Yasuyo - Gimei And Date Translation

[growlingbear]

Hopefully you can help me...

 

I have been asked to help translate a family member's sword - it was bought many years ago and has been used to cut hedges in the last few years... The blade is rusty and no activity can be seen, but the edge has no major nicks, and the rust doesn't seem too deep. As my interest lies more in fittings I'm a bit out of my depth.

 

The sword:

 

Measurements are:

Total length (tip to tang): 86cm

Nagasa: 65cm

Sori: 0.6cm

Kasane: 0.7cm

Mihaba: 3.2cm

 

I have translated the mei as "主馬首藤原朝臣一平安代, Shume no kami fujiwara ason ichi no hira yasuyo". As this is a big name I am working on the assumption that it is probably gimei, but apart from online searching I don't have any good references. I'd appreciate comments on the validity or otherwise of the mei:

 

Where I am struggling is with the date. I believe the era is Kanen (寛延), 2nd year, then I am stuck with the next kanji. The following ones I think say 10th month, 5th day, but the one in the middle I can't work out:

 

Finally, assuming this is gimei, any idea why the date is Kanen 2 (1749), over 20 years after Yasuyo supposedly died? Seems a bit of an elementary mistake (assuming I've got the right date anyway).

 

Thanks in advance for your help, and let me know if you need other pictures.

 

James

[mywei]

Hello， I think it is 寛延二年巳十月五日 (Kan'en ni nen (tsuchinoto) mi jugatsu itsuka)

[Shugyosha]

Hi James,

 

With regard to the mei, it might be read "tiara ason Yasuuji" which might give you a different answer. Sorry "taira" - I'm on my phone and can't correct it.

[growlingbear]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Matt - I thought it might be something to do with the zodiac but couldn't work out how it fitted together. So it basically says Kan'en 2, year of the snake, 10th month 5th day.

 

John, I'm pretty sure it says Yasuyo - see this close up where the bottom kanji is clearer. 

 

I can't find anyone else who signs like this in Markus' index either, so I'm pretty sure it is Yasuyo. 

 

Anyone with any idea around gimei or not, especially given the date discrepancy?

Thanks,

 

James

[Shugyosha]

Hi James,

 

Apologies, you're absolutely right. 

 

Here's an example of one of his blades - picture number 3. https://markussesko.com/2015/11/09/shogunal-support-program/

 

According to Markus Sesko's Swordsmiths of Japan he was granted the right to use the mon shown in the picture in the same year as he received the Shume no kami title. I can't quite make out from the photo whether or not the mon is there but it would be suspicious if the title is included in the mei but not the mon.

 

Best,

John

[growlingbear]

Hi John

 

There's no mon on this sword which was also making me suspicious. 

 

I've seen the blades on Markus' site and also compared it to others online (this one for example is Juyo with the same signature: http://www.nbthk-gf.or.jp/img/kkk44-3g1.jpg).There are some differences in the mei so I'm assuming that this is gimei.

 

Thanks for your help,

 

James