Japanese Katana

[Pierre N]

what do you think about this katana ? original ? the seller tell me : ww2 officier katana with the signature of Noshu Ju Yoshita Tsugu

[Alan M]

Hi Pierre , i like the Katana very much , it looks to have a very nice blade . Also it has the mountings of a naval officer .

[Pierre N]

Naval ? WoW ! great ! thank for this information Alan , my first Katana !

[Pierre N]

he Alan , i find a seki mark in the sword ( Seki Cutlery Industrial Guild's inspection mark ) , here the pics

the name of the swordsmith is yoshida yoshitsugu of seki
the saya is not original .

[Alan M]

Hi again Pierre , thanks for showing these markings , it`s a very nice blade . The saya is a civilian one that has been added maybe as a replacement . A naval saya would have two belt hangers on it and top quality examples were sometimes covered with sharkskin and then laquered......beautiful items !

[Pierre N]

thanks Alan , i don't no why the saya is changed ,may be the original saya is broken...For a first one , its very good for me !!!! I very happy with this

[clarksvillestamps]

absolutely beautiful blade there pierre! i personally would not lament the civilian saya too much. given the numbers of fakes and forgeries out there, a find like this is imo truly exceptional, these blades only go up in value, and will continue to do so, as fewer and fewer swordsmiths are taking up the hammer.
thank you it is always a treat to see great originals like this!
-sean

[Kiipu]

濃州関住吉田吉次作 = Nōshū Seki jū Yoshida Yoshitsugu saku.
Note the large 関 stamp above the signature.