...hello everyone.I'll try not to embarrass myself by the usual uninformed questions and cause as little eye rolling as possible....heeheeheee
I've tried as much as possible to inform myselfe with what information I could find on the internet while coping with a painful work schedule.In a nutshell,here's what I have.A longtime friend and relative who is a WW2 Veteran brought back an assortment of "souveniers" documented with "capture papers" upon his return from the Pacific Theater.He is now 88 years old and said he would give me these items to look after and carry on his memory.One of the items he said was a sword he picked out of a pile on a pier when in port in Japan shortly after the war ended.(I can find out the city later if that would help)....As he went to get it to present to me my heart sank a bit when he stated he "cleaned it up a bit 'cause its rusty",but I was not about to burst a blood vessel.It had no tsuka or tsuba,and thesaya it was in appeared as though the items on normally on it had been picked off long ago and it was cracked near the top and missing a pice.I thanked him profusely and told him I would cherish it and take excellent care of it.
It seems some of the "cleaning" he did put some scratches into it,and there was some minor pitting from rust and a few nicks on the edge which seemd to be from some time ago.There is still a hamon present over most of the edge visible-I dont want to even try to do anything to it,but it seems a professional polish would really bring it back to reveal even more detail in what seems a beautiful "sunagashi type hataraki" (if I have that right)...I am aware of the cost of such a process and that it may not even be worth it to attempt(let alone the cost to my meager finances at this time...heeheeeee)
But I digress,for now I'll attempt to attatch a few photos of the Mei/signature area as I've tried desperately to make sense as much as I could of it and would appreciate any help and information you all could offer.I "THINK" parts of it say..."minamoto Amahide ..."...and on the reverse tang appears a "Kanamaru"...???...have I got that much right???....I've found that there were 2(?) Amahide's...???....but I cant figure out if this was the earlier one or the later '26-29' one...I see no stamp that I come to understand is on the WW2 ones indicating year/era???.....could this be an older one???
....Aaahhh,now I'm starting to sound like an annoying newbie...heehhehheee....I'll attempt attatching a few photos and can provide more if anyone can help read it and any other information that you can add....thank you sincerely for your time-and patience...hehehehe
Showa Amahide
Signature is: NOSHUu SEKI JUuNIN MINAMOTO AMAHIDE KORE.
Meaning: "Minamoto Amahide, a person living in Noshu (province) Seki (town) this." The is probably "forged".
I think it would be the newer Amahide (AMA8 in the database).
Pete
stamp
BTW, regarding the stamp (or absence thereof):
If there is a stamp, then it is almost certainly a WWII blade.
If there is not a stamp, then it may be WWII, or it may be older.
So, not all WWII blades have stamps.
A WWII-vintage blade with a stamp is usually lower quality than one without a stamp.
Pete
something missing
My first post above contained the word "something" in angle-brackets, but the web site stripped those out.
I'll try again:
NOSHUu SEKI JUuNIN MINAMOTO AMAHIDE "something" KORE.
The "something" is probably "forged".
Pete
Amahide katana
.....aaahhhhh....thanks for the information Pete....it helps confirm that at least I'm correctly learning some of the things I've been coming up with......the "something" you refer to I thought might mean "made by" or similar,close I guess...heeheheheee....there are DEFINATELY no stamps whatsoever anywhere on the tang on either side,so my newbie' mind was leaning toward pre WW2....I'm still puzzled by the "Kanamaru" on the opposite side though...what/who would that be????....perhaps who it was made for???
....."typical bitter clinger".....
Kakihan
That stamp is a kakihan. The reading is probably "Kanemaru". A kakihan is similar to the square red-ink name stamp that you see on Chinese/Japanese paintings.
Some info is here:
http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7031
Pete
Amahide
Hi Mario,
I agree with Pete, the sword bears the signature of Amahide.
(translates as Pete described it)
There's a signature in Slough's 'Modern Japanese Swordsmiths: 1868-1945' [1] with style very similar to yours. The book mentions it's a kazuuchimei in Gyōsho form by Kanemune (Kanemune signed many of Amahide's works). If Slough's attribution is correct, kazuuchimei means it is seen on low quality mass-produced blades. I can't say whether it's applicable to your sword or not.
There are many examples of Amahide blades in the internet and some discussions too (especially, see NMB link above).
Regards,
Stan
References
...God bless you guys for
...God bless you guys for taking the time to dig up all this information and help me out!!!...I was getting dizzy trying to find out as much as I could on my own,not knowing which way to turn, and now I see I've barely scratched the surface-its like trying to get a drink of water from a firehose...heeheeheeee...this is the first one I've ever owned,my years of collecting have been mainly in WW1 and WW2 firearms and their bayonets-this is the first sword and it has opened up a whole new world for me....thanks for opening the "door" a bit wider...
....."typical bitter clinger".....
WWII Japanese rifles
If you collect WWII firearms, you may have seen my brother Duncan's book "Japanese Rifles of WWII".
http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Rifles-World-War-II/dp/1880677113
:-)
Pete
re WW2 Japanese rifles
....have seen it but havent got it...have 2 other reference ones by Honeycutt and Doss White and Don Voight to find out I aquired a Series 35 Toyo Kogyo Type 99 Long rifle made in Hiroshima...these reference books are almost as expensive as the items themselves!!!...now I have to get sword books???....hehehehe
....."typical bitter clinger".....