Michael 101 Posted July 11, 2014 Report Posted July 11, 2014 Can anyone help ? Recently bought a very nice tsuba. The box had no hakogaki or markings other than this very clean chop Mark. Does anyone recognize it or able to translate the name? Please see attached picture Kindest regards Michael Quote
Gabriel L Posted July 11, 2014 Report Posted July 11, 2014 Seal script, oy vey… the top-right character is kō 工, I believe. Top-left character is driving me nuts because I know I have seen it before but I can't recall where. I should really get Sesko's book. EDIT: thanks to the work of Xu Shen in the year 100 and Meng Ying in the year 999, I found that the top-left is mizu/sui 水. What a way to look something up! :lol: Quote
Michael 101 Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Posted July 11, 2014 Thanks another member translated as "Red Mountain" Anyone seen this one before ? Kindest regards Michael Quote
Gabriel L Posted July 11, 2014 Report Posted July 11, 2014 Michael, I regret that I cannot fully transcribe (let alone translate or identify) this seal for you. However, with all due respect to whomever gave you the "red mountain" translation, I am not quite sure on what basis they made that determination. Mizu or sui 水 is the character for water, and kō or takumi 工 means worker or artisan. 工水 could be the basis of the beginning of a name (Kumi-). Without the final kanji it is all up in the air… but neither "red" nor "mountain" fits in with those two characters, and I am somewhat convinced they at least are correct. Perhaps they saw the top-left character as yama 山? If so I would have to disagree, the seal script for mizu vs. yama is quite different… note the flowing nature of the character. Now, if the bottom character is Aka 赤, that would explain "red…" That may well be the correct character for all I know (very little when it comes to seal script) but I wouldn't expect it to be at the bottom if it was meant to be read literally as an adjective. Could 工水赤 read as a name? Kumiako? Kumiama? I don't know. Best of luck pinning it down! Quote
Markus Posted July 11, 2014 Report Posted July 11, 2014 I think the seal reads "Kôgaku" (江岳). Sounds like a pen name. I can also see why red, namely this character (紅), but I am pretty sure its (江). Quote
Gabriel L Posted July 11, 2014 Report Posted July 11, 2014 Thanks Markus! Now it all makes sense. The top character 江 would have the left radical 氵(水) and right radical 工… I was misinterpreting them as two separate characters. And the bottom character 岳 does mean mountain (even has the 山 radical at the bottom). Oof, I clearly need some practice reading seal script! Quote
BMarkhasin Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 Well it seems I'm the same predicament. I have recently purchased a piece with this same seal on the inside of the box lid. Unfortunately the pen name doesn't help in identifying the owner of the seal. What is needed is the seal in association with a recognizable hako gaki. It seems that whomever owns this seal was a very active collector into some high-end items, and thus is likely known to someone out there. Could I ask the NMB membership to kindly check any hako gaki for this seal?? Thanks again. Best Regards, Boris. Quote
BMarkhasin Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 Thanks Morita-san for confirming the correctness of the name. Any idea of who this person is??? I have emailed the seal to some dealers in Japan, and hope they will come back with some guidance. Best, Boris. Quote
John A Stuart Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 I still think it is 沍岳 Gogaku like as in Hirano Bunkei GOGAKU. Why would there be that kink in the form if it didn't represent other than a straight vertical stroke? John Quote
k morita Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 Thanks Morita-san for confirming the correctness of the name. Any idea of who this person is??? I have emailed the seal to some dealers in Japan, and hope they will come back with some guidance. Best, Boris. 江岳 It couldbe the tsuba box make's stamp(?) there is a same stamp on the box on the web site. http://page24.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/q36800779 Quote
BMarkhasin Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 It seems this stamp has appeared in a wide variety of boxes and over a good span of time. I think it is more likely a collector, but admittedly I am guessing. Maybe someone will turn-up a hako gaki. Thanks again. Best, B Quote
Gabriel L Posted October 3, 2014 Report Posted October 3, 2014 I still think it is 沍岳 Gogaku like as in Hirano Bunkei GOGAKU. Why would there be that kink in the form if it didn't represent other than a straight vertical stroke? John Hi John, I am clearly no expert, but seal script is often a bit odd in that way. With respect, I humbly refer you to the spine of the Nihon Tōkō Jiten (日本刀工辞典). EDIT: image for convenience at http://cdn3.volusion.com/tpyzq.qbzsg/v/ ... 3-01-3.jpg Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.