Help me Identify this....

[RayE]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and new to these swords. My dad has a couple that he got in Japan right after WWII. I have one of them with me and took a few pictures. What can you tell me about this one?

 

The mei (I think that's what it's called) is enhanced with chalk so it stands out fairly well. This is a wakazashi, I think - total length is 26.5" (~67cm).

 

Are there other specifc things that you'd need to see in order to help me figure out what I've got?

 

Thanks for your help,

Ray

[RayE]

Help if you can - please.

 

Here are more pics:

 

Ray

[RayE]

By the way, I am only interested because it belongs to my father and because of the history behind it. We have no intention of using any information gained here for commercial purposes. It is pure curiosity. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

I've been looking over various Kanji tables and I honestly can't tell which way is up! I'm like a dog trying to read a wristwatch.

 

Thanks,

Ray E.

[kitsune]

Hi,

This blade is signed Musashi no kami Fujiwara MORIMICHI, Shinto swordsmith with a rank chû jô saku, Kanbun shinto (In the late 17th century).

[RayE]

Wow! Thank you very much. Any other facts or observations that any of you could offer would be very nice. I have no intention of selling this, but am trying to figure out what I should do with it. Polish, restoration, etc. Is it a piece worthy of any of that? I know you can't see it - but from the smith and perhaps his reputation do you have any guidance?

 

The blade is stained/dirty and lightly scratched in a couple of places. It has a slight smell of oil. There are dark patches, but no orange rust. It has been in my father's closet for the past 60 years. No abuse that I know of since he's had it.

 

Again - thanks very much for the translation. I sincerely appreciate it.

 

Ray E.

[kitsune]

Hi,

We must restore the blades whenever possible, but it is expensive. Meanwhile, you can remove dirt.

[RayE]

I have been trying to connect to

 

home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/

 

with no luck. Is there another site (maybe a mirror) where I can see this info? I've been trying not to bother you guys too much, but am not having any success on my own - and I'm usually pretty good at finding things on the 'net. Any ideas?

 

Thanks again for what I've received so far.

Ray E.

[Brian]

Dr Stein's site is a very popular one, and very often exceeds the bandwidth allocation daily. However it is usually up a few hours later, so the best is to just keep trying and you will get in soon enough.

There is also a mirror site here: http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

 

Regards,

Brian

[RayE]

Well, I've exhausted all of the available resources that I can find on the net and am really frustrated. I have not been able to come up with anything else on this smith. At Sho-Shin, I found a handful of Morimichis but nothing that really tells me anything. Are there other examples of his work that you can point me to? Where did he work? In one case, I see Owari, but he has Musashi in the mei. What does this mean? Can anybody unpack the meaning of the mei for me? I'm really sorry to ask - I like doing for myself - but I can't think of anything else to do short of trying to find and buy a bunch of books. What school was he from? Is/Was he a "good" and respected smith?

 

I know I need to post some pictures of the blade, and will as soon as I have the chance. May be you could tell me more after looking at them?

 

Thanks very much for whatever help you can give me. I REALLY appreciate it.

 

Ray E.

[Darcy]

the province in this case is just part of his title.

 

He works in Owari. He made some works with Daido, and originally comes from Settsu. This is from Fujishiro.

 

Since there is a Yoshimichi (Mishina) line in Settsu, I suspect that this smith has his origin with the Yoshimichi line and then brought that to Owari.

 

Maybe this will help you a bit in your study, look to the sword and see if it has Mishina school attributes.

[RayE]

Thanks for the info!

 

I took a lot of pictures tonight, but very few really show anything. I tried to capture what I can see of the hamon, but it's tough.

I'd call it Gunome (from http://token.cz/external/meiboku/guide/ ... /index.htm), which I believe is a typical Mishina style (?)

 

Mune = Ihori

Hada = Can't see it well, but probably Masame.

Sori = 9/16", 1.4cm (measuring from line from Mune -Machi to tip)

Nagasa = 20-7/16", 52cm

Nakago = 6", 15.2cm

Kasane @ Mune-machi = 7/32", 6mm

Mihaba @ Mune-Machi = 1-3/32", 2.8cm

Kissaki (tip to yokote) = 1-1/8", 2.9cm

 

Any more info from these pics?

 

Thanks,

RayE

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

There are several Morimichi;

 

Morimichi ha worked both in Mino and Owari, smiths of this school are descended from the late Koto Smith Muromichi of the Seki Muroya ha.

 

Two main families with parallel dévelopment each succeding to their own title:

Sugura no kami fujiwara Morimichi (shodai, nidai, sandai)

 

Musashi no kami fujiwara Morimichi (shodai nidai sandai)

 

worked in sue-seki style.

 

Darcy, it is not a eventuality, it is a fact, i have an oshigata of Suruga no kami Morimichi (nidai) wich reads Mishina Fujiwara Morimichi.

 

source: Mino-tô

[Darcy]

Thanks for the additional info Jacques... I'm happy to have a suspicion confirmed rather than rejected! That shows the usefulness of a full library, I have neglected mine in recent years .

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

Darcy... oshigata is here

 

RayE's blade seems to have been machi-okuri (kiri and takanoha yasurime) About yasurime takanoha is not in conformity with Mishina-ha but some smith in Morimichi-ha used them.

[RayE]

Just to make sure I got the terminology correct:

 

MACHI-OKURI - blade shortened by moving up the ha-machi and mune-machi Is this what you mean? If so, what do you see that brings you to this thought?

 

And the "yasurime takanoha" refers to the feather pattern of file marks on the nakago?

 

Thanks to all for your observations so far!

Ray

[Jacques]

MACHI-OKURI - blade shortened by moving up the ha-machi and mune-machi

 

Right,

So, i think that because the yasurime (file marks) are not the same all along the nakago; they are kiri (horizontal) and below takanoha (hawk feather) and the patina of the upper part (up the nakago-ana ) is more clear than the bottom.

[RayE]

You are wise!

 

Now that I'm looking for evidence of this, it is clear. Some of the best looking steel (in terms of polish) is from under the habaki. I can also see the relatively fresh steel right behind the Machi (both). It is interesting that the other side of the nakago (opposite the mei) also has the kiri marks, but they extend about twice as far down toward the tip as on the mei side.

 

It is also curious to me that in the original condition the nakago would seem to too "short" - could it have been mounted without a habaki? I believe the blade was shortened by almost exactly the length of the current habaki. Why might this have been done?

 

Finally (until I think of something else to bother you with!), what does this do to the value of this piece? In my mind, nothing - since it's value is all sentimental to me, but for others?

 

Thank you so much for your help. You have been very generous.

 

Ray

[Paul Martin]

It is interesting that the other side of the nakago (opposite the mei) also has the kiri marks, but they extend about twice as far down toward the tip as on the mei side.

 

This would have been done in order to adjust the nakago without damaging the inscription. If you look down from above the mune of the nakago, you may notice it taper slightly more on that side. It is an indication of a well carried out machi-okuri/suriage procedure.

 

Best