Thoughts on this Tanto #2

[Tsubafan]

This is the second Tanto I was referring to in another thread which led to an interesting debate even for a newbie like me: Thanks to all participants again for the time allocated on this : 

 

The Koshirae seems to be silver and mixed metals and the handle might be baleen? It is also fully "en suite".

Menukis might be the Mon of the Konoe Botan clan, (btw why double?)

The blade is in a little bit better condition than the Mumei one but far from optimal.

Signature reads: 泉州住正清作 = Senshū-jū Masakiyo saku (courtesy of Xiayang)

More pictures and dimensions in the next message due to image limitations per post.

[Tsubafan]

Nagasa: 23,6 cm

Moto Haba: 2,3 cm

Kasane : 0,68 cm

I just discovered that is actually quite not far from the other one!!!

I will do my best to provide pictures of the grain of the steel in the next post.

Edited August 19 by Tsubafan

[Tsubafan]

[Tsubafan]

[Bugyotsuji]

Comparative examples from a Japanese search, hours of fun! 

泉州住正清作 - 検索

[Tsubafan]

Thanks Piers, I will try on Google.

[Bugyotsuji]

Loving the Koshiraé.

Sometimes in Japan dealers add a ‘throwaway’ Tsunagi blade to complete a nice Koshiraé, but yours looks better than that.

 

Once I bought a Tanto because I really liked the Koshiraé and one of my Japanese friends had a look and said in a serious voice, “I’d recommend throwing that blade into the river.”

[Rivkin]

Its a short, late Muromachi tanto. The work seems ok match to how Izumi craft is described in Meikan, though they also practised Mino-Soshu style quite often with which I am more familiar. The only thing that surprises me is the nakago. The point is not too sharp, but still without the signature I would give Kongobyoe some consideration, the work sort of matches it too. Still quite likely this is authentic Izumi Masakiyo from lets say Tembun or about.

[ROKUJURO]

Some details may indeed look like very early EDO or even before, but both MEKUGI-ANA are clearly drilled. This makes me believe the blade might be much younger, the more as the patina above the MEI does not look "old" to me:

 

So perhaps SHIN-SHINTO ?

[ROKUJURO]

11 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

.....one of my Japanese friends had a look and said in a serious voice, “I’d recommend throwing that blade into the river.”

That wasn't perhaps a friend....

[Hector]

21 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

That wasn't perhaps a friend....

It may have been a friend whose second hobby was scuba diving. 😉

[Rivkin]

An interesting question raised is whether the holes like this one did appear during Tembun. I think they did. Photo is from nihontoart. Close enough, possibly drilled etc.

[ROKUJURO]

Thank you Kirill,

I was in the belief that drilled MEKUGI-ANA were a feature of SHINTO era, and thus an evidence point for KOTO in case they were punched. Did I learn that wrongly?

[Rivkin]

5 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

I was in the belief that drilled MEKUGI-ANA were a feature of SHINTO era, and thus an evidence point for KOTO in case they were punched. Did I learn that wrongly?

I am honored by being asked such a fundamental question and will hedge the answer by claiming expertise strictly as a photographer. Drilling was already favored by some around Tensho and the first examples date exactly to 1551-1552.

Edited August 24 by Rivkin