Help identifying WWII sword

[Grimace]

Hello everyone.  This is my first time visiting your site, so if I'm posting in the wrong spot or doing anything incorrectly, please let me know!

 

I was given this sword has a child form my great uncle who was in Japan during WWII, I was only able to meet him 2-3 before he passed but he left this to me and I have no real information about it, anything that you might be able to tell me will help! Also if anyone knows what is written in the picture below that would be great!

 

P.S. - I dont think that he took care of it very well when he had it, it was being held together via tape and the scabbard has some old residue on it from that. 

[GeorgeLuucas]

It looks older than WW2 to me, but you should wait for more informed opinions before drawing any conclusions.
 

Here’s your photo oriented upright for those who can translate the Kanji on the nakago

 

best of luck!

-Sam

[SteveM]

Hello Andrew,

 

I've got good news and bad news:

 

The bad news: I'm afraid this isn't a WW2 sword. 

 

The good news: It dates from several centuries before WW2, potentially from the 1600s. 

 

The inscription is

近江守藤原継 (cut off)

Ōmi-no-kami Fujiwara Tsugu...   (cut off, but probably Tsuguhiro)

 

It means

近江守藤原継廣

Ōmi-no-kami　= Lord of Omi Province (Omi province is present-day Shiga Prefecture in Japan.

Fujiwara = this is a clan name. Not really to be taken as a literal name of the swordsmith. Its the swordsmith declaring he has a lineage to an ancient aristocratic clan. 

Tsuguhiro = is the swordsmith's name. Not his real, given name, but more or less a professional name. 

 

Your sword was originally longer by a few inches, but it was cut down at some point. Shortening the sword is very common. It was always shortened from the tang. So the tang was shortened, and the notches where the brass collar sits were moved up. Could have been done a couple of hundred years ago, or a hundred years ago. 

 

There are many swords with fake signatures, and yours too could have a fake signature. Faking signatures was (and still is) very common. Regardless, the sword itself is still a genuine Japanese antique, and could still be several hundred years old even if the signature turns out to be fake. So what I'm saying is, the sword should be preserved, shouldn't be subject to any amateur restoration efforts, and is probably worth showing to someone who knows a lot about swords. It will be hard to authenticate it just by looking at photos. And, the condition probably precludes anyone from making an accurate assessment. But, as I said, the sword is a genuine antique regardless of the authenticity of the signature. 

[SteveM]

The residue might be cosmoline, or might be some old oil. Either way, I would remove it from the sword with denatured alcohol and a soft cloth. If you have any lens-cleaning cloths (like for cameras or glasses), those will work very well. Clean off the old oil, then put a very thin layer of lightweight oil (sewing machine oil or electric shaver oil) on the sword to stop it from rusting. You don't need to drench it in oil. A tiny film of oil will be fine. 

 

The wooden scabbard (called a shirasaya) is a plain scabbard used for storing the sword, and they are still made and used to this day. We all store our swords in them. Yours is well past its "use by" date, so at some point you should get a new one made. (You don't want an antique sword resting in a scabbard that has a hundred years of old grime and oil and dust and muck in it). If yours is clean inside, and just has tape residue on the outside, it should be OK to continue using for now. Also OK to tape it back up so that it actually works as a protective case for your sword. These things are meant to be renewed when they start getting dirty and falling apart. If it has some old writing on it, you'll want to preserve it, but if its just a plain, dirty, wooden scabbard that's falling apart, it's OK to tape it back up and use it until you can get a replacement made.  

 

The sword looks to be just under 24 inches from tip to notch, so it's right on the border between "wakizashi" size and "katana" size. These are the official size designations used by Japan today. Anything over 60.6 cms is classified as katana, and anything 30.3 cm - 60.6 cm is classified as a wakizashi. 

 

 

[Franco D]

A sword with good [but limited] potential. Be certain to ask questions as they arise. When in doubt ask.

Use the search feature here to read threads on sword care.

 

Regards,