Hey John,
Welcome to e-budo.
It is almost impossible to tell anything about your sword as the pictures you provided are all pretty fuzzy. Here is my advice though ... Rotate the picture of the tang 90 degrees to the right as if the end of the tang was pointing down with the tip of the sword pointing up. This puts the signature into the proper position for reading. Then take that picture along with a close-up shot of the tip, a close up shot of the center of the blade, a close up of the fittings, and an in-focus shot of the whole blade. Post at the Nihonto message board and ask their opinion ... Nihonto Message Board. There are a lot of knowledgeable collectors there that can tell you if that is a valuable antique or not. My suspicion, based on the look of the signature, is that it is a modern made Chinese sword. However, that is simply conjecture on my part as I'm not an expert, and you should seek more knowledgeable opinions.
Let us know what you come up with!
Paul Smith
"Always keep the sharp side and the pointy end between you and your opponent"