"Sadamune" Tanto with Kozuka

[tristan105]

This is a recent purchase.  I know that it is very unlikely to be a real Sadamune but even tribute pieces or gimei can have a place in a collection at the right price.  The tanto is aesthetically pleasing and came with beautiful koshirae including a kozuka.  I was pleased to add it to my small collection.

 

The dealer provided a translation of the mei but not the inscription on the reverse side of the tanto's tang, nor did they translate the inscription on the kozuka.  Can anyone hazard an interpretation from the these pictures?  I can provide further if these prove to be inadequate.

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[Nobody]

As for the kogatana,

三州住人氏次 - Sanshu junin Ujitsugu

 

[ROKUJURO]

Hi Dave,

welcome to the NMB forum!

To get the best reading/translating support from our side, it would help to post pictures of the NAKAGO

- always from right above

-  tip straight upwards

-  with light from the side

- against a dark background.

If you like, please show the full blade also, as we like to see nice swords!

Otherwise, have fun with your TANTO!

[tristan105]

Thank you for the assistance and I will try to put up some better pictures of the inscriptions on my tanto per Rokujuro's instructions.  One of my katanas has the same tsuba as the one pictured in "Nobody's" signature.  Here are a few general pics in the meantime.

[tristan105]

Here are some additional pictures of the reverse side tang inscriptions.  Can anyone make them out from these pictures?  Happy to retake with different lighting/background if that will help.  I have also included a few of the obverse side inscriptions, which I am told translate to "Soshu junin Sadamune."

[Bugyotsuji]

相州住人貞宗

Sō-Shū Jūnin Sadamune.

 

On the other side of the Nakago

 

“A day in February in the second year of…” (someone has obliterated the date name with mekugi holes. Might be possible to piece it together with a bit of circumstantial detective work.)

 

Excellent shots. Wish everyone would be so helpful!!!

[Bugyotsuji]

PS There’s a clip about Sadamune here, the end of the Kamakura period.

 

[tristan105]

Domo arigato for all of the help that I have received on the identification of my items.  If anyone has any more insight into the ambiguous creation date of my tanto then I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.  In the meantime I have put the tanto on the waitlist for a good repolish. I also did some online sleuthing regarding Ujitsugu, the maker of my kozuka.  Not a lot out there but I did find a Worthpoint record with some pictures of another one of his creations.  Very similar in many respects.

[ROKUJURO]

Tristan,

the recent photos are better, but a dark background usually provides better contrast.

Your KOZUKA (= KOGATANA handle, seemingly in good condition or recently made) was probably not made by UJIFUSA. Even the blade was not necessarily by him. These signatures are most often an hommage thing, not true signatures. 

Japanese nouns don't have a plural form, so no "s" added to KATANA.

Just trying to help....

[tristan105]

No problem, I am sure that I am making many enthusiastic/foolish amateur errors.  Thank you for your patience and guidance.

 

I am wondering if the partially obliterated characters on the date inscription might be "Gen-Toku" (1329)?  I was looking at the date tables on p. 185 of the Sinclair book and it looks like some aspects of the kanji match.  Here are a few more pictures that I took this morning.