Hello,
I recently found a wakizashi as I was cleaning out my grandfather's shop; this item was likely acquired by my great-grandfather when he was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. I am interested in learning more about this item and translating the text that I have found on the sword and its mountings.
There is a signature on the tang that I believe is 備州長船住祐定 / Bishu Osafune ju Sukesada. I have searched the Nihonto Club swordsmith index and I found two signatures that match, one from Choroku/Bunmei (https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SUK781) and one from Horeki (https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SUK926). I would greatly appreciate a second opinion on this, as well as any further insights anyone can provide.
There is also text on the tsuka, but it's hard to make out, even in person. It looks like there is both an ink marking as well as an inscription here. I figured that maybe someone who recognizes the characters might be able to figure out what they are.
The scabbard also included a kogai and a kozuka, both of which have text on them.
Thank you in advance for your time. I have attached the images in an Imgur link because they exceed the maximum file size allowed; please let me know if you need me to upload these in a different way, or if you need any different pictures / angles.
Images: https://imgur.com/a/G5Wntkh
