DTM72

I think it is actually Kanehisa 兼 久

Great article John! Gives me alot more insight of the man himself. Will probably print this information and keep it with the sword. Still looking for that elusive picture of him or his workers.

@lonely panet I actually totally missed the humor in that one. Now that you clarified, it IS quite funny! Impatiently waiting on your answer to Brian's question though...

Bringing this one to the top. OVMS Show of Shows this coming weekend. I know of 2 Nihonto dealers that will be set-up there. I was unable to get a table so I will be walking around with a roller case that has 11 different swords of all sizes. My wife and I will be walking around with a few out of the case to garner interest. Looking to buy, sell and trade for other Nihonto. Speak-up if you are going. Look forward to meeting others from the board.

Maybe not these days, but in the 1930's and 1940's I'm sure it was not a big deal.

I think you nailed it Jussi! As I suspected though, the signature is not even close to the soshin examples I have found. Much appreciated!

Scrolling through various auction houses and found a nice looking blade with a strange signature. I'm thinking amateur addition, poorly done. I can only figure out two of the kanji. Although I would not buy it for the signature, very curious as to what someone was trying to add. ? 井 I ? 氷 Kio 公 Masa?

I have tried to search, but never found any pictures of Emura or his workers in the prison. Has anyone else had any luck?

@Stephen Looks pretty close to this signature...WWII http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/oshigata/ichimon3.jpg

I'll be just south of you at the Show of Shows in Louisville, KY. Lots to see and study there. I'll be bringing 11 swords. Hope your meeting goes well!

If your question is, Is this a real hamon or one applied by hadori stone, my answer is that it appears to be a real tempered edge hamon. Closer, high-quality pictures would tell us more, but a hadori stone did not create what you are seeing. Now if your question is, Is this hamon for pure function or is it more for aesthetic...I would say the tanto appears to be from the late EDO era and it was a time of relative peace. That being said, swords tended to have more flashy or stylestic hamons. Hope this answers your question, either way.

Waiting for the day my wife does something like this. You got a keeper Bruce! I just picked-up my first Kyugunto, but it has a mumei koto blade.

There is one copy of "The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords" at the link below for just under $50.59 with free shipping. There were two copies, but I bought one of them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/265540067603

関 = Seki (a city) 住 = Resident of 土 = To 岐 = Ki 兼 = Kane 正 = Masa Hope this information helps.

@Markdd, I find taking photos of the boshi to be the hardest to get right...to photgraph what you can see with the eye and get it to look that way in a photo, kicks my butt every time. Your first photo had me fooled for a moment, then I figured out the hamon was actually dark, and figured it out. The blue and red dots confirmed what I was seeing. Wishing you the best.

Not really sure. I just looked at the NMB members map. There was only one person listed in Atlanta.

1st and most important, we are just temporary owners along the life of these works of art. To preserve them and pass them on, they need special care. Please click the links below for the care guide for Nihonto (Japanese Swords). 1st link is Ray's website. 2nd link has pictures to help you. https://swordsofjapan.com/nihonto-library/nbthk-etiquette/ http://www.samuraisword.com/care/handling_sword_NBTHK.htm

There is one member of the board who is listed as living in ATL. Not sure of their experience level but will tag them here. @AntiquarianCat BTW, Ray is one of the most trusted and knowledgable people on this board. Just in case you didn't understand what he mentioned here is a quick breakdown. Sue Bizen 末備前, is sometimes called Eisho Bizen 永正備前 covers Bizen swords made in Koto Era on after Eisho period 永正 but before the end of Tensho period 天正 (1504 - 1591). Katsumitsu 勝光, Tadamitsu 忠光, Munemitsu 宗光, Kiyomitsu 清光, Sukesada 祐定 were the most distinguished sword makers of this period. So with your additional pictures, the style, hamon, hada leads Ray to believe that your wakizashi was made during this period...1504-1591. Hope this helps! Wishing you the best, Dan

I feel the same about my RS...it has hammer marks still on it! From the habaki to the kissaki it is beautiful. Single mekugi-ana as well. Could it be that these were rough forged and rough shaped in occupied territory, then shippied to the mainland for final polish and fitting? The polish on mine is a good WWII type polish. Definitely not an amateur type polish.

And many thanks to you for pointing me to that article. I learned alot from reading that. Tis one thing to have a katana and wakizashi signed by the same smith and matching koshirae, and papered individually. <-- very nice Tis much more to have the aformentioned set papered together as a daisho, on the same paper. <-- Goldmine!

I noticed the poor quality of this as well, but wondered if this is truely one of the "last-ditch" pieces rushed into use. Possibly forged and assembled outside of Japan.

I was unable to locate any reference material to Nagasada from Bishu so he is somewhat of an unknown smith. Helping you to estimate the age would require more pics of the entire blade, including close-up pics of the tip of the sword (KISSAKI - 切先 ) so that we can see the hamon in the tip (BOSHI - 帽子). We also need to see a close up of the hardened edge (HAMON - 刃文) and the area just above that to see if there is any grain or folding patterns of the steel (HADA - 肌). Just looking at the tang (NAKAGO - 中心) it appears that it is original shape (UBU - 生) and not shortened/cut-down (SURIAGE - 磨上) The dark brownish color leads me to believe that this is from the Edo era 1600-1867 or in the Japanese sword world that would be SHINTO - 新刀 1597-1780. Shinto = New Sword, Koto = Old Sword, Shinshinto = New New Sword. Readers Digest Condensed Version, so far your wakizashi (WAKIZASHI - 脇差) appears to be 250-300 years old, but again, we need additional pictures to help you date it better. Your best bet is to get it into the hands of a person knowledgeable with Nihonto, in person. If you were near me, I would be happy to look at it for you, but your location is listed as USA...Please mention a closer location and maybe a member here can help, in person. Hope this helps. Dan

Just found another rough shaped mumei nakago on a Type 3 RS on ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/284634787477?hash=item42458e2e95:g:qo4AAOSw7odh-XGL @Bruce Pennington @george trotter

Although I am in South Carolina, I would be happy to help someone continue the tradition of this show.

I would give $10 for the blade, just to chop weeds. The blade itself is complete junk.