Is this the Nanki Shigekuni of the Keisha Era, or one of his later students?

[DocTheRoc]

Purchased a wonderful Fukuro Yari from Raymond Yan (highly recommend - also photo credit of most of the photos here, since he does a way better job than I), which included Koshirae. 
 

(side note, the shaft has a name applied to it, and is such a neat example of a probably period-appropriate mounting and name of possible owner affixed to the shaft, “Hirao” 平尾)

 

The Mei shows a signature of: 

 

於南紀 Oite Nanki

重国造之 Shigekuni Kore-wo-Tsukuru

 

Based on the blade construction, it seems to match quite closely with Shigekuni’s other works in my amateur observations, though admittedly I cannot find any Yari examples of him, only Wakizashi (mostly suriage) and Katana. 

 

Do you think this is the same Nanki Shigekuni (https://nihonto.com/nanki-shigekuni-南紀重国/) that was retained by Tokugawa Ieyasu and later Yorinobu; a later generation or student of his; or possibly a gimei? 
 

Whatever the reality, I love this piece so much, and can’t wait to receive the Koshirae (the shaft had to be sent separately because it was quite long, ha) 

 

Thank you very much  

 

If more pictures are needed, please let me know! 
 

PS: The blade unfortunately has some old tarnish - am I ok to apply Tsubaki oil as I do my other Nihontō to those areas as well? Or should I treat the tarnished areas of the blade differently? Thank you! 

Edited Wednesday at 03:04 AM by DocTheRoc

[Bugyotsuji]

Nice potential!

PS ‘Rust’ is a better word than ‘tarnish’. You would need to consult a trained Japanese blade polisher ‘Togishi’.

 

[DocTheRoc]

3 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Nice potential!

PS ‘Rust’ is a better word than ‘tarnish’. You would need to consult a trained Japanese blade polisher ‘Togishi’.

 

Ha, certainly, I’ll use rust instead! Regarding the care, I absolutely know a Togishi is the way to go for *removing* the rust - I just want to make sure I’m caring for the blade properly until/if I’m able to get it evaluated. My other Nihontō does not have active or inactive rust, so this is the first time I’m responsible for something that has it  

[DocTheRoc]

I should also say, complimentary to what Mr. Piers properly alluded to above (which I greatly appreciate), if this indeed a probable-attribution to Nanki Shigekuni, I would certainly like to reach out to some Togishi to consider restoring it from its current condition

(Not that any lesser attribution makes the blade less deserving, but to me, I feel it would have interesting potential as a Shigekuni yari, personally) 

 

Thank you! 

[Robert S]

I would definitely give that repeated oilings, to try to reduce oxygen access, and convert any active red rust to black iron oxide, as a first step.

[ROKUJURO]

Vincent, 

I could not find KEISHA period. You probably meant to write 慶長 KEICHÔ (1596 -1614) which is the time when NANKI SHIGEKUNI worked.

[DocTheRoc]

Just now, ROKUJURO said:

Vincent, 

I could not find KEISHA period. You probably meant to write 慶長 KEICHÔ (1596 -1614) which is the time when NANKI SHIGEKUNI worked.

Jean,

I apologize, this was a pre-coffee post, I did indeed mean KEICHO. Thank you for the correction, I will edit the post accordingly!!

[ROKUJURO]

Try without doping, it should work! 

[DocTheRoc]

55 minutes ago, Robert S said:

I would definitely give that repeated oilings, to try to reduce oxygen access, and convert any active red rust to black iron oxide, as a first step.

 

Thank you so much, I'll do that tonight. 

I typically clean off/re-apply Tsubaki oil every month and a half to my nihonto (I live in the valley in VA, USA, so it's mildly humid year-round). Oiling a surface with rust is something I had not dealt with thus far, so this will technically be a new experience. If there's anything else I need to keep in mind, I'm all ears Thank you for your help! 

 

[DocTheRoc]

Just now, ROKUJURO said:

Try without doping, it should work! 

 

It appears the post is now too old to edit! I shall hang my head in shame accordingly and compose a Haiku...

Fleeting fingers type
Credibility absent
Posting with regret

(lol)
 

[ROKUJURO]