Masanori or Shojo?

[Barrie B]

Hi everyone,

I have owned this Kodzuka for a few years now and it has always puzzled me.. Can someone please tell me if the kanji in this Mei is read as Masanori (H 04379) and / or Seijo (H 08063)..? Or am I completly wrong..? If it is one of these (including Shojo H 08733), then is anyone familiar with the work of any of these artists to confirm which one it might be? Or maybe gimei..??

I have tried to highlight the Mei to compensate for my poor photography.

Thanks in advance.

 

Barrie.

[docliss]

Barrie, I have come rather late to your thread since I have very little to add. Haynes suggests that artist H 04379.0 ‘signed in sōsho kanji’, so your kozuka is unlikely to be by him. This leaves the alternative readings of Seijō (H 08063.0) and Shōjō (H 08733.0-H 08735.0). The former is listed as a Bushū worker whose mei is illustrated as 407c and d in Kinkō Meikan, and your kozuka is clearly not by this artist. Three Shōjō artists using these kanji are listed by Haynes. Unfortunately, none of these artists are included in Kinkō Meikan, but the first and second are a possibility; the third is too early.

 

Thus, either Gotō Shōjō (who 'did not work in the classic Goto tradition'), Nara Shōjō, or an unlisted artist of one of these three names is the maker of your kozuka.

 

Kind regards, John L.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Disregarding the mei, initial impression is Nara work.

[Barrie B]

Thank you to both of you..! I don't own a copy of Kinkō Meikan (yet), but I was also hoping to draw on the huge wealth of knowledge generously provided by the members in this forum – for which I am or course, grateful.

I am also relieved that I was reading the kanji correctly, which was my initial concern, so thank you both for confirming that.. I now at least have a better base to start from to continue my research.. Again, thank you very much.

Barrie.