Fake Kanzan Sayagaki?

[Hector]

Hi again,

 

As you know, I haunt Yahoo auctions in an effort to improve my eye for what is real and what is not while I'm not actually visiting sword shops (which I'm trying to do a lot more now).

Well, another wakizashi has popped up with what the seller alleges is an inscription on the saya by Kanzan. My humble first impression is that it looks too fresh but others out there will be able to recognise his writing and Kao style.

 

Best,

Hector

 

PS sorry for the blurred picture but that's the only one the seller gives - perhaps for reasons of deliberate obfuscation?

[Hector]

After looking at many genuine examples, both here and online, I think this may actually be a genuine sayagaki by Kanzan.

However, it is only the blade inside which counts as, from what I've read, Kanzan signed so many shirasaya (and that's not counting all the fakes out there) that his sayagaki are very commonly encountered. 

[Jussi Ekholm]

I could very well see it as a genuine one. The style, formatting etc. seem to fit, well of course I am totally clueless about calligraphy in general.

 

However in my own research, Kanzan, Kunzan and Tanobe all have written probably thousands of sayagaki so encountering them is somewhat common, especially the higher up you go in quality.