Help identifying

[Okiraiders]

Looking for help in gaining more information on this family heirloom. We understand it was presented to our family member when leaving his position in Kobe Japan in the late 1800’s. Any help would be appreciated. 

[nulldevice]

Its signed:

文化六己巳年十一月日

手柄山正繁

 

I believe the date is: "A day in November of Bunka 6 (1809), year of the snake" 

Tegarayama Masashige

 

My date translations are super rough, so its probably a bit garbled but I think its close. 

He was a quite high ranked smith (Jo-jo saku) who was active in the late 1700s to early 1800s.

[nulldevice]

A few references from Fujishiro and the Nihonto Taikan for the same blade. Some differences in some of the kanji strokes but I will admit I don't know Masashige's mei and any changes over time and I don't have enough references of his work to provide any additional context. 

[Okiraiders]

  On 4/10/2025 at 5:17 PM, nulldevice said:

Its signed:

文化六巳巳年十一月日

手柄山正繁

 

I believe the date is: "A day in November of Bunka 6 (1809), year of the snake" 

Tegarayama Masashige

 

My date translations are super rough, so its probably a bit garbled but I think its close. 

He was a quite high ranked smith (Jo-jo saku) who was active in the late 1700s to early 1800s.

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Many thanks for the information. Would the age and smith make it worthwhile to have the sword appraised? 

[nulldevice]

If other more knowledgeable members chime in and have no issues with the signature, I would say that it is worth sending to the NBTHK for appraisal, especially if you are already in Japan where it is a much simpler process. 

[Toryu2020]

Certainly deserves further study - to my eye the spacing is off compared to the examples from Fujishiro - the Tagane seems heavy compared to the control examples and most especially the "Shige" character is wrong, look at the last three strokes. I would be curious to see the end of the Nakago does it match those in the book?

 

-t

[nulldevice]

Here is the other example from the Nihonto Taikan. The bottom of the Shige kanji is again just 3 strokes. I can post the description pages as well if anybody is interested which usually give context about the smith, but they'll need to be translated. 

 

[Nobody]

There is at least one example, which shows the bottom of 繁 is not just three strokes.

 

[Okiraiders]

  On 4/10/2025 at 11:35 PM, Toryu2020 said:

Certainly deserves further study - to my eye the spacing is off compared to the examples from Fujishiro - the Tagane seems heavy compared to the control examples and most especially the "Shige" character is wrong, look at the last three strokes. I would be curious to see the end of the Nakago does it match those in the book?

 

-t

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I’ll be getting more pictures of the entire Nakago. Many thanks! 

[Bugyotsuji]

https://nqs.takaebi.sa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19442

 

Your Fuchi could be the same Meiji Kinkō artist 篤明 as in the link above.

[Jacques]

Masashige changed the engraving of the Shige kanji since Kyowa the sword in question was made in Bunka, that said I don't trust this mei, It should bear the Kai no kami (甲斐守) title received in Kyowa 3

[Bugyotsuji]

  On 4/11/2025 at 3:46 AM, Bugyotsuji said:

https://nqs.takaebi.sa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19442

 

Your Fuchi could be the same Meiji Kinkō artist 篤明 as in the link above.

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篤明 seems to be listed under both readings of Atsuaki and Tokuaki. Kyoto. 田中信造, with 'go' of 一寿斎, d. aged 50 in Meiji 22.

[SteveM]

I agree with Chandler - if you are in Okinawa it will be relatively easy to send it to the NBTHK for authentication. It is still a slightly cumbersome process, but at least you will be doing it from within Japan, where the postal system is excellent, and the fear of the sword getting hung up at customs, or hit with an arbitrary import duty, is virtually nil. (I'm assuming you are not sending it from a US military base).

 

If you want the help of an English-speaking agent who can get it to and from the NBTHK, you might contact Robert Hughes at Keichōdō. He's a sword and armor dealer, and long time resident of Japan, and he helps people get their swords authenticated. 

 

There is enough in the mei and the file marks of the nakago on your sword to pique interest, but it will be difficult for any of us to authenticate. You will get some good guesses, but ultimately you will want the judgment of an expert panel who can examine it in hand. Actually its the sword itself that needs close examination rather than the mei (or, rather than just the mei). The sword needs to match the sword-making style of known/authenticated Masashige swords. Slight variations in the signature might be tolerated if the sword looks exactly like a typical Masashige sword should look (steel grain, hamon pattern, etc.). The broad features can be seen in photos, but often its difficult to pick out the very fine details, and these details are usually important.