WW2 Japanese sword identification

[ghp95134]

....one of mine.

Like Bruce and HSW, I'm no expert either.

Holiday, yours looks like it might be the 7th (and last?) generation Korekazu.
藤原是一精鍛
Fujiwara Korekazu Seitan
Carefully forged by Fujiwara Korekazu

Perhaps one of our resident token-kai aficianados can tell???

From Markus Sesko's book:

KOREKAZU (是一), 7th gen., Ansei (安政, 1854-1860), Musashi – “Shichidai-me Ishidō Korekazu saku” (七代目石堂是一作, “made by the 7th gen. Ishidō Korekazu”), “Fujiwara Korekazu” (藤原是一), “Korekazu saku” (是一作), “Ishidō Fujiwara Korekazu kore o saku” (石堂藤原是一作之), “Ishidō Unjusai Korekazu” (石堂運寿斎 是一), “Ryūsensai Ishidō Korekazu” (龍泉斎石堂是一), “Ishidō Unju Korekazu seitan kore o tsukuru” (石堂運寿是一精鍛造之, “carefully forged by Ishidō Unju Korekazu”), real name Kawakami Seitarō (川上政太郎, the first name also reads Masatarō), he also bore the first name Sukezaburō (助三郎), he was born on the 24th day of the first month Bunsei three (文政, 1820) as second son of Chōunsai Tsunatoshi (長運斎綱俊), another tradition says that he was the nephew of Tsunatoshi, later he was adopted by the 6th gen. Korekazu and took over the family in the twelfth month of the twelfth year of Tenpō (天保, 1841), he lived in Kita-Shinmonzen (北新門前) in Edo´s Azabu district (麻布), first he used the gō Unjusai (運寿斎) but changed in the second year of Meiji (1869) to Ryūsensai (龍泉斎), he died on the 24th day of the eleventh month Meiji 24 (1891) at the age of 72, the 7th gen. Korekazu became famous for reviving the Ishidō-Bizen style and he trained many students, he also forged blades for the Ise Shrine and the Edo city magistrate Tōyama Saemon no Jō Kagemoto (遠山左衛門尉景元, 1793-1855), his blades have a rather shallow sori, a relative high shinogi, a narrow shinogi-ji, and a somewhat larger kissaki, the jigane is a dense ko-mokume which tends to muji, also a ko-mokume mixed with ō-hada and sometimes also a chikei-laden jihada in the style of Kiyomaro (清麿) is found, in his early years he applied a chōji-midare with compact nioiguchi similar to Tsunatoshi, later he changed to a chōji-midare with plenty of ko-nie and many hataraki, sometimes he also worked in the Sōshū tradition, the bōshi is ko-maru or midare-komi, at blades in Sōshū tradition we find a midare-komi with hakikake and much nie, some works show elaborate horimono, the stout but carefully finished tang has a kurijiri, sometimes also a kijimono-gata is found, the yasurime are ō-sujikai with keshō whereas every file stroke was added by its own, the shōgun granted him the permission to carve an Aoi crest to his tangs, we know blades which were made by using magnetic iron ore (beitetsu or mochitetsu, 餅鉄) from Morioka (盛岡), magnetic iron ore is found in spherical shape for example in rivers and was used since oldest times for sword forging, jōjō-saku.

I found another 藤原是一精鍛 with the same "handwriting" ..... See below. A couple more images on his FaceBook page.






-- Guy

[DaveR]

It looks like an old blade, cut down at least once in its using life. Don't touch the tang other than to very lightly oil it. Don't use abrasive paper on the blade, but do oil it. If you want to reduce gunge and rust on the blade use "Uchiko" a traditional cleaning powder, or as a cheap alternative talcum powder, which does work but not as well as Uchiko.

I got mine from Namikawa but they sell it by the 100 grm, you might prefer from here.. Premium Grade Uchiko Powder

[patsfantn]

Looks like it’s exactly 25”

Also, here are some photos of the pattern:

[patsfantn]

Fantastic opinions, thank you and I appreciate everyone’s feedback. When I get home from work later today, I’ll try and take some more close up photos of the blade!

[MAP]

As mentioned, the blade "may" be a candidate for a restoration/polish but that can only be judged by a professional.

While there are many people in the US who "claim" they are qualified, I have been told there are only a couple you can trust your blade to.

One of which is Moses Becerra. He restored my sword many years ago. It took almost two years and given the very poor condition of my blade, it was very expensive. But the final outcome was nothing short of spectacular.

Here is Moses' website.

Sword Restoration - Nihonto Antiques

I know little about these, but your blade may resemble mine in shape and fuller. Check out my before and after photos (before on the first page of the thread and after on the 7th page) as well as some information on the era it was made.

Link: Katana identification

[Bruce Pennington]

MAP - do you know the era of yours? I was reading another post (which I can't find at the moment) where they were showing blades that were almost straight (very little curve) and they were from a particular era.

[MAP]

MAP - do you know the era of yours? I was reading another post (which I can't find at the moment) where they were showing blades that were almost straight (very little curve) and they were from a particular era.

To quote Moses post him finishing the restoration.....

" The Hamon is extremely active and has many Hataraki. The Ji is also rich looking and very well forged. The sword looks to be Murimachi (mid to late) and he would not be surprised if sent to Shinsa if they attribute it to the Kanesada school. "

So that would put it at the later end of 1336 to 1573. (14th century)

[ghp95134]

To quote Moses post him finishing the restoration.....

" The Hamon is extremely active and has many Hataraki. The Ji is also rich looking and very well forged. The sword looks to be Murimachi (mid to late) and he would not be surprised if sent to Shinsa if they attribute it to the Kanesada school. "

So that would put it at the later end of 1336 to 1573. (14th century)

Slight correction to spelling: Muromachi -- see wiki page for more info.

-- Guy

[patsfantn]

Thanks everyone, I reached out to Moses and am waiting to hear back. excited about this sword now!

[MAP]

Please keep us updated on what he says, even if you don't go through with a polish/restoration.

I felt the same way with mine.