Iga no Kami Minamoto ??????in Tachi mounts. Help please.

[Matsunoki]

A very frustrating suriage!

Please can anyone offer an opinion on the smith and period etc?

Assuming it’s not gimei (yes I know - big assumption) the title Iga no Kami and also Minamoto narrows it down but my library and detailed knowledge are both lacking. Polish is old Japanese but tired and scuffed.
A totally untouched sword in “found in a shed” condition.

It looks Shinto to my inexperienced eyes, very tightly forged (Muji?) with well cut bohi. No obvious flaws. Hada not discernible, hamon is wide suguha in nioi. Nie only visible in boshi. 
The koshirae are very dirty and best left as they are I think. The silk under the Ito nor the ito itself will not survive any attempt to clean it I fear.

Nagasa 66.5 cm but originally a fair bit longer

Motohaba 3.2cm

Sakihaba 2.3 cm

Motokasane 8mm

Many thanks for looking.

All the best

Colin

 

[xiayang]

Perhaps Iga no Kami Minamoto Kanemichi (伊賀守源包道)?

 

The signature on yours looks very similar to this example (and the yasurime seem to match as well).

 

[Grey Doffin]

A situation like this is one where the Index of Japanese Sword Literature on jssus.org can be quite helpful. Go to the index of swordsmiths and search for iga kami; the result will be all instances of smiths who signed with that title and made it into the many references included in the index.

Grey

[Matsunoki]

23 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

. Go to the index of swordsmiths and search for iga kami;

Thanks Grey. I have done that and got “no results”. I guess because it’s a swordsmiths list and I haven’t got the smiths name??

I did find a list of Iga no Kami on Shoshin.com (copyright so cannot reproduce here) but I’m asking here hoping someone can narrow it down for me. My library is very lacking but my enthusiasm isn’t!

All the best

Colin

[Matsunoki]

2 hours ago, xiayang said:

The signature on yours looks very similar to this example (and the yasurime seem to match as well).

Jan, thank you so much. Very kind of you. I am never sure how much deviation we can accept when comparing Mei but as you say, it is very similar with only a couple of small variations and the yasurimei as you point out are matching. I don’t have enough knowledge to commit for certain but if I were a betting man………

Thanks again. All the best. Colin

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi Colin, another great find and lovely Tachi mounts. Would love to see more of the Koshirae.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Colin,

You got no results because you searched for Iga no Kami. Try Iga Kami.

Grey

 

[Matsunoki]

10 hours ago, Grey Doffin said:

You got no results because you searched for Iga no Kami. Try Iga Kami.

Thanks Grey…. I did try that….”no results” again. 

 Being persistent I tried several times and got the same result. I believe that is evidence of stupidity according to one definition!?🙂

All the best. 
Colin.

[Matsunoki]

11 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Hi Colin, another great find and lovely Tachi mounts. Would love to see more of the Koshirae.

Thanks John. This sword was seriously grubby when I acquired it and I’ve gently cleaned the saya and the metalwork. Can’t touch the ito or the silk beneath it though. The grime is rather ingrained.

The whole sword was a “time capsule” but remarkably the blade was totally unscathed and none of the hardware had got lost. The tsuka is still a perfect tight fit.

Here are a few (not very good) images of the koshirae. 
All the best. Colin

[Matsunoki]

[Grey Doffin]

Strange. I get 12 results with a search of iga kami.

Grey

[Matsunoki]

7 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

Strange. I get 12 results with a search of iga kami.

I must be doing something wrong. Do I have to be signed in or a member?

Screen shots of what I put in and what it gives me…….

 

[Geraint]

Colin.

 

I'm sure you have tried this but click on the blue link on the page you show and see if that helps.

 

Really nice thing to find, just been clearing the parents in law's house and the only thing I've found in a garden shed are some rusty shears!

 

All the best.

[Matsunoki]

Thanks Geraint, I tried that and got this partial page that won’t load fully……maybe because I’m using an iPad??

Anyway, appreciate your help…..but I’ve given up. I think Jan nailed it anyway. Me and tech don’t always get along too well🙂

Speaking of sheds, I once bought a large bundle of about 12 assorted swords that were tied together with rope in a shed. Included was one nicely mounted katana! That was about 40 years ago!

keep looking🙂

All the best. Colin

 

[Grey Doffin]

Colin,

You're on the wrong page. Click on Index of Japanese Sword Literature on the top bar, once there click on Sword smiths, and I'm sure you can figure the rest.

Grey

[Matsunoki]

3 minutes ago, Grey Doffin said:

You're on the wrong page.

Nothing new there!🙂🙂

I’ll wrestle with it again tomorrow after a trip to the dentist.

Thanks for your perseverance Grey.

All the best

Colin