Netsuke mei

[Ray Singer]

A bit different from swordsmiths' mei, would anyone be able to help with readings for some of these netsuke artist names?

 

Much appreciated,

Ray

 

[Ray Singer]

No. 8 appears to be Hogyoku.

[Tanto54]

Dear Ray,

 

As mentioned in my PM, I didn't expect to find them, but I looked in Lazarnick and Meinhertzhagen and couldn't find any matching signatures.  Nevertheless, here's how I would read them:

1. MitsuTama/Gyoku or Kogyoku

2. Bo[?]taroichi

3. Mizuyama/Suizan

4.Narita/Nariyoshi

5. Gengyoku

6. Nanryu?

7. Yoshi/Kichi?

8. Hogyoku

9. Masakatsu/tadakatsu/seisho

[SteveM]

A lot of question marks for me, too. My attempts

 

1. 光玉 Kōgyoku

2. 不？太郎 or 不太郎一　Fu(?) taro. Could also be -taroichi, but I couldn't tell if that last bit was a border or an "ichi".

3. ?山 - I couldn't tell if the first one was 水, 氷, or 杉, or something completely different.

4. 成田　Narita

5. 法玉 Hōgyoku

6. 南柳 Nanryū

7. 吉?  Yoshi-something

8. 法玉　Hōgyoku

9. 五勝  Gokatsu　I'm not 100% sure of the 五. Considering 玉 is a popular kanji in these names, I am tempted to say 玉 is a possibility as well. However it is missing the loop in the center, which seems to be a hallmark of 玉 in grass script. 正 , as George suggests, is a distant candidate, but I felt the one on the netsuke was a step too far away from 正 in grass script. 

 

Anyway, I'm reasonably confident in 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 (with some reservation).

The rest, not so confident.

[Ray Singer]

I just received your message George. Really, thanks so much to you and Steve for taking the time to look at these.

 

Kind regards,

Ray

 

PS. Circling back on #7 I was feeling that it might be 吉田 (Yoshida). But, just a guess on my part...

[Ray Singer]

...

[Guido]

From what I can see in the photos, those don‘t appear to me to be authentic netsuke - which might explain why the signatures are not recorded.

[PietroParis]

Indeed, from below they look like Chinese-made tourist trinkets, you might show a group photo from above to remove any doubt. The one in the third picture might read 松山 Matsuyama/Shozan, which is a typical "Hong Kong" signature. The round inlay in the seventh picture is another typical giveaway. Anyway, the signatures on such NLO (netsuke-like objects) are often just meaningless squiggles.

[Ray Singer]

I will clarify that these are not mine, just helping out a friend with his father's collection. Again though, I appreciate the time and all the additional feedback above. I will relay this information to the owner. 

 

Kind regards,

Ray

[tcollinswest]

Does anyone know what this means? 

[Bugyotsuji]

My guess is a Western or possibly Chinese (not a traditional Japanese) attempt to add cachet to a damaged slice of ivory tusk, but it would not be classed as a Netsuké.