Wakizashi translation? Info about smith?

[DaveM4P99]

Hi all. I have some questions regarding the translation of this mei...

 

Here is a photo of the nakago/mei...

 

 

A photo of the whole blade, so you can see the shape/geometry

 

 

And check out these links...similar mei, and this one looks like an EXACT match:

http://www.japanszwaard.nl/zc3.html

Third one down:

http://www.japanszwaard.nl/uk/zwaarden-consignatie.html

 

And this one has a VERY similar mei as well...and is selling for 1.9 million yen?!?!? The hamon, hada, and general shape/style of the blade (to my untrained eye) look very similar to mine, no? :

http://www.samurai-gallary.com/z001.htm

 

Can anyone tell me what smith made mine?

 

I am having trouble finding info about him...how accomplished he was...his main years of activity...etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Dave

[cabowen]

Tegarayama Fujiwara Ujishige

[DaveM4P99]

Tegarayama Fujiwara Ujishige

Thanks chris! Yes the translation I got a while ago was banshu tegarayama fujiwara ujishige.

 

But what generation? I am seeing a few..and some conflicting dates for the generations I have researched.

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Dave

[cabowen]

Try google search and see how many different generations you can find. Then compare yours....

[DaveM4P99]

So...there are two swords I found for comparison in my first post...

 

And doing more research on the Tegarayama Ujishige smiths...

 

member "mdiddy" gave this insight:

 

There is a strong resemblance to 3rd generation Tegarayama Ujishige. According to Fujishiro he worked ~1780 in Harima. The whole mei would likely be 'Banshu Tegarayama Fujiwara Ujishige'. We can see the 'Gara','Yama', 'Fuji', and 'Wara' pretty clearly. I can see the beginnings of 'Uji' under 'Wara'. As well, you can slightly see the 'Te' above the 'Gara', particularly in the last photo although its pretty rust-covered. 'Shige' is most definitely there, just rust-covered. I'm assuming 'Ban' and 'Shu' are above the 'Te', though that area is heavily rust-covered and I can see no traces.

 

My resource was Fujishiro, Shinto Hen, pg. 203. The mei in Fujishiro looked spot on for these characters. The yasurime and nakagojiri also match. The 1st and 2nd generation do not look as close from the examples I found. 4th generation Ujishige became Masashige, noted ShinShinTo smith. He signed Ujishige for awhile but his style is different, at least in his Masashige mei. I could not find a 4th generation Ujishige mei by him. Nakagojiri also differ 3rd to 4th generation. My money is on 3rd generation Ujishige.

 

So he says 3rd gen Ujishige (according to his source, was in Harima around 1780)...so 3rd gen Ujishige...not 4th gen, since 4th gen Ujishige became Masashige, and had a different mei style...OK understood...

 

And in this book, it says that 3rd gen Ujishige was actually Masashige's older brother: http://books.google.com/books?id=zPyswmGDBFkC&pg=PA290&dq=tegarayama+ujishige&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oc4PT4fOEoPY0QGe4qSLAw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tegarayama%20ujishige&f=false

 

However, this source says that 3rd gen Ujishige was the FATHER, no? And he worked around 1716-1736. Source: Genealogies and Schools of Japanese Swordsmiths: Mit Deutscher Einleitung http://books.google.com/books?id=cH-8BYsgGgIC&pg=PA111&dq=tegarayama+ujishige&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xc0PT4eSHOn40gHqsdm5Aw&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=tegarayama%20ujishige&f=false

 

So THAT geneology chart shows "Ujishige 3" as the FATHER of both younger Ujishiges...and "Ujishige 4" (supposedly the eldest son) as working around 1789-1801...so it looks like HE was the older brother of Masashige, no? According to that geneology chart?

 

So any thoughts? Who was the real 3rd gen Ujishige? Early 1700s smith and the father of Masashige and Ujishige 4?? Or late 1700s/early 1800s smith and the older BROTHER of Masashige who worked around the same time?

 

Or am I missing something?

 

Thanks!

Dave

[DaveM4P99]

OK according to this geneology chart: http://books.google.com/books?id=cH-8BYsgGgIC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=tegarayama+ujishige&source=bl&ots=l4RMCbQ0p5&sig=Fo2GNSjfsCc5Hee_3Ay492k87mo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SW8hT5jaEIHi0gGO8tTICA&sqi=2&ved=0CHgQ6AEwCQ#...

 

4th generation Ujishige and the noted/famous smith Masashige were the same person, he just changed his name...but signed Ujishige early in his career.

 

So my blade COULD be made by Masashige, when he was signing Ujishige, and could be worth quite a bit of money, no?...BUT, the hamon of my blade is not his style...if that matters...and mdiddy says the mei style is different too...

 

So if it is indeed 3rd generation Tegaryama Ujishige...then that geneology chart says that 3rd generation was active around 1716-1736...BUT then the chart goes right to 4th generation in the late 1700s/early 1800s...looks like the dates are wrong...too long of a time period between 3rd and 4th generations, no?

 

NOW this link: http://books.google.com/books?id=zPyswmGDBFkC&pg=PA290&dq=tegarayama+ujishige&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Q3EhT6HjJaTw0gGW0N3cCA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tegarayama%20ujishige&f=false says that 3rd gen Ujishige was the ELDER brother of Masashige...WHICH MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE date wise...

 

And this link: http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/M998_T5920_PUP_E.htm says that 4th gen Ujishige was the NEPHEW of Masashige...I DON'T think that can be right...so disregard that I think.

 

Then again, this link: http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/UJI164 has 3rd gen as early 1700s...

 

But the same nihonto club site...this link has 3rd gen Ujishige as LATE 1700s...http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/UJI171

 

So who the hell do I have here? haha.

 

When did 3rd gen Ujishige work???

[DaveM4P99]

OR...It could even be made by this Ujishige...the mei matches exactly to my blade...EXACTLY

 

Third one down on this page:

http://www.japanszwaard.nl/uk/zwaarden-consignatie.html

 

Same exact mei..."Banshu Tegarayama Fujiwara Ujishige"

 

But this blades papers put its date around the LATE 1600s!

 

I am confused.

[cabowen]

The mei on your blade does indeed seem very similar to the nidai in the above link. That picture is a bit fuzzy but there are several distinctive traits to the mei that they share. I would bet yours is the nidai and would focus my efforts on learning more about him.....