Help With Inscription On Blade

[Mark]

I have a mumei (nothing on tang) wakizashi. I think the mei is on the blade along with an inscription, maybe a poem?

 

I can see what i think is  Sho or Masa, San or Mi, Ju AriSuke...  i may be wrong with that,

 

Looks like it was done with a dremel tool but it seems like it was written by someone familiar with kanji, not an American vet, and it came out of the woodwork so not done in the past 40 years.

 

any help appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Mark]

i tried to place the pictures in order, full length then top to bottom but they were shuffled around somehow, sorry

[Maurice_lmb]

hi Mark

 

it reminds me ARIKOTO blade.

 

Maurice

[Mark]

Maurice

 

thanks! I was not sure about my translation. Looking again I think you are right

[Mark]

with Maurice's direction i found Arikoto in Nihonto Koza, there is an example shown with, what looks like, an identical inscription. The book says that the inscription could not be read, but also said that he inscribed poems on his blades so i guess that is what it is.

 

Thanks!  good learning opportunity

 

Picture of the book below

[seattle1]

Hello:

 I think he was a smith of some note and a member of the Royal Family.

 Arnold F.

[Mark]

with help of Markus Sesko's book Nihon-shinshinto-shi - The History of the shinshinto Era of Japanese Swords i found the meaning of the poem and some additional information.  So i will have to compare the sword to some in books and try and determine if it is shoshin or a later copy

[george trotter]

Lucky we have Markus. That is interesting info on a relatively unknown (to us) smith.

I notice in the photo posted by Mark that his signnture is indeed visible at the bottom of the poem (upper oshigata).