『OTHER TOKYO CHISEL MARKS』
1: The mark of the first generation MASAYOSHI. His mortise chisel (Mukomachi Nomi 向待鑿) were highly regarded at the time.
2: The mark of the first generation MASAYOSHI. The difference from the above one is that this chisel does not have the Chinese characters for "東一" but does have the early Tokyo Chisel Smith's Guild mark.
3: The mark of the second generation OSAHIRO. Some people call NAGAHIRO. No matter which one is pronounced correctly, the Chinese characters are "長弘”. Have the early Tokyo Chisel Smith's Guild mark.
4: The mark of the HIDARIHISAHIRO. "左（HIDARI）" is normal. "久弘(HISAHIRO)" is the mirrored character. Made by second generation HISAHIRO. The blacksmith's name is 柏木政太郎(KASHIWAGI MASATARO). Because of the economic impact of the Russo-Japanese War, he had to borrow money from a wholesaler on the last day of 1904. He used the HISAHIRO mark as collateral. After that, he had no money to redeem the mark, so he had to give up using the HISAHIRO mark. After this incident, he started using "HIDARIHISAHIRO". In addition, he registered this mark in 1905 or 1906.
5: The mark of the mirrored HIDARIHISASAKU. Made by the second generation HISASAKU. The most common mark for this blacksmith. By the way. The first generation HISASAKU is the apprentice of the second generation HISAHIRO.
6: The mark of the mirrored HIDARIHISASAKU. Made by the same blacksmith as the one above. Usually this mark indicates that it was specially made or customized.
7: The mark of the second generation KONOBU. The blacksmith's name is TAKIGUCHI KIYO (滝口清). There is a flower-like mark at the top of the Chinese character mark. This flower-like mark is often used on his carving chisels.
8: The mark of the second generation KONOBU. Only two Chinese characters. Commonly seen in his carving knife.
9: The early mark of the second generation KONOBU. The blacksmith's name is TAKIGUCHI KIYO (滝口清).
10: The mark of the first generation KONOBU. The blacksmith's name is TAKIGUCHI Rokunosuke (滝口六之助).
11: The mark of the unknown generation KONOBU. The font of "小信" is different from pictures 7, 8, 9, 10. above. In addition, there is a mark under "小信" - "特撰" means specially selected items. This mark is rare in Konobu chisels. Unfortunately, the specific information about "特撰" mark is currently unclear.
12: The mark of the Nora(のら). The blacksmith's name was Hiroo Yamashita(山下浩郎) and the forge was in Chiba Prefecture. His main job is a Japanese samurai sword blacksmith. Carpentry tools are only supplied to Tsuchida stores. I have to say that his chisels are not only tools but also works of art.
13: The mark of the Takahiro(孝弘). The blacksmith's last name was Maruyama(圓山). In some sources, he is known as Maruyama Takahiro. I could find very little information about this blacksmith. From the information I got online, this mark is from the first generation Takahiro.
14: Another type of Takahiro(孝弘) mark. The blacksmith lasted two generations. But for now, there is no information to prove that this mark is from the second generation. Judging from the chisel, this chisel was made later than the one above. In addition, the second generation of Takahiro blacksmiths continued until around 1970.
15: The mark of the Sukechika(助近). Blacksmith name is Fujikura Mannosuke. His workshop is located in Honda machi, Kokubunji City, Tokyo. He was born in 1920 and started working independently at Honda machi after he turned 30, using the mark "Sukechika" for his chisels. The blacksmith retired in 1998.
16: The mark of the Masahiko(正彦). The mark is from a wholesaler. The blacksmith is Fujikura Mannosuke, and his own mark is Sukechika(助近).
17: The mark of the Hiromasa(弘正). Blacksmith's name is Hasegawa Fujisaku. His workshop is located in Komatsukawa Machi, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. Hiromasa is the mark owned by the wholesaler, and the blacksmith's own mark is Ichikuni(市国). His own mark is not as famous as Hiromasa mark. The blacksmith made chisels for many wholesalers. The Morihe shop owner told me that their brand Kunihide (國秀) chisels were also made by this blacksmith for a while.
18: The mark of the Ichikuni(市国). This mark is Hasegawa Fujisaku blacksmith‘s own mark. Above the mark is not the Tokyo Chisel smiths guild mark. Origin and meaning unknown.
19: The mark of the Hirochika(廣近). Another common mark from the chisel blacksmith Hasegawa Fujisaku. This mark belongs to the wholesaler.
20: The mark of the Mitsuki(光月). This mark is Yamazaki Nobutsugu blacksmith‘s own mark. He is a member of the Tokyo Chisel smiths guild, but his blacksmith shop was in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture. Yamazaki Nobutsugu (Mitsuki/光月) is a fellow apprentice of Hasegawa Fujisaku (Hiromasa/弘正; Ichikuni/市國). Their master was Santaro Yokosaka(横坂三太郎), the chisel mark Ichimonji(一文字). Yokosaka's blacksmith shop was located on the Komatsugawa, Tokyo.
21: The mark of the Yoshihiro(吉弘). This mark is most likely from the first generation Yoshihiro. The blacksmith's name is Suzuki Yoshigorou(鈴木吉五郎), was born around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. He served as an apprentice to a scissor maker in the Setagaya area of Tokyo during the Meiji era. After completing training under a scissor craftsman in Setagaya, he established his own chisel blacksmith shop in Tabata, Kita-ku, Tokyo. His apprentice's mark is Sukechika, which can be seen in the 15th picture on this page.
22: The mark of the Ichitsugu(市次) with early characteristic Tokyo Chisel Smith‘s Guild mark. The blacksmith's name is unknown, he was an apprentice of the chisel blacksmith Ichihiro(市弘). From the existing information, it is not possible to determine which generation of Ichihiro his master was. According to my judgment, it should be the second generation of Ichihiro because he used the early characteristic Tokyo Chisel Smith‘s Guild mark.
23: The mark of the Masamitsu(正光), blacksmith's name is unknown. The mark on the top was used by the blacksmith himself. Below is the wholesaler’s mark (the blacksmith is unknown). He was a famous chisel smith in Japan's Meiji era, mainly made chisels with Tamahagane. According to the research of Noboru Tsuchida, in addition to his superb forging skills, his chisels were also very precise in shape. The second generation of Hidarihisahiro and Chiyozuru Korehide used his chisels as objects of imitation and learning.
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