Tsuba Translation Please

[loiner1965]

looks like a cheap cast copy but just curious about the mei.....do they just use any name or is there a certain namr they use all the time.

many thanks

[Stephen]

upside down kazusada? ichisada?

[loiner1965]

sorry stephen.

its how my friend sent me it and without thinking i just copied and pasted.

do they often use the smith or is it just ramdom names etc

[Stephen]

 

well that didnt help

 

they were artist in their own right so they had real names

[loiner1965]

sorry stephen. 

i tried myself to rotate pic but cannot.

opologies to all

[SteveM]

Looks like 下真 (Shimozane?). 

 

There is no such smith in my reference. I think your suspicion (cast copy) is correct. Or, it may be something for the tourist trade.  

The artists had birth names (of course!), but they usually adopted a name based on the specific school they were affiliated with, or their employer/master would grant them the use of a particular kanji. Some artists went a step further and created their own "artists" name (called Go, or 号 in Japanese) which usually comes in the form of a 3-kanji name. To keep things confusing, some artists used more than one Go in their life.

 

Use of the personal, birth name on an artwork is rare, I think. The most common thing is a two-character adopted name, but Go are quite common also.  

[John A Stuart]

Maybe Isshin. 一真 John

[SteveM]

↑ Yes I think John is right. Isshin, and there are at least 3 artists who use this name. 

[loiner1965]

many thanks gentlemen.....much appreciated.

i will try and find out if it is a cast copy but it does look low grade