virtual Kantei ;-)

[Guido]

After discussing all the pro's and con's of photo and "real" Kantei, I'm presenting one today that should come as close to the real thing as the internet allows - I hope!

 

Btw, it's a well known smith. Mr. Tanobe wrote in the Sayagaki that this is not only a *typical* work of him, but also one of his masterpieces.

 

(Sorry for the crappy editing job with the Habaki and Tsuka, but I thought it's more realistic than simply cutting off the Nakago, or erasing the Mei.)

 

Measurements:

length 75.5 cm

Sori 1.85 cm

Motohaba 3.16 cm

Sakihaba 2.37 cm

 

 

 

[DirkO]

OK I'm a total beginner at this (firsttimer actually so go gently on me ), but I'll bite :-) I'm not afraid of being wrong.

 

 

Nanbokucho period

Shinogi-zukuri

Torii-Zori

O-kissaki

Horimono : shin no kurikara + kaen fudo

Ko-mokume hada ?

Ko-choji hamon with tobiyaki

Yakuzime boshi ?

 

I'll take an "educated guess" on Rai Kuniyuki...

[takakage]

end kamakura or nanbokucho, horimono looks like bizen, may be kanemitsu

[dkirkpatrick]

Hey, just lurking about as usual :D

 

This looks more Shinto to me in sugata and I think I see a good deal of masame in the shinogi so gittin" in my books I am going to go on a limb with my first ever kantei bid of Etchu Masatoshi (shodai). For some reason Kunihiro jumped in my head when I saw this but one guess per customer! Thanks for this excercise by the way, I will try to "lurk less" and be a little more participatory on the board as I understand that is how the knowledge and passion of Nihonto gets into ourselves and others.

 

Doug

[Guido]

Hmmm, three days up, over 180 views, only three bids, and a deafening silence from the usual suspects - it's either my bad breath, or something else that I'm doing wrong.

 

In any case, the following should point the Kantei newcomers in the right direction, especially since the pictures seem to be not clear enough:

 

Ko-itame Hada that almost becomes Masame in the Shinogi-ji, Notare-ba mixed with Gunome, and there are Tobiyaki, Kinsuji and Chikei.

 

Long swords with Ō-Kissaki and wide Mihaba were of course made in the NambokuchŠperiod, and there was a renaissance of this style in the Momoyama period, rather like copies of Ō-Suriage NambokuchŠblades, and again later in the ShinshintŠperiod.

[Guido]

... one guess per customer!

Only in the first round of bids, one can change his mind even in "real" Kantei. So far your bid is "Kuni iri yoku".

[Stephen]

it's either my bad breath, or something else that I'm doing wrong.

had the same feeling when i asked for kantei on ricks Wak? Otanto fig it was members dislike for me not the blade.

[Brian]

Paranoia must be the first sign of ageing

Sometimes when it seems like few ppl have a clue..then that is exactly what is happening

I don't know where to go yet with this one (as I did with the tanto) so I don't think it is educational to take a wild guess until I am able to hit the books and at least do more than throw darts at the kantei dartboard

Keep it running for a bit, I am sure many of us are still doing some research.

 

Brian

[Stephen]

well like with ricks blade time was let but no one came back....as far as old age goes want to challange me to a triathlon buster.

[dkirkpatrick]

Kuni iri on my first kantei bid? Yeah me! OK then, because we now know it's Yamashiro kuni looking at various oshigata I am toggling between Kunihiro and Kunimichi but am going to say Kunihiro. Probably not for a good reason but I think maybe that high quality detailed horimono came from a closer association with Myoju. So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! C'mon Atari! Thanks Guido!

 

Doug

[Ted Tenold]

No, Guido it's not your breath. Well.......it's your aftershave. Give up the "Hai Karate" my friend... :lol:

 

Beautiful sword. You've only been in China for a few weeks and already found find this in one of those legendary storehouses, eh?

 

I've been mulling this one over for a couple days actually. My first consideration was the habaki covers the lower part of the horimono so I was on the fence as to whether the hori were ubu or atobori, second guessing how judiciously those image modifications actually were done. So, I'm laying my trust and good faith in Guido's accurate photoshop skills, going with a Keicho Shinto sword that may have been slightly machiokuri. The boshi was also throwing me a loop and it also appeared that there might be some faint utsuri in there, but that may just be the migrain meds I've been taking for the past two days. Presence of mizukage would solidify my choice for otherwise. Anyways, I'm off the fence now, and going with my bid to:

 

 

Dewa Daijo Kunimichi

 

 

Monday was a holiday in the US. Maybe others are traveling or away from books also. I wouldn't be too critical on folks for not participating. It in no way discounts the efforts that Guido made to put this up and I'm sure it's appreciated. I do. Thanks Guido.

 

Brian, as I like to tell my wife; "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get me!". So, it's not age... maybe the "Old Spice" but not the age. Care to offer a bid on this one in between triathelons Stephen?

[John A Stuart]

I have no books and can only kantei off the top of my head but, will posit; Mishina school, maybe even Tango no kami Kanemichi, so, shinto age, what Keian period perhaps? Good luck, guys. John

[Stephen]

im not as good as all the experts ...but i give a guess to shinshinto one of the Gassan boys

[Brian]

When I was looking at this earlier, the boshji and hamon were saying Mishina school to me, but

Sugata and age sure is hard to judge without the nakago (like formal kantei) and I was also trying to judge if it is suraige or ubu. Horimono make me also think maybe a slight bit machi okuri like Ted offered.

Without the start of the hamon, hard to see, but I think I can see a shinto yakidashi there, which also points me to a Shinto. But having a sugata that could be Nambokucho, Shinshinto or Momoyama doesn't help a lot in dating it

It looks too fresh to be Nambokucho, so I am leaning towards Momoyama. Lots of boshi..almost ichimai. Is that mura-nie that we are seeing in the close-up?

If I had to bid right now, I'd go with Horikawa Kunihiro.

 

Brian

[takakage]

that's rigth, keicho shinto swords looks like suriage nanbokucho so i agree with kunihiro with horikawa horimono.

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

it's either my bad breath, or something else that I'm doing wrong.

 

Something else (at least for me). Very busy with my son and watching the yearly maintenance works on my house... :|

 

 

Ted is very close but I dare to differ. :D

Horikawa Kunihiro is better IMHO, because of the combination of the Horimono

fits better then kunimichi. But might be this is one of the rare Katana with Horimono from him.

 

[Eric H]

This long sword with koshizori, chukissaki nobiru exhibits a flowing itame hada and masake in the shinogi-ji. The hamon displays ko-gunome as ko-choji and sake-ashi and undulates modestly. The midare-komi boshi almost in ichimai with stripes of nie and pointed on the ura-side. The presence of horimono on both sides of the blade seems to play an important role in this kantei.

 

The sugata points to Keicho-Shinto. It's difficult to examine the qualtiy of these horimono's, possibly they cover the motohaba partially. They can lead to Umetada Myoju and Horikawa Kunihiro and their followers.

 

I've never seen a pic of a Katana by Myoju.

Kunihiro's hadame is in general hadadatsu.

Fine horimono's apart from the two masters are known by Dewa Daijo Kunimichi and Izumi no Kami Kunisada. Oya Kunisada has generally straight yakidashi parallel to the ha, sometimes tobiyaki in the monouchi and a smooth curved boshi with kaeri.

 

I'm currently in the holidays without access to my books.

 

My guess is : YAMASHIRO no KAMI KUNIKIYO

 

.

[Guido]

Another hint: the Horimono were not carved by the smith (but they are contemporary to the blade).

[Stephen]

and the answer is??????

[Brian]

Don't give the answer yet..let's at least give it the weekend so that the business types can hit the books. I want to look closer at it too. Thanks Guido.

 

Brian

[uwe]

Hmmm....

obviously machi okuri and probably shortened also! My belly told me Nambokucho, but I don`t trust him, because it looks to healthy :?

Uwe

[Guido]

As kind of a pre-answer I post pics of the Nakago - maybe some want to try to translate it. A more detailed explanation will follow tomorrow.

 

 

[Eric H]

Omote : Mino Kuni Seki Junin Daido Saku

Ura : -?- Bingo Kuni Junin San (Yoshi ?)-?-?- Daijo Hiro

: Tensho -?- Hachi Nen Go Gatsu Kichi Jitsu

 

Eric

[Guido]

The sword is signed

Omote: Mino Kuni Seki JÅ«nin DaidÅ Saku 美濃國関ä½äººå¤§é“作

Ura: Nushi Bingo Kuni JÅ«nin Miyoshi Shikibu-TayÅ« Hiroâ–¡ 主備後國ä½äººä¸‰å‰æ­¦éƒ¨å¤§è¼”廣□

TenshÅ JÅ«hachinen Gogatsu Kichijitsu 天正拾八年五月å‰æ—¥ (May 1590)

 

DaidŠis said to be the ninth generation grandson of Shizu SaburŠKaneuji, the founder of Mino-den and pupil of Masamune. He belonged to the Muroya group of the seven schools of Seki (Seki-shishi-ryū), founded by Kaneari.

 

He originally signed Kanemichi, and received the character ÅŒ 大 from Emperor ÅŒgimachi during the 12'th year of Eiroku (1569) after presenting him with a sword, changing his signature to ÅŒ-Kanemichi. After receiving the title Mutsu no Kami in Eiroku 17, or 1574, he changed his name again to DaidÅ.

 

Also during Eiroku, he moved to NishinotÅin in KyÅto with his sons Iga no Kami Kinmichi, Izumi no Kami Rai Kinmichi, Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi , and EtchÅ« no Kami Masatoshi, making swords for Oda Nobunaga. Together with Omi no Kami Hisamichi (the pupil of Iga no Kami Kinmichi) the brothers were to become known as the KyÅto Gokaji, or five great swordsmiths of KyÅto, also forming the largest group of ShintÅ smiths making up the Mishina school.

 

DaidÅ's work period dates around the transition years in the Azuchi-Momoyama period where KotÅ gave way to ShintÅ.

 

This sword is a ChÅ«mon-uchi, or order made blade, for a Miyoshi Hiro-â–¡ (second character of the given name lost due to shortening), who held the title of Shikibu-TayÅ« (which also can be read Shikubu-Taifu), and lived in Bingo province. TayÅ« is an imperial government title (ChÅtei Hyakkan), given to the deputy chief of the ShikibushÅ (ministry of ceremonies that examined the merits of officials in reference to their advancement, fixed rewards, and superintended universities).

 

There are Buddhist related Horimono on both sides of the blade by a Horimono specialist. Although they are contemporary to the blade, they have to be considered "ato" since they were not engraved by DaidÅ himself.

 

The Kurikara (also called KenmakiryÅ«) on the Omote is a manifestation of FudÅ MyÅÅ, the Buddhist Wisdom King. It has its origins in a contest between FudÅ and a non-Buddhist heretic in the course of which he transformed himself into a dragon, and threatened to devour the sword into which the heretic had changed himself.

 

The Bodhisattva JizÅ on the Ura, accompanied by the Sanskrit character "KA" that stands for him, works to ease the suffering and shorten the sentence of those serving time in hell. He is the patron saint of expectant mothers, children, firemen, travelers, pilgrims, and the protector of all beings caught in the six realms of reincarnation.

 

Both FudÅ and JizÅ are two of the five main deities of the Shingon sect.

 

 

Here's the Sayagaki, written by Mr. Tanobe:

 

 

A big "thank you" goes to Koichi Moriyama for proof-reading my transcription, and pointing out alternative readings and the differences to its reading in more modern Japanese. However, any possible mistakes in the translation are entirely my fault.

 

濃刕関ä½å¤§é“

nÅshÅ« seki no jÅ« daidÅ

 

少シ磨上ä¹å­—銘並ニ天正拾八年紀有之

sukoshi suriage, kujimei narabi ni tenshŠjūhachi nenki kore ari

Slightly Suriage, and there is a nine character Mei and a date of TenshÅ 18 (1590).

 

備後國ä½ä¸‰å‰å¼éƒ¨å¤ªè¼”廣□ノ需ニ應ジタル作也

bingo no kuni jÅ« miyoshi shikibu tayÅ« hiroâ–¡ no motome ni Åjitaru saku nari

This is a work made at the order of Miyoshi Shikibu-Tayū Hiro□, resident of Bingo.

 

陸奥守大é“åŒäººãƒ‹å€™

mutsu no kami daidÅ dÅjin ni sÅrÅ

This is the same smith as Mutsu no kami DaidÅ.

 

豪快ナル姿態ヲ示シ特色アル湾ニ互乃目交ジリノ刃文ヲ焼キ

gÅkai naru shitai o shimeshi, tokushoku aru notare gunome majiri no hamon o yaki,

The sword shows an imposing Sugata, and its Hamon is typical Notare mixed with Gunome.

 

é›éŒ¬ãƒ¢å®œæ•·ç·é«”ニåŒå·¥ãƒŽè¦‹è™•ãƒ²é¡•ç¤ºã‚·ã‚¿ãƒ«ä½³å“也

tanren mo yoroshiku, sÅtai ni dÅkÅ no midokoro o kenji shitaru kahin nari

Its Jigane is also very good. On the whole, this is a masterpiece that shows the smith’s characteristics.

 

刃長貳尺四寸ä¹åˆ†å¼±æœ‰ä¹‹

hachŠni-shaku yon-sun kyū-bu jaku kore ari

Length: a little less than 2 Shaku 4 Sun 9 Bu.

 

干時戊å­æš¦å¦‚月下浣

toki ni tsuchi-no-e ne koyomi kisaragi gekan

At the end of February in 2008.

 

探山觀並誌

tanzan kan narabi ni shirusu

Tanzan observed and wrote.

[Ford Hallam]

Beautiful blade, Guido.

 

One thing that strikes me is the way the hamon appears to form around the dragon horimono on the omote. Is this a true reflection of the hamon or has the hadori added to the effect? The reason I ask is that it seems to me that the hamon may have been conceived in this way specifically to accommodate the carving. This suggests that the design and layout of the carving was planned from the start.

 

thanks, Ford

[Brian]

Thanks for a good exercise Guido. I don't think I would have gotten to Daido easily, but I should have been paying closer attention to the Mino characteristics and the hataraki. Harder without a nakago as in real kantei :D

Beautiful sword in every sense. I find Ford's observation very interesting too.

 

Brian

[Guido]

Although this sword is signed "resident of Seki, Mino province", ist was made when Daidô already lived in Kyôto. That's why bids to other smiths of the Mino-den in the Momoyama period receive a "Kuni Iri Yoku". Ujifusa, Ujisada, Ujinobu and the Akasaka Senjuin school would be "Dozen". Gassan is "Tori Yoku", but the one bid going to Shinshintô is "Jidai Chigai".

 

The Mino characteristics are still there, but the Jihada is very dense in comparison to Muromachi work, and the Gunome is incorporated in Notare and without Togari. There is also more Nie and Nie-based Hataraki than found in earlier Mino blades.

 

Nambokuchô is of course the first thought when looking at the Sugata, but it's too healthy for that age, and the Horimono don't fit (assuming they are contemporary to the blade). One also usually would not find Masame in the Shinogi-ji.

 

There are two points I would like to investigate further, and I'm grateful for any input on the matter:

 

A) Daidô rarely used his title of Mutsu no Kami. Considering how much effort it took to receive a title, and how proud most smiths were of it, I find this remarkable. Even if he omitted it due to the exalted rank of the person who ordered this blade, it still doesn't explain all the other blades that lack his title.

 

B) To find the Horimono, or even Bonji, of Jizô on a blade is *etremely* rare. In fact, this is the only sword I ever saw in all of my years of studying Nihontô that I encountered with this deity. Even if Mr. Miyoshi was a devoted follower of the Shingon sect, it's an odd choice.

[Guido]

One thing that strikes me is the way the hamon appears to form around the dragon horimono on the omote. Is this a true reflection of the hamon or has the hadori added to the effect?

Judging from the true Hamon as can be seen in the Oshigata, it indeed seems that it narrows down (as compared to the average width of the upper part of the blade) to accomodate a Horimono. If swords could only speak ...

[Ted Tenold]

Excellent exercise Guido. Very informative, thank you. I thought about Mishina lineage for a fleeting moment, but still did not even consider Daido, and even if I had, the horimono would have cast serious doubts again.

 

Is there any speculation on who may have carved the hori based on stylistic approach? As you pointed out, very unusual indeed!

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

About the Jizo horimono, according the NBTHK review, there is one on a blade made by Heianjo Nobukuni, This blade is in the Itsukushima Shrine.