Ww2 Sword, Dated 1944

[hxv]

Greetings,

 

I can't figure out the 4th kanji and humbly ask for help. The mei reads "Hizen no kuni ??? mitsu." Any help with the 4th kanji and any info regarding the smith are most appreciated.

 

Regards,

Hoanh 

[b.hennick]

Hiromitsu? I checked http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/oshigata/index.htm

There were 3 Hiromitsu but this did not match any of them.

[hxv]

Hi Barry,

 

Thank you for your help. Attached is the other side of the tang with the date of Showa 19.  This man may be one of the many unrecorded WWII smiths. 

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[ROKUJURO]

Hoan,

could this be http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%A5%BF? Looks similar!

 

[hxv]

Hi Jean,

 

That could very well be it.  It could also be "Tori."  I tried looking to Hizen no kuni Torimitsu, but with no success. Oh well, another unrecorded smith for you... Many thanks for helping!

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Markus]

There was a mid-Edo period smith with the name SAIKO (please see info below) but I have no records on the Showa man.

But I will list him in my new Swordsmith index, that means he is no linger unrecorded

 

 

Saikō (西光), Genroku (元禄, 1688-1704), Hizen – “Hizen no Kuni-jū Saikō saku” (肥前国住西光作), it is said that there had been a Kamakura-era Hizen smith with that name but no blades of this Saikō are extant, it is assumed that there might had been a certain connection to the local Hizen Saikōji (西光寺) temple, i.e. it is assumed that “Saikō” was a actually the nyūdō-gō of a certain local smith

[hxv]

Thank you Markus. So for my own education, would my smith be Saikomitsu or Torimitsu? Either kanji seems close to the mei.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Markus]

I think your smith signed with SAIKO (西光), i.e. not Saikomitsu, as KO (光) is already MITSU.

[hxv]

Thank you Markus 

 

Hoanh

[Stephen]

Thought i seen this here, 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151693325445?_trksid=p2055359.m1431.l2649ssPageName&=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

nakago does not look gendaito to me ...see the saiko as Markus shows ...looked Taka to me....either way nice nei on this blade

[Kiipu]

There was indeed a gendaitō 現代刀 swordsmith with the name of 西山･勝進 [Nishiyama Katsuyuki] who signed his blades with 肥前國西光 [Hizen no kuni Saikō].  He lived in 長崎県北高来郡森山村 [Nagasaki-ken Kitatakaki-gun Moriyama-mura] as of 1937.  Many thanks for sharing pictures of your sword.