Shugyosha

Hi Sylvain, I'm not sure about the kozuka - 直悦- Naoetsu perhaps (I'm struggling to match the second kanji) but I can't find anyone signing this way in Haynes. On the fuchi 寸竜子古川 - Sun Ryuu Shi Furukawa (Furukawa can also be read Kogawa) plus Kao. Again, I can't find someone signing this way in Haynes. There are a couple of entries under Furukawa and Kogawa but nothing similar to what you have here. Here's a link to someone signing Sun Ryuu Shi, so I'm fairly confident I have this bit correct: http://www.meitoukai.com/d.sunryuusi.html Hopefully someone with greater knowledge will be able to fill in the gaps (or correct me ) Best regards, John

Hi Craig, Sorry, you'd done so well with the signature that it didn't even occur to me to mention, but the date would normally be on the other side of the tang to the signature. That the various components fit well is good, but the key is for all of the serial numbers to match: I think there was sufficient standardisation that koshirae parts could be switched around from one blade to another without too much of a problem but it adds value if they were all part of one set originally and the matching numbers are the indicator of this. If there is no rust, then for a traditionally made blade I would have expected to see some hamon or hada so maybe it's a gunto. I don't think that the bend is necessarily too much of an issue if it will go in and out of the saya OK - don't try to straighten it yourself. Another guy on the site has a gunto for sale at $1,200 so that kind of gives a rough idea of value for comparison. Best, John

Hi Craig, welcome to NMB and to the world of Nihonto. You are correct with your translation. For your interest, this guy appears in Markus Sesko's Swordsmiths of Japan: KANETSUGU (兼次), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanetsugu” (兼次), family name Maegawa (前川), he worked as guntō smith, ryōkō no retsu (Akihide) I can't see a picture of the date on the link but from this it ought to be Showa and it will normally give a number of the year 年, month, 月 and probably just a day 日. Can't help with a value as it's not really my period: I think you'll need to post some pictures of the whole blade and fittings if you want a sensible estimate as the condition of these will be a factor considered and also if all of the pieces of the fittings match in terms of serial numbers. A couple of close ups of the blade showing any activity would probably help to determine whether or not it is a traditionally made blade as, again, that will positively affect the value (though the absence of an armoury stamp would normally suggest that it was traditionally made). I believe that the "ryoko no retsu" part of the quote is a ranking equivalent commensurate with him being of average skill, but I'm not 100% sure on that and hopefully someone else can chip in. Best, John

Hi Bruno, This is from Markus Sesko's Swordsmiths of Japan which has him working earlier than Kanbun: HIROTOKI (広辰), 1st gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Mino – “Nōshū Kōzuchi-jū Fujiwara Hirotoki” (濃州上有知住藤原広辰), “Hitachi no Kami Fujiwara Hirotoki” (常陸守藤原広辰), called Shichirō Nyūdō (七郎入道), Toku´in school (得印), he also worked in Owari province, suguha mixed with ko-midare in ko-nie-deki with much nie and a wide nioiguchi.

Other side reads: 柏田氏 - Kashiwada uji - Mr Kashiwada. Maybe the person for whom the blade was made.

Hi Steve, You might want to post a picture of the signature and blade too. Best, John

The price isn't bad but it's a mu mei shinto/ more probably shin-shinto wakizashi with a big hole in it...for me there would have to be something I got from owning it that makes it better than having $600 in the bank...

I'd back Stephen and say modern repro. On period saya that have seen any kind of use the koi guchi tend to get nicked by the edge of the blades as they pass in and out and these look pristine. Tsuba and menuki look cast - the details are blurred and F&K look like they are painted metal.

Indeed. Thanks to Uwe for posting and to John, Steve and Peter for helping me out. Something new learned! Best, John

According to Nobuo Nakahara (Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords) it's also a device used by the unscrupulous (presumably of all times, not just modern) in order to make a sword seem older.

Hi Uwe, As usual a partial translation: 又四郎美高 Matashiro Yoshitaka (the smith's sumurai name?) 筥埼八幡宮神水沒造之 Hakozaki Hachiman guu...tsukuru kore. (made this at the Hakozaki Hachiman shrine....) If anyone has any ideas about how the kanji in red (god, water, drown/ sink) should read, I'd be grateful to be put out of my misery. Best, John

Hi David, Sorry, nijimei does indeed mean written with two characters. The text from Markus Sesko's book was a copy and paste. Both kanji are read "kane" - the story goes that way back in the 12th century or thereabouts, a swordsmith, the son of Tegai Kanenaga moved from Yamato province to Mino province and to mark this he swapped from this kane 包 which was and still is associated with swordsmiths from Yamato province and which was used by his father, to the other one (兼). Many wartime blades are signed by smiths using the second kanji as Mino (Seki) was an important centre for production during WW2. The two kanji sound exactly the same but they are in fact two different names - your guy used the first one so I didn't copy across the entries under the second kanji. It's not likely that he used them interchangeably, but swordsmiths do change their names and the ways in which they write their names, so it's not impossible. However, Markus's book is pretty good and would probably have mentioned the fact. I'm guessing that he most likely chose to write his name this to differentiate himself from those other smiths or maybe just because he felt some connection to the Yamato Tegai school. Best, John

Hi, sorry I can't see your real name and it feels a bit odd to use your NMB handle... I think that the era is Showa: the kanji are both quite stylised but there is a nakirishimei (cut by someone employed to carve signatures) on page 57 of Slough's Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths that looks very similar (sorry you'll have to take my word for it as I can't scan it but maybe someone else can help). As to the year, 16th year would make it 1941 so not implausible, but your guess is as good as mine with this part. You are right on the 11th month. If there is some kind of stamp on the tang, it is normally on the same side as the signature, above the mekugi ana. They aren't normally all that deep though and it could easily be rusted over. Here are details of a couple of wartime swordsmiths signing this way, I think the first one is the better bet as he sometimes signed nijimei. This is from Markus Sesko's Swordsmiths of Japan: KANENAGA (包永), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Nōshū Seki no jū Kanenaga kore o saku” (濃州関之住包永作之), “Kanenaga” (包永), real name Amachi Ginjirō (天地銀次郎), older brother of Amachi Suzuichi (天地鈴市), he was born on the fourth day of the ninth month Meiji 17 (1884) and died March 8th 1958, he worked as guntō smith, posthumous Buddhist name Enkaku Chikyō (円覚智鏡) KANENAGA (包永), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Nara – “Kikuichi Monju Shirō Kanenaga” (菊一文珠四郎包永), “Kikuichi Monju saku” (菊一文珠作) Kind regards, John

If it helps, there is an article here from Danny Massey's website on the mei of Oya Kunisada and Inoue Shinkai: http://www.nihontocraft.com/Izumi_no_Kami_Kunisada_mei.html

Here's a bit more but it deals mainly with details about the blade rather than who made it. 脇下落平地の裁断銘が添銘されており、茎の元孔は「和泉」の上の目釘孔が元孔であり、拵に合わせて目釘孔は二つとなっておりますが、茎尻が僅かに摘ままれた程度であり 焼刃は刃区より始まりほぼ産茎に近い状態となっています。 This second paragraph loses me, but the bit I can make out refers to the conidition of the nakago. It talks about the saidan mei (I think SteveM has dealt with this elsewhere), that there is a second mekugi ana with the original one being that above the kanji for "Idzumi". There's more, but I can't make sense of it, sorry. 地鉄は小板目肌が微塵によく詰み緩みの個所は無く、匂縁くっきりとした冴え渡る中直刃が焼かれ帽子は表裏直で僅かに突上げ心となり小丸に返っています。 The jigane is ko itame hada but slightly loosely packed and [without hada in places?] , the nioi edge was clearly defined chu suguba ha but “yakikare”. The boshi is suguba on the ura and omote, slightly tsukiage with ko maru kaeri. 鎬の表面に僅かな油分の変色が見られますが、此方は拭い込みで美しく整えられるものであり、御希望であれば実費２万円にて整えさせて頂きます。 The shinogi surface is slightly discoloured by oil, but we can have this cleaned at a cost of 20,000 Yen, please let me know if you would like this. Kind regards, John

Hi Maximillian, I think I've got something sensible for most of the first part but the bit in square brackets is eluding me: 本作の銘振りは子である井上真改の刻銘と異なる部分は「守」のウ冠の左側の下に延びる線が 外に開く手癖が親國貞の特徴であり、本作は典型的な初代　和泉守藤原國貞(親國貞の銘振りとなっています。 The signature of this work appears to be partly dissimilar to the carved signature of Inoue Shinkai in respect of the line that extends to the left beneath “U kanmuri” of the kanji for kami. [外に開く] This is a feature of Oya Kunisada’s hand. This work is typical first generation Idzumi Kami Fujiwara Kunisada (appears to be Oya Kunisada’s signature. I hope that helps. Best, John

I have a go at the translations to improve my own knowledge and not through a sense of altruism ;0).

What I have found with the Connoisseurs' Guide is that I don't really have a sufficient level of knowledge to get the most out of it (probably true of most of my text books). What I really like about the Kantei series is that there is a discussion of each of the blades and their characteristics and bids that were made and why they might have been made. I think what I am saying is that the information is given greater context and so is a little more user friendly for Nihonto nuls like me.

As regards the Connoisseurs' Guide, you can usually get a sample of the bit you are looking for as a Google book...

There's some information here on the swords of some of the 47 ronin. http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/ronin.htm Best, John

Hi Peter and Uwe, I'm going to back Peter on the pronunciation as (thanks to the magic of Google) it seems that there is a Takagi in Omi province... Best, John

Hi Paul, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this so apologies to the moderators if not, but for me, most of the prices on Nihonto Antiques are on the high side. With regard to this sword in particular, from my point of view, it looks like some work has been done in the area around the habaki as it appears to me that there is an area where the patina on the tang is a lighter colour and it was partly this that made me think of machi okuri and also that the hamon appears to extend into this area. The age of the blade would make it more likely that it suffered some damage that was corrected or simply that it was modified to fit a new set of koshirae. I could be wrong though and the shape of the end of the hi might suggest that I am. I would maintain, however, that there is nothing sinister there or out of keeping with the age of the blade. I think what you have to consider is that this is a large, papered, koto blade and these factors pump up the price and it isn't going to be easy to find similar blades in the USA in order to compare it with. If this is a first purchase for you or you aren't feeling some special connection with the blade that makes it worth perhaps paying a little more for, then you might want to reconsider: naginata generally aren't as attractive to buyers as other blade forms and you might find it harder to move on in future. Also, there will always be more swords along in a minute... Best, John

Hi Andreas, No I'm not sure. Either way, nothing sinister IMHO. Best, John

It's machi okuri. The horimino would have been entirely on the blade originally but are partially on the tang now that the machi have been moved up. It's not unusual.

Hi Peter, Sorry if you know this already or it's not what you want, but if you look at Markus Sesko's compendium under the research link there is a section in there that lists the titles awarded to smiths. I think it's exhaustive. Best, John