Signature

[vajo]

I failed complete reading this signature.

Any idea?

 

[SteveM]

遊囗家囗

 

is my guess. The final one looks like a cross between 射 and 駒. I don't think its either of those. 

 

[vajo]

First one ryuken?

[SteveM]

I don't think so. Maybe one of our native speakers will lend a hand. 

[Bugyotsuji]

家朋　Ietomo has just been suggested to me by a native speaker.

[vajo]

This way?

 

遊囗家朋

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Nicely illustrated！

[vajo]

Thanks Piers but what does it mean?

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, Chris, the photo looked like it might be part of a tsuba, so I checked all the possible readings of 家朋 against the (limited) Kinko lists that I have here, but drew a blank. Thus I cannot answer that question, sadly. 

As to the first character(s), I am flummoxed.

[vajo]

Thanks a lot for your afford Piers.

 

The good is i learned a new word - flummoxed! 

 

I tried to find out it in my books and the old ones like that from the oeder collection. But i failed.

[vajo]

I tried to make it a little more sharp.

 

[SteveM]

I think we can rule out 遊. It's got to be something else. 

[vajo]

遊 for the first kanji Steve?

[SteveM]

Yes, the first kanji on the tsuba doesn't look like 遊 . Actually I can't tell what the radical for the first kanji is supposed to be.

Sanzui? Shinnyō? Kind of looks like both, but the balance seems way off for sanzui, that's why I was thinking the radical was shinnyō and the whole kanji might be 遊 (sometimes used in art names). But looking at it again, I think my first idea was wrong. I don't know what it could be. 

[vajo]

I have recieved the tsuba now and in hands.

 

[vajo]

 (sorry for the kidding)

[SteveM]

First one is not at all what I was thinking, but I still can't read it. Second one... 若 ? 

 

Sorry, still not much help. 

[vajo]

No problem Steve i appreciate your help much. Thanks for it.

I'm total confused about myself because in all books i didn't found nothing. 

I got the tip from Ray to search in the seiruyken direction. But i failed too. Nothing similar there.

 

And without knowing what it is written i didn't know where to search else.

[Brian]

Maybe @k morita can assist? I don't know of anyone else who can read this style of script.

[vajo]

Thanks Brian. 

[Nobody]

I can only guess.

The first one - 熊 ?????

[MauroP]

Could be somethig like 熊谷囗明 (Kumagai ...iaki)?

See: https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/6227c6f39ad54c9eb403554d0d309267

[k morita]

Yes,   Kumagai  Yoshiaki  (熊谷義明)　　

[vajo]

Wow. Incredible. Thanks a lot for that help.