Wakizashi Translation Assistance

[chgruener]

Hey all,

 

I recently acquired this in a trade today and am wondering what the experts think. Blade is unsigned, but inside the scabbard is a hidden blade with a signature on it. I know nothing about this piece, so if you have any info to provide it will be very appreciated, especially smith and age of the blade! Thank you!

[xiayang]

The inscription on the kogatana reads 

 

小林伊勢守国輝 = Kobayashi Ise no Kami Kuniteru

 

But keep in mind that signatures on kogatana are often more of a dedication and should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Brian]

Not really a hidden blade...the kogatana/kozuka was a standard feature on many/most swords. Just a general purpose utility tool

[ROKUJURO]

Christopher,

not much can be said about your sword without seeing the NAKAGO (tang). Please remove the TSUKA (handle) by unscrewing the MEKUGI (securing pin).

Take great care never to touch the blade with your bare fingers! This applies to the KOGATANA as well! 

The form of mounting without TSUBA is called AIKUCHI. Your KOSHIRAE seems to be in good condition, the blade not so much but fair.

Good photos are needed to help with the identification. Ideally, they should be:
 

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos)
- made directly from above (not at an angle)
- made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) 
- without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI 
- made in high resolution to see details
- showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown
 

If you cannot supply good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.

[chgruener]

5 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

Christopher,

not much can be said about your sword without seeing the NAKAGO (tang). Please remove the TSUKA (handle) by unscrewing the MEKUGI (securing pin).

Take great care never to touch the blade with your bare fingers! This applies to the KOGATANA as well! 

The form of mounting without TSUBA is called AIKUCHI. Your KOSHIRAE seems to be in good condition, the blade not so much but fair.

Good photos are needed to help with the identification. Ideally, they should be:
 

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- made with light from the side (may not apply for HAMON photos)
- made directly from above (not at an angle)
- made with correct orientation (vertically tip-upwards, especially NAKAGO photos and TSUBA) 
- without HABAKI but showing the MACHI and NAKAGO JIRI 
- made in high resolution to see details
- showing details (in magnification) like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc. or the fine work on TSUBA
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown
 

If you cannot supply good photos (..."these photos are all I have from the dealer...."/..."I do not have a good camera but only an old mobile phone...." ), DO NOT POST BAD ONES. They will not be helpful.

I can’t believe I forgot to post photos of the nakago. Here are some I have 

[ROKUJURO]

Christopher,

as I suggested, photos should be

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown

The bright background gives a weak contrast so these photos are not helpful to see the patina or a possible MEI. 

[chgruener]

53 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Christopher,

as I suggested, photos should be

- well focused, not foggy or blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- presented as cut-outs so very little background is shown

The bright background gives a weak contrast so these photos are not helpful to see the patina or a possible MEI. 

Jean,

 

See attached photos. Hopefully these help.

[ROKUJURO]

Christopher,

these images are a lot better!

The whole package looks like a nice WAKIZASHI, and EDO era would be my guess for the blade. We do not know if it was intended to be a WAKIZASHI. There is a forging flaw in the HABAKI area, and this might have lead the smith to cut the blade off and hide the KIZU under the HABAKI. This could also be a reason not to sign the blade which is rather unusual for EDO JIDAI.  

But all in all, it is a decorative sword, and if you have the possibility (and means) to have it traditionally polished by an expert (which will cost quite a lot), it might be a pleasure to look at.

[chgruener]

15 hours ago, ROKUJURO said:

Christopher,

these images are a lot better!

The whole package looks like a nice WAKIZASHI, and EDO era would be my guess for the blade. We do not know if it was intended to be a WAKIZASHI. There is a forging flaw in the HABAKI area, and this might have lead the smith to cut the blade off and hide the KIZU under the HABAKI. This could also be a reason not to sign the blade which is rather unusual for EDO JIDAI.  

But all in all, it is a decorative sword, and if you have the possibility (and means) to have it traditionally polished by an expert (which will cost quite a lot), it might be a pleasure to look at.

Jean,

Thank you for the very detailed reply! Glad to hear it’s a decent example. Would the Tsuka have had Same? I would assume it was wrapped at one point.

 

As for the Kogatana, does that appear to be an authentic signature? I researched that smith a little bit and it appears that he is highly regarded and his works are quite valuable. 

v/r

 

Chris

[Brian]

Kogatana are very, very seldom made by the person in the signature. They are mostly a sort of homage. I think it's safe to ignore that signature.

[ROKUJURO]

9 hours ago, chgruener said:

..... Would the Tsuka have had Same? I would assume it was wrapped at one point.....

Chris,

your TSUKA has very good SAME (pearl ray skin). There was never ITO-MAKI (silk binding) done on this kind of AIKUCHI handle. It looks very good as it is.

[chgruener]

37 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Chris,

your TSUKA has very good SAME (pearl ray skin). There was never ITO-MAKI (silk binding) done on this kind of AIKUCHI handle. It looks very good as it is.

Thank you for clarifying! Always learn something new here.