May I get a translation please if you would be so kind.

[max]

Hello,

 

If you Gentlemen would be so kind I would like to know what this sword has written on it. This is one of the swords in the collection some of which I have posted on the other thread. However, I have no papers or anything on this one and I figured this would be a good place to start. Eventually this sword may be up for sale but not at the moment. If it turns out to be worth it I may send it through Shinsa. Any other information you guys could tell me would be great as well.

 

Thank you,

 

Max

 

http://img151.imageshack.us/g/dsc04421b.jpg/

[John A Stuart]

I believe it is Hojoji Tachibana Kunimitsu 法城寺橘國光 I don't know who this is. Honourary signature maybe?? John

[max]

Interesting, thank you, I will be curious to see what others thoughts about it are.

[max]

Honourary do you mean like they name of the owner it was made for instead of the smith, or just someone famouse?

[Ludolf Richter]

Hi,it's Hawley's KUN 533,Enpo Era,rated x35,working in Edo,Echizen,Tajima and a 4th province (Osshu in one of his Mei can mean any of 5 provinces).Watson has him on page 255 of the Shinto-Hen,but without pics,rated as chujosaku.There is not a single Mei-pic to be found in all mei books!I don't know,what Tachibana means,but Hojoji was an old school of swordsmiths,so he probably claims to be a descendant of that Mon.I have turned your pic.Ludolf

[Jacques]

HI,

 

I don't know,what Tachibana means

 

Tachibana is a family name, like Fujiwara or Minamoto.

[max]

Thank you for all the information. However, I apologize for my lack of knowledge as I am really struggling to understand and I’m a little confused still. Is “Hojoji Tachibana Kunimitsu” all that the sword says on it or is there more to the translation? I understand who Hawley’s was and his reference but am not exactly sure what “KUN 533” is (page # maybe). The “x35” I realize is a ranking in Yen but don’t really understand it just yet either. Also would “Hojoji Tachibana Kunimitsu” be the actual smiths whole name or is it simply “Kunimitsu” with him claiming to be the descendent of “Hojoji” and then how would the family name of “Tachibana” fit in? Further, when we look it up and say that he is listed, is he actually listed as “Hojoji Tachibana Kunimitsu” in Hawley’s and Watson’s translation or simply “Kunimitsu?” You wouldn’t know it by all of these questions, but, I am actually learning a great deal. I try and Google as much as I can and look up as much as I can but it is just not get it.

 

 

Thank you,

Max

[John A Stuart]

Max, That is what is written on the sword. Look at the kanji I provided and you will see how they match what is on your sword. John

[max]

John,

 

Any suggestions of where to look/learn that is user friendly or an accepted place that we go to?

 

Thank you,

Max

[John A Stuart]

Any search engine is good if there is info on the web, but, you need good reference books. These typically are expensive although neccessary. Check out some of the links at the top of the page. John

[Ludolf Richter]

Let me try to answer some of your questions.

As already stated by Jaques,Tachibana is a clan name like Fujiwara.According to Wikipedia (I had no idea till I just looked at Wikipedia!) the Tachibana-Clan was once one of the 4 most powerful families ("Kuge") at the Imperial Court.Later the Fujiwara-Clan became the No.1 (till the end of WW II !) and the Tachibana were not longer part of the Court.Their people spread all over Japan."Your" swordsmith claims to be a follower of that clan.Hojoji was a once famous school of swordsmiths.It is possible that the Hojoji-school ("Mon") was one with only followers of the Tachibana Clan,because there are some more swordsmiths that had added "Hojiji Tachibaba" (e.g.Echizen no Kami Masateru and Higo no Kami Masahiro-both 17th Century)to their name.

The swordsmiths Go (art name)is Kunimitsu.There are Signatures by him with or without "Hojoji Tachibana".

Hawley has listed about 20.000 swordsmiths,each with a reference number,yours with KUN (from Kuni) and 533 as the 533th entry in alphabetical sequence of the ones starting with "Kuni":KUN 533.Each entry contains some info:the Province where he worked,the date(s) or era,a figure for the relative value (in your case "35",i.e.above standard),and other data (e.g.what generation,if there were more than one or who was his teacher).The entry contains examples of his signatures ("Mei") ,if only the name (Go) or with addditional data like honory titles (e.g.Daijo or even Kami with the province-name where he had got that title ,e.g.Echigo no Kami),his origin province,e.g.Bizen Kuni (that Kuni means inhabitant/resident,preceded by "his" province name,either the full name or the abbrev.Chinese writing,e.g.Musashi or Bushu),clan names (Fujiwara,Minamoto,Tachibana),and (seldom) other data.The Hawley Index does not contain pictures of Mei!For that purpose when you want to check wether "you" signature is genuine or faked ("Gimei"),one has to use other-mostly Japanese-books.There are references with a Hawley entry,whether you can find pics in Watson's Koto-or-Shinto-books (with seperate English translations!) or the books by Tokuno or by Iida.Experts of our forum may have additional sources and should be willing to answer respective questions by members.In your case "KUN 533" has no reference to the above index-books.I couldn't find any Mei-pic in all my other books.

The signaure may have the following endings:(Kanji for)

saku-made this,tsukuru (same meaning),sei-made or kitau-forged,probably with an additional "kore" or "kin"/"kinzo".A few top swordsmith may have been granted the title if Imperial Swordsmith and start the signature with a chiselled chrysanthemum blossom,the mon of the Emperor.

I hope,I could clarify most of your questions.Ludolf

[cabowen]

There was a group of smiths who worked in Tokyo in the 1600's and onward known as the Hojoji school. Their signatures usually include the word Hojoji which is a reference to a much earlier sword making group that they claim to be descendants of....

 

The school had many smiths, some of whom were rather well known. The first two Masahiro's and Sadakuni the best of the group, with many others lessor known. The maker of your blade is one of the lessor known smiths of this group and you will have a hard time finding any signature examples as he was simply not rated high enough for inclusion in the collections of signatures previously collected. The good news is low ranked smiths were seldom the targets of forgery and thus odds are very good that this is indeed a valid signature.

[Brian]

And there Ludolf single handledly goes and ruins our reputation of being elitist and not helping newbies!

Darn Ludolf....now we are going to have to start at the beginning again.

Great info, thanks for taking the time to share.

 

Brian

[kuromido]

Dear/darn Ludolf, I have to Thank you for such a clear explanation of max's Mei and mei in general.

For me and I am sure others on the forum, this has cleared the fuzzy areas of understanding Mei basics.

Much value in a short paragraph!!

CHEERS,

PeterD

[max]

Yes, Thank you, that is a lot of information and really helps my understanding.

[Jacques]

Hi,

 

This smith is referenced by Fujishiro and rated chujo. No oshigata.