One for the Experts Kabuto Mei

[Justin Grant]

I just acquired this Kabuto. The mei is hard to read, I see Kin/Kane and Yoshi Saku on the far left, I see 4th year (maybe) far right and in the middle I see 20 (2 and 10).

 

The entire area this text is located in measures 1.5" wide and 1" tall.

 

This is my first signed piece of any of my collection, so I am excited to find out if one of our experts can read the mei.

 

Here is a link to the Google Photos that I have 5 total images of this mei. They are large files.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1040542998 ... directlink

 

 

Here are a few smaller scale shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

[IanB]

Justin, Only three smiths are recorded in Shin Katchushi Meikan using that 'Kane' kanji - a Kanenori, a Kanehisa and a Kanetsugu. The first signed a zunari kabuto and was a Kaga Myochin smith, the second worked in Yamashiro and the third in Edo. As for the rest - help!!!

Ian Bottomley

[Justin Grant]

Thank you Ian.

 

I wonder if the Kanji we assume is Kane is actually KI. Looking in JISHP there is a similar Kanji to Kane called Ki that is used in words like Kuwadate (te being Hiragana) or the other variant of the kanji is takura snd simply ki.

 

Maybe this helps?

[Toryu2020]

Justin - have you tried putting talc in the signature to make it more visible?

[Justin Grant]

Hi Thomas

 

Can you or someone tell me how to do this (what product to use) never had to do this before.

 

Thanks

[John A Stuart]

I think talc won't work as this is shumei. John

[Toryu2020]

Justin -

if this is a lacquer signature on leather as John has said it may not help - use corn starch or baby powder, cover liberally. Gently "dump" the excess and there should remain in the mei enough powder to highlight strokes and points perhaps not immediately visible.

 

If this is shumei and it is embossed into the leather you might get a good result but if very light may not make anything clearer.

 

One thing, in looking at the characters does this appear to you as four vertical lines of text? or do they appear to run horizontally?

[IanB]

Justin, The Iwai were the usual culprits for shumei but I have also seen a Myochin one (in a Kaga helmet written over a chiselled inscription - an obvious fraud). By chance I found another lacquer inscription on Monday, on an armour in the British Museum that had the inside of the bowl heavily gold lacquered. That was rather spidery like yours, but strokes were missing and it was written over lumps caused by rivets so I'm not too sure what it says except it was probably a 'Muneyuki'. The Royal Armouries have two armours by Iwai Yosaemon signed in red lacquer inside the shikoro and inside the muneita rather than inside the helmet bowl. I suspect they used bowls by someone else and signed the bits they did make - they were after all reknown for their leather armour. According to the priests at Kunozan Toshogu, the brown lacquered nuinobe do with the Daikoku-hat shaped helmet was by him but it isn't really his style of work and I have reservations. The priests at Nikko claim he worn the namban armour they have as being the one he wore at Seki ga Hara - Kunozan say he wore the brown Nuinobe do. Who knows?

I doubt your inscriptions run horizontally - that was a trick used by the Bamen who signed around the base of their helmet bowls with each character being on a separate plate. Whatever your helmet is, it ain't Bamen.

Ian Bottomley

[Justin Grant]

The kanji are cut into the steel, then covered in red. I added baby powder and it filled in the depressions. I uploaded some more pics with the powder, here is a decent smaller version. If you go to the gallery, you can blow the images up to see detail that you can't upload here.

 

 

Outside of not being able to determine if the first kanji in the Name is Kane/Kin/Ki/, the yoshi and saku are clear. They are 4 vertical rows of kanji, the far left is the name, the one next to is looks like 2 and 10, the next looks like 4 and I can't tell what the bottom two kanji are and the far right are lost to me.

 

 

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Link to complete album https://picasaweb.google.com/1040542998 ... directlink

[Nobody]

This is my guess.

 

慶應四戊辰年 - Keio 4 Boshin (Tsuchinoe-Tatsu) no Toshi (= 1868)

金(?)吉作 - Kaneyoshi saku

[Justin Grant]

Moriyama Sama

 

Thank you, I know this was a tough one when parts of words are missing.

 

I assume the Boshin reference is to the last days of the samurai before the October 1868 Nengo change to Meiji. If that is correct, it would be between January and October of 1868.

 

Now I need to see if he is listed anywhere.

 

Thank you for bringing his words back to life.

 

Justin

[Justin Grant]

  Nobody said:

This is my guess.

 

慶應四戊辰年 - Keio 4 Boshin (Tsuchinoe-Tatsu) no Toshi (= 1868)

金(?)吉作 - Kaneyoshi saku

 

 

Moriyama-Sama, eta al

 

I wonder if the kanji we assume to be "Kane" 金 is actually 企 "Ki"? I am looking for alternate kanji that may provide a match for a name.

 

Grasping at straws.

 

Thank you,

 

Justin

[Justin Grant]

Any thoughts? Appreciate the help.

 

Thanks

 

Justin