Kogatana signed 丹波守吉道 Yoshimichi of Tanba.

[Zantetsuken]

Hi everyone,

 

I got a nice little kogatana in shirasaya with kind of kikusui hamon. I also read that most kogatana are gimei or a homage to a famous smith. Is this also the case with mine or is Yoshimichi of Tanba known for making kogatana?

 

Thanks a lot,

Simon

[Brian]

I saw this one posted on Facebook, and the number of people saying it's likely gimei. Now I know most big names on kogatana are indeed gimei, as a homage. But when this level of detail was put into a hamon, and that can't have been easy, I think we have to at least give it a chance. The Yoshimichi line being famous for Sudareba etc, they did like to experiment with hamon. So for me, I would personally say likely just a homage, but with a chance of being by one of the Yoshimichi line.
That said, a mei on a kozuka is never going to match that on a nakago, so only a shinsa would tell you for sure, and is that really worth the expense? The value even if it papered is still moderate and maybe not worth it. So you may just have to keep this one as a nice example of the art. It's already in a decent shirasaya.

[Zantetsuken]

Thanks a lot for your extensive answer. Sounds logical to me. I‘ll definitely keep it as is, Shinsa would cost more than I paid for it (280$ plus shipping). I bought it to admire the hamon, knowing it could be gimei. Even as a beginner I recognized the quality, especially compared to my fully hardened standard kogatana, which is part of my wakizashi koshirae.