Confirming mei

[Mark S.]

Found the attached pics of a sword at a militaria site and the owner was seeking info about it. I thought this would be a good mei to try to decipher because it appeared clear and the kanji would be easy to find with some due diligence. Being a novice’s novice, frustration soon set in. I wish I could say I was proud of myself for figuring it all out, but I can’t. What happened is I found a couple kanji that matched up and then using the magic of the internet, I got lucky and came across an entire mei that matched very closely. The mei on the opposite side I could not get. The bottom kanji matches with Kuni, but also has to do with dates and provinces(?), and the first kanji completely escaped me.

 

So… is my initial ‘guess’ is Omi no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masahiro

 

The other mei?

 

Any info I could pass on about this smith to the original poster at the site would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark S.

[Mark S.]

Here was the reference mei I found:

 

http://www.sho-shin.com/hojo1.html

[Surfson]

Can't read the first kanji, but looks like Sadakuni to me.

[Jacques D.]

Hi,

 

you are right it is Hojoji Masahiro (nidai)

[cabowen]

It is signed Omi no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masahiro on omote and Sadakuni on the ura, indicating it is a joint work.

 

The signature looks suspect to me....