Ray Singer

The mei is incomplete due to the suriage nakago. Bushu Shitahara ju ___. No smith name present.

Unfortunately I am away from the koshirae for a few weeks, but the photos on my laptop were just good enough to enhance and show how the ashi is bisected lengthwise (they pull apart as two ashi along the seam).

Perhaps Mike Quigley. https://www.google.com/search?q=Mike+quigley+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&client=ms-android-google&hs=1mBB&sca_esv=0237a3a71ba987c6&sxsrf=APpeQnvBsQ8VIWBQ7rLDp0Wp7TXMjEqIOA%3A1787834335409&ei=3y-QaubTGOCxur8PhdOzyQI&biw=411&bih=753&oq=Mike+quigley+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIiVNaWtlIHF1aWdsZXkgc2l0ZTp3d3cubWlsaXRhcmlhLmNvLnphSJUcUPwNWOUZcAB4AJABAJgBP6ABwwOqAQE4uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIAoAIAmAMAiAYBkgcAoAdgsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcAgAgB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

There are two loops. There are side by side lengthwise and overlapping, so that you see only one in profile however when this comes apart they separate into two individual, functional ashi.

It always impresses me to see the workmanship involved in one of these. I've seen several such ashi, and they are always for very high quality blades. This example below is a juyo Enju in my collection. https://nihonart.com/portfolio/juyo-enju-tachi/

I'm sorry to ask this but how certain are you that your friend acquired this in Japan? Based in the photos you provided, it is clear that this is not a Japanese sword. It is a type of commonly seen fake. This type of item could not have been in Japan, as you are not legally allowed to own or license swords in Japan if they are not traditionally made (nihonto). The article below will help identify these types of pieces in the future. https://www.jssus.org/nkp/fake_japanese_swords.html Best regards, Ray

As far as the blade being unsigned, that is not unusual and it appears the blade is a oil quenched showato arsenal blade (with togari-gunome hamon).

You have shown the date side more clearly here and in the correct orientation. The full date inscription is: an auspicious day in October, 1939. Best regards, Ray

The kanji and reading are below: 大和守国貞 - Yamato (no) kami Kunisada.

Please absolutely do not do anything on your own to clean the blade or remove rust.

Very nice find, this is a sword by the Yasukuni shrine smith Yasunobu. The blade is dated 1939 (Showa 14). https://www.google.com/search?q=Yasukuni+Yasunobu+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&oq=Yasukuni+Yasunobu+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTEwNDExajBqNKgCAbACAQ&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8

The mei is: Hizen (no) kuni Yoshitsugu (肥前国吉次). Per Markus Sesko's compendium, there were two smiths who signed this way: YOSHITSUGU (吉次), Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644) YOSHITSUGU (吉次), Keiō (慶応, 1865-1868)

I am not aware of any mumei shinto or later sword that has ever passed Tokubetsu Hozon. A ceiling of Hozon would not be due to flaws or tiredness in this case. Mumei shinto or later simply do not meet the criteria to pass Tokubetsu Hozon or higher. In fact, in terms of mumei blades, it is difficult for even a mumei Muromachi sword to pass Tokubetsu Hozon. Mumei Muromachi will generally be limited to Hozon except in the cases where they are attributed to specific, and famous, swordsmiths of that time (not a school attribution). Best regards, Ray

A powerful osuriage mumei wakizashi with NBTHK Hozon kanteisho attributing it to the Mizuta school. The blade shows Sōshū influence, wide mitsumune, horimono and a o-midare hamon in nie-deki. In shirasaya and accompanied by the original saya. $2,500 + shipping. Please email with any questions or inquiries. https://swordsofjapan.com/product/mizuta-hirazukuri-wakizashi/

The mei is Moriie. Best regards, Ray

It may have been that someone removed the special order / dedication inscription, and the loss of the nengo (if it was there) was consequential to the special order column removal. You do see that in gendaito ocassionally, more so with commissioned shinsakuto.

The attribution is Yamato Daijo Masanori The kinpun-mei was purportedly by Hon'ami Koson

Uda Kunimune.

Yes. Name (tachi-mei side) : Noshu Kanetoshi saku kore Date (opposite side) : January, 1941 (Showa 16)

Noshu Kanetoshi saku kore January, 1941 ( the first month of the year Showa 16)

Ishido Teruhide saku https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/teruhide.htm

There are some examples of nerikawa tsuba discussed here. https://www.google.com/search?q="nerikawa+tsuba"+site%3A.militaria.co.za&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1136US1136&oq="nerikawa+tsuba"+site%3A.militaria.co.za&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAjIHCAMQIRiPAtIBCDE4NjZqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8

You can see the slope of his kanji in this Mitsuoki matches the date in a typical Ka mei example.

Please see below for examples of the gendai smith Chikuzen ju Moritsugu Norisada. https://www.google.com/search?q=Moritsugu+norisada+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&oq=Moritsugu+norisada+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTEzNTY0ajFqN6gCFLACAfEFZSLB4wvu73g&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8

Showa ju hachi nen shichi gatsu hi 昭和十八年七月日