Mark

The shape of the blade (somewhat straight and tapering with smaller tip) suggest it may be Kanbun era, circa 1660's, there were a lot of very long swords made then that have since been shortened. The Koshirae looks like Higo style. Mark Jones

Ted and Koichi Moriyama thanks for all the help, i appreciate it! Now i will have to find someone who has a copy of his reference books and see if by chance my sword is one he included in his oshigata. mark

Looks like a clear Yoshimitsu to me. Not sure which one as there are many. It is signed katana mei so i would think Muramachi at earliest Mark

Can anyone help me with translating the name of the person who wrote a sayagaki on a sword of mine. The sayagaki is dated 12/8/1937, i think i make out Kawaguchi, but can't read the last 2 kanji. I seem to remember a couple of authors of sword reference books by the name Kawaguchi, maybe it is one of them? any help appreciated. If you wish to send me a personal message, as well as posting here, my email is nixe@bright.net Thanks Mark

Seki ju Yoshida Kanekado

could this be a Paul Chen, or similar sword? the width of the nakago looks strange when compared with the blade width (reminds me of Hankei ). The blade looks better than a modern Chinese copy but some of the "martial arts" practical swords i have seen have temper and reasonable shape. Mark Jones

I did not mean to imply they were unfair, it may be that the quality of what was submitted was low (there was a shinsa 6 months ago). I think they are strict but the "pinks" i saw were understandable, a couple of things i had seen before shinsa and i thought they were gimei. mark

Re: Shinsa. There were so many "pinks" thay actaully ran out of pink paper, thay had to use blue, which i guess is appropriate as you are blue if you get pinked. mark Jones

Hi Barry, Get well soon...... first one looks like Kotetsu (did not look it up but that is what i think), my guess is the other side is a cutting test Mark Jones

Darcy thanks, i enjoyed the oportunity to participate Mark Jones

Kantei by photos is very difficult, it is hard to get a "feel" for weight of the blade etc. At first look i thought the shape looked early Shinto, but the Hi extend into the nakago (probably would end near the machi if ubu) and the temper continues past the machi: so i guess it may be suriage. If suriage the shape could be very late Kamakura or early to mid Nambukcho. The temper/hada look interesting, lots of nie and activity so maybe Soshu or related. The hada looks like it has patterns i would assosiate with Etchu Norishige or Hasabe. I do not think i have ever seen this sword in hand, i do not remember seeing it in pictures, but i do recall you had a Hasabe katana on your website, So i hope it is not cheating but as i know you had one that would affect my guess. So i guess Hasabe, if not then another early 14th century Shoshu maker. If more of the nakago were shown and it looked ubu then i would say a skilled Shinto smith copying Soshu. I look forward to learning from my mistakes when the answer is posted, anyone is welcome to "have at" my answer - it is all educational. Mark Jones

I agree it is a Chinese reproduction. So the signature is spurious, but just for education i would read it as Uda Tamitsu (or Damitsu), no maker i know of by that name Mark Jones

one of the pictures seems to show a signature. can you post a close up of the tang?

is it signed? looks like the work of the Showa smith Amahide

length approximatly 26.5" or 67.25cm

The papers look ok to me. I would compare the length of the sword to the length sited in the papers, check the actaul tang and make sure it matches the picture, make sure the picture has not been changed (there is a seal stamped there). If everyting matches i would have no problam with the papers Mark

I am not a legal expert, but the way i see it as long as the owner knows, and gives permission, it is fine. I just asked to make sure. If someone send information on a sword that was "private" or given in confidence then that is different. Also if the item is on eBay or listed for sale it would be good to know, some lists do not allow discussions on such swords as there could be a conflict of interest or it could interfere with the auction (possibly illegal, and cetainly in violation of eBay's -and others- policies). The sword world is a small group. I have been offered swords that the owner says "you are the first one i offered it to" only to realize i saw the sword before (pictures sent to me by a previous potential buyer), sort of makes things uncomfortabe. Just like to know what the sitation is, i did not mean to infer bad motive or upset anyone. Mark J

I think it is Yoshishige..That being said can i ask about the sword. From your post it sounds like it is not yours, if this is so does the owner know the pictures are posted? Did the owner give permission? I am not sure i am comfortable commenting on pictures without knowing the owner is aware they are on the net.

looks more like Kaneuji to me

picture is a but fuzzy so i am not positive but maybe HiroMitsu is a possibility

your math is fine, 1941

I have recived a number of swords from Japan with the original registration cards. Also remember the cards just carry the information on the tang, they are not "shinsa" papers, the mei could well be gimei, some sellers try to assert that the registration card confirms the signature is genuine, this is a lie. Mark J

The sword looks very nice, i am sure it is a pleasure to own. As for the mei, some history of the sword may help. Did you own the sword when it was polished in Japan? If not do you know who owned it then? It would be interesting to find out why it was not submitted for shinsa when it was there (if it was not submitted). An owner, who invests the expense of polish and related expenses, would usually have he blade papered while it is in Japan. I would think this especoilly if the sword has a big name. A friend of mine has an interesting saying, he says " a sword comes back from Japan with the best papers it will get". I have found there is a lot of wisdom in that. Many sellers try to come up with excuses why a blade does not have papers, or that it will get better papers, but you have to ask yourself why it does not have the paper (or better paper) now. Mark J

I may be way off base but i read your mei as Norimitsu, not Sukemitsu

sometimes you can see that the blade has niku ( a clam shape), if you can't see it you can usually check by placing a buisness card or another straight edge on the blade, line up the staright edge from the shinogi to the ha )edge, compare the outline of the blade to the staright edge, does the staright edge lay evenly on the blade from the shinogi to the edge? if so there is no niku (rounded clam shape), if the straight edge "rocks" back and forth because the middle of the blade is higher then there is niku. Hope this helps Mark Jones