kusunokimasahige Posted November 7, 2008 Report Posted November 7, 2008 I came across this weird looking nakago on the internet, and was wondering wether anyone has ever seen such a stamp, let alone such kanji used in a mei... looks fake to me somehow but i dont know... KM Quote
Jacques Posted November 7, 2008 Report Posted November 7, 2008 Hi, It is the Ichiyo Aoi (Single Hollyhock Leaf). the mei reads Mondo no sho Masakiyo 主水正正清. looks genuine at first sight. Quote
stekemest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Posted November 7, 2008 Doesn't look fake to me, just an unusual writing style I guess. Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted November 7, 2008 Author Report Posted November 7, 2008 Interesting! I came across his name also in a retempering test article online, seems to be a Satsuma shinto smith. So does this stamp signify a Daimyo's forge? Or is it a designation for a Han? KM Quote
Jean Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 Mondo no sho Masakiyo is a very big name, at the very end of the 17th century/beginning of 18th century (b. 1670- d.1730), , he was a precursor of a revival of sword forging in late shinto period with Ippei Yasuyo (b.1680- d.1728), who at the young age of 42 collaborated to forge a blade for the eighth Tokugawa shogun (Yoshimune ~ ruled 1716-1745). At Shibahama goten (mansion of a noble), Yoshimune granted them the right to inscribe the design of a single hollyhock leaf (Ichiyo Aoi) on the tangs of their blades. (The hollyhock was the Tokugawa crest.) During his return from Kyoto, Yasuyo received the title shuma-no-kami There is somewhere in the Board a topic about him Quote
takakage Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 hello, after looking several mei of this smith, it seems gimei for me. more obvious is the kanji kiyo rather different and chisel strokes are too thick. Quote
Nobody Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 You might notice the several differences. Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted November 8, 2008 Author Report Posted November 8, 2008 Well....... (and this means slamming my head into a conctrete pavement........) I came across this yesterday: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0316781657 thinking nothing of it, i noticed it had ended early a few hours later... "The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the listing." AFTER WHICH I FELT LIKE A GIT NOT HAVING BID ON IT...... but well, saves 99 US$ doesnt it....... ? KM i did write him an email though that i was still interested in it..... no reaction..... Quote
Jacques Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 Hi, 99$ for this blade is cheap. After checking the signature, i think it could be gimei but yasurime and nakagojiri match and Masakiyo seems to have not been rigorous with his mei engraving. Quote
Brian Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 Yes, but the blade didn't sell for $99. It went back to the opening bid after the seller ended the auction early. Probably due to a private off-eBay offer as usual No great concern though anyways. Another "sleeper" wishful-thinking project blade that would have needed a full polish anyways. Brian Quote
shan Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 Hi All, I would struggle a little on that one, as so little of the blade is revealed and you never see the kissaki. Its almost like those sellers who take a good quality distance shot but then when you get a slightly closer image it strangely Blurrs into an unrecognisable item and you can see no detail.This "my camera is not very good" and the "i don`t know what it is but i was told it might be a Japanese sword" can only carry so far. I could show a Japanese sword to almost anyone and they would know it was Japanese or have a guess it was, they have been in the media enough and with "Kill bill" and all the other movies.....The bodyguard(kevin costner) etc etc ... I can understand ignorance of the mei and maybe the age but not the country of origin. The Japanese sword is a globally recognised shape and form IMHO. I think if a seller claims ignorance they can get away with a lot more flaws and problems."I don`t know what you mean lamination flaws,i said in the listing i know nothing about it and images were supplied and my camera is not very good" Regards Shan Quote
kusunokimasahige Posted November 8, 2008 Author Report Posted November 8, 2008 True Brian and also Shan, you are both right, however in this case there were NO bidders..... The out of ebay offers suck bigtime, and naught can be done about it.. What i as private person hate the most is being outbid by the power/massive commercial sellers... Where i save up for months to buy a trinket i would very much like to have, they crush any bid i place by their oh i dont care lets throw in another 1000 US$ attitude... KM Quote
Grey Doffin Posted November 8, 2008 Report Posted November 8, 2008 Us power/massive commercial sellers hate it when you private people bid on swords and make us pay even more. On a more serious note, I'm selling a wakizashi by another important smith, Yamato Daijo Fujiwara Masanori, no question about the mei being right (I think the Mondonosho Masakiyo is gimei), my price is reasonable, and there'll be no game playing like you'll get on ebay. Rather than taking a big chance with online auctions and more often than not wasting your money, there are some decent deals to be had on the For Sale/Trade/wanted forum here at NMB (look for my wakizashi there). Grey Quote
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