Mark

thanks for adding to my psot...... i will be in Tokyo Oct 20-31, any chance we can meet??

dated Showa 8, 1943...... makers name Sukenori, personal name ___da (or ta)

Are you able to attend any sword shows in the U.S. ? If so there will be sword polishers in attendance you could show it to. You could also ask the opinion of some of the more advanced collectors. When it comes to polishing a sword it is best to make decisions slowly, do not rush, that way you will have the best outcome

The American Branch of teh NBTHK does not issue papers, so you can not submit it to them. if you wish to submit it for shinsa in the U.S. you will need to wait for a shinsa to be scheduled here. My thoughts on the license......... I see this type of thing quite often (sword brought to the U.S. in the late 40's and early 50's by GIs ). I figure if they were in Japan and issued a license (not confiscated by the military and someone takes it home ), then the Japanese knew what it was and the chance it is a treasure is very low, most of these items were sword the Japanese were happy to trade/sell to Americans, many times they were accompanied by paperwork making them seem interesting or important. As Darcy suggests the most accurate way to determine what you have it send it to the NBTHK in Japn. I am noy sure CG's prices but it will probably cost $400-600 if it fails and $700-1200 if it receives Hozon or TH papers (of course if it papers the cost is not important as restoration will be a lot more but its value has greatly increased). Another option is bring it to one of the sword shows here in the U.S. You can then ask dozens of people (many who are on this list) their opinions, there may even be Japanese dealers in attendance you could ask. Based on the feedback you get you could then make an informed decision if it is worth the investment of sending to Japan.

Here is an iron tsuka i have. Please see the pictures. Any comments welcome, it came off a damaged wak, blade mumei and damaged by abuse. This tsuka is also available for sale as i have no use for it. If anyone is interested please contact me off line at nixe@bright.net Thanks

I notced Item number: 130147435186, the mei looks like Hidetoshi, not sure if it is the same maker, but if it is, and if you are looking for a katana maybe it is an option

Maybe a wakizashi or katana that was shortened to a tanto?

looking at the new pictures give me a different flavor. The close up of the kissaki is helpful. I take back my idea of Showa, it looks older than that. The looseness and ware' in the shinogi-ji make me wonder if it could be retempered?

any chance you will be at the SF show? there would be plenty of people who could give you an opinion

Like Barry, i have known Colin for years. I have not had him handle any restoration for me but i have seen several swords that he has had restored and they were well done.

From what i can see i would not exclude Showa as age, the nakago does not look very old, the basic shape (shinogi, edges etc) are poorly made, an old sword , even if cleaned, will have a well made nakago. The blade shape and kissaki also suggest Showa to me.

I like a natural patina on a silver habaki, if cleaned they look unnatural. you might want to leave it as is or just use a little soap and water.

maybe it had a rim that was damaged and removed, can't imagine it was made that way

I mentioned this in my previous post

Brian In the excerpt from the Koza that Mr Chan posted it says the owner buried it to avoid being confiscated after WWII and that caused the damage

W. Y. Chan, I felt the same as you, that is one reason i did not jump in at the begining, i thought it would have been brought up sooner. With the way the post was going (somewhat negativly) i figured i might as well be the one to mention the reference and maybe that would allow some more constructive comments. I agree, any Kiyomaru is rare and therefore commands a high price. I have a O-Tanto by a smith in the Kiyomaro school, it has the typical "masculine shape". It was displayed at the MN sword show, Miyano sensei commented on it during his discussion, he held it up and noted to the audience that even without the mei the shape idenified it as a Kiyomaro school peice.

Group...... Has anyone commented on the recent history of this sword? When i saw the post i thought i recognized the sword. I remember seeing it in the Koza (Shinshinto vol. page 317 of the translation by AFU). I did not see anyone mention this so i will add the reference. The article calls the blade a katana but from the pictures of the tang it looks like a taanto and in it seems a match to the pictures of the sword for sale. The artice says this blade was badly damaged by rust, there are before and after pictures of the tang, it was polished and the size greatly reduced, the information mentions the importance of the experiment as it shows how well made Kiyomaro's swords are (as they can survive after such restoation). So if i am correct and this is the same sword then my opinon is--- that it will not make Juyo (at present), as it has been greatly changed from its original shape (and is Shinshinto)-- i doubt anyone knowing this would submit it, but on the potentialy positive price side it is a published sword with interesting recent history.

i think Fujiwara Masahiro saku

Grey the sword looks interesting, i have never seen one with chrome mounts. I noticed you are planning on selling it. I hate to see it go on eBay before list members have a chance. What did you want for it?

I have seen him doing sayagaki at the sword shows, i sat next to him in Tampa i think. If the blade has shirasaya the easy thing to do would be ask in advance and bring it to a sword show where he will be, he could do a sayagaki and sign that and you would be all set.

It may be he did not engrave a signature as there is a limit on how many swords he can make. he travels to the US quite often. Your best chance may be to get him to sign it while he is here, that way he avoids the trouble with regulations in Japan (presuming you are in the US)

the tassel is blue and brown so that tells the rank, the owner was a LT or captain. I see Seki Kane___ not sure about the last kanji

I have seen that type of red painted inscription before. the first kanji are numbers. I think it is an "inventory number" used at an arsenal or castle to keep track of weapons

I hope you enjoy your sword for what it is. I have the same thing. The first sword i owned was my grandfathers, he brought it back from WWII. I had it restored, polished etc. It is a Show sword (with Showa stamp). Economicaly it cost more to restore it than its monitary value, but it did not matter to me as it has sentimental value. An intersting note is - that sword lead me to start learning about swords, 20 years later i own several swords, some 700 years old, I am a director of the Japanese Sword Society of the U.S. So that one sword was the spark that got me going. I encourage you to learn about the sword and carefully care for it, i would not be discouraged that it is not a family sword, or that it is just a "Showa sword". Mark Jones p.s. I still own, and enjoy my grandfathers sword

It looks nice a nice Higo mounted sword. maybe a boys sword or retired samurai's sword..... hard to see the mei but if i had to "guess" i would say Bizen Kuni Osafune Ju Nin, if so maybe the other side says Yokoyama Sukesada Mark