Mark

i am not a fittings expert, but to me it looks real but late and low quality

WWII army sword with blade made by Emura. there is a lot of info on him on the web.

could yours be Kanemichi?

shape of the blade suggests sue-koto. if it is just a bare blade you do not want to get too much invested as there are plenty of waks that are mounted and papered available on the market

looks like a genuine Japanese sword. the Yoshimichi signature is very suspect, i would say gimei. hard to say what a value is without actually seeing the sword, probably $500-1000 I like the kabuto better, is it available for sale?

i think i have seen papers from an NBTHK US shinsa, seems it was in Dallas maybe in the late 70's ?

Guido, I try to be diplomatic, maybe a little too much. If you look at the descriptions and ask questions it should be clear. George Welch is near 90 now so is much older than me so my parents taught me to be respectfull of my elders. I think the majority (or maybe all) of his swords were verified or attributed by himself, i do not think he puts much value in "papers" -- so that makes it difficult for me to buy swords at that level as i obviosly do not have the his experiance and confidence. Some are probably very nice swords but hard to pay the price without having a very adavced level of knowledge or the benefit of a paper from an organization i respect.

I know the owner, a few other members may know him as well. I think he is located near Dayton Ohio maybe 100 miles south of me, I see him occasionally at some local shows.

then i do not think the 2 you posted are the maker of this sword. You need to search for some later smiths. I would think Tsuruta-san would have provided some info on the smith/period etc on his "appraisal", does that give you what you need?

there are many smiths who signed Hisatsugu. Do you think yours is a kamakura Ko-Aoe blade (maker on the right)? If you think it to be muramachi then you need to look at other makers. Can you post some pictures showing the oevrall shape of the blade and the mei?

keep trying, it is the only way to learn. Grey Doffin sells a great set of Kanji flashcards i used to help me translate and learn the kanji. you might ask him about them.

looks like Gassan

looks like Sagami Province retired preist Masamune

do not see a picture?

could be a type of hitatsura that is sort of "stiff" (like a lot of later ones are) and the hadori work in the kesho polish may make the temper line appear more "normal"

i agree Kinmichi or Kanemichi it is January 1944

Sorry to hear the bad news about the hagire showing after polish. I appreciate that you mention the damage in the description and show it in the pictures. Many sellers on eBay hide problems. I hope the next sword you have polished comes out great!

Jim (James) Miller used to be a regular at US sword shows, but i have not seen him in several years. As far as i know he is not a member of this group.

Brandon if it is signed and dated as being made in 1945 i am sure it was (if made before and the inscription done in 1945 it would say it was modified etc then). maybe the handle had moisture in it that settled to the bottom? if you post a clear picture of each side we can judge better. How did you get an idea that it was made at the Yasukuni Shrine? I do not know of a smith by that name working there in 1945

it is hard to be specific from pictures. Where are you located? I am in Ohio. There is a sword show in S.F. in a month where there will be an oportunity to ask opinions. Let us know, maybe you are located near someoen who could assist

the fittings are not WWII Japanese Navy fiitings. They look modern and are not the right color, stlye, etc

the traslation looks accurate. But some of the notes may not be totally accurate, It is understood that Yasutsugu at one time in his past signed Echizen Shimosaka. But there was a group of makers who also signed Echizen Shimosaka. So you need to research which of these groups/persons made your sword. If the person writing the notes is saying he looked up the mei and it WAS signed by Yasustugu he shoud provide reference oshigata...... sounds like a fun adventure trying to narrow it down,

$300-600

seeing the pictures of the tang i think it will not be hard to get a clear answer. In my "opinion" there is no way this sword was made circa 1300 by Yukimitsu. The hole in the tang appears to have been drilled, and not that long ago, the mei is too crisp (signed katana-mei) and the shape, length etc are wrong. My guess would be it was made circa 1930. sorry, hope i am wrong

it looks like the sword is not signed. The way the tang is finished gives the impression that the sword is not hand made but is a factory made blade. It is a representative item from WWII. I hope you care for it, keep a light coat of oil on the blade