Re: First sword

[Bond]

Good evening Gentlemen!

Further to my first post - http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18336, I would like to thank everyone who helped me - I have now bought my sword :-)

It is a nice, healthy and flawless katana!

Also, thanks to Ken, I started practicing iaido and I really enjoy it :-)

 

I was experimenting taking pictures of the blade - it is rather difficult to photograph subject. And I would like to share my first results below, hope you will like it :-)

 

 

Aleksandr

[SwordGuyJoe]

Okay - the mei is stumping me. I see gassan, something, ryu, something, hidekazu. Someone put me out of my misery? That can't be right.

 

PS: the sword is far better than the eBay stuff you were looking at.

[cabowen]

Naniwa ju Gassan Aoryushi Hidekazu

[runagmc]

Who is this? I don't have info on him... signing 1862... he's not in any of my Osaka Gassan info... or is this just an alternate mei of someone?

[Jean]

Aleksandr,

 

Concerning the pictures, I must confess I have seen a lot worse, mine for example.

[Bond]

Guys, thanks for your comments

[Ken-Hawaii]

Nice blade, Aleksandr. Also glad to hear that you have started training in iaido. Your sword will mean a lot more to you once you understand how it is really used. Which ryuha did you start, if I may ask?

 

Ken

[Bond]

Thank you Ken!

It is an exciting new learning :-)

And regarding the school, I need to check with my sensei, I will PM you :-)

 

Aleksandr

[Bond]

Hello guys,

I was playing with the lights and would like to share some horimono pictures with you.

It is difficult to capture the volume, depth and the very fine details of the carving. And I still feel that the photos do not do it the right justice.

 

I used to work with metals earlier - it is really amazing how the master curved this on a hard steel with hand tools.

[Nathansan]

Beautiful sword you did well.

[Bond]

Thank you Nathansan

[Brian]

Good photos, and nice looking horimono. Not top grade, but above the level where you suspect it is hiding something. Decent job.

 

Brian

[Bond]

Thanks for your comment Brian

[shizuo]

What a beautiful sword you've got there specially the symbol once you understand the symbol you and the sword then you will appreciate what you have.

[Tcat]

Good sword and horimono there... congrats on your first buy Aleksandr, very nice choice

[Bond]

Alex & Shizuo, thank you guys :-)

 

Shizuo, it would be great if you could share anything that can help me understanding it.

Many thanks in advance!

[Darcy]

I'd actually like to have a look at the area just below the machi. It looks kind of funky to me where the patina starts.

[Bond]

Thanks for your interest Darcy, I think I know what you mean.

I took those photos the very first day as I brought the sword. Later I found some kind of stuff under the habaki also few smaller spots on the mune. It looked like old dried oil or grease. I took liberty and successfully cleaned it, please see new nakago scans attached:

It is machi-okuri, about one centimetre or a bit less.

[Bond]

I am summarising all the bits and pieces of the information that I have and also some of the questions that I would like to ask - will be posting it soon.

Hope you guys can help me finding the answers

[Tcat]

I took liberty and successfully cleaned it

 

Held my breath when I read this and clicked the pic but you did well

 

shizuo, I hate to be a nag but please sign your posts according for forum guidelines.

[Gunome]

It is machi-okuri, about one centimetre or a bit less.

I don't think it is machi okuri. If so, the habaki would be over the mei :?

[Bond]

Hi Sebastien!

I should always use "in my opinion" or "I think" :-)

And I thought so because habaki is now about 5mm above the top of the file marks line, plus there is an old filled mekugi hole in the shirasaya about 8 mm from the new one

[Bond]

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I have been digging into the meaning of the mei and the story of the blade and I am stuck now at the following:

 

Mei:

浪華住 月山青龍子秀一

浪華住 - Naniwa (Osaka)

月山 - Gassan

青龍子 - “blue dragon son” (why? is it related to horimono?)

秀一 - Hidekazu (smith)

Dated to second year of Bunkyū - 1862.

 

Measurements:

Nagasa: 66,4cm

Nakago: 19,7cm

Kasane: 7mm

Width at machi: 3,2cm

Width at yokote: 2cm

Kissaki: 3,7cm

 

From what I have found (please correct me if I am wrong), the shape is standard for the period. According to Hawley’s “Temper lines in Japanese swords”, similar ko-chioji hamon and round boshi was found on both Korekazu (Ishido school) and Tomohide swords. In general sword is from the late EDO when (again, correct me if I am wrong) many smith worked by themselves without following a particular school and copying old Koto swords or whatever they liked to copy. And my katana was papered by Juho Token Kenkyukai, attributed to Hidekazu.

 

 

Regarding Hidekazu, according to Markus Sesko, he studied first under Tomohide and then also under Korekazu. He was active during Keio, worked in Oshu and died in 1887.

 

Then, Tomohide first worked in Sayama, eastern part of Osaka, which if I correctly understand is about 25 km from Naniwa - more central Osaka. Later during Meiji he moved to Musashi province, where also worked Korekazu - pls see the map:

So I would guess that Hidekazu first worked with Tomohide in Osaka somewhere around 1840th-1860th(?).

At the same time Gassan worked in Osaka and it is known that he was the teacher of several other swordsmiths.

And my sword was made in Osaka, plus it has Gassan’s kanji on it.

 

 

The question is why?

Maybe Hidekazu was also among Gassan’s students?

Or maybe Gassan taught Hidekazu to curve the horimono?

Or maybe kanji should be read somehow differently?

 

 

I am most grateful for any clues, references or other help shedding some light on this

[John A Stuart]

It may be the smith in Marcus' or Hawley's books or another smith altogether. Neither mention the use of the name 青龍子 Seiryuushi which is not related to the horimono theme, I'm sure. John

[Surfson]

That looks like a very nice sword Aleksandr - you did very well (assuming you paid a fair price). Did you say that you are using it for Iaito? It looks a bit more like a collector's blade than one that typical Iaito practitioners swing to me. Cheers, Bob

[Bond]

Alex, thanks and believe me - I was super carefull :-)

I used a microfiber and a spirit for the cleaning

 

 

John, thanks for your comment, and that is the reason why I am searching for the information.

Regarding Seiryushi, if I correctly understand this is some kind of additional and made up name, so called gō. Smiths used to change it sometimes. I can see Hawley's translations/explanations of different gō, but how they used to come up with these names? Why for example its a golden dragon son or a heavenly kings something? What is the logic or a story behind?

In my case, could it also be that the horimono was curved because of such gō?

 

 

Bob, thanks :-)

And I am not using and not planning to use it for Iaido. Iaido came as a big and free bonus to my new hobby of enjoying nihonto :-)

Btw, if I am not mistaken, Japanese have a separate word for it (enjoying nihonto) and also for enjoying the moon - very nice!