Wakizashi Tsuba with mei

[CurtisR]

Greetings All,

 

I also came to have this one in my paws the other day....it's very heavy (I suspect Shakudo?), about 3.5cm thick at the outer rim. I will be trying to translate the mei, but would appreciate other thoughts on it as well. I apologize for the lack of angles...rushed for time.

I've included an image of the blade it was with, which has a "shark-tooth" hamon (believe I've found it's maker in a ref. book). Nagako is unsigned. I'm thinking Shinto era? The Hitsu ana is filled with what seems shakudo on the surface but patina like copper underneath.

 

It's very weighty in the hand. As for the theme, all I'm seeing is 'rabbit ears' in the corner but......

 

Anyway, enjoy .

 

Curtis

[Henry Wilson]

It might be this.

記内

越前住

[docliss]

Curtis, since it looks like iron, and since tsuba bearing this mei are invariably of iron, your tsuba is probably of iron. But you can always confirm this with the application of a magnet. John L.

[Henry Wilson]

It looks iron to me but the greenish colour around the rim of the seashell type impression looks copper-ish....

[ROKUJURO]

....it's very heavy (I suspect Shakudo?), about 3.5cm thick at the outer rim..... Nagako is unsigned. I'm thinking Shinto era? The Hitsu ana is filled with what seems shakudo on the surface but patina like copper underneath.....

Curtis,

 

A TSUBA MIMI with 3,5 cm material thickness will indeed result in a heavy item! The tang is NAKAGO in Japanese.

SHAKUDO is indeed a copper alloy that will show a blueish-black surface after chemical treatment which can be polished off, revealing the usual copper tone.

[hxv]

Curtis,

 

Are you sure the thickness is 3.5 cm? That's almost 1.4" in thickness.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[CurtisR]

Jean, my apologies...I was rushed to make the post and am a bit dyslexic I suppose - thank you for clarifying. The owner just sort of "sprung it on me" so didn't have a magnet in my kit (fixing that now!) but it could possibly be iron ....I may have been fooled by the smoothness and heaviness of it. Ahhhh - learning all the time.

 

My guess is late Shinto or early Edo but will report any progress I make with the translation which hay help. Please keep any thoughts coming!

 

Cheers,

 

Curtis

[John A Stuart]

Quote "My guess is late Shinto or early Edo but will report any progress I make with the translation which hay help. Please keep any thoughts coming!" Unquote

 

Late Shinto period is say 1750-1780. Early Edo period 1615-1650. Kind of disparate dating. John

[CurtisR]

Perhaps Shin shinto then, but when you put it that way, I'd guess early to mid Edo. I'll post the blade in the Nihonto section - it's hamon is very interesting...possibly from the Ayanokoji school.

 

Curtis

[Ron STL]

I didn't see this mentioned, but the mei is Echizen Kinai, if I'm reading it correctly. That would be an iron tsuba. The design is interesting but seem unusual for Kinai work; I'll take a look in my book on Kinai and if anything turns up I'll post it.

 

Ron STL

[Gunome]

If I remember well, Akao and Kinai did shelves partern tsuba.

BTW, I am a bit surprise by the mei. Usually it is mention "saku" at the end.

I eared that, at the end of the 19th century, some "Kinai" mei were curved on mumei tsuba because it is a reputable school and so easier to sell to gaijin.

[Gunome]

I've included an image of the blade it was with, which has a "shark-tooth" hamon (believe I've found it's maker in a ref. book). Nagako is unsigned. I'm thinking Shinto era?

 

I would said a suriage blade with sanbonsugi hamon, mino style. :D

[CurtisR]

Thank you Ron & Sebastien - I'm open to any info. you may have. And I imagine this could have been mumei, but under a glass it looked carved although I do see a bit of a "break" in the flow of kanji.

 

I'll be posting the pics of the blade/hamon in the morning and perhaps we can figure this bit of mystery out. I'm learning that evaluating swords is much like detective work....following (and finding) those little clues .

[nagamaki - Franco]

I'll post the blade in the Nihonto section - it's hamon is very interesting...possibly from the Ayanokoji school.

 

Ayanokoji is a pretty ambitious call, what is the evidence detective? It must first fit the correct shape where you may immediately run into the situation of "Houston I think we have a problem."

[Henry Wilson]

And a big thanks to me for going to the trouble of typing out the signature on the tsuba!