Hi,

i recently bought this katana, since i have never owned one i consider myself a novice.

I found out that it is a type 98, probably mid to late war. After removing the hilt i disovered some Japanese characters. Been all over the internet to find out what it says but with little to no results. The only thing i found that it is a non-traditional sword, indicated by the showa mark. On the blade there is a visible hamon. The scabbard is made of lacquered wood, covered with leather.

I have no clue how to read the characters, maybe someone can tell what is up or down. Should i keep the tappered end up or the tsuba? All comments on the sword are welcome!
Thanks!

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Hello,

The pictures you show of the Kanji are upside down. They are read with the blade pointing up.

You can find some information on translating sword signatures here:
http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/nihonto.htm

Good luck.

Another forum, Nihonto Message Board has some specialized sub-forums for gunto and in the main nihonto forum as well there are several threads for ID kanji. I am sure you will make some headway there. I'd be interested in what you find out!\


http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/

Sorry it took a while to answer. The signature reads Kanemichi saku: 兼道作

The date is harder, I think it is: 紀元二千六百一年 Kigen nisen roppyaku ichi nen = 2601st Imperial year which means 1941.

In my books the only Shōwa Kanemichi is Kojima Kanemichi and I am not sure if this is his signature. This could be also some lesser known Kanemichi working during that period. I am not well versed on these modern swords but there are people specialized in these swords.