Ray Singer

Perhaps 兼英 - Kanehide.

The mei is Kunihiro. Poorly signed and little age to the nakago. Perhaps a gimei of Horikawa Kunihiro, on a fairly late blade, but there were many others who used that same name

When the Tanto arrives see if it looks like this. 包宗作

Very difficult to see. Was the seller Komonjo? The mei might be Kanemune saku.

The link is not resolving for me Either incorrect or removed.

A fine Bizen Yukikage wakizashi with a deep sori and slender, graceful sugata that resembles a kodachi. Tokubetsu Hozon and published in the famous Fujishiro Toko Jiten. YUKIKAGE (幸景), Chōroku (長禄, 1457-1460), Bizen – “Bishū Osafune Yukikage” (備州長船幸景), “Bizen no Kuni-jūnin Fujiwara Shinbei no Jō Yukikage saku” (備前国住人藤原新兵衛尉幸景作), “Bishū Osafune Shinbei no Jō Yukikage” (備州長船新兵衛幸景), first name Shinbei (新兵衛), gunome-midare or suguha in nioi-deki, chūjō- saku - Markus Sesko $7,250.00 + shipping

備中國呰部住爲家 - Bitchu (no) kuni Asabe ju Tameie.

Do you have access to a clearer image? Perhaps Kaneharu (兼治). There were three Seki smiths signing Kaneharu during the war.

Yes an authentic antique Japanese sword and value is what a mumei Mino-den blade would be (perhaps a Sue-seki example).

Looks like you are squarely in Mino-Villa there (the blade shows characteristics of Mino-den work, with a togari-gunome hamon). This reinforces what we saw earlier with the mei, the deki (workmanship) is also not what we would expect to see for an authentic Tsuda Sukehiro.

It may still be quite a nice Japanese sword irrespective of the mei. You can see how common Sukehiro gimei are below. Regardless, we learn and move on... https://www.google.com/search?q="gimei"+"Sukehiro"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=503182be980b3154&sxsrf=AE3TifPuM_Cw9A2sl6nSA8zgPznTvwTolg%3A1749081678794&ei=Tt5AaKqZMKb6wbkP8uiusAw&oq="gimei"+"Sukehiro"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIisiZ2ltZWkiICJTdWtlaGlybyIgc2l0ZTp3d3cubWlsaXRhcmlhLmNvLnphSOUhUOAGWOEhcAJ4AZABAZgB1QGgAZYLqgEFMC45LjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgqgAuwJwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICBRAhGKABwgIFECEYqwLCAgcQIRigARgKmAMA4gMFEgExIECIBgGQBgiSBwUyLjcuMaAHgxmyBwUwLjcuMbgH3AnCBwcwLjYuMy4xyAck&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

To authentic, you have the option to send to shinsa in Japan to evaluate for kanteisho (papers). Unfortunately my impression from seeing the mei and date is that this is not an authentic example of Sukehiro. Please attached for some reference examples.

The date is Enpo kyu nen hachi gatsu hi. A day in the 9th month of the year 1681.

It would be helpful to see a better, higher resolution image. The mei is Tsuda Echizen (no) kami Sukehiro. This is a very famous smith with many fakes.

Shinobi-ana. https://www.google.com/search?q="shinobi-ana"+site%3Amilitaria.co.za&rlz=1C1YTUH_enUS1164US1164&oq="shinobi-ana"+site%3Amilitaria.co.za&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAjIHCAMQIRiPAtIBCDI0NDhqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Yes, this is a showa era blade by the 23rd generation Seki Kanefusa. https://www.google.com/search?q=Seki+23rd+kanefusa+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&client=ms-android-google&sca_esv=a919800cb6345d20&sxsrf=AE3TifPU7yf-CDYn22HMLRmOtiL6qHEU7Q%3A1748896200549&ei=yAk-aIiVIciqwbkP09OJ0QM&oq=Seki+23rd+kanefusa+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIitTZWtpIDIzcmQga2FuZWZ1c2Egc2l0ZTp3d3cubWlsaXRhcmlhLmNvLnphSOM0UKAPWPUncAB4AJABAJgBmAGgAacHqgEDMy41uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIAoAIAmAMAiAYBkgcAoAfoArIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Jörg, it would be very misleading to attempt identifying swordsmiths by dimensions. There is a considerable range of variation of dimensions among the body of each swordsmiths work, and very, very often the dimensions have changed over time (machiokuri, various degrees of suriage, etc). However, you can research and compare mei to check validity with a number of references which are available such as the toko jiten, nihonto koza, etc. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/sword-books/b738-nihon-toko-jiten-by-fujishiro/ For swordsmiths who are very well know and documented such as nidai Tadahiro, there are a large number of references to look at including the English language Hizento reference below by Roger Robertshaw (who is a member of this group). https://hizento.com/ Best regards, Ray

Here are some other examples of the second generation's mei with the Omi Daijo title. https://www.google.com/search?q="Omi+Daijo+"+"+Tadahiro+"+site%3Aaoijapan.net&oq="Omi+Daijo+"+"+Tadahiro+"+site%3Aaoijapan.net+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTIzMTU3ajBqNKgCDrACAfEFO1CIMox-tNA&client=ms-android-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

The Tadahiro reference example oshigata above is a shodai (Musashi Daijo) rather than a nidai (Omi Daijo), which the posted sword purports to be.

My feeling is gimei. Was this an auction purchase out of Japan?

No change from what I mentioned above: Masakiyo.

There is a Shinki documented in Sesko, but he was a Kamakura period smith ( which does not appear to be the same time period as this sword).

Soshu ju Shinki. There was an entry below but it appears the site is offline for the moment. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.nihontoclub.com/smiths/SHI961&ved=2ahUKEwinzuuJkcuNAxVnRjABHTQ3In4QFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0t6yOJA7jHE2tDcDmM8FmH

The osuriage blade is attributed to den Rai Kunizane. A famous smith from late Kamakura into Nanbokucho who studied under the Saijo smith Rai Kunitoshi. The Sukesada is signed Bizen no kuni Osafune ju Sukesada. The date unclear due to the inscription being damaged by rust. If you have the entire paper, please share that one with us. There were many Sukesada in the lineage, with multiple individuals using the same name at the same time in parallel. Unless the papers provide more specificity, this would be a generic Sukesada working at the end of the muromachi period (one of many, with it being difficult to identify a specific individual).

Toyosuke saku = made by the swordsmith Toyosuke. https://www.google.com/search?q="toyosuke"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za%2Fnmb%2F&sca_esv=b95424b251463558&rlz=1C1YTUH_enUS1164&sxsrf=AE3TifNRHXUsv6Rmi2I19-6uPdK_DAiq1g%3A1748394809561&ei=OWM2aOWAIra3wt0PzOmwsQo&ved=0ahUKEwilgbSc_sSNAxW2m7AFHcw0LKYQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq="toyosuke"+site%3Awww.militaria.co.za%2Fnmb%2F&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiKCJ0b3lvc3VrZSIgc2l0ZTp3d3cubWlsaXRhcmlhLmNvLnphL25tYi9IzhdQ1BRY1BRwAngAkAEAmAEzoAEzqgEBMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAKACAJgDAIgGAZIHAKAHLbIHALgHAMIHAMgHAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp