Help please with tanto mei

[drb 1643]

Hi All, this was an eBay auction (sorry for the bad pictures), and I was hoping to get clarification of the mei. 
Thank you very much,

Tom

[SteveM]

村上正忠作

Murakami Masatada saku

 

The opposite side is a dedication to Sasaki Shigesuke 佐々木重輔

[drb 1643]

Thank you very much Steve. I really appreciate your help!

Tom

[Surfson]

Did you buy it?   I would like to know more about it, as it is an interesting inscription. I'm away from my books and don't know about either of those men.

[drb 1643]

Yes, I did by it but I haven’t received it yet. Masatada I know is a Minatogawa smith but I don’t have any idea who the other gentleman is.

If you find any information on him please let me know.

 Thank you very much,

Tom

[Surfson]

I didn't realize that this is possibly the same as Minatagawa Masatada.  He was the original sensei in the shrine as far as I know but had a relatively short career.   I have been lucky enough to have two of his blades.  You can find some information about him online, and there are also a couple of books about the Minatogawa, one by Kishida and the other by Wallinga (very hard to find).  

[Surfson]

Maybe Volker Hoffert will chime in, as he is very knowledgable about the Minatogawato and the Yasukunito

[Volker62]

for comparsion.....

 

 

perhaps you can try to find something in the booh "Shokan" Hirohito's Samurai" by Richard Fuller

about the owner of the Tanto...1

 

good luck!

[Surfson]

That sword looks familiar Volker!

[Volker62]

thank you Bob!

[drb 1643]

Thank you very much Mr. Hoffert for your help. I will look into the Richard Fuller book for information.

Sincerely

Tom

[PNSSHOGUN]

While Shokan is a great book and provides some detailed information on many Generals & Admirals it is far from exhaustive.

 

This is a far more comprehensive list of IJA Generals: https://generals.dk/nation/Japan.html

[drb 1643]

John, great site! I just checked it but it appears to be generals only. Is the another site for naval officers?

 Thanks for your help,

Tom

[Surfson]

That is a great site John, thanks.   I have a Omi Daijo katana in general's mounts that have a family mon.   When I get back home I will have to see if I can figure out who carried it!

[PNSSHOGUN]

10 hours ago, drb 1643 said:

John, great site! I just checked it but it appears to be generals only. Is the another site for naval officers?

 Thanks for your help,

Tom

Haven't used this as much but seems quite comprehensive:

 

http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/p_index.htm