Samurai Posted January 16 Report Posted January 16 Hello! I'm new here. I found this by google and thought lets give it a go.. Who can help me identify the smith? Quote
Samurai Posted January 16 Author Report Posted January 16 How so? It would look alot different? Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 16 Report Posted January 16 I'm not sure that I understand what you mean as far as looking different, but that is what I personally see. 正次 - Masatsugu. Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 16 Report Posted January 16 Not as clear as the previous one. Perhaps Toshihisa. 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted January 17 Report Posted January 17 What do you mean when you say you 'found this by google'. Are you wanting to buy a blade, or did you run a search for unreadable Mei? Usually posting one photo alone makes the job exceptionally hard for anyone to decipher. Two or three photos from different angles is more friendly. Re 'help me identify the smith'; by reading the characters alone you might not be identifying the smith, since it could easily be gimei. Confused in Gotham Quote
Samurai Posted January 17 Author Report Posted January 17 @Bugyotsuji These are Tanto's that I own. And truely wanted to know what was written on them. 1 Quote
Lewis B Posted January 17 Report Posted January 17 7 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said: What do you mean when you say you 'found this by google'. I think he means he found NMB by Googling, at least that was my interpretation. 1 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted January 17 Report Posted January 17 Ah, thank you. *The second one could start with Yoshi spelt not the standard 吉 with 士, but with known variant 土 on top. Borrowing -hisa from Ray above, Yoshihisa? 吉久？ 2 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 (edited) Thanks for the reply! The 土 is Right! The bottom Kanji is already too far gone too get it correctly.. Edited January 18 by Maik I didn't read right.. Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 On 1/17/2026 at 9:19 AM, Bugyotsuji said: Ah, thank you. *The second one could start with Yoshi spelt not the standard 吉 with 士, but with known variant 土 on top. Borrowing -hisa from Ray above, Yoshihisa? 吉久？ Typical typo on my part, what I intended was Yoshihisa rather than Toshihisa. Thank you for correcting. 1 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 What smith's name started with 土 ?? I only know Tosanosuke (土佐介) But that doesn't match the second Kanji. Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 @Maik, 土 refers to the radical and does not mean a mei that begins with the kanji 土. The Kanji 吉 (Yoshi) contains the radical 士 at the top. 1 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 @Ray Singer Oh I see. But then 吉 doesn't match, because for sure there's no square underneath.. Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 2 minutes ago, Maik said: @Ray Singer Oh I see. But then 吉 doesn't match, because for sure there's no square underneath.. There are many ways that kanji are expressed in mei. They not aways executed in a rigid exact way and strokes do not always connect with one another. 3 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 @Ray Singer As I see it, it looks more like J and not like I. Was that too difficult for them to do a straight line? Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 No, this has nothing to do with difficulty in executing a straight line. Mei are calligraphy, and calligraphy is expressed in different ways depending on the hand of the craftsmen. This is the famous swordsmith Toshiro Yoshimitsu. 1 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 I was thinking Yoshiyuki 吉行 Just because there are 2 not straight lines underneath. Does this match like that, you think? Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 8 minutes ago, Ray Singer said: No, this has nothing to do with difficulty in executing a straight line. Mei are calligraphy, and calligraphy is expressed in different ways depending on the hand of the craftsmen. This is the famous swordsmith Toshiro Yoshimitsu. This looks nice, but it looks off from mine.. Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 Another example. Variations on how the same mei of Masatsugu might appear on different smiths' swords. 1 Quote
Ray Singer Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 Just now, Maik said: This looks nice, but it looks off from mine.. I understand. I am showing variations in writing the same kanji. Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 Just now, Ray Singer said: Another example. Variations on how the same mei of Masatsugu might appear on different smiths' swords. Wow this one IS accurate to it! Thanks alot for this one! Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 Just now, Ray Singer said: I understand. I am showing variations in writing the same kanji. I appreciate you doing so! This helps me much with this! Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 Can you also help me with these 2 Tsuba's? 1 Picture is probably upside down. I changed it in my system but it keeps uploading upside down. Quote
Itomagoi Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 I can't help you with the translation, but both tsuba are modern works. Probably cast bronze from china. 1 Quote
Samurai Posted January 18 Author Report Posted January 18 Just now, Itomagoi said: I can't help you with the translation, but both tsuba are modern works. Probably cast bronze from china. Why do you think? Explain please Quote
Itomagoi Posted January 18 Report Posted January 18 Hmmm. It's not easy to explain briefly. The quality of the craftsmanship is very poor. Even the signature is round and not angular / sharp, meaning it was not signed with a chisel. Look online for fake tsuba, you will found examples like yours. 1 Quote
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