a doozy... kind of half-done and need help

[Darcy]

This is one of the letters that is attached to my Tokubetsu Juyo Yukimitsu. This sword was owned by the main line of the Ikeda Daimyo Ke, from around 1700 to after WWII... it's very tricky for me and I've gotten some assistance but don't want to keep bugging the same people until they disown me. Any help is much appreciated.

 

This letter had gone untranslated for a few years and I've been making some progress, a friend of mine pointed out that the little additional tags were someone making notes. I noticed that the notes match the sayagaki on the sword as well, same handwriting. The story told to me when I got the sword was that Emperor Meiji had visited Marquis Ikeda and was presented with this sword for his judgment.

 

The sword has "Tenran Hin" on the sayagaki added afterwards on a label, this means "Imperially Inspected Item." Since the sayagaki and the note-taker have the same handwriting, it would imply an order of events: 1. sayagaki (passage of time) 2. imperial inspection 3. this letter 4. annotations made by note-taker and sayagaki-writer 5. tenran label added to the sayagaki. It's also possible that 1. is concurrent with 4., and the label is added by someone later on down the road.

 

My theory is that the sayagaki-writer is Ikeda Akimasa, who was the Marquis Ikeda at the time of the note-taking, as the note is dated Meiji 8. The writer of the letter is ... well the letter seems to be written as a judgment and in different handwriting and is referring to the Imperial Inspection. Possible that it was written by Emperor Meiji? Or someone anonymous transcribing? Or just documenting the event?

 

Anyway, here is the first part of the letter. The third part of the letter is an old document from 1720 by Honami Shobei which attributes the sword to Yukimitsu and assesses a value. The second part I will bang my head on tomorrow.

 

(Ugh, Brian you disabled /me cries... click for the first page of the letter...)

 

http://www.nihonto.ca/yukimitsu-2/soejo-1-l.jpg

 

Matching colors and size:

 

(1)

鑑査状付

Kansa-jo-tsuki

Judgement letter??

 

(2)

長貳尺三寸二分

Ha: 2 shaku, 3 sun, 2 bu

70.2 cm

 

(3)

天覧御刀

Tenran on katana

Imperially Inspected Honorable Sword

 

(4)

明示八年五月改

Meiji 8 nen, 5 gatsu aratame

Inspected in May 1875.

 

(5)

添状

Soejo

Note Attached (referring to the Honami note attached? Or this?)

 

(6)

行光佳也

Yukimitsu yoshi-nari (I am told this is read yoshi-nari, I don't know which two kanji and don't know the meaning...)

 

(7)

元切状壱

Motokiri-jo ichi

???????????????????????

 

(

故御腰物方

Ko On-koshi-mono-kata

???????????????????????? honorable waist thing wut?

[Nobody]

(1)

鑑査状付

Kansa-jo-tsuki

Judgement letter??

Judgement paper attached

 

(2)

長貳尺三寸二分

Ha: 2 shaku, 3 sun, 2 bu

70.2 cm

Nagasa: 2 shaku, 3 zun, 2 bu

 

(3)

天覧御刀

Tenran on katana

Imperially Inspected Honorable Sword

無銘御刀

Mumei o-katana (or on katana)

Unsigned katana

 

(4)

明示八年五月改

Meiji 8 nen, 5 gatsu aratame

Inspected in May 1875.

明治八年五月改

Meiji 8 nen 5 gatsu aratame (or Kai)

Revised in May 1875

 

(5)

添状

Soejo

Note Attached (referring to the Honami note attached? Or this?)

Attached Note (including the Honami note)

 

(6)

行光佳也

Yukimitsu yoshi-nari (I am told this is read yoshi-nari, I don't know which two kanji and don't know the meaning...)

行光よã—也 (kanji for よ㗠may be ç”±, but I might be wrong)

It is said to be Yukimitsu.

 

(7)

元切状壱

Motokiri-jo ichi

???????????????????????

The third kanji could be 帳 (cho = notebook), but I may be wrong.

Cannot read the second kanji.

 

(

故御腰物方

Ko On-koshi-mono-kata

???????????????????????? honorable waist thing wut?

御腰物 (o-koshi no mono) is an euphemistic expression for a katana.

I am unsure about æ•… and æ–¹ in this context.

[k morita]

Moriyama sama.

[Nobody]

Thanks Morita san, :D

 

Could you tell us about (7) and (?

[k morita]

Konbanwa ,Moriyama san

 

(7) 元?帳壱

( 故御腰物方 (Former swords preservation section of the clan.)

[Nobody]

Thanks again Morita san,

 

I thought that (7) was the name of a notebook in which the katana was listed.

[Darcy]

Thank you both ever so much. Definitely sounds more correct, though unfortunately doesn't substantiate the Tenran on the sayagaki anymore.

 

So this now appears to be an inventory note. (7) we still don't quite know... I am folding in all of the changes, please let me know if I got something wrong?

 

(0) 貳之御箱

Ni no on hako

A sword in the second swords box.

 

(1) 鑑査状付

Kansa-jo-tsuki

Judgement paper attached.

 

(2) 長貳尺三寸二分

Nagasa: 2 shaku, 3 sun, 2 bu

70.2 cm

 

(3) 無銘御刀

Mumei o-katana

Unsigned Honorable Sword

 

(4) 明示八年五月改

Meiji 8 nen, 5 gatsu aratame

Revised in May 1875.

 

(5) 添状

Soejo

(Honami) Note Attached

 

(6) 行光之由

Yukimitsu no-yoshi

Said to be by Yukimitsu

 

(7) 元切帳壱

Motokiri cho ichi

??????? (reference to a notebook)

 

( 故御腰物方

Ko o-koshi-no-mono-kata

Former swords preservation section of the clan.