Kyle68 Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 Hello! Could someone possibly translate the Mei of this katana and what I believe is a cutting test? I have a chance to purchase this sword from an individual but not sure exactly what it is. Thanks in advance! Quote
YourBabyBjornBorg Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 This looks like a legitimate 2nd or 3rd gen 山城守藤原国清 Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo with Tameshigiri Mei signed by 根津三郞兵衛尉光政 Nezu Saburobe no Jo Mitsumasa, a cutting tester in around Genroku (1688 to 1704). This could go more than 3 million yen in the Japanese market with Hozon or above, and even higher in the foreign market. (菊紋) 一 山城守藤原国清 (chrysanthemum crest) Ichi Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo 貳胴落 上一ノ胴元禄四辛未年三月日 下二ノ胴 根津三郞兵衛尉光政 (花押) Nido Otoshi, Ue Ichinodo in the 3rd month of the 4th year of Genroku, year of Shinbi in the sexagenary cycle, and Shita Ninodo, Nezu Saburobe no Jo Mitsumasa (Kao) A very similar sword from Kasyu Shinto Syu. This is only for rough reference because Kinzogan Mei like this can't be rubbed, so they imitate it with a pencil. From Thoughts on Nihonto. 3 Quote
YourBabyBjornBorg Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 Wait, is this recorded in the famous Talking about Nihonto with Imamura and Becyaku? (「今村・別役刀剣講話」) (wait, what's べっちゃく in Romaji? Anyway...) It's even got the states. 71.2cm in length, 1cm of Sori, 601 grams of weight. One thing is different, though. It's 二ッ胴落 in the book, 貳胴落 on the sword. The Kanji for two is different (二/貳), and the character ッ is missing. This could be a copying error, of course. A Mitsumasa from my copy of 日本のかたな. 1 Quote
YourBabyBjornBorg Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 In the original Kenwaroku by Imamura in 1912, it's 四つ胴落 Yondo Otoshi (four body cut). Compared to the Talking, there was indeed a typo. It's 裸身目方百六十匁にて手軽き刀 ("the naked sword weighs 601 grams, quite a light sword in hand") in the original Kenwaroku, and 裸身目方百六十匁にて手短き刀 ("the naked sword weighs 601 grams, quite a short sword in hand") in the Talking. 601 grams is very light for a sword like this, but 71.2cm is the standard length (Teisun). Makes one wonder if there were other errors in the text. A Mitsumasa‘s cutting test on Token and History issue 453 in 1970, Oshigata sent by Tanzan Sensei (then Tanobe Michihiro Sensei). Kunikiyo is also mentioned, 四ッ胴落 in this version. A Mumei Tametsugu with Mitsusama's cutting test from the 10th Juyo. Phew! That was a lot. Now, to McDonald's! (Here it's 8:00 PM now, and it's still not dark outside. Szechuen is much closer to Tibet than to Beijing.) 2 Quote
eternal_newbie Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 1 hour ago, YourBabyBjornBorg said: A Mumei Tametsugu with Mitsusama's cutting test from the 10th Juyo. Interesting to see an older Soshu blade used for test cutting. Etchu/Noshu Tametsugu is rated wazamono in the "Kokon Kajibiko", so at least a handful of them were put to the test in years past their heyday. 1 Quote
Nicholas Posted August 10 Report Posted August 10 12 hours ago, Kyle68 said: I have a chance to purchase this sword from an individual I also had the chance to buy this sword but decided against it due to how deep the pitting is and overall condition of the sword. 1 Quote
YourBabyBjornBorg Posted Tuesday at 02:51 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 02:51 PM Missed this one from Showa Meibutsu Cho. 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted Tuesday at 07:18 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 07:18 PM Of the examples of Mitsumasa mei, there are two distinct ways of cutting the "Mitsu". Anyone able to pin down which generation is which? 1 Quote
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