oli

Maybe contact NBTHK https://nbthk.eu , but is it not sure if this blade I a gimei. So I think you need to send to Shinsa in Japan. I am not sure if something like "testamentary blade" exists.

Masahide was a researcher of old smith technics and wrote some books about. So this inscription maybe about his research. From Markus Sesko Book: MASAHIDE (正秀), 1st gen., Kansei (寛政, 1789-1801), Musashi – “Dewa Yamagata ni oite Fujiwara Terukuni kore o saku shin jūgomai kōbuse-gitae” (於出羽山形藤原英国作之真十五枚甲伏鍛, “made by Fujiwara Terkuni in Dewa´s Yamagata in the kōbuse technique by using 15-times folded steel”), “Suzuki Saburō Takuei shin jūgomai kōbuse” (鈴木三郎宅英・ 真十五枚甲伏), “Terkuni” (英国), “Suishinshi Masahide” (水心子正秀), “Kawabe Gihachirō Fujiwara Masahide” (川部儀八郎藤原正秀), “Kawabe Gihachirō Fujiwara Masahide” (川部儀八郎藤原正日出), “Akimoto-shin Kawabe Gihachirō Fujiwara Masahide saku” (秋元臣川部儀八郎藤原 正秀作), “Ushū Yamagata no shin Kawabe Gihachirō Fujiwara Masahide” (羽州山形之臣川部儀八郎藤原正秀), “Suishin Fujiwara Masahide” (水心藤原正秀), “Suishin Masahide” (水心正日出), real name Kawabe Gihachirō (川部儀八郎). Masahide was born under the name Suzuki Saburō (鈴木三郎) in the third year of Kan´en (寛延, 1750) in Akayu (赤湯) in Dewa province. Or, to be more precise, in the village of Nakayamamura-Suwahara (中山村諏訪原) in the Yonezawa fief (米沢藩) of Dewa, because he was “only” raised in Akayu namely by his mother´s Toyama family (外山) after the early death of his father. First he worked there as a village blacksmith and it is said that he had learnt the craft of forging from a certain Yoshizawa Sanjirō (吉沢三次郎) from the close village of Nagai (長井). But Masahide had decided early for himself to become a swordsmith and his first station in this goal was Sendai where he became a student of a later generation Kunikane (国包). His smith name was Takuei (宅英) at that time. After this initial training he moved to Hachiōji (八王子), in Musashi province, where he learnt from the local Shitahara master Musashimaru Yoshiteru (武蔵丸吉英) who was in turn a student of Musashi Tarō Yasukuni (武蔵太郎安国). With this master-student relationship he changed his name to Terukuni (英国) and was hired by the Akimoto family (秋元), the daimyō of the Yamagata fief (山形藩), in the third year of An´ei (安永, 1774) whereupon he changed his name again, namely from Terukuni to Masahide (正秀), and his entire real name to Kawabe Gihachirō (川部儀八郎). But Masahide “experimented” with his signature, that means he also signed Masahide with the characters (正日出) and (正日天). His gō was Suishinshi (水心子) and it is said that he also signed it in the variant (水神子). He developed his koku´in seal from the characters for “hide” (日天) which he used from the third year of Bunka (文化, 1806) onwards. And his kaō is composed of a displacement of the strokes of the characters for “hide” (秀) (see picture below). With his employment at the Yamagata fief he was able in terms of money to travel further and further, to take lessons in the Bizen tradition at the Ishidō school (石堂) and in the Sōshū tradition under the 10th generation Tsunahiro (綱広). There exists for example a blade from the eighth month of Kansei three (寛政, 1791) which is signed with the supplement “Kamakura-jūnin Masamune-masson Minamoto Tsunahiro Sōden no kitae” (鎌倉住人正宗末孫源綱広相伝鍛之, “forged in the Sōshū tradition of the Masamune-descendant Tsunahiro from Kamakura”). It is said that he was not satisfied with the then status quo of the sword world, i.e. to remain stuck to the Ōsaka-shintō and the danger of falling into oblivion of the kotō-era forging techniques. Suishinshi Masahide was, apart from learning from the mentioned masters, for the most part an autodidact. He tried more or less single-handedly to rediscover and revive the old forging techniques of the Heian and Kamakura period and turned more – 515 –and more his back on the Ōsaka-shintō style. After devoting himself extensively to the Sōshū tradition he came to the conclusion that a wide, too nie-laden, hamon was not equal to a sword blade with a chōji-based hamon in nioi-deki into which already the Bizen smiths had focused. Apart from that, Masahide also worked of course in the Yamato, Yamashiro and Mino traditions and summarized his studies in publications like the Tōken Jitsuyō Ron (刀剣実用論) and Tōken Buyō Ron (刀剣武用論), both can be translated “Essay on the Practicality of Sword Blades (from the Heian and Kamakura era),” the Tōken Bengi (刀剣弁疑, “Sword Almanac”), or the Kenkō Hiden Shi (剣工秘伝志, “Secret Forging Techniques”). These publications in turn stimulated the sword literature of his time, and the movement which evolved out of Masahide´s ambitions is called fukkotō (復古刀, “sword revival movement”). In his early years he tempered a tōran-midare with thick nie and nioi in the style of Sukehiro (助広) or the notare-midare of Inoue Shinkai (井上真改). After this phase he started to work in notare-midare with nie-kuzure and hitatsura of the Sōshū tradition and in later years he shifted to a chōji-midare in the Bizen tradition and to a suguha. The reasons for the latter change have been described in chapter 1.4. Works in the Yamashiro tradition show an elegant sugata with funbari which reminds us of kotō blades. The jihada is a beautifully forged ko-itame, the hamon a chū-suguha-hotsure in nie-deki which, by trend, shows little hataraki, and the bōshi is ko-maru. Sometimes he also forged a masame-hada in the style of the Yamato tradition. Works in the Bizen tradition comprise copies of different kotō-sugata. The hamon is tempered in nioi-deki and appears as ko-chōji-midare with long and somewhat slanted nioi-ashi, or as koshi-no-hiraita midare mixed with chōji-midare in the style of the Ōei-Bizen school (応永備前). Hard-looking, dark spots might appear in the hamon and the nioiguchi is neither bright nor tight. In the case of the Sōshū tradition he tempered an ō-midare, as mentioned a notare-midare with nie-kuzure and hitatsura, or an ō-gunome- midare which he described himself as modelled on Kamakura-era Sōshū works or on Masamune. Regarding the shintō- tokuden, the jigane and jihada of the Ōsaka-shintō copies or homages are quite beautiful and the hamon consists of thick nioi and nie but, unlike the originals, Masahide´s blades have less hira-niku and the tōran-midare in general and the size of the individual midare elements is not that uniform. There are nie of different kinds of roughness in the habuchi and the yakigashira show as mentioned dark spots. The jigane looks soft and the jihada tends to muji, and the ha towards the base might appear somewhat dull and subdued. This peculiarity should become a characteristic feature of the Suishinshi school. The ji-nie is inferior to that of Sukehiro in terms of quantity and quality. Masahide made sunnobi-tantō or rather hira-zukuri ko- wakizashi in Enbun-Jōji-sugata combined with a Sōshū deki, or standard-length tantō with uchizori combined with a dense and beautifully forged jihada and a chū-suguha-hotsure in the style of the Yamashiro tradition. Occasionally we also find tantō in katakiriba-zukuri or osoraku-zukuri and from time to time also works where he engraved his own horimono, with the mention „hori-dōsaku“ on the tang. But most of Masahide´s horimono were added by his student Honjō Yoshitane (本荘義胤). They comprise designs like suken, sankozuka-ken and kenmaki-ryū in the hi, whereas the scales of Yoshitane´s dragons looks like overlapping coins. Masahide´s tangs are by trend rather long and end in his early years with a pronounced ha-agari kurijiri. Later he applied a shallower ha-agari kurijiri. The yasurime are sujikai with keshō, and for Ōsaka-shintō-utsuri the tangs are also finished like the originals. Suishinshi Masahide was also famous for training – 516 –countless students, at least more than one hundred according to transmission, which the fiefs had sent to his workshop after he had settled and made a name for himself in the Hamamachi district (浜町) of Edo. The famous master students are described in chapters of their own. Well, in Bunsei one (文政, 1818) he left his name Masahide to his son Sadahide (貞秀) and called himself Amahide (天秀). With the name change to Amahide he also used the gō Suishinrō (水心老) and Suishin-rōō (水心老翁) which both mean “the old Suishin. ” Masahide died on the 27th day of the ninth month of Bunsei eight (1825) at the age of 76 (the picture to the right shows him at the age of 62). saijō-saku

AMAHIDE (天秀), Bunsei (文政, 1818-1830), Musashi – “Amahide” (天秀), “Suishin´ō Amahide” (水心翁天秀), “Suishin-rō Amahide” (水心老天秀), “Suishinshi-rō Amahide” (水心子老天秀), this was the name of Suishinshi Masahide (水心子正秀) with which he signed from the first year Bunsei onwards after giving the name “Masahide” to his son Sadahide (貞秀), it is said that this name actually reads “Masahide” (天秀) and not “Amahide,” in other words, he kept the reading of his name but changed one character Big name.....interesting blade

Thank you @SteveM !

Hi Jean, seems correct: 利之 , but I don't find any Artist with this Kanjis, Thanks Oli

Hi, can anybody translate this signature? Many thanks Oli

I don't think it's a Hizen Tadayoshi Gimei, I think it only a lesser known smith, what used the same name. But to be sure, you must send it to a Shinsa (NBTHK, NTHK)

It depends how big is your budget. Blade with papers would be better as beginner, books should be the first to start. In Japan you have the opportunity to study a lot of nice swords in museums. Don't miss this opportunity. And also look into other sword shops.

How long is the blade?

Hi, don't think that all smiths of this time are highly collectable, Gassan school for sure. Kanenori isn't so pricy. But i think there was more than 7 active smiths. Oli

December 1798

There is a chapter about the smih in the Book Shinshinto-shi from Markus Sesko. I would go for restoration and papers, you have some options in USA. Another example https://shop.nihontou.jp/products/detail/29508

indeed interesting smith, from Book Markus Sesko: SUKETAKA (助隆), Kansei (寛政, 1789-1801), Settsu – “Ozaki Gengo´emon Suketaka” (尾崎源五右衛門助隆), “Ozaki Gengo´emon no Jō Suketaka” (尾崎源五右衛門尉助隆), “Ozaki Gengo´emon Fujiwara Suketaka” (尾崎源五右衛門藤原助隆), “Ozaki Nagato no Kami Fujiwara Ason Suketaka” (尾崎長門守藤原朝臣助隆), real name Ozaki Gengo´emon (尾崎源五右衛門), he was born in the third year of Hōreki (宝暦, 1753) in Harima province but moved later to Ōsaka to study under Kuroda Takanobu (黒田鷹諶), Takanobu in turn was the grandson of the 6th gen. Bungo Kai-Mihara Masaie (貝三原正家), Suketaka received the honorary title Nagato no Kami (長門守) in the twelfth month of Kansei ten (寛政, 1798), he died in the second year of Bunka (文化, 1805) at the age of 53, as Suishinshi Masahide he too tried to copy the tōran-midare of Sukehiro (助広), that means we can see how early shinshintō smiths were influenced by Kamada Natae´s (鎌田魚妙) praise of Sukehiro´s tōran in his standard work Shintō Bengi (新刀弁疑), his successor was his son Takashige (隆繁), Suketaka´s blades have a shallow sori, a thick kasane, much hira- – 1017 –niku, and a relative large chū-kissaki, they show a dense and hardly discernible ko-itame which tends to muji, we know tōran- midare, gunome-midare, and suguha hamon whereas the tōran-midare consists of rough and irregular nie, the tama don´t have an uniform size, he applied a long sugu-yakidashi and the bōshi ist ko-maru, some blades show horimono in the form of dragons, plum blossoms, or a branch of a plum tree, the tip of the tang is an iriyamagata-jiri, the yasurime are ō-sujikai with keshō, he signed also with a characteristical cursive script which tends almost to grass script whereas the date signatures of such mei are entirely executed in grass script, jō-saku

Not sure, but i don't think this is a good idea

this is a big Kissaki: https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/product/shousai/KA-0805

I bought this one https://togishi.com/store/p39/Large__Polishers_Uchiko_Ball_.html , you must look from time to time in the shop.

Last year, there were also dealers with affordable blades. And yes no 20% VAT, as i know. I saw prices from 3000 Euro to 30.000 Euro for a Katana.

hi, would recommend to visit the Japan Art Fair (https://www.japanartfair.com/) , there you have the opportunity to hold the swords in your hand. best regards Oli

If you looking for o-kissaki, you can find them easily in Shinshinto period

Koto: https://eirakudo.shop/718723 https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/product/shousai/KA-0787 (sold but Kanenobu, would fits in you pricelimit) Shinto: https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-tango-no-kami-kanemichi-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/ Shinshinto: https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-sumi-hidekuni-tan-korenbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/

Not sure what you looking for, maybe you should also read some books. I recommend koto-shi, shinto-shi, shinshinto-shi (last two also written in german) . For 1,6m yen you can get some very nice swords, It seems you like Shoshu/Mino-den, you can find a lot of in shinto.

Hi, before you buy online, i would advise to visit the Japan Art Fair (https://www.japanartfair.com) . There are a lot of Dealers from around the world and you can have a look on the blades in real. Regards Oli

Thanks for your explanation, i was confused because the Showa Masayoshi would be the 8th Generation. The 3rd Generation worked until Mejin, let say until 1870 for easier math and the Showa Masayoshi worked till end of war 1945. So this would be 5 Generation in 75 years. So it would be about every 15 years a new Smith Generation. Thanks Oli

I think they are connected , but the Showa Masayoshi moved in another part of the country. Not uncommon, after the end of the shogunate.

Hi Bruce, not sure what you looking for. Maybe he changed the Kanji in Showa times, i am not a Kanji expert. Maybe others could help. I think maybe there is a failure in the book, 7th/8th generation i think a bit too much, the 3rd generation worked until Meiji time period. Regards Oli