Help Needed For A Ko Wakizashi Mei

[molk]

Hello, I’m new on this forum, and I would like to apologise in advance for my bad english   !

 

I received one week ago, a ko wakizashi  and I would like to ask some help to decrypt the mei :

 

The nakago is 36 cm length and is a hira-zukuri style (don’t know if it could help?)

 

As you can see, I modified the contrast and the chromy of one of my pictures (the blue one) to be easier for you to decrypt the mei.

 

I tried to identify by myself, and I’m not sure about it, but I think it could be « Esshu-ju kanenori » or « Echizen kuni kanenori », but by searching on  http://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch, I only find two swordsmith who could  match with the mei :

- Kanenori  from the province of Echizen, tensho period (1573 – 1592) used to sign 越州住兼法

- Another Kanenori  from the province of Echizen, Shinto period (1596-1781) used to sign 越前國包法

 

So my questions are :

-Did I’m wrong with the translations ?

-Does the kanji 兼and  包 are the same and have no difference on this website ?

- Could it be possible that  the second and the third kanji are 前國 instead of 州住 ?

-Could it be a gimei ?  

 

Thanks a lot in advance !

 

(more pictures available)

[John A Stuart]

Is that not 兼植 Kanetane? John BTW, Perhaps as well, 越州  Esshu

[molk]

Thanks a lot for your answer,

I really don't know .. maybe  ! It's my first time trying to translate a mei, so I could have made a mistake !

So, should it be possible to be 武州住兼植 (bushū-ju kanetane ) swordsmith from Kanei period ?

[SteveM]

No, I think John's was the right answer. 越州住兼植 Esshū jū Kanetane. A few smiths used that name. 

[molk]

Thanks a lot for the translation   <3 ! So .. kanetane was a 16th ~ 17th century swordsmith ?

[Shugyosha]

Perhaps one of these?

 

KANETANE (兼植), 1st gen., Keichō (慶長, 1596-1615), Echizen – “Echizen no Kuni-jū Kanetane” (越前国住兼植), “Echizen no Kuni Kita no Shō-jū Kanetane” (越前国北庄内住兼植), student of Echizen Kanenori (兼法), priest name Dōhon (道本), he lived in Ichijōdani (一乗谷), Echizen-Seki school, he is counted as 1st gen. Echizen-Kanetane, other sources see the Tenbun-era Kanetane who moved from Mino to Echizen as 1st gen., anyway, this Keichō-era Kanetane died in the 14th year of Kan´ei (寛永, 1637) at the age of 68, notare mixed with gunome-chōji or also a hiro-suguha, ryō-wazamono, chūjō-saku

 

KANETANE (兼植), 2nd gen., Kan´ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Echizen – “Echizen-jū Kanetane” (越前住兼植), “Kanetane” (兼植), Echizen-Seki school

 

KANETANE (兼植), 3rd gen., Enpō (延宝, 1673-1681), Echizen – “Echizen no Kuni-jū Hitachi no Kami Kanetane” (越前国住常陸守兼植), “Echi no zen-shū-jū Kanetane” (越之前州住兼植), “Kanetane” (兼植), he bore the honorary title Hitachi no Kami, Echizen-Seki school, chūjō-saku

 

KANETANE (兼植), 4th gen., Genroku (元禄, 1688-1704), Echizen – “Echizen no Kuni-jū Kanetane” (越前国住兼植), “Kanetane” (兼植), he signed in a rather large manner, Echizen-Seki school

 

Best,

John

[molk]

Thanks John for your answer and for all this research !

[Shugyosha]

Hi Molk,

 

You're being too kind - a copy and paste from Markus Sesko's E Swordsmiths of Japan. I hope it helps though.

 

Best,

John