Inaka no Shonen

Thanks for the responses, especially Vermithrax for working on the Paint image! On my photo I tilted it to the left to avoid glare and that throws off the angles for the file markings and the writing a little. Having it in hand, file markings match up nearly perfect to reference photos. I'll work on finding a way to have someone knowledgeable take a look at it. I've seen an upcoming event in Minneapolis and I could get to that. In the meantime, I'll work on my blade photography and post better shots in my original post (linked above.) Scott

I'm trying to learn ways to determine if a signature is genuine. Just a preliminary assessment to find out if I should have an expert take a look. (Don't need translation, I know it.) Here are my best attempts at photos. I printed out some verified examples and set them beside mine (saw it done online and it looked helpful, the printouts are B&W and not to scale but not too far off.) I see a few strokes that don't match and wonder how much variation is normal. Also, the aoi leaf mon is not present on mine and I wonder if that would indicate gimei. Here is a link to my original post: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26133-not-sure-what-i-have-here/ Thanks for having a look! Scott

Came across this and didn't find it posted in here already. Interesting perspective from 1913, with photos of 20 swords: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41321/41321-h/41321-h.htm

I took some more photos to add. I'd like to know opinions about the mei, tsuba, or anything else of interest. I know what the signature is: Mondonosho Fujiwara Masakiyo. I've studied what I could online about it. Commonly faked, but this looks nothing like two likely gimei I've seen online. Looks very much like some verified photos from books, museums, and auctions. I learned his swords were sometimes signed daimei by his son and his student, so the style may not look the same on all of his work. Also, he often included a leaf aoi symbol above the mei but this doesn't have it. I have seen one other verified example that includes "mondonosho fujiwara" without the leaf. I know very little about tsubas. I could post pictures of it separately in the tsuba topic area if that would be better. Thanks for checking this out! Scott

Thanks for all the responses, really helps me! It's good to know I probably don't have something factory-made or made recently. Comments on the kissaki are right on. It appears to have had some amateur work done on it. The boshi looks like it's had some course grinding on it, with some corrosion in the crevasses there. (I didn't include a close up photo of that because I didn't think it would help with basic identification, but some of you were all over it anyway!) I have been studying the jigane and hamon to see if I could match it up with photos online. I don't think the polish is very good, but with a magnifying glass I feel like I can get an idea how it might look with a good polish. (I can try to post better close up photos, but for now I find it looks like the photo in the link below.) The jigane seems very fine and dense, really consistent with almost no features like burls, wavy lines, or wood grain-like features. The hamon is very irregular, no real pattern and seems like it would come out well with a good polish. One photo I found online has (to me) some similarities in those two areas (it should magnify if you click on it after it opens): http://www.aoijapan.com/img/sword/2015/15199-4.jpg Not sure if this is a good way to try to narrow down what I have, but I'm learning as I go...

I had been reading up and studying nihonto recently. I wanted to get a katana and to avoid a gunto or Chinese fake. 20th century would be OK, as long as it wan't factory produced. I felt like I had enough knowledge to at least avoid those. I knew I wanted a katana with a bo-hi and had a style of hamon in mind. That led me to this. It has many flaws. I'm trying to get an idea of whether it's worth putting effort into to restoring it. It has a signature that is easily read, I'm not including it here because I'd like to get opinions based on the appearance of the blade. I tried to get some decent close-up photos, I can get more if needed. I made measurements of it, here are a few. Nagasa is 28.5", overall 35.75". Sori for just nagasa is 14.42mm. Motohaba 33.48mm, sakihaba 23.4mm. Motokisane 7.95mm, sakikasane 5.86mm. Any and all opinions welcome. Thanks, Scott

I should have mentioned I've been retired for a while, currently living at my "retiree Air Base" near Denver...

Hello- I started reading about and studying nihonto recently and actually got a katana a few days ago. I have a lot to learn and this seems like a good place, got some information here already. I'll make another post with pictures and questions about my blade. I've been interested in Asian culture since I began serving in the Air Force long ago. I've been stationed in Okinawa, Korea, and the Philippines and have been back to Asia many times on vacation. I don't travel there as much these days, but thought learning about nihonto would be a way to stay connected and learn more about Japanese history and culture. Thanks in advance for helping me progress in my knowledge. Scott