Mumei wakizashi in tachi koshirae

[Robert S]

I’m looking for thoughts from this expert company on a mumei wakizashi that I just purchased from Japan.  I am a complete beginner in nihonto, although I have some limited background in smithing, casting, etc  I picked this nihonto because it looked like it was in “working class” (if such a thing can be said about nihonto) koshirae, in the tachi style.

 

 

Sugata:
Nagasa – 54cm
Motohaba - 29mm, Sakihaba 18mm
Motgasane - 5mm, Sakigasane 3.5mm
Sori - 10mm
Mune – Iori-mune
Kissaki is chu-kissaki, but on the o-kissaki side, with a fukura on the scarce side of medium.  
Blade is in a decent sashikomi polish – better than expected, but with some scratches and defects
This blade appears o-suriage (tensho-suriage).  Although the polish makes it look like the hamon ends in the normal way, beneath the polish it appears to continue into the nakago.  If there was a mei, it was lost.

Tsuba is copper, in a simple wave pattern, with the mei on the blade side.  Tsuba appears to have originally been fitted to a tachi, with the nakago-ana later inverted. Tsuba mei is “Shoami”, but with an unusual variant of the simplified character for “mi”.  I can’t tell if the hitsu-ana were original, or added later.  Without the signature I would have called it probably ko-kinko… I wonder if it is possible that it was signed by the smith doing the conversion?  Tsuba fit is quite loose.

 

Saya appears to be wrapped with a course fabric and lacquered with possibly a vermillion lacquer, and has Ishizuki and Kashiwaba.  There is no provision for a kuzuka or kogai.
Fittings are all workmanlike rather than fancy.  Menuki is a nice running boar (in shakudo?)

 

As to the blade, here my extreme lack of experience means that I may be way off track.  My thoughts:

Jigane & Jihada
Itame mixed with mokume, only visible in some areas beneath the sashikomi polish.  Distinct ha-hada.  No evidence of Chikei.

Hamon & Boshi
Hamon is gunome-midare, tending towards koshi no hiraita. Fairly bright nioiguchi, with nie in both the ha and ji, and islands of nioi/nie in the ha.  One area of distinct midari utsuri, but otherwise absent or not visible.  There are dark lines cutting through the nioi/nie – part of the forging structure, but not distinct kinsugi.

Kissaki boshi is Notare-komi, tending toward Kaen.

 

When and where?
My wild guesses as to date/area:  If this is the lower half to two thirds of a tachi, as I guess, the slender form and taper feels Heian, but the hamon more early to mid Muromachi (Oei Bizen?).  I’m guessing that the sword broke, and the length remaining was only sufficient for a wakizashi length blade.  Possibly the saya was also shortened, keeping the original tachi fittings. These fittings could also be bakamatsu, but the style and simplicity makes me think not, and the O-suriage appears to have occurred a long time ago, given nakago condition.  

I look forward to your thoughts
Robert S

 

[DoTanuki yokai]

The blade looks unshortned Ubu, the Hamon clearly starts directly at the Hamachi.

The polish also does not really look right, maybe it is some kind of Hadori or acid etched but not Sashikomi in my opinion. 
 

What you see before the Hamon could be some kind of mizukage, also the Nakagojiri does not look like a typical shortned one. 

[Franco D]

49 minutes ago, Robert S said:

Blade is in a decent sashikomi polish

 

Not sashikomi.

 

49 minutes ago, Robert S said:

This blade appears o-suriage (tensho-suriage). 

 

Looks ubu, machi-okuri.

 

49 minutes ago, Robert S said:

Tsuba is copper

 

No, this is shakudo. Looks copper because the patina is worn off.

[Matsunoki]

Koshirae is handachi not Tachi. 

[Robert S]

Thanks so much for the really useful feedback already!  Like I said, total beginner here.  Anything you can tell me about what you are seeing that leads you to certain conclusions would be greatly appreciated for my learning!

[Robert S]

I think I see what Christian S and Franco D mean about not sashikomi, now that I've been pointed in that direction!

 

[Rivkin]

Non-traditional polish.

Typically a grouping of two togari, or a mixture of one and two is a characteristic late Muromachi style which was done at both Mino and Bizen... Mino tends to be odd groupings, but even that is unreliable.

sugu boshi can throw towards Edo period, but it was practiced by Mino at the end of Muromachi.

Sugata is indistinctive and can be many things, but largish kissaki is also consistent with end of Muromachi/early Edo.

 

So probably the very end of Muromachi/early Edo... I would probably go with Mino-related on this one.

[Robert S]

Rivkin: 

 

Thanks so much - super helpful.  Does the extremely slender/light/tapered shape also suggest Mino to you?  So many of the wakizashi that I see from that period seem to be much more robust.

[Rivkin]

Taper would be more in line with Kambun or taking into account its not really straight with more like 1640-1630.. or with earlier wakizashi, but then taper is usually combined with koshi-zori.

So I would say 1640 is probably the latest date here. But kissaki and hamon are more consistent with earlier preferences.

[Nihonto student]

Dear Robert,

 

I agree with Kirill about the dating but personally I have more of a bizen den feeling, shinogi-ji hada looks itame and I would expect to find masame in a Mino blade, lack of nie and general soshu den features, kurijiri nakago call Bizen den but was popular also in Mino den at the end of Muromachi...if it is a Mino blade it still has a marked influence of Bizen.

 

Giordy

[Jussi Ekholm]

Like others I would think ubu late Muromachi blade.

[2devnul]

Hi,

 

Nothing to add about Sugata, but polish seems odd. Definitely not Sashikomi, looks like a Hadori wanna be with acid.  

[vajo]

For me the blade looks shortend. The hamon is treated with acid, bad polish. Late muromachi/ early shinto.

[Robert S]

Thanks again everyone for the guidance and thoughts - really helps me learning what I am seeing - it's so easy to get way off track when you know as little as I do :-) .  I think I'll consider whether to get it a proper polish - I know it's probably not monetarily worth it, but it feels like it would be rewarding to see what that would bring out.

 

I did wonder whether those nioi/ni islands in the ha would be diagnostic of a particular maker or school?