Mizuta Kunishige mei — shoshin or gimei? Considering purchase

[Tarto]

I’m considering buying this katana from a dealer in Indonesia. No NBTHK papers, but it has a torokusho.

 

The mei reads: 備中國水田大月傳五郎源國重 (Bitchū Kuni Mizuta Ōtsuki Den Gorō Minamoto Kunishige)

Nakago is ubu with one mekugi-ana.

 

 

Asking price is roughly USD $4600

 

I’ve attached the tang photo and a full blade shot.

Questions:

 

1. Does the mei look shoshin, or does it read as gimei?

 

2. Which generation would this signature style point to?

 

3. Anything in the nakago or sugata that concerns you?

 

4. Is the asking price reasonable for an unpapered blade with this mei?

 

I’m new to nihontō — any honest read appreciated, including if it’s bad news.

Edited Monday at 03:53 PM by Tarto

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

Hi! This sword has an interesting Hitatsura, but the signature looks like 迷い鏨 (unsure chiseling by people who are not professional smiths) and very off to my amateur eyes.

 

4600 US dollars is way too high for a Gimei sword like this, even with Koshirae.

 

For comparison, a Hozon Kunishige Wakizashi is sold for 943 dollars this month on Yahoo Auction.

 

 

And a decently made Gimei Kunishige Katana with Koshirae, very new polishing, and an NBTHK green paper was sold for 1579 dollars last May. There were many more examples.

 

 

 

[Tarto]

18 minutes ago, YourBabyBjornBorg said:

Hi! This sword has an interesting Hitatsura, but the signature looks like 迷い鏨 (unsure chiseling by people who are not professional smiths) and very off to my amateur eyes.

 

4600 US dollars is way too high for a Gimei sword like this, even with Koshirae.

 

For comparison, a Hozon Kunishige Wakizashi is sold for 943 dollars this month on Yahoo Auction.

 

 

And a decently made Gimei Kunishige Katana with Koshirae, very new polishing, and an NBTHK green paper was sold for 1579 dollars last May. There were many more examples.

 

 

 

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of assessment I was hoping for.

 

The 迷い鏨 observation is really helpful. I wouldn’t have known to look for hesitation in the strokes, and now that you point it out I can see the unevenness in the chiselling.

 

The auction comparables are sobering. A papered Hozon Kunishige wakizashi at $943 and a gimei katana with koshirae and green paper at $1,579 puts the $4,600 asking price in a completely different light. That’s roughly three times what these actually clear at.

 

Two follow-up questions if you don’t mind:

 

1. You mentioned the hitatsura is interesting, is the blade itself likely to be a decent piece of work under the wrong signature? I’m curious whether there’s a school or period it might attribute to on its own merits.

 

2. What would you consider a fair price for this blade as a gimei with koshirae, given it’s already located in my country so there’s no import cost or risk?

 

I’ll be going back to the seller with a much lower offer. Genuinely grateful, you’ve saved me a considerable amount of money.

[ROKUJURO]

6 hours ago, Tarto said:

.....1. You mentioned the hitatsura is interesting, is the blade itself likely to be a decent piece of work under the wrong signature? I’m curious whether there’s a school or period it might attribute to on its own merits.....

Reynaldo,

in case a sword-blade is forged with the intention of copying the style and the MEI of another (more famous) smith, he will try to emulate the style and features.

Looking at such a blade, it will be very difficult to find traces and features authentic to the maker.  

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

No problem! But I'm afraid it's almost impossible to tell the blade's quality, style, or value through the pictures above. I wish I could be of more help, but I can't responsibly recommend or reject a sword with very limited pictures 

[EricMajo]

In my opinion, the asking price on this one is quite high. Being local and avoiding importation is definitely an advantage, but it still feels like a lot of money for a gimei blade, even in good condition. The koshirae doesn't strike me as spectacular either, not enough to justify that extra. Hard to say much from photos, but the kojiri looks a bit modern to my eye — makes me wonder if the blade was re-mounted into this koshirae rather than being an original pairing. Bottom line: not a great deal as it stands — either negotiate it down significantly, or I'd personally take the risk on importing one instead.

Best,

[Jacques]

Gimei.

This one is tokuho  

The great thing about Mizuta Kunishige swords is that the signatures look very similar regardless of the generation; however, it's relatively difficult to tell which generation a sword belongs to

Edited 10 hours ago by Jacques