Mei translation

[Kyle68]

Hey all! Can anyone make out the Mei? 

[xiayang]

肥前國兼元 = Hizen no Kuni Kanemoto

 

昭和五十四年十月 = October of Shōwa 54 (1979 CE)

昭和三十四年十月 = October of Shōwa 34 (1959 CE)

 

Edit: After zooming in, I agree with Matt, it is indeed Shōwa 54.  The smith was born in 1907, so he was already 72 years old when he made the blade.  There are other examples of his work from around the same time, e.g., here or here.

Edited August 21, 2024 by xiayang

[mywei]

Might be dated Showa 54 actually

 

[Kyle68]

So is this a traditionally made blade? Would this be a gendaito or a replica? 

[mywei]

Gendaito

[moriarty]

32 minutes ago, Kyle68 said:

So is this a traditionally made blade? Would this be a gendaito or a replica? 

Likely a gendaito, Hizen no Kuni Kanemoto was a former army Jumei-Tosho commissioned swordsmith, meaning he did both showato (star stamped) and gendaito even during the war period. 

[Kyle68]

Okay! Thank you all for your help! 

[moriarty]

9 minutes ago, Kyle68 said:

Gendaito even though it was made after WW2?
 

The sword itself is in beautiful condition. But I’ve never owned a post WW2 sword though. Whats the value on a sword like this? Rough guess..

We would need a few more pictures of the blade and mountings (if any) to figure that out

[Lewis B]

Word of advice. Never touch the polished blade with bare fingers. This one seems in quite good polish and sweat residue will leave fingerprints and marks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kyle68]

[Kyle68]

It’s in great polish. But I do notice some damage to the kissaki/tip. It might be broken off or chipped. wonder if the habaki is silver foil? 

[Kyle68]

It’s not in perfect shape