Interpreting Norishige mei era

[Lewis B]

If you haven't noticed I have a massive soft spot for Norishige. My goal is to eventually own one of his blades so in the meantime I'm doing as much study as possible. Part of that is studying the development of the smith through what was a long career. His style changed depending on the influences, location and stylistic preferences predominating at the time. Ko Hoki influences, a phase where his style was similar to his contemporary Masamune and early influences of Shintogo Kunimitsu, with whom he probably had a teacher/student relationship. His Mei changed too throughout the late Kamakura and Nanbokucho eras when Norishige was active. I'm trying to place the style of the Mei on the right. To my uneducated eye it looks most like the large Mei from early years on the far left with one caveat, the oblique chisel mark on the upper kanji, at the end of the righthand vertical element. The crescent mark at the top of the shige kanji, as well as the large horizontal lines seem to be the most indicative. 

 

[Jussi Ekholm]

That is very interesting research you are doing. Here are the 5 dated Norishige pieces that I have in my references so far.

 

 

1314: NBTHK - Jūyō 31, Tokubetsu Jūyō 9

1319: NBTHK - Jūyō 33, Tokubetsu Jūyō 24

1320: NBTHK - Jūyō 31

1325: Naginata of Ōyamazumi-jinja

1326-28: NBTHK - Jūyō 68 (This was featured in the huge Masamune and his disciples exhibition this spring)

[Bugyotsuji]

Don't forget those are hand-written approximations, not done performed with a cold chisel.

(BTW, some of those captions Lewis are in the wrong order, it seems. "Early years in Etchu" should be second from left, for example.)

[Lewis B]

3 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Don't forget those are hand-written approximations, not done performed with a cold chisel.

(BTW, some of those captions Lewis are in the wrong order, it seems. "Early years in Etchu" should be second from left, for example.)

The figure was lifted from the Token Kantei Hikketsu. But I agree, Norishige was born in Etchu but it's unclear if he started swordmaking there. It seems clear he trained under Shintogo Kunimitsu in Kamakura then encountered and possibly learned from/with Yukimitsu, Go Yoshihiro and Masamune at various phases in his career. After his apprenticeship there, he moved back to Etchu and established a forge. 

 

Closer inspection of the Mei in Jussi's informative post, I would put the signature at the Gen'o period 1320 (Kunimitsu died 1319), when Norishige was around 30 years old and supposedly working with/under Go Yoshihiro, who also originated from Etchu and establishes a connection. These various influences could explain the changes in his signature and forging stylistically. The strokes of the kanji seem to be the closest to this era. 

 

[Lewis B]

Norishige's style of Mei carving was not very consistent during his career. The additional radical on the left of Shige 重 on the 1314 dated tanto is atypical compared to examples from his later career. Under what circumstances would such a departure from the standard kanji have occurred? A deliberate stylistic choice? Was it a common occurrence, observed for other smiths during the late Kamakura? 

[CSM101]

 

 

 

[CSM101]

And the translation...

 

 

Token Bijutsu 530.pdf

[nulldevice]

Here's a reference I threw together for the NMB 

 

Note the J25* mei was labeled "mei ga aru" at shinsa and the J23 example was labeled as the nidai (top row 4th from left)

[nulldevice]

As for the TJ9/J31 example with the extra radical in the Shige kanji, the TJ translation makes no mention of that but since this is a dated work (1314) it is considered an early work of his.

 

"This tantō has less standing hada than usual, the chikei and kinsuji are mild, the jiba is bright, showing a quality connected to Shintōgo Kunimitsu and Yukimitsu, and is considered an early-period work. The jiba is sound, and as a work showing one aspect of Norishige's style it deserves attention, while the Shōwa 3 (1314) date is also valuable research material for studying this smith."

[MassiveMoonHeh]

On 8/8/2024 at 12:48 AM, Lewis B said:

Closer inspection of the Mei in Jussi's informative post, I would put the signature at the Gen'o period 1320 (Kunimitsu died 1319), when Norishige was around 30 years old and supposedly working with/under Go Yoshihiro, who also originated from Etchu and establishes a connection. These various influences could explain the changes in his signature and forging stylistically. The strokes of the kanji seem to be the closest to this era. 

Love this digging. I think Norishige is strongly a fan favourite in this community. Not met any say "Not a fan of Norishige!" I count myself in the camp of Norshige fan boy.

 

With regard to timelines, I put Kunimitsu's death at 1312 not 1319, if he died in 1319 then he died two years after Shintogō Kunihiro his son who died in 1317 and was the second head of the Soshū school. But he could not have been the second head of the Sōshu school if his father was still alive after 1317. 

 

Just some timeline adjustments according to my studies that I have already shared before (not saying it 100% but when comparing the timeline to other Soshu smiths it lines up with some success.), this is what I have for Norishige's period of study:

 

Norishge (1290-1365), study timeline:

 

1. Shintogō Kunimitsu (1308-1311) - That is he started his study aged 18 and studied only 3 years not long enough to become a smith under normal circumstances.

2.⁠ ⁠Yukimitsu (1311-1321) - He moved to Yukimitsu aged 21 and studied for 10 years under him and as such he can be considered Norishige's foundation smith.
3.⁠ ⁠Gō Yoshihiro (1321-1324) - He then spent 3 years from age 31 studying under Gō. Many assumed Norshige taught Gō but it appears the opposite was true. This is while we know Gō was 9 years younger than Norishige and died 1 year after Norishige left his forge.
4.⁠ ⁠Masamune (1324-1326) - After Gō, aged 34 Norishige finally spent a further 2 more years studying under Masamune, his last sensei - Gō died the following year in 1325.

 

As such, if it is 1320 - then by my calculation Norishige is still studying under Yukimitsu not Gō, who is also in Kamakura but studying under Masamune. So there may have been some rubbing off of influence already as tradition suggests Yukimitsu was Masamune's father and therefore Norishige and Gō both Etchű boys would definitely have been familiar with each other at this stage with Gō having been in Kamakura from 1319 (aged 21.)
 

[Lewis B]

You guys never cease to amaze me. The academic activity being conducted behind-the-scenes is humbling.

 

What is interesting to note is the mitsu north crown radical on shodei Kunimitsu mei is being copied by Norishige on some of his work, further cementing the connection between student and master. A great example of this is the J67 wakizashi presented in Chandlers figure. Here is a clearer image from the zufu. The quality of this blade is about as good as I've seen from Norishige and also appears early work before his mitsukawa hada became a major feature. Could that be called an ichimai boshi? Could this blade have been forged when Norishige and Go were collaborating as was mentioned in another thread? Fascinating possibility.

 

[Lewis B]

10 hours ago, MassiveMoonHeh said:

Love this digging. I think Norishige is strongly a fan favourite in this community. Not met any say "Not a fan of Norishige!" I count myself in the camp of Norshige fan boy.

 

With regard to timelines, I put Kunimitsu's death at 1312 not 1319, if he died in 1319 then he died two years after Shintogō Kunihiro his son who died in 1317 and was the second head of the Soshū school. But he could not have been the second head of the Sōshu school if his father was still alive after 1317. 

 

Just some timeline adjustments according to my studies that I have already shared before (not saying it 100% but when comparing the timeline to other Soshu smiths it lines up with some success.), this is what I have for Norishige's period of study:

 

Norishge (1290-1365), study timeline:

 

1. Shintogō Kunimitsu (1308-1311) - That is he started his study aged 18 and studied only 3 years not long enough to become a smith under normal circumstances.

2.⁠ ⁠Yukimitsu (1311-1321) - He moved to Yukimitsu aged 21 and studied for 10 years under him and as such he can be considered Norishige's foundation smith.
3.⁠ ⁠Gō Yoshihiro (1321-1324) - He then spent 3 years from age 31 studying under Gō. Many assumed Norshige taught Gō but it appears the opposite was true. This is while we know Gō was 9 years younger than Norishige and died 1 year after Norishige left his forge.
4.⁠ ⁠Masamune (1324-1326) - After Gō, aged 34 Norishige finally spent a further 2 more years studying under Masamune, his last sensei - Gō died the following year in 1325.

 

As such, if it is 1320 - then by my calculation Norishige is still studying under Yukimitsu not Gō, who is also in Kamakura but studying under Masamune. So there may have been some rubbing off of influence already as tradition suggests Yukimitsu was Masamune's father and therefore Norishige and Gō both Etchű boys would definitely have been familiar with each other at this stage with Gō having been in Kamakura from 1319 (aged 21.)
 

If I can add my own thoughts. I don't think Norishige was a complete novice when he apprenticed with Shintogo. In general, I believe an apprenticeship started much earlier than 18 and from what I've read it could be as early as 12 or 13. Thats 5 years to have learned the basics, shown some exceptional talent and aptitude, enough to have been allowed to study with someone of the stature of Shintogo who, at this moment in time, was at the end of his career.

Norishige's first signed blade dates to 1309 (from oshigata) so he may only have spent a year or 2 with Shintogo before studying under the other smiths mentioned but long enough to have absorbed the techniques being used in the atelier. I also believe Shintogo died around 1312/13 so may have been in poor health, which accelerated the move of young Norishige towards those other mentors.

As you eloquently describe, the interpersonal interactions are certainly atypical based on modern Japanese student-teacher relationships. Had there not been this flexibility I wonder how Soshuden would have evolved. 

[CSM101]

One more thing...from his later years

 

 

[Lewis B]

And here is that TJ tanto from the listing a year ago when it was offered on consignment for $295K. The Mei is beautifully struck with a free flowing and confident style.