Help with Gunto translation

[AirborneA152]

Can anyone help translate this for me?

thanks,

Ron

[Stephen]

Kanehide. 

Maybe start trying the date for practice. 

[uwe]

Seems to be “菊秀“ (Kikuhide). 11th month shōwa 18 = 1943…

[Stephen]

https://www.Japanese....com/kanji/nengo.htm

 

Anyway it was given to you above the link is for you to practice on.

 

I may be wrong on Kane but have seen without legs

[The Blacksmith]

I think I have to go with Kikuhide too. 

 

The first inscription, the date,  of course reads. Showa Ju hachi nen ju ichi gatsu.

 

Back when I was collecting Japanese swords, unfortunately, too many years back now, I was given the same advice by two authorities, that reading Japanese names etc. was not as difficult as one might at first think, you simply have to want to do it!  So I spent hundreds of hours reading and copying the kanji from Alfred Dobrée's book, Japanese Sword Blades. It was time very well spent, and was immensely rewarding. 

[mecox]

Russ, Uwe got it,  probably this one:  KIKUHIDE (菊秀), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kikuhide” (菊秀), real name Murayama Kikuo (村山菊雄), born September 21st 1905 (Meiji 38), he worked as guntō smith and died April 8th 1952.  He was from Seki and registered as a Seki smith on Showa 18 (1943) February 2.  Very little info on him.

Looks to be a small partial stamp above hole?

 

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 1/2/2024 at 8:41 AM, mecox said:

Looks to be a small partial stamp above hole?

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Good eye, Mal, thanks!

[The Blacksmith]

The small stamp looks to be Na, which IIRC. which I read somewhere was thought to be a Nagoya stamp?

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 1/2/2024 at 2:14 PM, The Blacksmith said:

Nagoya stamp?

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Right.  According to Richard Fuller "Swordsmiths came under the control of the Army Blade Department around late 1941 or early 1942." Prior to this the only stamps we see on blades were the Showa and large Seki.  After the Army took over, the stamping was mostly moved to the arsenals, so we see Na, small Seki (also a Nagoya stamp), Saka, Ko, Yama, Nan, To, Matsu, and a variety of prefecture stamps appear.  The Na stamp is seen from 1941-1944, with the massive majority of them in 1943.

[The Blacksmith]

Thank you Bruce. For a moment I though the old grey matter had totally screwed up....again!