Mike V Posted September 20, 2011 Report Posted September 20, 2011 Hoping I could get some help. I'm Mike V from Sacramento California and recently came across this sword while helping my grandparents move. My grandfather brought it back from Japan after serving in the US Army. He is still alive and the story goes that he was allowed to take it from a warehouse after the disarmament of Japanese forces. This is the first time it has been disassembled and he had no idea there were markings. Other than wiping down the blade with a cloth, it was covered in a thick oil, I have not done a thing and tried to heed the advice from Richard Stein's web site. I have not figured out much other than the painted symbols are numbers, the first three 9, 1, 6. I am unable to make out the forth. I have had no luck with the stamped symbols nor the tang stamp at the upper right. There are no symbols on the back. I tried to get a picture of the blade at an angle maybe to show it's condition and the "hamon" if I'm using the right term. Any info would be appreciated. It would be great for my grandfather to know a little about what he brought home. Mike Quote
Nobody Posted September 21, 2011 Report Posted September 21, 2011 I think that the mei reads 片岡国廣 (Kataoka Kunihiro), one of WWII Seki smiths. Quote
Mike V Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Posted September 21, 2011 Sorry, the photos of the whole sword did not post. Quote
Mike V Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Posted September 21, 2011 Thank you for the reply. I found an example of a Kunihiro signature and attached it to this response. The Kataoka Kunihiro is also attached, but I don't see the match. Would the first two characters be the province? If so which one? Quote
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