suishinshi wakizashi ???? Help needed

[Gilles]

Hello all,

 

I have bought this sword a while ago and I am about to send it to the polisher. I tried to translate it but alas, I could not figure out the whole signature and the real swordsmith.

According to what I found:

OMOTE : SUISHINSHI...MASANAO

URA : BUNKYU NI NEN HACHI GATSU, the other line seems to be an attribution.

 

Can you give me some details on the swordsmith? He is of the Suishinshi Masahide school but I could not exactly pinpoint him.

 

I will really appreciate some help on this one.

 

Regards

[Nobody]

Omote:

I cannot read two important characters.

 

水 X 秀多朗正 X - Mizu+X Hidetaro Masa+X

(My guess : 水野秀多朗正興 - Mizuno Hidetaro Masaoki)

 

Ura:

I cannot read one character.

 

文久二年八月 - Bunkyu 2nd year, 8th month

依石川信宗 X 望打之 - Due to the request of Ishikawa Nobumune, (I) forged this.

 

[Justin]

According to Yasu Kizu's little book "Suishinshi Masahide and his School", a Masaoki from Echigo province operated around 1864 (close to the date on your sword). No other information is available - other than he was part of the Suishinshi Masahide school. Hawley rates him as 10 points.

 

I also have a detailed 341 page book about Masahide and his school with lots of oshigata and information, but unfortunately I cannot find any reference to Masaoki.

 

As he was at the tail end of sword production in Japan (just before the banning of swords), I would say he was a student of one of the late members of the school (not Taikei Naotane, Hosokawa Masayoshi or anyone else famous).

 

It is good that you know who this sword was made for - this is rare and should add to its value. I have a wakizashi by Ryusaishi Masashige from the Suishinshi school who has also inscribed the owners name and a bit of a story as to why the sword was forged. It is dated February 1805.

 

Sorry I can't be more help.

[Gilles]

Dear Moriyama-san and Justin,

 

Thank you so much for your help. I thought that the last kanji of the swordsmith name was NAO but here again I was not sure about that.

 

This nice wakizashi has a very pronounced hitatsura hamon. This sword is well made and should be quite nice when it will be polished.

 

If anyone can help for the unidentified kanji(s) or the identity of Ishikawa Nobumune who ordered that sword, I will appreciate a lot.