Shirasaya translation

[cseymour24]

I've inherited a sword from my late grandfather and was recommended to post about it here!  

 

Here is the full sword, with closeups in this imgur album:

 

https://imgur.com/VeFODq4

 

https://imgur.com/a/wpXrHSm

 

 

 

 

[Ray Singer]

Your sword has been attributed to Bizen Unsho.

[ChrisW]

Welcome to the board! Please make sure to put your name in your signature line so we know how to address you!

[cseymour24]

Your sword has been attributed to Bizen Unsho.

 

Thank you! I understand Unsho is a valuable smith?  I am currently researching the NBTHK and how to go about appraisal. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ray Singer]

https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/UNJ12

[SteveM]

備前国雲生摺上無銘時代文保頃　－　Bizen-no-kuni Unshō suriage mumei. Jidai: Bunpō-koro

長貮尺貮寸七寸有之　－　Nagasa: nishaku nisun nanabu (ari kore)

代金子参百五拾枚　－　Daikinshi sanbyaku gojū mai

 

 

As Ray says, attributed to Unshō of Bizen, around Bunpō era (1317-1319). The rest is kind of self explanatory with a little searching - it describes the length and the value.

[Gakusee]

Well, Chris S, Unsho is a fairly decent designation, if confirmed nowadays. Not something that is too faked (eg Masamune, etc or some very topmost Bizen). Unfortunately the sword is in a very poor state of polish to confirm anything with these photos. The motohaba seems a bit narrow and it might have been somewhat polished down over the centuries. But there still seems to be enough hamon on it.

Quoting per Markus Sesko:

UNSHŌ (雲生), 1st gen., Kagen (嘉元, 1303-1306), Bizen – “Bizen no Kuni Ukai-gō-jūnin Unshō saku”

(備前国宇甘郷住人雲生作), “Unshō” (雲生), “Bizen no Kuni-jū Unshō” (備前国住雲生), founder of the Un group, 

he lived in Bizen´s Ukai district (宇甘), there exists a date signature from the second year of Kagen (1304) which bears 

the information “made at the age of 65” what calculates his year of birth as Ninji one (仁治, 1240), it is said that he 

signed first with the name Kunitomo (国友) and that he and Kuniyoshi went around Genkō (元享, 1321-1324) to Kyōto 

to work their for Emperor Godaigo (後醍醐, 1288-1339), they dreamed one night that a hamon turned out to look like 

floating clouds (jap. kumo/un, 雲), the very next day they hardened such a hamon and because Gotoba had never seen 

such an interpretation and was very pleased, he granted them the names “Unshō” (雲生, about “born from the clouds”) 

and “Unji” (雲次, about “those who came from the clouds”), Unshō´s workmanship orientates within the Bizen-mono

rather towards the Yamashiro tradition which would support the legend that they worked in Kyōto, densely forged ko-

itame with utsuri in combination with a suguha, also a somewhat standing-out ko-itame with a suguha-ko-midare in ko-nie-deki, 

jō-saku rated smith ( check Fujishiro’s Koto volume for rating meaning)

 

What you need to realise is that you have a very old shirasaya (hundreds of years old) , and it is of the daimyo inventory type. In other words, not one of the 20th century expert sayagaki type but a sayagaki which mentions  valuation of 350 gold coins. That value seems too high to me but it is a very  valuable historic  reference.

 

if you decide to have the blade repolished and have a new shirasaya made, please keep this old one. They are very rare nowadays. It is likely that the blade had an old Honami paper valuing it at 350 gold coins but that paper might have been lost. 

[Peter Bleed]

But. Mike, isn't that a Showa date?

Peter

[Gakusee]

Peter, you are right. I think I can now see Showa 17? But I think the shirasaya with the original sayagaki has been messed with and several people wrote onto it and added stuff to the original sayagaki. I think I can see different handwriting. 
 

Or it could be that someone rewrote what was on an old saya and reproduced it here. 

 

As you can see someone even put in brackets that the blade was 620 years old too, which again would put the time of some of that writing in the 1940s. 
 

A bit of a pity the saya and sayagaki has been messed with and damaged but still valuable in my view. 

[Robert Mormile]

Chris,

 

Adding to what others provided, this sayagaki is a certification of authenticity.  It is dated 昭和貳拾壱年四吉日 or Showa 21 which corresponds to 1946.  It is purported to be written by 白水飯波 Hakusui Inami who was a well-respected sword dealer of the early 20^th century.  His grandson still runs their gallery in Toranomon, Tokyo.  They are very accommodating and professional people.  You might ask them to provide and opinion on wheather the sayagaki is that of Hakusui Inami or not.  Here is their contact information:

 

http://www.japansword.co.jp/

 

Best Wishes,

Robert

[Peter Bleed]

Indeed, I thought this was an Inami attribution. Hakusui-san sold lots of swords to lots of GI's  and his wonderful book did a great deal to establish sword appreciation.

Peter

[Darcy]

Inami Hakusui ran Japan Sword.

I was just at his shop yesterday talking to his son Ken who now runs the shop.

 

An attribution to Unsho is not very aggressive so may be an honest opinion. The blade should be looked at and polished and put to modern shinsa.

[cseymour24]

Thank you all for your assistance! I have contacted Robert Benson, and he has agreed to clean the sword enough to examine it. I will be sending the sword to him this week. I'll keep you updated.

 

Mr Benson did mention that "the Sayagaki is by Inami Hakusui is not reliable", saying that over the years since 1964 he has never seen one of their appraisals that was accurate. Is that the general consensus around here?