Absolute Amateur Needs Translation Help

[palsrq]

Ancient Antique dealer in Florida with no a lick of Japanese Sword knowledge...Any help in identifying this piece will be greatly appreciated....

[Mark]

Bichu (no) Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro try searching info, the writting says the maker is Yasuhiro from the Tachibana clan with the title lord of Bichu Province... see what you can fine

[palsrq]

Thank you so much Mark...I will get to work seeing what I can find on Yasuhiro..... Peter

[bmoore1322]

I would love to see the blade, if you dont mind.

 

Brian

[palsrq]

Hi Brian...I am afraid I don't have proper pics of the blade but I will attempt to take some tomorrow....In the meantime this is what I have....Peter

 

Try to up load a new batch of blades

[Ray Singer]

Hi Brian...I am afraid I don't have proper pics of the blade but I will attempt to take some tomorrow....In the meantime this is what I do have....Peter

 

Please do not lay the sword directly on a rocky surface like this. Even though it clearly needs to be (professionally) repolished, it is best to do what you can to avoid adding more deep abrasions.

[drdata]

It's probably best to not lay the blade on a hard surface, such as stones.

 

Also, be sure not to try and clean or polish the blade or tang. A wipe down with good machine oil is never a bad idea. There is a link to a FAQ on handling and care, please read if you have not.

 

Cheers

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Bitchû no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro belonged to the Kishu Osaka Ishido school, There were 4 generations signing that way. I don't think this sword is from the shodai.

[palsrq]

Hi,

 

Bitchû no Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro belonged to the Kishu Osaka Ishido school, There were 4 generations signing that way. I don't think this sword is from the shodai.

 

Hello and thank you for your erudite comment....As a newcomer I am very eager to learn....Another expert pointed our to me the only the first generation was signed with the kiku.....May I ask you what you base your negativity on regarding this piece ? As I stated I am eager to learn....Peter

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

According Fujishiro sensei and Kanzan Sato sensei, nidai Yasuhiro also used kikumon (i don't know for the followers). About mei of your sword, it seems less "roundish" than the shodai's one, but i can be wrong.

[hxv]

Hi Jacques,

 

I looked up Hawley and the 3rd generation also used the kukimon. I see what you mean about the shodai's mei being rounder. I'm attaching the shodai's oshigata from Hawley's Shinto Bengi Oshigata for comparison. All of the kanji seem to look alright except for the first one. Is this what you mean, Jacques?

 

I'm also perplexed. The oshigata on the right is tachi mei, and the nakago on the left is katana mei. What does this mean, or did I get my orientation wrong?

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[hxv]

Hi Jacques,

 

I forgot to mention, Fujishiro says that the shodai inscribed the kukimon on the ura side. With regard to the nidai, Fujishiro simply says the kukimon is inscribed. The daito in question has the kukimon inscribed on the ura side. Comments? Speculations? Needless to say, I'm confused

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[palsrq]

Hi Jacques,

 

I forgot to mention, Fujishiro says that the shodai inscribed the kukimon on the ura side. With regard to the nidai, Fujishiro simply says the kukimon is inscribed. The daito in question has the kukimon inscribed on the ura side. Comments? Speculations? Needless to say, I'm confused

 

Regards,

Hoanh

 

I want to thank everyone for their help especially Mark Jones.....The sword is no longer available...

[hxv]

Hi Jacques,

 

Just to confuse us a little more, I'm attaching a page from Nihonto Koza. The mei looks just like the sword in question, with the kukimon on the ura side, and there is a note in the text regarding this placement. But, Nihonto Koza says nothing about which generation is featured on the page. Go figure Any thoughts, guys?

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[SwordGuyJoe]

Mei seems good to me.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

I can't say that i don't know, I just say that i think this mei is a little bit squarish compared with Yasuhiro shodai usual mei. Please have a look at these examples, specially at the top horizontal stroke of kanji Chu, Kami, Yasu and Hiro. They are all a little bit curved down side and a little slanted, on your's they are flat and not slanted. Now as i already said, i can be wrong it is just my opinion.

 

http://www.tokensugita.com/KA052.htm

 

http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/K9305_W6623_E.htm

 

http://www.choshuya.co.jp/1/0706/thanks_sword.htm

 

from one of my books

 

[hxv]

Thank you Jacques for pointing out very clearly what you meant. I see exactly your point. The mei in Nihonto Koza shows the curvy characteristic of the top horizontal strokes, followed by a sharp "flick" upward, as you astutely pointed out in your post. However, the mei in Hawley's is exactly the same as the mei on the sword in question as far as my eyes can tell. I came across this Yasuhiro Juyo Token sword http://www.token-net.com/juyotoken/juyo ... iro-1.html, and the mei (if you can squint your eyes) seems pretty squarish. I don't what to make of all this, though.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

I've enhanced the nakago picture below, you can make your own opinion (it doesn't change mine).

 

[hxv]

Thank you Jacques.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[cabowen]

hawley's mei is just a hand drawn copy and not much use for verification purposes.

[hxv]

Thank you for the clarification Chris.

 

Hoanh

[bmoore1322]

I have a sword made by this smith also, here is a pic of my sword.

 

Brian

[hxv]

Hi Brian,

 

Thank you for sharing pics of your wakizashi and congratuations on finding a shoshin mei.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[hxv]

Hi all,

 

Just a revisit to this old thread. I had the sword polished and submitted to shinsa by Bob Benson. I just received an email from Bob today - the sword did receive NBTHK Hozon. So, the signature and the work are deemed consistent and genuine. It will be a while before I get both the sword and the appraisal. When I do, I'll post more pictures. Bob told me it's an absolutely gorgeous sword and very good work. Can't wait!

 

Edit: I was a bit nervous since the nagasa is 27" - quite a bit longer than the standard 25" Yasukiro daito seem to be, but all turned out well.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[runagmc]

Good for you I hope it turned out nice...

[hxv]

Adam,

 

After doing my due diligence, I gambled with the signature and the condition of the sword from photos. It turns out the signature was good, and what looked like serious openings are just oxidation. The sword has no forging flaw at all and is in fresh polish and new shirasaya. It made my wait and cost worthwhile. My thousands spent on reference books and countless hours of studying are all worth it. The books paid for themselves already.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Jean]

You shall have to post pictures Hoanh :D

[hxv]

Jean,

 

Yes, I promise to do so as soon as I get the sword back from Bob.

 

Regards,

Hoanh