Hard to decipher mei

[Maxime Chouinard]

Hello everyone,

 

A friend recently showed me this tanto for which I cannot quite make out the signature. I'm working very hard to convince myself that it is not Muramasa though, as the characters certainly look very similar.  XD

 

 

The blade comes with a very high end koshirae. Almost every single feature that can be silver is made of that metal, even down to the koiguchi, over which the fuchi slides to almost hermetically enclose the blade in the saya. The only exception is the habaki... which is wrapped in gold foil. 

Also, I am curious if there is a name for this type of tsukamaki. It appears to be a sheath of wood over which someone created a mock tsuka ito using urushi. 

 

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help!

Edited Wednesday at 05:25 PM by Maxime Chouinard
Pressed enter before putting in photos...

[Ray Singer]

Signed Muramasa.

[Maxime Chouinard]

Thank you for the feedback. Could it be gimei? It's a bit rusted out, but it's not quite the general shape or positioning of a Muramasa mei, at least for the little I know on the subject. 

[Ray Singer]

Yes, unfortunately I would not put a lot of faith in the Muramasa mei however it seems to be nicely mounted in the current koshirae. I would suggest to your friend not to place the bare blade and soft metal fittings directly on a stone surface like this.

[Maxime Chouinard]

Thank you!

[ROKUJURO]

Maxime,

the question is more like "Could it be SHOSHIN ?". MURAMASA is a very famous name and was often used by other smiths. If it is still a nice TANTO in good condition, I would not worry much about the MEI. 

You are asking 'I am curious if there is a name for this type of tsukamaki...'. Well, there is no real TSUKAMAKI. In your case, the AIKUCHI KOSHIRAE does not have a plain SAMEGAWA-covered TSUKA or a textile wrapping (= TSUKAMAKI), but something like a full cover which I haven't seen before.  

[Matsunoki]

I do not think that the “tsuka maki” was ever intended to slide off the tsuka. The fact that it has survived is a miracle because I think it is simply a continuous thick cord or twine wrap that was originally glued to the tsuka and then stabilised by a coating of thick lacquer. Possibly several coats that have then created a very rigid structure. For some reason the glue has given way and it has slid off. I have owned similar wraps on tanto…..but never had one come off!

 

 

[Maxime Chouinard]

2 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

I do not think that the “tsuka maki” was ever intended to slide off the tsuka. The fact that it has survived is a miracle because I think it is simply a continuous thick cord or twine wrap that was originally glued to the tsuka and then stabilised by a coating of thick lacquer. Possibly several coats that have then created a very rigid structure. For some reason the glue has given way and it has slid off. I have owned similar wraps on tanto…..but never had one come off!

 

 

I have examined it myself, and I can tell you it is exactly as I described it. It is a thin tube of wood on which a mock ito was made out of lacquer. If a textile wrap was present underneath the urushi it would be much thicker than this one is. This is only a few millimeters thick, barely the size of a very slim cord. It is possible though that the ito was carved out of wood or paper and then lacquered though, but it's not like standard lacquered ito I have seen in the past. 

[Matsunoki]

9 minutes ago, Maxime Chouinard said:

It is a thin tube of wood on which a mock ito was made out of lacquer.

That is very surprising because when you look at the bare tsuka  you can see remains of what appears to be a backing paper of some sort and lines going around as if something had been wrapped around it. Are those lines in the bare tsuka scratched/carved into it? What do you think their function was? Is the inside of the “sleeve” lined with anything…..the remains of the paper still stuck to the tsuka.

Don’t suppose you can get an image looking into the “sleeve”.
Really unusual and makes no logical sense whatsoever…..having something capable of sliding off would be dangerous in use with no apparent benefits.

[Maxime Chouinard]

Indeed I was quite surprised to see that when I removed the mekugi. Having a screw mekugi seems essential here to maintain the pressure on the wrap. The backing paper may have been there to help stabilize the sleeve through pressure or glue. I'm also unsure about the lines. Perhaps the remains of a previous tsukamaki that was undone and replaced? Perhaps a way to measure where the lines would be placed on the sleeve?

 

As for the reason why, I'm am equally puzzled. It does make for a fairly tough grip. Perhaps a way to allow someone to change the cover for another? Though at that point an extra tsuka may have done the job. Maybe as a layer of protection to be certain that water would not affect the blade? Maybe the artisan simply wanted to show off their incredible skills and creativity by designing such an intricate koshirae? Who knows!

 

 

 

 

[Brian]

Not the first time we have seen this sort of sleeve. Have personally seen it pressed out of thin sheet metal. In this case, it was carved to look like ito. Rare, but not unknown. Just an experiment I guess...or some sort of "because I can" thing.

[ROKUJURO]

If it was mine, I would glue it back together with URUSHI as it was meant to be.