Help With Date Please

[BillT]

I recently acquired an unpapered wakizashi which is signed Soshu junin Hiromitsu, with what appears to be a date on the other side.  I have tried to translate it without success.

 

These are the best images of rather the corroded kanji I could produce. I have included one of the mei and a couple of the whole sword.   I do not have the smarts to produce high quality images, but I hope there is enough there. 

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Bill Taylor

[Shugyosha]

Hi Bill,

 

With the second character of the Nengo period eliminated by the second mekugi ana, a bit of detective work is necessary.

 

The first character of the Nengo is a variation on 正. Markus Sesko lists a smith signing Soshu Ju Hiromitsu (3rd generation) working in 正長 (Shōchō), 1428-1429.

 

So we have 正長二年二月日 - Shōchō, ni nen, ni gatsu, hi. A day in February in the second year of Shōchō.

 

There are other Nengo periods that begin with this character but they are either too early or too late for any of the Soshu smiths signing this way, so I'm confident that this is a decent bet.

 

Best,

John

[BillT]

Hi John

Thanks very much.  It seems to have the ageing attributes of a blade that old and is still attractive despite the signs of ageing and many polishes, so probably worth submitting to shinsa sometime.

Regards

Bill