Which one?

[1kinko]

This is the signature on a yorai-doshi. Kashu ju Kanewaka- but which one? This one seems to have a kao at the bottom. Has anyone seen this signature before? I’m also mystified by the missing kanji at the top. Any ideas?

[uwe]

What do you mean with “missing kanji at the top”, Darrel?

[1kinko]

Other signatures by this school have another kanji below the first, in about the area where the mekugi ana sits.

[1kinko]

賀州住兼若

The bottom half of the first kanji is missing on my yore-doshi.  There’s an article (The Kashu Kanewaka School) by Anthony Thomas online but no photos.  AOI and a few others have pictures of the signatures but none have the final kanji/kao. Thomas reported that there were 3 more generations in the late Edo but no information’s available when Thomas wrote his article.

[Bruce Pennington]

Adding this Kanewaka kao to the Stamps Doc.  Am I hearing this is likely late Edo? So, 1800's?

[1kinko]

I really don’t know. Whatever it is it isn’t stamped, it’s carved with the same tagane-style as the rest of the signature. Should this be moved to Nihonto?

[uwe]

14 hours ago, 1kinko said:

Other signatures by this school have another kanji below the first, in about the area where the mekugi ana sits.

I see.
In this case, however, it’s signed with “加” instead of “賀”. So nothing is missing! 

[1kinko]

None of the other signatures from this school (that I have seen) are missing the bottom half. Is this like a short-hand version? And is this a common abbreviation or an indication of more recent changes to kanji to make them easier to write?

Edited September 23, 2023 by 1kinko
To clarify my limited knowledge

[uwe]

For example: https://nihonto.com/7-11-14/

[1kinko]

Thanks! At least now I know this particular kanji simplification was used in the early 1600’s. Still wondering about the final kanji/kao. Any ideas?

[Bruce Pennington]

I have no other Kanewaka with kao to compare, but it's definitely a kakihan/kao.

 

Edit:  I did find a similar one posted by @Tokaido HERE.  The smith was Takahiro and Moriyama-san believed him to be the younger brother of sandai Kanewaka.

 

You can see the similarities.  Common practice for family members to slightly modify a family kao:

   

[mecox]

Darrel, there is a bit about Kanewaka tosho in NMB:  

 

[1kinko]

Well, I’m totally impressed, once again NMB members come through. I don’t see any way of identifying this particular smith, but I know at lot more about the school and the nature of signatures.  Here’s a pic of the whole blade and kosherae. The bashin and kojira are my work, as both were missing.