Unidentified wakizashi in shirasaya

[USkragnut]

Can anyone identify a time period of this blade and the maker?

 

Sean

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Sean,

It says, "Hitachi no Kami" (Lord of Hitachi, an honorary title). The blade is suriage and the smith's name has been cut off. My index shows 4 smiths who used this title; none of the oshigata I compared were very close to yours.

Grey

[USkragnut]

Thank you...what does that mean? It was made from a broken katana?

 

Would that be the smiths title or the owners? What period roughly?

[SwordGuyJoe]

Some smiths are given honorary titles, like yours. This was not made from a broken katana, but shortened from a katana to wakizashi size. This was a typical practice and could have happened for multiple reasons, one of which being sword laws that banned certain people from being able to carry katana or tachi length swords. I am sure someone could rattle off the length restriction, but I don't know it off the top of my head.

 

Grey is also saying the he looked at the four smiths that signed using Hitachi no Kami... and none of the examples of their mei (signatures) are similar to yours. This could be due to this being gimei, could be a varient of one of the four, or an undocumented smith. If you are really curious about the sword, you could send it to shinsa. As far as age, it would be helpful to see a picture of the entire sword to give an understanding of the shape (sugata) that leads a person to know when the blade was forged. Also photos of the blade itself and measurements would be helpful. Looking strictly at the only picture you provided, my guess would be mid-Shinto period.

[USkragnut]

Thank you...this board is such a breath of fresh air for ignoramouses like me.

 

A few more pics

[SwordGuyJoe]

Well the picture of the kissaki makes this a bit interesting. It is either miss-shaped or through the years the yokote has somehow vanished OR this is actually not a shortened katana, but a nagamaki. I tend to lean towards a shortened katana that is missing a yokote and if so, I stick with my guess of shinto. If it's actually a nagamaki-naoshi blade, then that would lend itself to be more than likely koto - although not necessarily. Others will chime in eventually and potentially blow my guesses out of the water. The characters on the blade would be the mark of the swords last polisher and I can't read them, although someone may be able to help there.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Sean,

Actually, I have a list of 18 smiths who signed as Hitachi no Kami, but only 4 of them are included in the references that I've indexed on the online, Index of Japanese Sword Literature. I checked one listing for each of the 4 and found no close match.

Your sword may be from one of the 14 other smiths not included in my books, from one of the 4 but with a signature that doesn't match my examples, or it could be gimei (faked signature).

This looks like it has always been a wakizashi, never long enough even before shortening to have been a katana. What is the nagasa? (from the point to the notch at the back in a straight line). Possible that it was once a naginata (and now naginata naoshi) or maybe just a shinogi zukuri wakizashi that has lost its yokote to a clumsy polish.

Not much more I can say without better pictures, but chances are it will take in hand examination by someone who knows to tell what you have.

Grey

[Surfson]

Looks to me like a naginata naoshi zukuri, which, if I understand it correctly, is a sword made this shape intentionally to have the shape of a naginata naoshi. I think these were made frequently late koto, early shinto.

[Toryu2020]

My money is on Shinto, Shinogi-zukuri wakizashi by Hitachi n/k Muneshige (常陸守宗重)

 

Student of Sukehiro. I expect if we see photos of the other side the yokote will be there, the shape I think is beggin for one...

-t

[Toryu2020]

Now that I look closely you can see a sayagaki,

How about some close ups of that?

-t

[Brian]

Sean,

Was this a Gunbroker one or an eBay one? I saw it for sale somewhere, but skipped it as I think it has some reshaping and is a bit rough.

Or are you considering a purchase?

 

Brian