Assistance Needed Please....

[Cello]

So I need some help with this I read ...../....../mori/yoshi/... Would that be correct? I'm having trouble with the rest.

Thank you-

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Marcello,

Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi.

Grey

[Cello]

Thanks grey..... Does it look gimei to you?

[Grey Doffin]

Marcello,

Reading the mei was easy; researching the mei will take work and you should be the one to do it.  Go to google; bet you'll find examples you can compare with.  You'll learn something in the process also.

Grey

[Cello]

I started the process as soon as you gifted me the mei translation. So far I see none that are an exact match and I don't have a oshigata to compare to. I was just wondering if by the way it's cut does it look to be done correctly style wise??

[Surfson]

Haven't studied the mei, but how does the work in the blade look?   This maker had very wild hamon with sudareba, kikusuimon, lots of other features that would be helpful with the judgement.  

[Yoshimichi]

Dear Marcello:

 

When I collected Yoshimichi school blades, I put together a binder with copies of every oshigata I could find of the various generations of the Mishina and Osaka shinto line smiths who signed "Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi." In comparing your mei to the oshigata examples that I have, yours appears to have the most  characteristics of the mei/kanji examples of the Shodai (1st generation) Mishina line smith. Although the "Tan" kanji does not have the classic deeply curved  " bow" look to it that he is known for, if it is not gimei, and looking at just the kanji only, my vote would probably be for the Mishina line shodai smith. It would be great to see some photos of the blade and  hamon. Obviously, the mei alone is not enough to accurately assess the sword, but it is certainly a start. This line of swordsmiths is known for rather distinct characteristics, like the hamon style, yakidashi, etc. and someone will likely need to see the blade in hand to give you a better feel for which smith may have made the sword. As a start though, I believe Imura's Shinto Taikan might have a number of "Tamba no kami Yoshimichi" oshigata for comparison. This would probably be a good sword to bring to the S.F. Token Kai to get some input from those more knowledgable than I, if you are planning to attend. Ultimately, your best bet is to probably just submit it for shinsa and see what the NBTHK or NTHK experts say, assuming you are planning to keep it. Good luck on the research.  

 

Regards,

Bill E.Sheehan (Yoshimichi)