Daddy Cool Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 I wonder if someone could cast their eye over this signature - i just bought this sword which allegedly was surrendered to a Royal Navy Officer in Burma. Let me know if this photograph isnt good enough, and i will take some more. Any ideas or even partial translation would be massively appreciated! Thanks Chris ps. The seller claimed the signature reads "Bishu Osafune Honorimitsu" which i assumed to be a mispelling of "Bishu Osafune Norimitsu" - currently doing some googling and some of the Kanji look similar, but im not sure... Quote
Ray Singer Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 Bishu Osafune Sukesada. Not a well executed mei. Quote
Mark Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 mei is poorly written. My guess is BiShu Osafune SukeSada ( i think the Sada is correct but the Suke kanji is questionable) Quote
Daddy Cool Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Posted December 6, 2016 Thank you guys! If "SukeSada", my book suggest ones of three smiths, between 1492 and 1661 - does that sound right? The mei being poorly written - what does that indicate (generally) - a low quality smith? an apprentice? A forgery? If not "Suke", do you have any ideas what other maker it could be? Quote
Stephen Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 More like one of 18K smiths...lol..no for real... Lots of them...which book are you using. Quote
Daddy Cool Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Posted December 6, 2016 On 12/6/2016 at 2:38 PM, Stephen said: More like one of 18K smiths...lol..no for real... Lots of them...which book are you using. John M Yumoto's - but yeah, a bit more googling suggests there were Sukesada;s into the 1800's... What would be my next steps in trying to get a rough indication of the age? Quote
Kronos Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 1490-1590ish, there were about 25 smiths during that time signing in this manner. The quality varies considerably. Quote
Ray Singer Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 On 12/6/2016 at 2:31 PM, Daddy Cool said: The mei being poorly written - what does that indicate (generally) - a low quality smith? an apprentice? A forgery? The assumption being gimei (not an authentic signature). Still, as you asked about the working period here is example of different smiths and time periods where you can that mei used. http://nihontoclub.com/view/smiths/meisearch?type=All&mei_op=contains&mei=%E5%82%99%E5%B7%9E%E9%95%B7%E8%88%B9%E7%A5%90%E5%AE%9A 1 Quote
Daddy Cool Posted December 7, 2016 Author Report Posted December 7, 2016 Great - thanks a lot for the info guys. Quote
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