Hello, Need Help With A Sword

[Mineo26]

My uncle brought back this sword from WW2 and niwas wondering if anybody could give me info on it? Love to find out what it says on the handle,these marking and maybe how old it is?

[Alan M]

Hi Mineo and welcome , from first glances of the tang on your uncles blade it looks to be a very old or koto blade , and wears a very nice silver habaki and comes in a shirasaya which is a traditional means of protecting the blade from moisture when being stored and not in use . it looks as though someone has been messing with the mekugi ( the hole in the tang through which the peg securing the hilt to the blade would go through ) and my advice would be to leave it alone . I would love to see a lot more photos and close ups if possible

[Mineo26]

when you say very old you think 17th century or 16th?

[Alan M]

Hi mineo , thanks for the extra photos , i notice in one of your photos you are holding the blade with your bare hands , please don`t as this is probably the worse thing you can do to make a blade deteriorate , the natural acids from your skin , in time , burns into the metal and form rust spots and greying in the steel . It looks as though there is a bad mark 3/4 up the blade . Age wise i`d guess at least 16th early or early 17th century

[Mineo26]

Oh wow. Thanks Alan for your replys. Would you be able to point me in the right direction to find out what it says on the handle?

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

That is the makers mark, or who made it. I don't speak or read Japanese. But it is very fine.

[drdata]

If someone like Alan or Bob does not translate you might try the translation section at the NMB message board. If you do, sign your post with a real name as per their rules (newbies always seems to miss that rule), and take the best pics you can with the nakago upright. Get both sides.

You never want to clean or harm the patina on the tang, but its ok to put some talc powder in the writing to make it stand out. Yours seems pretty clear. Also take some pics of blade, to include tip so they can comment on general quality as well. Often times same smith is known for both good and low quality work.

I believe you indicated no stamps which is a good sign that it may be real nihonto/gendaito.

Regards


Nihonto Message Board • View forum - Translation Assistance

[sitges1990]

Hi Mineo, fantastic piece, you gotta be proud of that one! NMB is great. You can also try a local college. I've had great luck getting documents translated at schools. They usually get it done in a day or two. Professors love it and sometimes make it a homework assignment for the students. Don't walk into the school carrying that thing or you'll need bail money! Take them photos.

Good Luck,
Jay

[Kiipu]

陸奥守藤原兼信 = Mutsu no kami Fujiwara Kanenobu.
The same sword can be seen at the link below.
Need Help With Translation

[Bruce Pennington]

It's funny how many times guys get to chatting about everything else and totally forget about the mei.

Thanks for clearing these up!