Sword Tang "Elchizen" One character translation

[FreyrStrong]

I have one fabulous sword in my collection that I was told has "Elchizen" on the tang. I assume now it was supposed to be "Echizen," not "Elchizen." Can someone here clarify? This is probably the only one I would send out to have dates.

 

[Majestic]

Yes, it was just a typo by whomever gave that information to you. Echizen is correct. 越前
Actually most of the first character (the "Echi" part of Echizen, 越) is impossible to read, but we can deduce it from the bits that can be seen plus the 前 seen below).

 

[Toritoribe]

Yes, we can see a part of sōnyō, so it must be 越前, not 備前, 筑前, 肥前, etc..

 

[FreyrStrong]

Thank you for all of the excellent information.