Help With a Showato Mei?

[Basho12]

This sword belonged to a friend's father (a Marine in WWII) who obtained it from the surrender of a Japanese officer. Now that her father's passed on, she's trying to decide what to do with it, and I've been trying to help sort out what she has. I've been able to tell her that it's a Showato (very clear Sho stamp), but I'm having trouble translating the signature. It's a five character mei and I'm pretty sure the last two read "Yoshimasa," but the first three have me buffaloed. I apologize for the separate pictures, but that's all I have to work with.

 

 

I'd appreciate any help, including correcting my translation of the last two.

[Mark]

maker is Yoshimasa

[Basho12]

maker is

 

That's the translation of the first three?

[Mark]

sorry just looked at the title line and the picture. thought you needed the makers name. i will look up the other kanji later today when i have some spare time

[k morita]

Hi,

 

The mei says "Saemon no Jo Yoshimasa".

[Basho12]

Thank you! I thought it might be a title but I couldn't find the right reference. At least I got the name right.

[george trotter]

Mr Basho12,

You may like to know a little detail about this smith...he was a Showa period smith working with a number of others at Seki in WWII, but you may not find him on any lists. My research puts him as Amaike Saemonjo Yoshimasa. He worked with two family members Amaike Ginichiro Masatsune (prob.his father) and Masatsune's younger brother Amaike Ginjiro Kanenaga (both these men listed as Seki Tosho). All three made swords with stamps with nakirishi mei (name cutter's signatures) as well as swords with no stamps and their shoshinmei (genuine self-cut signatures). your Yoshimasa is known to have used Yasuki iron in swords. Only Masatsune was considered an upper level smith, having won the 4th seat in the shinsakuto exhib. in 1941. the family name is sometimed mistakenly written as Amachi and Masa (in script) is sometimes written "shin" (heart) which is incorrect. The blades I have seen without sho/seki stamps have been fairly good showato...trad made but not tamahagane.

This information comes from my personal research. Oshigata of these men are in the old F&G yellow oshi book #175 & 82, Slough p.197 and 3 in Rich Stein's Showa database (Masastune, Kanenaga, Kanenaga)...all are nakirishi mei, but by the same hand as cut your signature...so they must have had a reasonable output.

Hope this helps.

George.

[Basho12]

Thanks! That's very good to know. I'll pass that on to my friend.

 

Edited to add: Thanks again for everyone's help. She's decided to keep the sword, and now she has a much better idea of what she has and how to take care of it so it can be passed down in the family.