Japanese katana translation needed

[paleranger]

Hello, can anyone translate this and give me any information as to whether it's a legitimate signature please.

[BANGBANGSAN]

昭和十九年三月 March 1944

 

兼宗 Kanemune

[paleranger]

Thank you, my grandfather passed and my dad let me have it. He did not fight in ww2 so must have aquired it later in life. Apparently it's a showata arsenal blade and basically worthless. I'll have the handle rewrapped and hang in the wall. Any information on it would be appreciated 

[Conway S]

Lance, 

 

I would say “worthless” is a bit of an exaggeration even in its current condition. If you live near Orlando, there is a Japanese sword show in June. There may be a few people there who have the specialized skills to wrap the tsuka. 
 

Conway 

[paleranger]

Yeah I live 45minutes from orlando, the actual blade seems to be in good condition. What I thought was really cool was the bits of paper with kanji stuffed in the handle. I know it has some worth just not as much as I previously thought. Maybe one day I'll upgrade to something a bit better. Thank you for the information Conway. BTW was kanemune a sword factory? 

[John C]

37 minutes ago, paleranger said:

BTW was kanemune a sword factory?

Lance:

Kanemune was the smith who made the sword. And I agree with Conway that the blade is not worthless. At the very least, it has historical value as a war relic. The small bits of paper (newspaper, flyers, etc.) were used to align the ito as they wrapped the tsuka. 

 

John C.

[paleranger]

I almost want to edit worthless out of my post but then everyone's responses won't make sense. When you don't know anything about swords your first thought is it'd be worth a few thousand. It's really cool to own, just figuring out what I should do with it. So does it appear to authentic to everyone? 

[paleranger]

28 minutes ago, John C said:

The small bits of paper (newspaper, flyers, etc.) were used to align the ito as they wrapped the tsuka. 

I was thinking it may have been a prayer or something for good luck. Thank you for this information. So many well informed people on here thank you all! 

 

[John C]

2 hours ago, paleranger said:

So does it appear to authentic to everyone? 

Yes. WW2 showato. Are there any stamps? You may find a seki or gifu stamp on the tang.

 

John C.

[Brian]

Yeah, those papers were scrap paper folded and used to shape the wrap.
It's likely over $800+ so maybe not thousands, but far from worthless. Get a decent guy to rewrap it and you'll have a decent honest piece of WW2 Japanese history.

[The Blacksmith]

2 hours ago, Brian said:

Yeah, those papers were scrap paper folded and used to shape the wrap.
 

When I was collecting Nihonto, many moons ago, I heard about curses being wrapped into the handles of Japanese swords. One person I can remember shuddering as they told me about this! They wouldn't have anything to do with Japanese sword because of this!

Fortunately, I knew a few people in the Japanese sword world, long before the internet!, and eventually managed to find out that it was an old wives tale, born of ignorance in the late 19th century, when all things oriental were in vogue, and large collections of Japanese swords and fittings were being formed. Evidently, as the kashira and menuki were cut from the tsuka, the little paper triangles would fall out, and as not many people in the west could understand the kanji, the myth of the curses was born. They would often use any odd bits of paper under the tsuka ito, flyers or even old prints.

I presume that others have heard of this fable?

[paleranger]

You know upon reading into how many fakes there are out there I'm almost relieved this sword isn't trying to be something it's not. It's nice knowing it's completely legit. I would love to know the young man who carried it into battle

[paleranger]

6 hours ago, John C said:

Yes. WW2 showato. Are there any stamps? You may find a seki or gifu stamp on the tang.

So this was the only other thing I could find on the tang(see I'm already learning the lingo) it looks like a small symbol but could also be a scratch. Hard to say

 

[Michaelr]

Lance, since you are so close to Orlando you should certainly attend the Japanese Sword Show there in June. Bring your sword for some more, although you have already been given great information here, look at other blades, talk to other Japanese Sword people and just have a Great day. Hope to see you there.  MikeR

[Bruce Pennington]

Hi Lance!

Lots of good info so far.

 

The style was a contengency model, designed in 1938, promoted for sale on the market in 1940, and really didn't become popular in the army until 1943 onward.  Most guys call it a Type 3.  You'll see all sorts of names, as it never got an official label.  You can read all about it on the following links:

 

The wartime type Gunto for army officers 1943 (Type 3 Guntō) (ohmura-study.net)

 

History of the Type 3 Model

 

Unveiling the Rinjiseishiki sword 1940

 

Once you've restored the tsuka ito (handle wrap), you'll see plenty of these for sale on ebay in the $900 - $1,200 range.  The small stamp is the "NA" of the Nagoya Army Arsenal inspector.  While not "traditionally" made, the vast majority of WWII swords were non-traditionally made, yet still attractive and quite deadly.

[John C]

3 hours ago, paleranger said:

small symbol

Bruce beat me to it - it is indeed a stamp as we would expect to find.

 

John C.

[paleranger]

This is so cool! Thank you all

[paleranger]

Just an update, I'm sending the ito out to a gentleman in north florida to be rewrapped and will be picking it up at the Convention. Do I need to sign up in advance for the convention or is it a show up and buy your ticket? 

[Conway S]

It looks like you’re trying to sell it on eBay too!

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/386982802969

 

Conway 

[paleranger]

Well Everything is for sale for the right price, I posted the other day and for the offers I've recieved it's not worth selling. Not gonna give it away and the likelihood someone gives me 1000 for it is unlikely. I was planning on taking the ad down in the next few days and shipping it. Two things can be true