Fujiwara - but which one, and what province?

[Cuirassier]

Hi Guys

I bought this not bad at all thank you wakizashi for a good low price; the blade is really not bad at all.

It was one at one of those live auctions, where the item was badly described with quay spulling meerstakes, so udders did not see a waki in amongst other things where it really should not have been.

Saw it and quickly bid, and got it; thought "God, what have I just done" but now am pretty glad I did buy it.

 

Anyway

So then I came to the mei.

I thought I had this one beaten, but no!

I tend to find the smith's name OK, one way or another, and then use some detective work to work out the rest (have books, have Internet).

This one has me beat though.

 

First, there was no "saku" character at the end, so I looked at the last two characters hoping this was the name.

I got the second to last as "Iye" but that did not work when I tried to find a smith's name beginning with "Iye", and the last character I can not work out.

 

So went with forth and third from last, and got Fujiwara; I am right, aren't I?

Please tell me it is Fujiwara!

 

So I found three Fujiwara's, but this is not any of them.

So I thought "OK, look up the province. Should be easy enough, the "shu" character is there", right?

So I think I found the character, number 70 of Robinson's "The Arts of the Japanese Sword"

This character can be found in the provinces "Iga" and "Kaga" but not where it is the lead character followed by "shu".

I can not find the province but am convinced I have identified the charcter correctly.

 

Please, please help.

Images of the mei below.

Insanity will come soon otherwise.

 

Mark

 

[Mark]

KaShu Ju Fujiwara Iyetada Kaga province

[Geraint]

Which is a promising start so can we see some images of the rest, please?

[Toryu2020]

Mark (Cuirassier)

 

You shoulda stuck with this one, the characters are all clear and clearly defined. Any way you have your answer and indeed it looks to be a lucky find. I too would like to see more pictures...

 

In regards to Fujiwara - so many smiths used the name you could hardly narrow down a search using that info. Now that you have your answer you should once again look at your references to compare what is on your sword with what you see in your books.

-t

[Brian]

Fujiwara is not a name in this case, but an honorific title often used.

 

Brian

[Cuirassier]

Thanks guys.

Yes, maybe I should have stuck with it, as I had the key elements, but the trouble is I think my books.

Certainly now the smith's name makes a lot more sense now I know Fujiwara is a title.

 

As requested, extra photos, but I am not the world's best photographer for sure.

The blade appears to be very well made; I am sure the fittings are early 20C

Maybe it is worth me spending some money on a polish and refurbishment, maybe I will just sell it on for a quick profit

 

As I said, I bought it as it flashed on my Internet bidding screen when I was not expecting to see an edged weapon; I was waiting for swords which were to come later in the sale.

It just flashed up, I saw the cat scratch habaki, the asking price was low, I bid and got it !

Normally such impulsive buys burn my fingers, so I was due some good luck!

 

Cheers again

Mark

 

PS If you ever need help with Napoleonic / 19C European swords, I may be your man!

 

 

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Fujiwara is not a name in this case, but an honorific title often used.

 

Brian

 

 

 

Fujiwara, Taira, Tachibana, Minamoto and Sugarawa are not honorific titles but clan names. They were extensively used (mostly without any link with the real family).

[cabowen]

I believe the correct term is Sugawara 菅原。。。

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

I believe the correct term is Sugawara 菅原。。。

 

 

Yes, sometimes my fingers don't want to obey my brain