, a 'conventional wisdom' that Japanese swords returning would be seized and not returned. It is a false wisdom in almost all cases. There are also certification events (shinsa) held in the US every year or so, and you can check back at the website below to see when the next such event is scheduled. https://nthkamerica.com/

In terms of the swordsmith: 三州吉田住広房 (Sanshū Yoshida ju Hirofusa). You may need to create an account to view the link below. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/HIR216