Help with Hamon Identification on TADAYOSHI Wakizashi

[tbonesullivan]

I apologize for the relatively bad photos. I've tried every way I can think of to get a good hamon picture. It is a repeating wave like pattern, and there is a small circle or dot above the peak of the waves, which sometimes looks somewhat like a "notch".

 

Blade is signed 肥前國 住人 藤原 忠吉 - HIZEN KUNI JUNIN FUJIWARA TADAYOSHI. I noted that it is signed on the "wrong" side of the blade, but it looks like at least 1st and 3rd Gen Hizen Tadayoshi did so as well. I was however wondering what the use of JUNIN vs JU indicates. The writing style does look similar to the smiths below.

 

https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TAD286

 

https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TAD289

[Ed Harbulak]

Unfortunately, the signature is gimei. The kanji for zen of hizen is wrong for the school. The shape of the blade looks like kanbun era which would definitely eliminate the first generation. Otherwise, it looks like a nice blade

[tbonesullivan]

27 minutes ago, Ed Harbulak said:

Unfortunately, the signature is gimei. The kanji for zen of hizen is wrong for the school. The shape of the blade looks like kanbun era which would definitely eliminate the first generation. Otherwise, it looks like a nice blade

Ahh, now I see it. Seems to be a lot of gimei blades floating around lately. This one did not look to have had the handle off in quite some time, though I guess that can be faked too.

[DoTanuki yokai]

Tadayoshi was already famous when he was alive and some fake signatures are as old as authentic blades. 
So the patina on the Nakago can be real and old. 

[2devnul]

Hi,

 

You can find good read here, related to my (most likely Gimei) Tadayoshi. A lot of useful information.

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/45103-shinto-wakizashi-hizen-kuni-mutsu-kami-tadayoshi-please-comment/

 

AFAIK Tadayoshi did sign on Tachi-mei, but only on Uchigatana. Wakizashi should have Mei on the standard (left) side.  

 

As for Hamon, it is also not typical for Tadayoshi (especially 1st gen.). All papered swords from this smith have Suguha as far as I can tell. 3rd gen. did experiment (also my example) but his work is very rare, mostly Gimei. 

 

Your Hamon looks like Notare with poor (used up) Hadori. 

 

PS. Please note that I'm complete newbie on the Nihonto topic, so I can be totally wrong. I hope my mistakes (if any) will be pointed out by other forum members. 

[tbonesullivan]

10 minutes ago, 2devnul said:

Hi,

 

You can find good read here, related to my (most likely Gimei) Tadayoshi. A lot of useful information.

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/45103-shinto-wakizashi-hizen-kuni-mutsu-kami-tadayoshi-please-comment/

 

AFAIK Tadayoshi did sign on Tachi-mei, but only on Uchigatana. Wakizashi should have Mei on the standard (left) side.  

Thanks for the info! I can definitely see how such a famous lineage would have period copies. Just seems odd as the blade is definitely old and well made, with a great temper line. The handle hadn't been off so it was purchased based on the condition of the blade and the hamon alone. Probably around half of the older blades I get are actually Mumei, unlike the WWII Era blades where even stainless steel blades can have a Mei.

[2devnul]

11 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

Thanks for the info! I can definitely see how such a famous lineage would have period copies. Just seems odd as the blade is definitely old and well made, with a great temper line.

 

Being a Gimei doesn't mean that blade isn't old. This one looks like Shinto indeed. Also, it doesn't mean it is poorly made. On the contrary, one could have try to mimic Tadayoshi since he found this blade being made well enough to go for the shot. 

 

PS. I edited my previous post with some additional comments (Hamon). Enjoy the blade, and please post more pictures if you can (full blade, with Nakago, tip up. Maybe some more Hamon/Hada pictures if you can). 

[tbonesullivan]

On 3/20/2024 at 8:30 AM, 2devnul said:

Your Hamon looks like Notare with poor (used up) Hadori. 

 

PS. Please note that I'm complete newbie on the Nihonto topic, so I can be totally wrong. I hope my mistakes (if any) will be pointed out by other forum members. 

 

Most likely the last polish this sword had was without the use of Hadori stones, I think it's called the Sashikomi style, compared to the Keisho style using Hadori stones to highlight the Hamon and other aspects.

 

From what I've read it has mainly been since the 1980s that Keisho style became very popular, so swords last polished during the WWII era and prior will not have that type of highlighting. I'm on the fence on which style I like better. I definitely love the chatoyancy and asterism that you can see in blades in the hamon and along the transition. This is a kind of iridescent quality that is impossible to photograph, as it is a stereoscopic effect / result of having two eyes. Some feel that hadori can obscure that.