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Mei identification on a wakizashi

Submitted by Sylvain on Thu, 2015-10-22 18:13

Hi everyone.

Could anyone help me to find the swordsmith of this wakizashi ? I suppose the signature on the nakago of the wakizashi (1st picture) and the one on the kogatana (2nd picture) is from the same swordsmith.

In my opinion, the first kanji reads "KANE", and the third one "SAKU". But the second ????

Thanks.

Sylvain

AttachmentSize
nakago mei933.5 KB
kogatana mei883.9 KB
koshirae754.27 KB
blade730.08 KB
fuchi and tsuba589.24 KB
tsuba561.56 KB
kozuka902.15 KB
fuchi mei716.6 KB
kozuka mei800.08 KB
#1Submitted by saipan59 on Fri, 2015-10-23 00:34.

Kaneshige

The wakizashi is "KANESHIGE SAKU".

The kogatana is "SANSHUu JUu KANE---". Can't see much of the last kanji.
I don't think it's the same name as the sword, and I wouldn't expect it to be.

Pete
#2Submitted by Sylvain on Fri, 2015-10-23 16:27.

New pictures added

Thank you Pete for your precious help !

I have attached new pictures of the koshirae and the blade. The kozuka and the tsuba are from hamano school I think.

Any idea of the mei on the kozuka and the fuchi ? I know it's not a sword fittings specialist's website, but a little help from any one interested would be most welcome :-)

Sylvain
#3Submitted by saipan59 on Fri, 2015-10-23 17:16.

fuchi / kozuka

I can't read much on the fuchi or kozuka. Kodogu names are especially hard to read (correctly).
However, the last "character" in each signature is a "kao", which is like a personal seal of the artist.
I suggest finding a book or online reference, and find a match for the kao. It's easier than trying to read the mei, I think.

Pete