Mark

maker is Kanemasa from Seki in Mino province

Awataguchi Omi (no) Kami Tadatsuna name from late 1600's. 2 generations both signed this way but generally these kanji were used by first generation hope that helps

Peter I do not think i am a heavy hitter, maybe a light to medium hitter, but here goes. There are gimei swords that are worth restoring. I have a sword that is not mumei that was gimei. The mei was removed, it was polished and passed Juyo. That being said - the blade is everything, if it is good workmanship the mei can be removed. Many swords made in early Showa had "big" names, so if it is a Showa oil tempered blade then not worth it. Best to leave it as is and research the blade, try and show it to a few collectors and listen to what they say then decide

Stephen Bob emailed me. It is a small world, he had the sword (and others) for sale at the SOS last month in KY. I remember his table. I do not t hink i looked at the mei then as the price (and seeing the sword) did not require a look. He will be at a show where i will be in a couple of weeks so i will help him out, hopefully I can nudge his interest and he will join us as a sword collector

Stephen i can not view them either (not a member), but i see the guy posting is from Ohio. Do you know where in Ohio? Maybe i can get with him and help

I think the length of the handle was a choice, i have a Russo sword with a very long handle that could be used with 2 hands so i do not think it was required to cut the nakago down. I think it was more a reflection of the times, sword wearing was recently banned and blades were plentiful

it was not made to use as a weapon. It was made for "parade" use, or as a part of a dress uniform when not in the field of combat

i think in the past (1945-recent) seppa were not thought of as important and were discarded or mixed up and used as needed so a lot have been lost. I have a few set i have put a side over the years so i will have some if i need to mount a sword, i bet quite a few collectors do the same, so that limits the availiblity. I put a nice gold foil set on ebay last week (item # 250589471959 ) check them out, it will be interesting to see if they get many bids.

Stephen, Thanks! seems to be a match. It is used 90 degrees differnt tahn mine but i guess that could be a variation. The other fittings have the same mon, so on my example it is being used as i showed it thanks!

James -- Thanks for checking -- must be a minor one Amati -- Thanks for the response. I am sure i have it right side up, i took a picture of the fuchi and as you can seethe tsuba is beloe and the wrap above, i can't believe they would display it so you have to hold the sword with the tip pointing up to read it correctly. maybe it is a different mon? T

Thanks for the link, i checked it and could not find the one i am looking for. Here is a picture Thanks!

when i saw that sword on eBay it seemed Mike Y had posted the translation, maybe i remember it wrong. You could probably ask Mike as he should have notes about it. Or maybe someoen here can make it out (sort of hard with the angle)

Seems i remember there was a link to pictures of family mon, but i can not find it. I have some fitting with a "mon" on them and wanted to indentify the mon and who may have used it Thanks!

Justin I live near Toledo Ohio, and there are other collectors in Indiana, also you are close to Chicago so you should plan to attend the show there.

not quite sure what you want, but the mei is Emura saku. If you google Emura you will find plenty of information, Richard Stein's site has info on him

date is feb 1942

Grey Doffin had some nice old tsuba listed for sale at reasonable prices, you might check out his posting under the "for sale" section, the title of the post was 12 Tsuba

Some of the list members will be in Chicago. I would be happy to look at it in hand and i am sure other members would offer to do the same

Grey Doffin sells a set of kanji flashcards i found very helpfull when i was starting (still use them)

i read it as 2601 form 660 bc -- so i think 1941 (it seems 2600 = 1940 , at least that is how i remember it)

Made by Hidetoshi in March 1941 (using dating system from the founding of the empire). you can try looking him up on like (you will find info) and if you run into a problem we can help, but it is fun to try and work some out yourself

sword looks like an army officer's sword, the tsuba (guard) is not the standard type, it is a tsuba from a tachi (more cerimonial type). the tang is upside down, but if i stand on my head it looks like the maker says his name is Kanekiyo

Todd you are maybe 4 hours away. When we spoke on the phone i mentioned i would be willing to help

my thinking is: the sword passed Juyo so it is Juyo. Maybe it would not pass now as standards change but the same would be true if the papers were not lost. With Hozon and TH if the papers are lost there is no proof they past shinsa but with Juyo the blade is recorded in the annual Zufu or book published that shows all Juyo from that year. These books are owned by a number of people. If i had a question i would find someone with that volume, look up the blade, then CAREFULLY compare the blade with the one in the book, check the nakago, boshi, hamon (the NBTHK shows these in the book) to verify that the sword is the one published, if so then i would not have a problem, the paper is nice to have or display but the sword is what you are buying and collecting (unless you collect papers)

Kanezane's stamp has 4 clear points and the one i am working on has smooth edges