Original post:
What she found was a sword which appears to be made by the same smith as mine.
A comparison between the inscriptions (mine on the right):
筑州住宗勉作 - Chikuzen Sumuneun studies. My sensei tells me the smith's name is Sou Tsutomu, and his father was Sou Kunimitsu.
Now, this is where I have a bit of trouble understanding. The website indicates the following as the inscription on the tang:
昭和四十八年八月吉日 which says Showa 48th, August.
The tang appears to read Showa 28th , August? Mine appears to read Showa 29th, August? I will have to get this checked out because though I understand the Chinese/Japanese numerical system, I am not at all familar with the Japanese calendar system. 48th year of Showa seems to be 1973, but if it's the 29th year of Showa, that would make it 1953. If that's the case, mine is 29th year of showa, making it 1954.
***EDIT 29Aug17*** I have since spoken to my sensei about the date and he advised that the character I thought was a "2" is actually two characters side by side, indicating a 4. Apparently that's how it was written back then. So what I thought was this character:
二
is actually:
二二
thus indicating 4 instead of 2. So in effect, the website is correct in stating it was the 48th of Showa. This carries over from the Touken Sato sword over to mine and they are both still one year apart. The Touken Sato sword is the 48th year of Showa (1973) as stated on their website and mine is still 49th year of Showa (1974). My friend Ron told me he's had the sword for about 30 years, making my sword only about 13 years old at the time he acquired it. The story he was told is plausible, date wise.
As the smith did not receive his award until 1990, I see little reason for someone to make a fake with his name on it 30+ years ago, but that's just my opinion.
Other information that appears on the website:
種別 刀
国 福岡県
時代 昭和～平成
法量 ２尺４寸５分
Shubetsu-gatana kuni Fukuoka ken jidai Shōwa ~ Heisei-hō-ryō 2-shaku 4-sun 5-bu
Which suggest it was forged in Fukuoka prefecture during Showa Heisei, sword length, 2.45 shaku
More info:
新作名刀展無鑑査刀匠
金着せ二重はばき
白鞘
福岡県登録：昭和４８年１２月２０日交付
Shinsaku meitō-ten mu kansa tōshō kinkise nijū habaki shirazaya Fukuoka ken tōroku: Shōwa 48-nen 12 tsuki 20-nichi kōfu
宗勉刀匠は、昭和二十一年に父である宗正光刀匠に師事し、昭和三十年に美術刀剣類制作承認を受け、同年新作名刀展に初出品、その後、文化庁長官賞・薫山賞など幾多の特賞を連続受賞し、平成二年には刀匠会の最高位である無鑑査に認定されました。その作風は、金筋・砂流しなど刃中の働きと変化に富んだ相州伝を最も得意としています。
この刀は、小板目肌よく詰んだ精美な鍛えに、地沸微塵に厚くつく。刃文は変化に富んだ互の目乱れ、足太く長く頻りに入り、匂深く小沸よくつき、匂口明るく冴えるなど、宗刀匠の高度な技量を存分に示した作品です。
Sō Tsutomu tōshō wa, Shōwa nijūichinen ni chichidearu Sō Seikō tōshō ni shiji shi, Shōwa san jū-nen ni bijutsu tōken-rui seisaku shōnin o uke, dōnen shinsaku meitō-ten ni hatsu shuppin, sonogo, Bunkachō chōkan-shō Kaoru-san-shō nado ikuta no tokushō o renzoku jushō shi, heiseininen ni wa tōshō-kai no saikō-idearu mu kansa ni nintei sa remashita. Sono sakufū wa, kinsuji sunagashi nado hachūnohataraki to henka ni tonda Aishū-den o mottomo tokui to shite imasu. Kono katana wa, koitamehada yoku tsunda seibina kitae ni,-chi nie mijin ni atsuku tsuku. Jinmon wa henka ni tonda Tagai no me midare, ashi futoku nagaku shikirini hairi, nioi fukaku ko nie yoku tsuki, nioikuchi akaruku saeru nado, Sō tōshō no kōdona giryō o zonbun ni shimeshita sakuhindesu.
Another sword with the same name found on Giheiya:
種別Category 刀 刃長Blade length 76.8cm
反りCurvature 2.4cm 目釘穴a rivet of a sword hilt 1個
元幅Width at the bottom part of blade 33.5mm 先幅Width at the top 21.0mm
元重Thickness at the bottom part of blade 7.0mm 先重Thickness at the top 5.0mm
重量Weight 刀身855g 時代Period 昭和
銘文Signature and Date （表）筑州住宗勉作
（裏）昭和乙年二月吉日
登録Registration Code 昭和60年7月18日 福岡県教育委員会
品番 02-1207
<体配>
鎬造り庵棟、身幅やや太く重尋常、腰反りの太刀姿で小鋒。茎は生で筋違い鑢がかかり、茎尻は栗尻。
<地鉄>
小板目肌が良く詰み、棒写りが立つ。
<刃紋>
刃紋は、互の目、足良く入り、匂い深く小沸よくつき、匂口明るく冴え、刃中は稲妻、金筋がかかる。帽子は乱れ込み小丸に返る。
<特徴>
宗勉、本名は宗勝、昭和2年生まれ、福岡市博多区山王住。銘を筑州山王住宗勉作、筑州住宗勉作などと切り相州伝を得意とします。昭和二十一年に父である宗正光刀匠に師事し、昭和三十年に 美術刀剣類制作承認を受け、同年新作名刀展に初出品、その後、文化庁長官賞・薫山賞など幾多の特賞を連続受賞し、平成二年には刀匠会の最高位である無鑑査に認定されました。
本作、宗勉刀匠58歳の一番油が乗っていた頃の作品で、平地には薄らと棒写りが立つ逸品です。
<拵え>
ハバキ：素銅地金着一重。 白鞘が付属
<刀剣の状態>
研ぎ: 研ぎ上げたばかりです。
傷: 傷は有りません。
A signature comparison from left to right between the Touken sword, Giheya sword and mine:
A date comparison from left to right between the Touken sword, Giheiya sword and mine:
Anyway, this info was a nice find thanks to my wife. At least there's a bit more history about the sword than I can pass on to my son one day. My buddy Vincent also found this little nugget of information:
http://www.jp-sword.com/files/seki/Shinsakuto.htm
If you scroll down to 1990, that's when Sou Tsutomu received his Mukansa recognition. I'm not sure if I will get my sword certified by NBTHK, but that might be worth looking into.
Now I just have to find the history of my o-tanto
Mei: Sadatsugu
Date: 3rd year of Ansei (1856?), 2nd month
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