Mystery Katana

[hs132]

Greetings, I was handed this katana by a co worker that knew I collected. It was found in his late uncles estate a few months ago. He was a PTO Marine Vet. It came without the scabbard. The blade looked rough, some edge dings and file marks. I was suprised upon removing the handle to find these markings. They appear to be painted on and I highly doubt its gold paint. My co worker would greatly appreciate any translation assistance. Best, Bill Bourque

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[Steve Flanagan]

Sword

Often times swords were shortened over time to accomodate the stature of the owner, many times the signature would be lost in the process. Sometimes an attribution would be added in gold keeping the name of the smith on the sword even though the original signature was lost over time. This should get interesting.

[gunto]

Hello,
I dosnt look like it was shortened
The gold filling indicates a better blade.
In picture 3 , the last "kanji" is a Kao.
Its the smits artist seal and also this could indicate a better blade.
How does the rest of the blade look like? Mabye its a gem, that needs a polish.

[Steve Flanagan]

Sword

I agree on the not being shortened with the tang keeping its original shape at the end, and you can see where the gold inlay has been lost over time, hope the blade hasnt suffered too much abuse over the years, hopefully can be restored.

[hs132]

Hello, thank you for the assistance. To say I was stunned when I removed the tsuka would be an understatement. There is still doubt on my part that a complex hoax is being played on my expert beginner status. 25" lenght. Bill

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