Kunitomo Tsuba Hakogaki Tsuba

[Curran]

I need some help from our more fluent Japanese readers.

Please see attached tsuba hakogaki images.

 

(1)  Can this attribution be read "Teiei" as in Kunitomo Teiei?

 

(2)  Also, is anyone else able to read the date? Most everything else is straightforward, but I didn't know if Teiei could be written in this form or if the wrong tsuba was placed in this box.

 

Curran

 

[k morita]

Hi,

 

http://page19.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/x448966206

[Curran]

Morita-san,

 

Yes, that is the tsuba in question.

[SteveM]

I think this is Sadanaga 貞永, a different smith altogether. (I am talking about the hakagaki in the first post)

 

Kunitomo Teiei would be 貞栄.

 

The date is eluding me. I am tempted to say December, 1947 昭和丁亥年師走, but its a bit too illegible for me. 

[MauroP]

My try:

 

Bye, Mauro

[Curran]

Morita-san, Steve, and Mauro:

 

Thank you for the replies.

The tsuba that was in the box is signed:  貞栄.

 

According to Mauro, the hakogaki says "sahari". I thought this too, but was not sure of my reading.

However- opinion seems to be that the reading of 貞永 on the hakogaki is = Sadanaga.

 

Haynes Index only lists one Sadanaga (Haynes 07751.0) using 貞永 but he does not sound like an artist that would work with sahari.

Reading the next caption for Sadanaga (Haynes 07752.0) using a different kanji than 永, it notes "They seem to have come from the early Edo period Hoan School. Some read their name as "Teimei"".

 

One form of Sadanaga can be read as 'Teimei', but can the other?

But also Hoan school worked with sahari sometimes....

   

Confusing.

   Does this tsuba belong with this box?

   or just a close mismatch?

[MauroP]

The kanji 永 and 栄 can be homophonic at least in some names, according to http://jisho.org/. But it takes a true expert to answer whether this is true also in "Teimei"... and I'm not an expert.

[Curran]

Yes, I was hoping for a clean cut answer.

     The box needs a new inner silk liner, but there is no point if it does not go with the tsuba.

[MauroP]

A point to decide whether the hakogaku refers to the tsuba is the subject of the decoration. Gohei (御 幣), according to Wikipedia, are wooden wands used in Shinto ceremonies. What about your tsuba?

[Curran]

Mauro,

 

Diece mille grazie!

Questa tsuba dentro di un'altra scatola.

[MauroP]

Curran, please see: https://ia800502.us.archive.org/34/items/japanischestichb00vaut/japanischestichb00vaut.pdf

page 46, tsuba 380.

 

Bye, Mauro

[SteveM]

I think this is a case where the hakogaki is wrong, or, more likely, forged and wrong. I think it is unlikely that Kanzan would write the wrong kanji for the artist. (Not impossible, mind you, but I think it would be highly, highly unlikely). 

 

In Wakayama's Tōsō Kinkō Jiten on page 490 it lists one smith by the name of 貞永 (Sadanaga). It is a very brief entry, indicating this smith also went by the name of 長江 (Nagae?). It makes no mention of working in the sahari style. Sadanaga might also be read Teiei, but I think in this case it is Sadanaga. Wakayama is silent on how it should be pronounced. In any event, you say the tsuba itself was signed 貞栄 (Teiei) so I think we can at this point conclude the box is wrong.

 

Sorry to make things even more confusing, but the reference Mauro linked to above at page 46 (tsuba #380) by the smith 国友貞栄, indicates that this should be read as Kunitomo Sadahide. This to me is very strange because hide is not a valid reading for 栄 (or 榮 in the old style), and Wakayama clearly states that the reading should be Teiei. So I think Sadahide is a mistranslation, a mistake that is repeated for entries 379, 380, and 381. Actually I also found a Christie's auction catalogue entry which also refers to a Kunitomo Teiei tsuba, and it makes the same claim that this could be pronounced Sadahide. So I'm curious if this is a legitimate (albeit idiosyncratic) reading of these kanji, or if these western sources are just echoing each other's errors. 

 

As you probably have all figured out Gohei (御幣) are the white zig-zag shaped papers that are hung outside of sites with religious (Shinto) significance. 

[Bazza]

As you probably have all figured out Gohei (御幣) are the white zig-zag shaped papers that are hung outside of sites with religious (Shinto) significance. 

It also refers to a particular tang shape - gohei nakago:

 

Gohei refers to its resemblance to the pieces of paper which are attached to the sacred straw rope festoon used within Shinto shrines. This tang form was first used by Ise no Kami Kuniteru in the Edo period.

 

See:

http://meiboku.info/guide/form/nakago/index.htm

 

BaZZa.