NBTHK misread a mei?

[Nobody]

I found a katana signed by Kiyomitsu on the following page.

Ref. http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords/KT113385.htm

 

It has an NBTHK Hozon paper. The mei is deciphered as 備州国住(長)船清光作 (Bishu no kuni ju Osafune Kiyomitsu saku) by NBTHK. I think that NBTHK made a mistake in reading (or writing?) the mei.

The first two characters do not look 備州 but 備前 to my eye. And generally, the name of the province must be 備前国 or 備州.

[cabowen]

They make mistakes from time to time. I received tokubetsu hozon papers for a shinshinto blade with a long mei and cutting test that had a kanji missing on the kanteisho. I took it back along with the blade and they issued a new, correct one...

[reinhard]

I wonder about this particular mistake Moriyama-san presented, for "shu" is including the meaning of "kuni"(province) and there are no mei "Bishu (no) Kuni" at all as far as I know. This should ring a bell in any case, but then: The mei is quite deteriorated, the blade is a poor shadow of its former self and the guy writing the origami was eventually left to be the last man to turn off the lights. Who knows. Not much harm was done in this particular case.

 

reinhard