Odd inscription under Habaki on parade sword

[PNSSHOGUN]

No interest to buy this but was curious about the inscription on a bare parade sword. The sword looks to be chrome plated. My crude skills came up with this:

 

刀工連弘
壽 屋

 

[Nobody]

刀工直弘 - Sword smith Naohiro

壽屋 - Kotobukiya

 

 

Edit; I should have read 壽屋 as Suya.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Thank you, Moriyama Sama. Naohiro is known to have signed his work in the normal fashion and with a special stamp, this is a unique departure. 

[mecox]

John, good to have Moriyama san’s translation     刀工直弘 - Sword smith Naohiro  壽屋 - Kotobukiya

But I think there is a story there.  Or I may be dreaming.  What do you think?    

The sword shown looks to be a well made of naginata style, looks to be more that a parade sword?  I don’t know if chromed or not. However, there is a question which Naohiro made it. The one well reported in WW2 is 3^rd gen. Yanagawa Masayoshi, born 1910, died 1994, reg post war in 1956, and then quite active. 

There were a number of possible Naohiro.  Of the Yanagawa up to 5 gen. 

Kotobuki means good luck/long life etc, but Kotobukiya becomes the name of a shop. Looking further into this, it seems that Kotobuki can also be read as “SU”.  [lost the reference, with find it].  Which suggests could be Suya Shoten Co Ltd well known in WW2 Tokyo producing/selling gunto especially naval dirks (p.20 in Bruce’s Stamp report).     

Page 46 of Bruce shows a version of the Suya stamp.                                                                                                                                    

Also Bruce p. 10 has Naohiro stamp, and suggests gen 2 at Tokyo Army Arsenal. “ …..two kanji read right to left as 直 NAO 弘 HIRO i.e. NAOHIRO. Family name is Yanagawa from Saitama. Probably second generation. During the Meiji and Taisho periods he worked at the Tokyo Army Arsenal (or Toyokawa by F & G)  making blades for sabres (kyuguntō?) and other western style swords”            The SU stamp in F & G looks like this                         Kotobuki is like this:   壽　　

From Sesko:

NAOHIRO (直弘), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – “Naohiro” (直弘), real name “Ueno Naohiro” (上野直弘).  Example of his work in Slough p.126, small katana, dated 1915 (so he would need to be born around 1895 (Meiji 28).               

NAOHIRO (直弘), 1st gen., Keiō (慶応, 1865-1868), Musashi – “Naohiro” (直弘), real name Shino Tomesuke (土野留助), student of Taikei Naotane (大慶直胤), some say he was the son of Jikishinshi Masahiro (直心子正弘). [also called Rusuke Tsuchino]                                                                                                                                                              

NAOHIRO (直弘), 2nd gen., Meiji (明治, 1868-1912), Musashi – “Naohiro” (直弘), son of the 6th gen. Naomichi (直道), he lived in Edo´s Ichigaya-Takajōmachi (市ケ谷鷹匠町), real name Yanagawa Saijirō (柳川才次郎), mostly a chōji-midare.  [He trained 3^rd gen and passed over the name etc to him in Showa 3 (1928) when 3^rd gen was 18]                                                                        

NAOHIRO (直弘), 3rd gen., Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Saitama – “Juō Bushū Musashi-machi Takakura-jū Naohiro” (寿王武州武蔵町高倉住直弘), real name Yanagawa Masaki (柳川昌喜), [or Masayoshi]  born October 5th 1910, son of Yanagawa Saijirō, he died in September 1994.    

 NAOHIRO (直弘), 4th gen., Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Saitama – “Minamoto Naohiro saku” (源直弘作), “Musashi no Kuni Ōmiya-jū Minamoto Naohiro saku” (武蔵国大宮住源直弘作), real name Matsubara Eiichi (松原英一), born May 5th 1924, student of Juō Naohiro (寿王直弘).           @Bruce Pennington      

[lonely panet]

Well im interested and think its worth a gamble 

[Stephen]

Was thinking of bidding myself.

 

Till last post, seen a few chromed before, 99% nakago chromed as well. 

 

It is interesting....good luck

[PNSSHOGUN]

Other Mei of Naohiro 2nd/3rd Gen for comparison:

 

 

[Tensho]

My gut feeling says this is a Murata-to blade. 

[mecox]

Link to Su / Kotobuki stamp meaning:   Japan sword for sale Black leather scabbard Navy dagger (choshuya.co.jp)

 

Auto translation:  "Black leather-wrapped naval dagger preparation. Late Pacific War style. The trademark "Kotobuki" can be seen on the tsuba. This is believed to be the work of the Suya Corporation of Shiba-Shinbashi, Tokyo. The handle is in good condition, as are the cherry blossom design menuki fittings, the rim head, the bottom of the bottom, and the metal fittings such as the clasp that holds the scabbard and handle together."      壽屋（すや）

Also had a note on other sword shops of the time:  "Other examples include Iijima Sword Factory (Shimotani Kanasugi), Gomei Company Kobe Shoten (Yotsuya) and Seki Sword Co (Gifu, Seki)."    @Bruce Pennington

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 11/27/2023 at 9:40 AM, mecox said:

The SU stamp in F & G looks like this                         Kotobuki is like this:   壽

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I need some more clarification (education!).  The website you referneced calls the "Su" stamp on that dirk "kotobuki" in the printed discussion.  Are the two terms interchangeable?  

Also, their last comment "Other examples include Iijima Sword Factory (Shimotani Kanasugi), Gomei Company Kobe Shoten (Yotsuya) and Seki Sword Co (Gifu, Seki)." - are they trying to say that dirks can be found that were made by these other shops?  Certainly they are not trying to say that the SU can be found on dirks from these shops.?

[DTM72]

  On 11/27/2023 at 1:30 PM, Tensho said:

My gut feeling says this is a Murata-to blade. 

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That is exactly what I was thinking.

[Scogg]

Whether it be quenched with oil, water, or treated with acid… looks like maybe a hamon is present?

 

Looks interesting to me, I like the shape. A shame it doesn’t have its koshirae