Information

[Chris swords]

Hi, does anyone have any information about these? I just bought a collection from an antique store and I know nothing about them. Thank you. 

[Geraint]

Wow Chris.  Instant collection.  Off the bat the second one, wakizashi or tanto in civil mounts is signed Uda Kunimitsu.  Good find! The first one looks interesting, possibly Shinshinto and obviously the other is a Shingunto but with the nicer pierced tsuba.

 

Edit:  For the first one try Bushu Fujiwara Sadashige, not too sure about the Sada kanji but someone will correct we soon.  I think the date is in Bunkyu which is 1861 to 1864.  If you can get all the shots more like the Shingunto, i.e. vertical with point up that would help.

 

A lot depends on the condition of the blades so overall shots with habaki removed will help. Well, actually photos of everything, just cause we are curious.

 

Lovely to have three swords to explore.

 

All the best.

[Bruce Pennington]

Your third one, with the pierced tsuba is a March 1943, Kanekiyo 兼清 (Kanekiyo), but I'm often wrong on the smiths!  Small "Na" inspector stamp, at top, of the Nagoya Army Arsenal.

 

Hard to know which Kanekiyo.  Sesko's book has 3 wartime smiths operating under that name:

 

KANEKIYO (兼清), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanekiyo” (兼清), real name Nasu Kiyohide (那須清秀), born January 19th 1924, he came originally from Wakayama Prefecture and studied under Watanabe Kanenaga (渡辺兼永), later he worked as a kaigun-jumei-tōshō and fell in World War II, he is also listed under the name Hidekiyo (秀清), other sources list first name Kiyohide as Hidekiyo (秀清)
KANEKIYO (兼清), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanekiyo” (兼清), real name Nagamura Kiyosaburō (長村清三郎), born Mai 7th 1894, he worked as a guntō smith and died November 4th 1965, Fourth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)
KANEKIYO (兼清), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gunma – “Kanekiyo” (兼清), family name Kubota (久保田), he worked as guntō smith, Fifth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)