Signature on nakago translation

[kris simoens]

Can someone translate this for me ? Had this sword for 15 years so it's time to get some more info about it


Thnx,


Kris

[kris simoens]

more details.

[GHP]

One side is the owner ... the kanji are good, but not done when the sword was forged, as you can see, the engraving looks relatively fresh and there are various scratches around the engravings:
市野健二
Ichino Kenji


Swordsmith:

服部清宣
Hattori Kiyonobu


I cannot find anything on this particular Kiyonobu.

[kris simoens]

Thanks for the translation !

Any idea what the top kanji means ?


Kris

[GHP]

...Any idea what the top kanji means ?

Hi Kris,


I cannot clearly see it, but it looks like the Seki stamp:
関
Seki

[bangbangsan]

Thanks for the translation !

Any idea what the top kanji means ?


Kris

関 Seki stamp

[BruceP]

It's meaning is that the blade was not made in the official "traditional" way. They were supposedly first used before 1938 by the Seki swordsmith guild, until the Nagoya Arsenal started using the stamp. But the earliest anyone has actually seen with the stamp is December 1941.