Help with Nakago Translation

[Geoff Ward]

Hello Gents, Was hoping to get some help with a translation on what appears to be a wartime produced blade. Sorry about the pics they were sent to me via phone

Regards, Geoff

[Nick Komiya]

後藤兼廣 Kanehiro Goto of Seki, he was active in early Showa was also a Rikugun Jyumei Toshoh.

[Bruce Pennington]

Geoff,
Any stamps? Star? Showa, Seki? on the mune? Numbers at the end of the nakago? The paint is just "30" from the guys that did the fittings. It might match numbers on the seppa and metal parts.

[Geoff Ward]

No info on stamps etc. Waiting to get an in hand look may be a couple of weeks

[ghp95134]

後藤兼廣 Kanehiro Goto of Seki, he was active in early Showa was also a Rikugun Jyumei Toshoh.

From Markus Sesko's Japanese Swordsmiths: [he uses the modern 広 (hiro) vice 廣]

KANEHIRO (兼広), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanehiro” (兼広), real name Gotō Hiroyoshi (後藤広吉), born October 1st 1907, student of Katsumasa (勝正), he worked as a guntō smith and died in January 26th 1960, ryōkō no jōi (Akihide), Fourth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)

From a website that lists Showa smiths' license dates, it shows that Kanehiro received his Tōshō license:

兼広 後藤広吉 S14.10.26
Kanehiro; Gotō Hiroyoshi: Shōwa 14 [1939], October 26th

-- Guy