Sayagaki Help Please

[Mark S.]

So I may have a bit of a mess on my hands, but that will be for a future post.  Right now, I am having trouble with a few parts of a sayagaki translation.  As always I tried my best first.  Could you please confirm what I have and help with the missing.  One section of writing is worn so I added a pic to try to highlight the worn spot.  Thank you for your help.

Mark S.

 

 

 

[SteveM]

本国備後　（Hongoku Bingo) It means the swordsmith was originally from Bingo province. Slightly redundant in this case, since Moriyuki signed his swords as "Moriyuki from Bingo".

 

晩年津和野刀工 (? , Tsuwano tōkō) 　I can't read the first two. My guess is "晩年" (ban'nen), but admittedly its a stretch. The first one looks too far off the mark, but I can't imagine what it might be. Anyway, "ban'nen" means later in his life or towards the end of his life. Tsuwano is a location where Moriyuki worked (present day Shimane Prefecture). So I think this bit is saying "Moriyuki is a smith who spent his final years in Tsuwano" but my reading of the first two are very questionable. Stay tuned. 

[Mark S.]

Steve,

Your knowledge and willingness to help is always appreciated.  I don’t know if the mei helps or hurts, and I was going to wait because I had the strong urge to believe it is gimei, but I will attach it if it puts things in context.  Once again, this is my attempt at translating the mei.

[Mark S.]

Here is a better pic of mei and yasurime

[SteveM]

I don't have much information about Moriyuki. Having said that, there is nothing suspicious about the mei. Moriyuki used the go (pen name, or "art name") of Seiryūshi, which is the inscription on your sword. He was from the Goami school of Bingo, so that explains the inscription on the saya. The file marks look appropriate for a Shin-shintō piece. Sorry to say I do not know anything of this school and my references don't have anything on this smith. I can see some examples on the internet that have been certified "Tokubetsu Hozon". 

 

 

[Mark S.]

Thank you again Steve.  And now we get closer to the ‘mess’ (or disconnect between sayagaki and mei) I mentioned.  While I admit my reference materials may not be as complete as they should be, the latest “Goami School Moriyuki” I found was at the Sho-Shin website and that was at the end of the 1500’s.  Then, we jump to the 1800’s with the “Seiryūshi Moriyuki” mei. That’s over 200 years I can’t account for… unless I’m wrong.  I am also concerned with the little ‘jump’ in the kanji in the attached pic (red arrow).  Not sure if this is something that happens from time to time, or not sure if it is a red flag?  On the other hand, not sure this is the type of smith (not a big name) that would be a target for gimei?

 

[SteveM]

This presses hard on an issue that has been a red-hot topic these past couple of weeks; when should we write-off a signature as a fake? How suspicious is a "jump" in what should be a straight line? If a smith doesn't leave us with a lot of examples, how can we trust any of the signatures? Etc. 

 

According to this site below, Seiryūshi Moriyuki also signed as "Goami Tachibana Moriyuki". So the Goami appellation seems correct, even if your Moriyuki's link to Goami was more aspirational than it was practical.

https://www.e-sword.jp/katana/2210-1082.htm

 

The jump in the inscription is indeed a red flag for me, as is the horizontal stroke just above that vertical line. These are unacceptable in Japanese calligraphy. But as mentioned in other threads, if the sword matches the work of Moriyuki, the shinsa team may not be bothered by a wayward stroke. If the sword is a mismatch, they'll kick it out. 

 

In addition to the calligraphy mistakes, your sword's signature is dramatically different from the one above, but who knows what the significance of this is. Impossible to say without better reference material. As for the motivation to put a relatively unknown name on a sword; any name, even an obscure one, enhances a low-level sword, particularly for foreign buyers. As for the sayagaki, I think its a wash. I mean it does nothing to support or detract from the sword's authenticity. 

 

As with all swords, studying the blade itself is always better than trying to parse kanji strokes. Its just hard to do, and people prefer the shortcuts.