Wakizashi with horimono – joint work of Sukehira & Sukeshige, late Edo

[DENihontocollector]

Hello everyone,

 

my wife really liked this sword, so I bought it to her as a gift. We don’t know too much about it yet and would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

 

The last sword I posted here received such helpful input and detailed feedback from the community that I thought I would try it again with this interesting piece.

 

Here is what I know so far from the former owner and documents:

 

      Wakizashi

• Blade length: approx. 47.5 cm

• Mounting: Complete Edo-period koshirae

• Certificate: NBTHK Hozon (2018)

• Smiths: The blade appears to be a joint work of Sukehira and Sukeshige. These seem to be Yokoyama Ise no Kami Sukehira and Yokoyama Sukeshige of the Bizen Yokoyama school, late Edo period.

• Kanji: which seems to mean “long life” or “happy life.”

 

 

Blade description from documents:

Shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, tori-sori with chu-kissaki. The hamon is suguha, the hada is itame. The blade features a horimono with the inscription “Hachiman Daibosatsu.”

 

Question:

If the inscriptions are visible enough on the photos, could anyone here help with translating them or confirming what they say?

Any additional insights or comments are also very welcome!

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Nice blade and good fittings, a very fine gift. 

[oli]

Yokoyama is a very nice Shinshinto school. Also a nice package with Horimono and Koshirae. I like the Saya. 

[DENihontocollector]

11 minutes ago, oli said:

I like the Saya.

Indeed, it's really a beautiful saya. the structure is well done and looks amazing

[SteveM]

The writing on the fittings is from a 4-lined poem by the classical Chinese poet Wang Wei (王維). Each fitting has a different verse.

 

On the tsuba                 弾琴復長嘯　
On the kozuka               深林人不知　
On the fuchi/kashira     明月来相照　

 

The first verse (独坐幽篁裏) is missing. Maybe it is supposed to be inferred from the other bits. Or maybe it was on a fitting that got lost. Anyway, the translation is

 

Alone in the bamboo grove, I strum my lute (koto) and sit and sing, with only the light of the moon as my companion.

 

琴 in Japanese is the stringed instrument called the koto. In the poem it actually refers to a Chinese zither. In Japan, the poem represents a sort of Zen aesthetic (solitude, nature, contemplation).

[SteveM]

Kozuka and fuchi/kashira are signed by Ryūchiken Teruyuki (龍池軒英随). Tsuba is signed by Koreyoshi (之芳). 

Interesting that the poem should be completed by fittings from two different artists. 

[DENihontocollector]

2 hours ago, SteveM said:

The writing on the fittings is from a 4-lined poem by the classical Chinese poet Wang Wei (王維). Each fitting has a different verse.

Hey Steve,

Thank you so much, for this amazing information!
It is fascinating, that the inscriptions together are a poem of Wang Wei, with a special meaning. I have to look up this guy.
I checked the fittings again, to see if there’s any trace of the missing verse. But there seems to be nothing more. Maybe, as you said, it was never included
Thanks also for identifying the two other artists who signed the fittings. That makes the whole piece even more interesting, especially with the Zen connection. I think this theme suits my wife perfectly. I’ve already shared these first findings with her, and she is also thrilled with the result.

Dennis

[DENihontocollector]

3 hours ago, SteveM said:

The first verse (独坐幽篁裏) is missing.

What about the Menuki? I did not take a picture. Here they are. Looks like Sun and Moon

Maybe there is an connection to the other parts.
 

Could that be?

Thanks,
Dennis

[Sebuh]

pretty set and a nice gift!