Kotagana blade signed

[Remka]

Hello everyone,
I would need your help to date this Kotagana Blade and to translate the signature / inscription. It seems to me that it is Yoshimori but I would like to have your opinion.
Do you have an estimate as well?
Thank you very much.

[GHP]

I do not see a name ... but

Here's what I see. Totally blotted out and not there for reading is in blue.

日本鍛冶頭
Head of the Japan Forge


以南蠻鉄造
Motte Nanban Tetsu Zō
Constructed/made [by means of] Nanban Steel

The modern kanji for "~ban" is 蛮 which threw me; but then I looked to see if I could find the old-kanji, which I did: 蠻 .. BINGO!


Cheers!
--Guy

[Remka]

Thank you very much for your help GHP!
What is "Nanban" referring to?
Would you have an idea to date this blade?

Thank you very much.

[GHP]

南蛮

What is "Naban" referring to?
Would you have an idea to date this blade?

Thank you very much.

I'm not very knowledgable about things like this, but I did find a site that dates Nanban steel from the 16th ~17th centuries; I do not know when the term "Nanban Steel" stopped being used.

During the Warring States period (1467-1568) Japan iron supplies became insufficient. It was around this point that nanban (“southern barbarian,” so called because Europeans came to Japan from their bases to the south in the Philippines and Macao) iron came into Japan via the Portuguese, with swords and firearms made in earnest. Nanban iron was also referred to as “Indian iron,” and was used for approximately 90 years from the Keicho (1596-1616) to Hoei (1704-1711) eras. After unifying Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi made war on Korea, a move that is said to have encouraged the spread of the new Chiba and Dewa steel mass production methods throughout the country.

source

Literally, nanban means "Southern Barbarian" and refered to the Portuguese who had contact with Japan at the time. Sometimes you hear "hairy barbarian". Here's an online Japanese dictionary definition:

南蛮 【なんばん nanban】 (n) (1) (arch) (derogotory) southern barbarians (formerly used by the Chinese to refer to non-ethnic Chinese to the south); (2) (arch) South-East Asia; (3) (arch) (See 紅毛・2) Western Europe (esp. Spain and Portugal, their South-East Asian colonies, and their goods and people arriving in Japan via the colonies); (pref) (4) exotic (esp. Western European or South-East Asian style); (n) (5) (usu.ナンバ) (in dance, puppetry, etc.) thrusting the right foot and right arm forward at the same time (or left foot and left arm); (6) (abbr) (See 南蛮煮・なんばんに・2) food prepared using chili peppers or Welsh onions

In Japan, this originally referred to the inhabitants of Southeast Asia, particularly the islands of modern-day Philippines and Indonesia. When the Portuguese and Spanish first made contact in Japan, they came from their colonies in Southeast Asia, and were consequently given the same label of nanban. This usage was initially distinct from the separate label 紅毛 (kōmō, “red hair”) used for the Dutch. Over time, this distinction became less important, and the term nanban was used to refer to westerners in general.

source

As to age, the Japan Sword Society of Hawaii writes:

The influence of the European culture increased with the increasing of commercial exchanges. Goods were excanged between Europe and Japan in this period, and European iron was also imported. The Japanese name for this iron is nanban-tetsu, "steel of the Southern Barbarians." Smiths begun to proudly sign on the tang of their creatures "made with nanban tetsu" because European items were really fascinating to the Japanese. But Kokan Nagayama quotes in his "Token Kantei Dokuhon" that such a steel wasn't better than tamahagane for making Nihonto due to the impurities in it, especially phosporus. This foreign steel is brighter than Japanese steel, and soon the fashion went out.

source

I'm sure one of our resident experts will let us know.

Regards,
--Guy

[Remka]

Thanks again for this information!

Would other people have things to add about this blade?

Best regards.

[GHP]

Thanks again for this information!

Would other people have things to add about this blade?

Best regards.

Currently the blade images are not showing in your original post.

--Guy

[Remka]

Oh yes, so I repost the photos.
Thank you for telling me.

[Remka]

I repost new photos because the old ones disappear each time.
If anyone has extra info ...

Thank you.