Tsuka Mei

[Bruce Pennington]

Hey guys,

I've got 2 tsuka with the same mei. Any chance it's a name or a company name?

 

Interesting to find 2 tsuka clearly made by the same guy or shop.

[Jean]

Bruce,

 

I won’t call this a mei, but rather an inscription, tsuka being expendable they are not signed per se. There are no books on tsuka makers.

[Bruce Pennington]

Bruce,

I won’t call this a mei, but rather an inscription, tsuka being expendable they are not signed per se. There are no books on tsuka makers.

But it's likely to be the tsuka craftsman's name, right, rather than maybe a koshirae shop name?

[Jean]

In fact, I base my reasoning on the fact that Shirasaya are not signed, even by the best craftsmen. It can be the name of the maker or of the arsenal but on what purpose as tsuka are not (for gunto or war blades at least) necessarily work of art .

 

In fact, it can be a name rather than a signature (mei) but only someone as Koichi san or Morita san can perhaps decipher this.

[Bruce Pennington]

Ok, thanks Jean.

[Bryce]

G'day Bruce,

Thank you for posting this in the translation section. Hopefully someone can shed some light on it.

Cheers,

Bryce