Kôzan Oshigata. Does anyone have a copy and can check the 1308 Norishige?

[Lewis B]

According to Fred Weissberg there is an image in the book that shows an oshigata for a Norishige blade dated 1308. This is historically the earliest example of a signed and dated blade by Norishige. If you can PM me a photo of the page it would be a great help. TIA. 

[Hoshi]

Hello Lewis, 

 

Here is what you seek, it is 1310, I believe. 

 

 

However, I do not lend these Oshigata too much credence. They are imprecise, and are not faithful rubbings of the signatures. There is gimei work in there as well, although Kozan is one of the more reliable and famous ones.  

 

Here is a Norishige tanto dated 1214 for comparison. 

 

 

I believe you're wondering if your potential Kunimitsu Atelier tanto may have been made by Norishige, and gathering data on signed piece situated within the same time frame to test your hypothesis. This is the right approach!  

 

Norishige, out of the Soshu masters with extant zaimei work, has a certain naive calligraphy. As many smiths, he was illiterate and you can see this. Afterall, he hailed from a backwater province considered barely civilized by the military and aristocratic elites of the time. In terms of style, he uses different chisel sizes, and really enjoys accentuating the top and bottom radical of the "shige" character. Dating on the other hand, he doesn't seem to put too much pressure. Thin chisel, very well aligned on the vertical and horizontal direction. 

 

Does the date chisel stroke on your Kunihiro indicate that it may have been daimei work by Norishige? 

 

 

I think it's fascinating to see if one can sniff out Norishige, Yukimitsu, or even Masamune's hand out of late Shintogo daimei tanto.

 

I believe we have no established precedent for it as well. It would be of major academic interest for the field. 

 

Now for the comparison at hand, the chisel size appear different, broader chisel face. And there is some leftward drift. 

 

Norishige on the other hand, seems to quite attached to straight lines. He's very much into his vertical and horizontal strokes. Given that, I would expect his "Kuni" character - if he was ever making Shintogo style tantos - to have a straight and perhaps thick transversal radical. 

 

Now, remember that Shintogo had more atelier students than just his son Kunihiro and the three Soshu virtuoso. He had two others sons:  

 

- Kunishige (國重)—Son of Kunimitsu, Shintōgo Tarō (太郎), born in the 8th year of Bun’ei (文永, 1271) and died in his 32nd year in the 1st year of Kengen (乾元, 1302)

- Kuniyasu (國泰)—Son of Kunimitsu, Shintōgo Saburō (三郎), born in the 1st year of Kenji (建治, 1275) and died in his 64th year in the 4th year of Kenmu (建武, 1338).

 

You can read more about what the old sources say on Dmitry's excellent site. 

 

Now this is according to an old primary sources. And if the dates are to be believed, Kunishige is out since he died in 1302. 

 

This leaves Kuniyasu as as a possibility beyond Kunihiro! 

 

We do not have any extant work by Kuniyasu left, alas. 

 

Hope this helps, the quest is noble. 

 

Hoshi 

[Lewis B]

Thanks @Hoshi. Very interesting data point. I'm curious about the 1308 tanto though as its mentioned in several places as being the earliest dated piece with Norishige Mei. Could they have been perpetuating a common piece of misinformation. The date on the above example is not 1308, and I accept your translation to 1310. The dates certainly align with Norishige striking out after an apprenticeship with Shintogo Kunimitsu and starting his own workshop back in Etchu and Kunihiro remaining to inherit the forge. 

 

Is it possible there is another dated tanto in the Kozan Oshigata for 1308?

 

For the 1310 example is the full or partial oshigata of the blade available?

 

Its really nice to see the date script is not in a cursive style, unlike the 1306 Shintogo blade, as this possibly confirms other hands were working in the atelier in the latter part of the first decade of the 14th century. It has already been suggested the 1306 tanto is daimei Yukimitsu due to the stylistic differences for 'mitsu'. He was a lot older than either Norishige or Kunihiro and I wonder if that experience might make the application of cursive script more likely due to an elevated level of confidence that comes with age. Bit like a youngster graduating from block to joined up lettering.

[Markus]

I think that the mystery is actually easier to solve as I think I have found the entry in question:

 

"In addition, Kôzan oshigata has a record of a blade having a date in the Enkei (延慶) era (1308)"

 

The entry just references "a date in the era," but then only gives the starting year of that era, 1308, not the actual year the blade is dated with. If the entry is amended as follows, everything makes sense:

 

"In addition, Kôzan oshigata has a record of a blade having a date in the Enkei (延慶) era (1308–1311)"

 

[Gakusee]

But this blade (1310) posted by Chris above is the only one in the Kozan with a relevant date in the relevant era. The others either do not have nengo or are dated 1318 and 1328. 
 

The important point, again flagged by Chris, for people to realise is that indeed the tangs in the Kozan are drawings and artistic interpretations of the mei, but are not truthful oshigata. So the Kozan is a source which summarises actual existing blades and dates etc but one cannot look at the Mei and try to compare it for veracity and accuracy to their own.  
I do trust that source and would not go about saying it is full of gimei etc. Quite the opposite in fact as it tends to have famous and ex-daimyo blades, so with higher chance of authenticity. 

[Lewis B]

Regarding Norishige's stylistic variations, it's clear there were many changes over his long career.  The tilt of the 'shige' character is quite consistent especially on tanto, often following the curvature of the nakago (most noticeable on the far right image). The rather simplistic, hesitant carving would make sense if the chisel was held by young, illiterate individual. 

 

Masamune and Yukimitsu's calligraphic style is noticeably different, and from what I've read Masamune didn't actually work directly with Shintogo Kunimitsu, instead working along side in a separate space. Quite a reasonable thought if Masamune was Yukimitsu's actual or adoptive son. Stylistically he is quite far removed to assume a direct connection as Master/Student, unlike Kunihiro and the younger Norishige. 

 

[Lewis B]

Kuniyasu aka Daishinbo is also in the mix although the texts put his active years in a later period. He is also said to have used Kunimitsu, but is thought to have primarily been a carver of horimono which might account for the lack of extant work, as well as his decision to follow a different path away from the family business. 

 

KUNIYASU (国泰), Gen´ō (元応, 1319-1321), Sagami – “Kuniyasu” (国泰), according to tradition the third son of Shintōgo Kunimitsu (新藤五国光), it is said that he signed with Kunimitsu (国光) too, first name Tōsaburō (藤三郎), a theory says that he was the same smith as Daishinbō (大進坊) – see also “DAISHINBŌ (大進坊), Shōwa (正和, 1312-1317), Sagami”

 

DAISHINBŌ (大進坊), Shōwa (正和, 1312-1317), Sagami – “Daishinbō” (大進坊), “Daishinbō-hōshi Yūkei” (大進坊法師祐慶). This smith and masterly horimono carver is listed in old sword documents as son of Shintōgo Kunimitsu (新藤五国光) and it is also said that Yūkei (祐慶) was the Buddhist priest name of Kunimitsu´s third son Kuniyasu (国泰). Anyway, Daishinbō Yūkei followed a religious path and went from Kamakura over the Sōtō-jinja (走湯神社) and some years as yamabushi mountain ascet at Mt. Haguro (羽黒) in Dewa province finally to Nikkō (日光) where he worked as a priest of the Futarasan-jinja (二荒山神社). The Sōtō-jinja belongs to a temple complex of the Izusan-jinja (伊豆山神社) which is located in the present-day city of Atami (熱海) in Shizuoka Prefecture. Geographical studies on Sagami province titled Shinpen Sagami no Kuni Fudoki Kō (新編相模国風土記稿) from the twelfth year of Tenpō (天保, 1841) mention a signature of Daishinbō that bears the supplement “Sōtō-Daigongen” (走湯大権現), an area at the foot of the mountain where the Sōtō-jinja and Izusan-jinja are located. However, most known signatures of this smith are dubious and it is said that he primarily focused on cutting horimono onto blades of Yukimitsu and Masamune.

[Lewis B]

So the conclusion is that the Kozan Oshigata references a blade signed and dated by Norishige to 1310 from the Enkei era (1308-1311) ie Enkei 3. There is another slightly earlier signed blade dated Enkei 2 (1309) in the Umetada Oshigata. I believe this is actually the very earliest known dated work by Norishige. AI does not have access to an image of this Nakago. If anyone has a copy of the book in their reference library could you upload the image of the Mei and nenki?

[Ian B3HR2UH]

These are the Norishige in Umetada Meikan .