DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Hi all...so I think I found an exact Mei match to the blade I own... Banshu Tegarayama Fujiwara Ujishige. My blade's nakago is on the left, the one I found online with NBTHK papers is on the right, for easier comparison: The blade's NBTKH papers...Can anyone tell me what it says, and if my blade was made by the same smith?? THANKS! Research is fun, even if I don't know what I am really doing. :D Quote
cabowen Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 It says the same thing it says on the web site in English it was pulled from. It does not specify the generation so I am curious as to why the owner called it the nidai.....It appears to match yours.... Quote
DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 It says the same thing it says on the web site in English it was pulled from. It does not specify the generation so I am curious as to why the owner called it the nidai.....It appears to match yours.... Here is the website I found the blade on in case anyone is wondering...THIRD blade down: http://www.japanszwaard.nl/uk/zwaarden-consignatie.html Hmmm...So whoever made this blade, almost definitely made mine. But we still don't know which generation made either of them... Member "mdiddy" said a while ago that he thought it was 3rd generation Ujishige... 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 according to his source, my mei looks like the one on pg. 203 of Fujishiro...and that smith worked around 1780... Quote
DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 So...here is what I could find regarding Fujishiro pg. 203: Page 203 UJISHIGE SANDAI [TENMEI 1781 HARIMA] SHINSHINTO CHUJOSAKU He is called Miki Shinbei, he is the younger brother of Masashige, and he died seven years after the death of the nidai on Kansei Ninen (1790) Hachigatsu Juhachinichi (8/18). His Bhuddist name is Soko. Signatures: BANSHU TEGARAYAMA FUMOTO FUJIWARA UJISHIGE BANSHU TEGARAYAMA UJISHIGE Plate I: BANSHU TEGARAYAMA FUJIWARA UJISHIGE I assume there is a photo (Plate I) with a mei matching mine exactly on that page in Fujishiro? Anywhere I could find it for comparison? NY Public Library maybe? Quote
cabowen Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Nidai: Sandai: Yondai: Third generation died young and left few works. Yondai changed his mei to Masashige so works signed Ujishige are early and few in number....Also, his nakago-jiri is distinctive and different than yours....Seems sandai is the best bet.... Quote
DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 Wow thanks for the insight Chris!!! Yes I saw the style of that Sandai mei, and it looks spot on to mine. Also - I found the blade that belongs to the photo of the "Sandai" mei you posted above... http://www.samurai-gallary.com/z001.htm The blade even LOOKS just like mine, in shape/geometry (I think), and hamon style is the same, maybe even Hada, but I can't tell... HOW do you know 3rd gen died young and left few works??? Just from Fujishiro? Does the fact that 3rd gen Ujishige (Sandai) died young and made few blades make them more valuable? I see he was a Chujosaku...above average smith? The one on the page above is selling for 1.9million Yen...$24,000 Can that be right??????????????????????????????? Quote
cabowen Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 If you research the line using Japanese and google, you will find several sites that discuss this group and mention the above about the sandai. Dying young may do something to the value but condtion, quality, and other factors have a much greater influence... Yes, that price is correct. Note it is a katana, in full mounts, professional polish, and NBTHK papers, and that this is full retail. Yours would be worth a fraction of this. The heavy corrosion on the nakago the value a fair bit.... Quote
DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks for all your help Chris...I am glad I am finding out more regarding the smith. Very interesting! -Dave Quote
Mark Green Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Hi Dave, Very cool get! Did I miss the pics of your sword somewhere? Mark G Quote
DaveM4P99 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Posted January 26, 2012 Hi Dave, Very cool get! Did I miss the pics of your sword somewhere? Mark G Thanks Mark! Here is the thread - page 4 for before and after pics. Page 1 for the blade's WWII capture history. Really cool story in my opinion. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8968&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=45 Dave Quote
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