Help with another mei translation.

[drb 1643]

Hi all, here are pictures of another sword I’ve come across and thinking of purchasing. Can the good members here please help me with the translation?

Thank you all very much?

Tom

[SteveM]

Hello

 

Reverse side is 武運長久 (Būun chōkyū) which means roughly "good luck in battle". This is a typical slogan found on WW2 memorabilia.

 

The obverse has two kanji that are hard to read. What I can read says 

信州囗囗中村道場造直行 - ShinshūｘｘNakamura dōjō tsukuru Naoyuki

 

Shinshū is a regional name given to the area around Nagano Prefecture. Nakamura would be a family name. Dōjō usually refers to a place where some sort of training or practice takes place: a studio or gym or training grounds. Tsukuru means "made", of course. And then there are two more kanji which I guess is another name: Naoyuki. Normally I would interpret this as "Naoyuki made this at the Nakamura Studio in Shinshū". This time, however, I pull my punches because a) I have never seen this kind of inscription before, b) Naoyuki doesn't seem to be a known WW2 smith, while on the other hand Shinshū isn't a name that one finds on older (Edo or earlier) blades, c) the two hard-to-read kanji may offer some clue to a different meaning. 

 

Also: I'm slightly suspicious that the Būun chōkyū is carved around the mekugi ana, meaning it was put on after the hole was opened, while the inscription on the other side was put on before the hole was opened (since the 4th kanji is partially obliterated by the hole). 

[Surfson]

You are really good at this stuff Steve!  

[drb 1643]

Steve,

Thank you very much, I sincerely appreciate your help!

Tom

[Nobody]

The remaining two blurred kanji are 牟禮 (Mure).

That must be an old place name in Shinshu.

[Jason N]

  On 5/12/2019 at 8:22 PM, drb 1643 said:

Hi all, here are pictures of another sword I’ve come across and thinking of purchasing. Can the good members here please help me with the translation?

Thank you all very much?

Tom

I have no idea what the mei says, but the nakago seems far fresher than the color of patina suggests.