Gakumei

[Lewis B]

How common was it to put genuine gakumei from a blade that was possibly irrevocably damaged on another blade in order to pass an inferior blade as that of a master swordsmith?

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

If you look carefully at a blade, an inferior one will not pass as one of a master swordsmith. In case you only look at the MEI, you may get deveived, of course.

You are asking "how common" it was, but I have no statistical figures. If a blade with GAKU MEI was encountered, I am sure potential buyers (or SHINSA members, for that matter) will look at it with extreme attention, knowing about the risk.

This teaches us again to look at the blade first! 

[Mushin]

No doubt, this practice was done, as were fake orikaeshi mei or folded mei,  where a signature from another sword was made to look like it was preserved from a shortened sword and folded over but in fact careful examination will reveal it is pinned in place to deceive a new owner. In short, just like now, when deception might pay off, you have to assume that some folks will try their luck, especially the needy and the unscrupulous. Various old texts mention the practice of all kinds of fakes going back to the Kamakura. How often did this happen? I am not sure anybody has stats on this or if it's even possible to say how common the practice was. The issue of orikaeshi mei and gaku mei are covered in Nobuhara's book, the Fundamentals of Japanese Swords. In the book, because of the possibility of deceit, Nobuhara seems to look down on swords with these signature preservation methods. That said, I think that a sword with a proper, well-executed gaku mei is a thing of beauty. When the work in a blade and a rescued signature match up, I view the effort as an act of respect for the blade to try to preserve the maker's information for the future. I own several swords with gakumei, including an old Sa-School blade, which is one of my favorites, as well as a Juyo Kanemitsu school naginata naioshi with a perfectly folded signature. They tell stories. I think it's slso important to know that the NBTHK regards properly executed gaku mei and orikeshi me as legitimate signatures, unlike a kinpinmei, a signature done in gold lacquer, which is regarded as an appraisal. But as in all things, caveat emptor. Do your homework. If everything checks out, I would never shy away from good sword with such a signature.