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Mitsutada of Osafune School

Submitted by daric75 on Mon, 2015-12-28 01:13

I recently acquired a sword that has WW2 surrender paperwork stating that the swordsmith is "Mitsutada Osafune." I included a picture of the surrender paperwork as well as pictures of the mei. There are quite a few kanji on the tachi side that I can hardly read. I also would like some of you who are much more knowledgeable than I about the authenticity of the mei. I don't have the history of the sword yet, but am very intrigued if this is a true Mitsutada. I am considering sending the sword to the NBTHK for shinsa bu am wanting to decide if it would be worth it. Please take a look at the pictures and let me know your opinion on the mei and any other translation assistance you can provide.

Daric

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#1Submitted by kazarena on Mon, 2015-12-28 01:57.

Mitsutada

Hi Daric,

Mitsutada is a very big name and, being different to many other Bizen smiths, there were only 2 smiths called Mitsutada (which may have been the same person: Osafune Mitsutada and Ko-Bizen Mitsutada).

The signature is very faint. I'd need a better close up under different lighting to see more (Pete may help though and read it as is), but there seems to be a date, either second or third year of Hōji era (宝治, 1247-1249) which matches the historical period of the Mitsutada.

Three observations:

  1. We'd need to look at pictures of the whole blade, as well as good close ups of the blade surface to see if it can be related to Mitsutada. Looking at the signature isn't sufficient. But even then, it can only be a very rough analysis - no pictures can substitute seeing the blade in person.

  2. Mitsutada is a very big name, I seriously doubt the signature is genuine

  3. It surely is worth sending it to shinsa, but do expect disappointing results (if it's a fake signature)

Regards,
Stan
#2Submitted by daric75 on Mon, 2015-12-28 03:59.

Further intrigued

Thanks for such a quick reply Stan. I will take some better pictures of the blade with a good camera this week. I have seen some pictures with flour in the mei to make it stand out. Is there a trick like this that would help?

I also know that some smiths who were very famous had their names copied even in their own time. I am optimistic but am also realistic. I have never submitted a sword for Shinsa before and if you and Pete agree this would be a worthwhile endeavor, I will definitely do it, but would like some help on how to submit it and make sure it is protected. I took a couple pictures with my regular camera but definitely want to take some better ones with a better camera.

Daric
#3Submitted by kazarena on Mon, 2015-12-28 13:20.

Shinsa

Hi Daric,

By the way, one reasonably cost effective option for you is to submit your sword to NTHK-NPO shinsa in Tampa in February:

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17382-2016-nthk-npo-shinsa-in-tampa...

Regards,
Stan
#4Submitted by daric75 on Wed, 2015-12-30 05:15.

Reserved three shinsa spots today

Thank you. I booked a trip and contacted Chris to reserve the spots for this sword and two others I have.