DTM72

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE follow the above information!

重正 Looks like Shigemasa I am unable to find any matches for this signature. The blade appears to be older than WWII and the signature does NOT match the WWII smith Ikkansai Shigemasa. That being said, this looks to be an authentic Nihonto. Unfortunately, I personally cannot find a match to this particular smith. The tsuka (handle) has a sarute (d-ring) that was added, and not a normal configuration for this style of handle. There is a blue/brown tassel is company grade officer tassel affixed to the sarute. This would be found on a military issue gunto, not a civilian type sword like yours. The iron tsuba appears to be Edo period and the saya (scabbard) appears to be WWII. Need a better pic of the saya to tell you more. It also arrears theat the ashi (suspension ring) is upside down. WWII gunto were made to be worn in the style of tachi, which is edge down. I am guessing someone flipped the ashi to mount the sword edge up, as a katana should be. Need better pics of the blade, close-up) to give you a better idea of what you have.

For comparison. Look at the quality of file marks (yasurime)...they are almost non-existent on the subject nakago. He was a master of all five school styles (gokaden) so the sugata of his swords may change, but things like handwriting (mei carving) and the yasurime will not vary much. Sorry Steven, the subject sword does not appear to be an "important people and clans" with a "quality cutting edge and shape plus resilience." <-- whatever that means. To the original poster. Screw the signature, it is a nice package. Hopefully you can get a good deal on them and enjoy for many years. Wishing you the best.

Just asking, how is it some of his best work? Have you seen some Hozon or Tokubetsu Hozon versions signed 大慶庄司直胤 (花押) = TaiKei ShoJi NaoTane (Kao)? Everything about the ones I have seen, the hada, the hamon, the nakago shape, the overall sugata, far exceed the one we are discussing here. Again, refer back to what Ken said above...The blade sugata should be the #1 item considered. Due to the amount of Gimei out there, you should NOT buy a blade based upon signature, unless you have legitimate papers, or you are well versed enough in sugata and school identification to believe that the signature goes along with what you are seeing. In my post above (post #7) I tried NOT to say outright that the sugata does not 100% match the signature...but as you can read above from others, some things are off. ^^All that being said^^ It is a good looking blade. If I were to see it in an antique place for $500-$1000...I'd probably buy it. Keep it for X number of years and enjoy it, then sell it for a better piece with papers. If you were to send this to shinsa, it has a good chance of coming back gimei. Wishing you the best.

I am going out on a limb here...the original post explained that these two swords were found in an antique store. Everyone can say without a doubt that these are 100% nihonto. As Ken said above, focus on the blades features FIRST. They both have nice koshirae and the blades are in decent shape. If you like the blades and can afford them, buy them...signatures be dammed. My question to the original poster is, what is your plan with these two blades? Buy them and hope that they are a well known smith, and flip them for profit? Or are you buying them for your own collection, and just want to know what you will be owning?

Bruce Pennington...Stamp alert!

What you have drawn and the pictures, do appear to be Jumyo. 壽命. The katana shows the date. 安政四年五月日 (Ansei 4=1857) Sorry I cannot find the 4 line kanji for the #4. 大慶庄司直胤 (花押) = TaiKei ShoJi NaoTane (Kao) https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/NAO183 If this is the correct smith, he is Sai-jo Saku rated. Listed as one of the top Shin-Shinto smiths...If this is in fact one of his works. Please compare the signatures to known examples. I can't say with 100% certainty that the signature is correct. The simple straight suguha hamon is not the style normally encountered by this smith. Beautiful sword though. Hope you can get a good price for the pair.

Many thanks Mark! I will have a table set-up at the local gun and knife show in early September. I will be making some additional connections with antique gun dealers and other military antique dealers. I really hope to put something together for next year.

We are up to 2 vendors and 3 attendees now. This show is gonna be a madhouse! Seriously, please post up!

I found this one mounted as a dart/Javelin. It seems to be a smaller sized yari, not a large one like mine. https://www.e-nihontou.com/products/detail/302

Thank you Mike!

I was watching that auction and planned to bid, but decided against it at the last minute (Bid on something else I wanted more. lol). Glad to see it went to a good home. To me, it is a good looking set-up. Enjoy!

Rich, If you look at the first link I posted above, there is an example on nidai signing Saku Kore. Trying to compare Kolkt-to's original picture of the Mei to the Shodai and Nidai...I'm finding elements of both in his signature. I cannot say with any certainty which generation this is.

It is signed Minamoto Yoshichika. What is a little unusual is Kore Saku at the end...usually it is opposite. The tsuba appears to be just plain iron resembling the plain tsuba on the tpye 3. The handle is typical type 98's as well as the leather covered saya, NOT NCO. The tassel is plain brown, as the Navy would use. This looks to be a mix of stuff, but the blade is from a well known WWII smith. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/yoshchik.htm http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/oshigata/yoschika.jpg

Fellow Kunitomo owner here. Care to show pics of the entire teppo and the lock?

Bringing this back to the top. Still looking for comments from attendees and exhibitors.

I am more than happy to help in any way to make a good show on the East coast. Not sure how I could help, but willing to do whatever.

From what I have read, some of the bamboo had the addition of simple steel spears, not necessarily a forged yari with hamon.

For display purposes only, has anyone ever mounted a yari on a bamboo pole? If so, any pictures available? I have found limited information on takeyari (竹槍).

Just watched that one last night. Great movie and good storyline.

Many thanks to you Dr. Shuttleworth! I am leaning more towards Godai. The few things I read about Rokudai is that his hamon had sugu-yakidashi. My particular example does not have yakidashi. That may be a moot point since the nakago is suriage. I would happily pull you a pint of Guinness if I could.

I have just about everything figured out. Maybe I just gave up on the easy stuff. Help with the red circle please? Feel free to double check what I have. Question about the attribution, I have found 3 Hichibejo Sukesada. SUK814 worked during Tenmon 1532-1555. This is probably too early for this katana, and there is no mention of "Takaki" on the kantaisho, so I can probably rule this one out. Next is SUK879. He worked during Kanei 1621-1644 as well as SUK887. I would like to say mine is SUK887, but we can argue that later. With both possible smiths working during Kanei, there no other Sukesada's (much less Hichibejo Sukesada) until Kanbun 1661-1673, the NTHK gave a timeframe of Manreki 1655-1658. Is there a hidden Hichibejo Sukesada working during Manreki that I am not finding? Many thanks in advance to all.

To further elaborate on my first post, and to second what tbone said, it does appear to be authentic, and there are no red-flags indicating it is a knock-off. More (detailed) pics are key to more information. All the best...

Thanks for chiming-in Mark. The weather in Charleston is still comfortable in October and November...even December. I ride motorcycles year round and have even gone on the jet-ski on New Years day. As much as I would love to have a venue at or very near Charleston harbor, but that is a 20 minute drive from the airport. There are many other venues near the airport that I could arrange. My dream would be to hold the event at Patriots Point on-board the USS Yorktown carrier. Expensive venue, but can be done. Breeze Airways is a new airline that has direct flights to Charleston and is very cheap, but their origin cities are limited. I appreciate your support Mark, and thank you for being the biggest supporter of my addiction. I highly enjoy the katana and monster yari.

This has the appearance of a WWII machine made gunto. From the pictures provided, it is difficult to really tell you much more. To give you a more accurate answer, we need close-up pics of the blade body, the blade tip, and pics of the nakago (tang of the sword) under the handle. Sorry I can't help you more.