Please Have A Look At This Mei For Translation

[angus]

Please Help to translate the Mei on this blade / It was brought back after World War two and will remain in the family.

 

I have tried in Vain to come up with a match online and seek the knowledge of those here who would share it.

 

 

Many thanks

 

Kris S..

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Kris,

Can you get a shot or two further down the Mei? Thanks.

[Gunome]

Kawachi daijo fujiwara yoshitane

A shinto smith

[angus]

Thank you Very much for this information / Sadly these photos are all I have at the moment however when This item comes into my possession I will have more..

I am glad to have found this Forum and thank you both for such a speedy reply and for sharing your hard won knowledge.

[Gunome]

here are the kanji: 河内大掾藤原義植

forgot to includ them this morning

[cisco-san]

Hello,

 

two Yoshitane signed this way (from Markus book):

YOSHITANE (義植), 1st gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Echizen – “Kawachi no Daijō Fujiwara Yoshitane” (河内大掾藤原義植), “Echizen-jū Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Yoshitane” (越前住河内守藤原義植), Echizen-Shimosaka school, gunome-midare, notare, wazamono, chūjō-saku
YOSHITANE (義植), 2nd gen., Tenna (天和, 1681-1684), Echizen – “Kawachi no Daijō Fujiwara Yoshitane saku” (河内大掾藤原義植作), “Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara Yoshitane saku” (河内守藤原義植作), Echizen-Shimosaka school, suguha, gunome-midare, notare, there exist horimono in the form of a crane and a turtle, the symbols of longevity

[angus]

Not to sound completely inept about these swords / works of art / does the condition of this sword warrant having it restored or would it be best to oil it up and leave it as it is ?

 

I do realize that the photos I have provided leave little to work with  but it is a question I have to ask.

 

Thank you all for taking your time to address this question and again for sharing your formidable knowledge.

 

Kris s.

[Geraint]

Dear Kris,

 

The first thing to say is that if you chose to restore the sword it is very important that you get it done properly, it's a nice sword and it's coming on for four hundred years old so it deserves to be looked after.  There are many people who say they can polish Japanese swords but everyone here will tell you tio avoid anyone who is not properly trained, we can recommend people for you if you go down this road.

 

The second point is that proper restoration will cost quite a bit, after the polish you will need shirasaya, a plain wooden sheath and hilt made to store and protect the blade.  In financial terms this is not a sound investment but in terms of what the blade will become you might want to do it to preserve and enhance the family history. (I would want to just to see what is really in this sword.)

 

Have a look at this to see a sword in polish and shirasaya, please remember that this does not mean your sword is of the same value, this is just an example. https://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-yamashiro-daijyo-minamoto-kunishige

 

For the time being, and if you decide not to go ahead with restoration keeping the blade lightly oiled and covered, even if you wrap newspaper  around the blade and tape it to make a temporary sheath, will keep it in good condition and prevent deterioration.

 

Hope some of this helps, let us know what you decide to do.

 

All the best