Mei help

[Markdd]

Still trying to work out these Mei things don't think I have enough time left to lean at my age,

 

This sword is described as Tanba No Kami Yoshimichi ? but I am confused by the Kami Kanji as from what I was reading this part is done like the Osaka branch[were the dot stroke points straight down] and yet this sword has a Kiku mon like only the Kyoto branch used.

Thanks Mark

[tbonesullivan]

守 吉 道 - KAMI YOSHI MICHI is the last three characters. Still working on the earlier kanji.

 

The first two look like 州 SHU or 川 GAWA, and then 良 YOSHI. Not sure on either of those.

[SteveM]

Hint: the answer is already in the first post. I suspect the OP already knows what the mei is. 

 

 

[tbonesullivan]

16 minutes ago, SteveM said:

Hint: the answer is already in the first post. I suspect the OP already knows what the mei is. 

 

 

Oh man. I completely missed that. At least I got the practice! I guess they are referencing this page on the Japanese sword index: http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/yoshmich.htm

 

That is, unfortunately don't know nearly enough to make any assessment of the directly the "dot" is pointing.

[SteveM]

This is a good mei to learn because there were many generations who used the exact same mei, plus there are still a lot of good, healthy swords from this group, so if you can learn to read it (the first two kanji are quite distinct) you will be able to recognize it on many swords. 

 

Just looking at some other examples on the internet, I can see the 4th and 5th generation inscribed 守 with a fairly vertical stroke, so it's good not to shut the doors too tightly on any possibility. With a Yoshimichi blade, the hamon should be very distinct, and will be an excellent indicator of authenticity. 

[Markdd]

thanks ,the sword comes with white papers dated around 1975 are they accurate?

[Bugyotsuji]

Mark, we’d need to see these ‘white papers’ before making any judgement.