Mei on brass tsuba, please

[Grey Doffin]

Hi guys,

I've been struggling with this one (which will be for sale); help will be appreciated.

Thank you, Grey

[kyushukairu]

It looks like
Nanke [no] shin (南家臣)

Shigechika (重愛 [花押])

I couldn’t find a 重愛, though it is likely the same artist as 重周 (which is also pronounced Shigechika).

[Grey Doffin]

Thank you Kyle. Grey

[uwe]

Could it not also be read as “Minami kashin” (南家臣), Kyle?

[kyushukairu]

It could be certainly read as that, Uwe. However, I based my reading on the example in the meikan, where it is listed as ‘no shin’ (の臣), with 臣 meaning ‘retainer, subject, minister’, and which I interpreted as ‘a subject of South Matsuyama’ (南松山の臣). The artist is given as residing in Iyo, which was also known as the Iyo-Matsuyama domain, so it makes sense that they are a subject of South Matsuyama (in Iyo). Going off this interpretation, assuming there is some connection with the artist in the meikan, I read Grey’s tsuba as suggesting that the artist signed as the ‘subject of 南家’ rather than the location ‘South 家臣’. Assuming the correct reading is ‘subject of 南家’, alternative readings to Nanke are ‘Nange’, ‘Nanka’, ‘Minamike’ and ‘Minamiya’. It might be possible to determine the correct reading by researching Iyo-Matsuyama domain and searching for 南家 and hopefully the name will also be given in hiragana.