Katana 2: Legible mei signature. This sword is a “WWII era showato arsenal blade.? It dates to the 1930's – 1940's, during WWII, based on the markings on the sword and the gunto mounts, which are WWII era mounts. It is real, and the sword smith's name on the tang states, “Kanemichi. The mei states, “Seki Ju Kanemishi Kore Saku. This is almost certainly Kojima Kanemichi (1926 – 1989. Active during the WWII time frame +-). This is a known WWII-era sword maker for the Japanese Imperial Military. He is a known, and respected modern maker. In this case, the blade is marked with a WWII Japanese Imperial armory mark called an SHO stamp on the nakago, meaning it is an arsenal blade, and not fully traditionally made. It again also has the WWII gunto mounts. 42 inches long.