Nihonto Club

Hi Victor,

Yes, this an interesting signature. I checked Nihonto Meikan and there is no record of such signature there (or in any other books I've got). This means that it's very likely we are reading it wrong :-)

The signature is quite faint. A photo with higher resolution will be required to confirm your reading of the signature with more certainty, but it does look like "Suke something Arikuni saku".

I think it is a late Koto sword.

Regards,
Stan

Hi Stan,

I have found another one wakizashi with this strange mei (please see attached foto).

Also I have found some information, that this swordsmith Arikuni was the Sanjo Kokaji Munechika student (at Kanko 1004).

http://www.sho-shin.com/sanjo.htm

Am I right?

Regards,
Victor

Hi Victor,

It's extremely unlikely to be a work of Sanjo Arikuni. There were many smiths signed Arikuni throughout the centuries.

In regards to the photos you added - is it the same sword or a different one?

Stan

Hi Stan,

Yes, the second mei is different one. Second blade has yokote line. I think it was re-polished using modern stile.
I have compared two different meis, it is the same.

The same topik about that second sword was on Italian forum.

http://www.intk-token.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=3315&&page=2

Second sword photos was downloaded from Italian forum.

At the moment it is difficult to make new high resolution photos of my sword (it is on the go from Japan).

SANJO MUNECHIKA had next students: HISA; ARIKUNI; KAWACHI ARINARI; SANETOSHI; CHIKANORI.
It was KANKO period (1004 year).
KAWACHI ARINARI was SANJO MUNECHIKAs son (period CHO-WA 1012).

Full name of Arikuni was Suketomo Arikuni. I found Suketomo on the chart (http://www.sho-shin.com/sanjo.htm) and the swordsmith has the same perion Kanko 1004 year.

After that, the students of Suketomo Arikuni were KAWACHI ARIKUNI and GOJO KANENAGA.
KAWACHI ARIKUNI I think was his son (period CHO-GEN 1028).

Please tell, what do you think?

Regards,

Victor

Victor,

Based on what I saw in the books, association between Sanjō Arikuni and Suketomo is very questionable, or more like: legendary. It was passed through generations and written records and it's not even clear if it's Arikuni 有國 or 在國 (we don't know if it was the same smith or 2 different ones), or if it's Suketomo 助友 or 祐友. And I'm not even sure if there are any extant signed works of Sanjō Arikuni to compare with, at least I wasn't able to find any. Nihonto Meikan doesn't say anything about Suketomo-Arikuni association. Personally, unless there is some solid evidence that it was the same smith, I would treat it as a legend.

Additional photos you posted are very helpful. This style of sword is from Muromachi period. If we consider Sanjō Arikuni, this style didn't exist for another 400 years since Arikuni's time. The steel looks somewhat Shinto but it's hard to judge from photos. You mentioned the sword is in transit from Japan. This is another clue: signed work of Sanjō Arikuni would deserve a better place in some national museum (it would be so rare and important) :-) And Japanese people know a lot about their swords...

By the way, there's another Suketomo Arikuni sword here. It doesn't show the nakago and I don't know why exactly it's been attributed to Tenmon era, but your sword is much more likely to be from the same period. I would recommend enquiring about that sword and asking to send pictures of the signature.

There were quite a few Arikuni in Tenmon era (see here). I didn't see any references to 'Suketomo Arikuni' anywhere. Personally, I think it's probably an old gimei. I would be still very interested to know more about this sword. Three blades with the same name not mentioned in any major swordsmith directories is something intriguing.

Regards,
Stan

Hi Stan,

Thank you for your help.
Everything that you said was very useful for me.

Regards,
Victor

Hi Victor,

You are always welcome.

If you find more information regarding this Arikuni, please share with us.

Stan