This blade for a long sword (‘katana’) is a splendid fake: it bears a good, well-carved inscription that attributes the blade to the famous smith Umetada Myoju (1558-1631), but dates it to a year after his recorded death. Myoju began his career as a maker of sword guards (‘tsuba’), but by about 1600 was producing fine, elegant yet functional blades from his base in Kyoto. He was renowned for his carvings of dragons on sword blades. Most extant blades by Myoju are daggers or short swords and there are probably only two long swords in existence that can definitely be ascribed to him.

Parts of the inscription on this sword are similar to those on other well-recorded examples of Myoju’s work - for example, it mentions the blade being an heirloom of Hikohachiro, as does the inscription on a blade dated to 1608. The carving of the dragon is in some ways similar in style to that of Myoju but it is very crisp and quite obviously later in date. The tempering pattern (‘hamon’) of wave crests is wild and flamboyant and totally unlike anything that Myoju would have created. It is difficult to believe that anybody would have been deceived by the style and decoration of this blade, which suggest that it is most likely of early 19th-century manufacture.