DTM72

Erwin, Please see my reply above. Koki ni sen roppyaku (roku + hyaku) nen ju ichi gatsu hi: A day in the 11th month of 2,600th year of the imperial reign (1940). Was on some swords form the Showa era. Your month and day may be different. Koki (皇紀): the imperial calendar 二 Ni (2) 千 Sen (1000) 六 Rop or Roku (6) 百 Hyaku (100) 年 Nen (year) So, the 2 and the 1000 make 2,000, then the 6 and the 100 make 600. That gives you 2,600 years on the imperial calendar. https://Japan-forward.com/how-to-read-date-inscriptions-on-Japanese-swords/ Google is your friend.

Not sure which one, but there were three smiths using that signature during Showa times. Koki ni sen roppyaku (roku + hyaku) nen ju ichi gatsu hi: A day in the 11th month of 2,600th year of the imperial reign (1940). Was on some swords form the Showa era. Your month and day may be different. https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/list?id_op=%3D&id=&name_op=starts&name=kanemichi&kanji_op=%3D&kanji=&province=All&start_era=245&school_nid=All 兼道作

No help on this?

He only showed me pictures on his phone. He lives about 15 miles from me so I may be able to meet with him for some better pictures.

I got to talking with a Constable (Retired Police Officer performing security) that was working at the local gun & knife show. He has a katana that came with a cloth surrender tag. Looking at the pictures he showed me, it appears to be an early shinto katana with a 2 hole suriage nakago with the original hole being 2.5 cm above the end of the nakago...was definitely a much longer sword. He would like to attempt to find the family of the person who surrendered the sword, and return to them, as a good will gesture. I agreed to help him, if possible. I made him aware that some families are very thankful and other families may reject the offer. He is prepared to accept the families wishes, if they can be found. Any help is greatly appreciated. Dan

Many thanks to all that replied. Much Appreciated!

Wandering through a local gun show and found a nice tsuka with a beautiful signed fuchi and kashira. Translation help is greatly appreciated!

Mark, Will you have a table set-up? Also, you dragging Grey down to sunny Florida? I look forward to meeting both of you in person.

Unfortunately it looks like someone cleaned the date side of the nakago.

Bringing this topic back to the top. Anyone else have plans to attend or exhibit at this show?

Charles, Please post where you are located, besides USA. Some of us are passionate enough to drive a few hours, just to discuss our our interests. I highly recommend Grey Doffin and Mark Jones. Most of their items are papered, and they are BOTH well respected in the nihonto community. Grey's website https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/Swords Mark's email nixe@bright.net

Steve, Please follow the link below. There are 3 smiths from that time period using that name...none of which signed with the name you suggested. Doesn't mean your signature translation is not correct, just means it does not match known examples. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/oshigata/index.htm Asking for the value of the sword, well...that is a wide open subject. Depends on the overall condition, the mounts, what is known of the smith and his work....gendaito, showato....so many ways the value can go. Loading pics can be a great help with getting the answers you seek.

Bruce, Tsuna does not have that "man on the cliff" that John mentioned 兼綱 Hiro is more like it. 兼裕 http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/kanji/kanji2.htm Look at the 5th symbol to the right on hiro. The kanji above does not match correctly. Or maybe this variation博

I would agree with Teruhiro 輝廣 There were many generations who used this signature. Hard to tell exactly which generation you have. https://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/list?id_op=%3D&id=&name_op=starts&name=teruhiro&kanji_op=%3D&kanji=&province=All&start_era=All&school_nid=All

Feel free to give Grey a call or email. He will give you plenty of information about any of his items. You can also rest assured that with most of his items being papered, they are in good to excellent condition. If he does not have what you are looking for, he has access to Mark's inventory as well. Between the two of them, they can find something in your price range that will make you happy.

As Brian has stated, buy from one of the trusted sellers on this site. I HIGHLY recommend Grey Doffin and Mark Jones. They partner together and have great deals on quality blades. They are in the US, so no worries on customs or shipping problems for you. For just a few hundred more than the one you posted, you can have a great blade, WITH PAPERS! This may fit what you are looking for. https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/swords/q424-wakazashi-papered-kishu-yasuhiro

Agreed.

Bruce, Did you catch the small stamp on the Kanenori from the same seller? I've seen it only a few times, and don't recall what it is. https://www.ebay.com/itm/164849737521?hash=item2661cf5f31:g:M-wAAOSwb0hgkctf

Unfortunately, someone took a buffer to it. Kimonjo!

Hey, I said that already! Chameloon, that is now two people pointing you towards the same sword. This could be the one for you!

I have had great dealings with Grey and Mark. Might I suggest this offering from them: https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/swords/s125-mumei-tachi-tokubetsu-hozon-tegai-kanekiyo

From what I can read, the sword was certified on Reiwa 2 Year 11th month 9th day (令和 二 年 十一月 九日) Pretty recent certification. The punched dots are the date of submission 02202009 02 day 2020 year 09 month. Where it gets interesting is the sword is stamped with Showa Shi Nen Hachi Gatsu Go Hi. (昭和 四 年 ハ月 五日) August 5, 1929. The paper lists the way it was signed, but in the parentheses below it they list Showa Shi Ju Shichi Nen Something...1972. I honestly don't know the last symbol in parentheses. Another interesting note is the stamp on the lower left also has Showa 47 Nen 9 Gatsu 21 Hi. Sept. 21st, 1972 Very interesting stuff here. I am hoping someone with a much better understanding can enlighten both of us. I am now officially intrigued. Dan