Martin Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 Hi all, I have recently acquired a nice Kozuka. Could anyone please help me translating the mei and maybe tell if the signature is genuine. It seems to me that the front is made of Shibuichi and the back of (meanwhile dark) copper. At least this is my impression because the back is quite abraded and the red color of the copper can be seen. Am I right with this assumption that back and front are sometimes made of different materials? The third thing I would like to know is if it is possible to repatinate the back of the Kozuka and how this is usually done? Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays to all, Martin Quote
Stephen Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 the maker is toshimitsu..ill have to work on the first two but im sure Koichi san will be there before i can dig tru the books. the back is ment to be that way, nice kozuka late shinshinto i think... maybe wrong not much of a fittings guy. Quote
Pete Klein Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 The mei is Nara Toshimitsu, died late 1600's, Haynes 10443, mei in Kinko Meikan pg. 250 and Wakayama I pgs. 133 & 134; does not match examples so if in doubt shinsa. Patination is exactly that. An alloy of copper and precious metal is pickled to give the final colour. Shakudo is copper and gold, shibuichi is copper and silver if memory serves. The colour is only on the surface so when wear occurs you can see the base colour of the unpatinated metal. It was not unusual to have different metals used for front and back. As for repatination I'm sure it could be done but it would have to be sent to a restorationist (if you can find one)and it gets expensive and probably not appropriate. Wear is to be expected. Quote
Martin Posted December 17, 2006 Author Report Posted December 17, 2006 Many thanks so far for your posts. Unfortunately I don´t have any Tosogu books to compare the signatures. Would it be possible for anyone to maybe post some pictured examples of the signature? In my opinion it doesn´t look clumsy - but I am a complete novice in judging signatures on fittings The only object I found to compare with is a Fuchi / Kashira signed Nara Toshimitsu at the Usagiya website. But who knows if that´s an authentic signature... And even if I had a good and a bad signature to compare I doubt that I could see the difference or indicators that finally states it true or false :? cheers, Martin Quote
Bungo Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 I checked the mei illustrated in kinko Meikan........... looks different. May be " school/student " works............... milt THE ronin Quote
Bungo Posted December 18, 2006 Report Posted December 18, 2006 and here's the illustration....... note particularly the direction of strokes of the kanji Toshi. milt THE ronin Quote
Bungo Posted December 18, 2006 Report Posted December 18, 2006 note the rating on the smith........... this one says" superior " maker? While the other ( the Katsutomi ) rated differently . I am referring to the term listed beneath the time period. http://www.esnips.com/doc/0e9e24e2-bd38 ... f/CSC_0061 Personally i think this rating is more valid than the monetary one........I checked other kodogu books, it turns out the monetary rating is quite common ( but different from each book by different authors ). milt THE ronin Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted December 21, 2006 Report Posted December 21, 2006 maybe a silly question, but i see a lot of kozuka without attached pliers or blades... were some kozuka only used as decorations of saya? KM Quote
Bungo Posted December 22, 2006 Report Posted December 22, 2006 maybe a silly question, but i see a lot of kozuka without attached pliers or blades... were some kozuka only used as decorations of saya? KM it is possible the blades were removed and sold separately.......... I have about 5 of those and I always wonder about the mei ( some big names there ), I will take some pics , I think at least one or two mei looks legit. milt THE ronin Quote
John A Stuart Posted December 22, 2006 Report Posted December 22, 2006 Hi Milt, I had an e-mail from G. Robson last year that noted how many of these kogatana were treated like mementos or keepsakes and a lot were not legitimate signatures. Like tourist stuff. John Quote
Bungo Posted December 22, 2006 Report Posted December 22, 2006 yes, I have a few of those but there's one I think is very legit...........full mei with the kiku flower , just like the mei on katana. I see if I can take a good pic of that............. milt THE ronin Quote
Bungo Posted December 22, 2006 Report Posted December 22, 2006 ok, boys........... you think the Kinmichi looks legit ? milt The ronin Quote
John A Stuart Posted December 22, 2006 Report Posted December 22, 2006 Hi Milt, I can not tell for sure. I believed that this kotetsu was legit but when I sent in the scan was told unlikely. It seems replicating these things was quite the cottage industry. Last year when I had posted this kogatana on another site I had correspondence with a fellow that also had a Kotetsu that he subsequently was pinked for. He was sure by comparison that his was legit. Go figure. John Quote
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