TKarpo

Is this topic still of interest to you? I have a wakizashi with the same mei, but just five kanji instead of the full 8 or 9 that you have. So just "Hōshū Ju Munekage". Did they sometimes put an abbreviated mei on the short blade of a set? I could post pictures, if you want. I haven't yet determined whether mine is from the Bungo Munekage of the 1590s or the Bungo Munekage of the 1640s. But my mei is very much like yours, and very much unlike the Munekage in the ricecracker link someone posted above. Hilary

Thank you both! I've been searching for mention of Munekage and Hoshu or Bungo, and came up with a little bit on the web. At http://www.sho-shin.com/sai13.htm I found this: MUNEKAGE BUN-ROKU 1592: Another who enjoyed the gift of his master's name, the MUNE of OTOMO YOSHIMUNE. ITAME HADA with MASAME shows JI-NIE. Tightly defined NIOI HIRO- SUGUHA is KO-MIDARE with ASHI and YO. GUNOME-MIDARE HA. MUNEKAGE is considered the outstanding artist among his late HIRA-TAKADA peers. Descendants in SHINTO. So do you think that is the smith who made this blade? Would you need more details of the blade, and more images, to know? TK

This wakizashi was an anonymous gift to a buddhist teacher, a "bodhisattva gift", which is given on the occasion of taking the bodhisattva vows. It is therefore untraceable back to the previous owner, which is unusual. I have reason to believe it was part of the Christie's auction of the Walter Compton collection in 1992, and might be found in the auction catalog, part 3. The reason is that it came with copies of two pages of that catalog, with a particular blade circled, but the picture and description circled don't match the actual blade. My speculation is that the donor circled the wrong ones and that this blade could be found elsewhere in the catalog, but I don't have access to that publication. I have spent hours poring over character charts trying to decipher any part of the mei, but to no avail. The fittings are in a sad state of disrepair, but the blade is such a thing of beauty that I am obsessed with learning more about it. Can anyone help me with the mei? I want to know more before considering options for restoration, and anyway--I just want to know. Thanks so much, in advance... TKarpo