I do a little research on manufacturers from the Meiji period and trying to read the name/surname out of this seal (Tensho) kanji:
First of all, are the left group and right group represent the same name/surname? Seems like no, but out of about a hundred marks I discovered in the field I do a research in only these 2 are done in a seal style and not as regular kanji/haragana, so I believe if they are not the same, they are for sure connected somehow.
I found only one source that translates kanji into seal (Tensho) here:
https://www.is-hanko.co.jp/shachi/tensho_check.html
My only two guesses at the moment are:
1. 芦巾 = ASHI HABA. The above converter gives the following seal:
The problem is, there is no such name or surname (family name) as Ashihaba. So my second guess is to find something starting with Ashi and can be a name/surname.
2. 芦名 = ASHI NA. The above converter gives the following seal:
Conclusions: first guess looks more similar to the original mark after conversion, but it doesn't represent known Japanese name/surname. Second guess is a well known family name in Japan (Ashina), but the seal doesn't look so similar to the original.
So, is anyone of my guesses is right? If no, can you suggest me another option?
Thanks!
