Nakago inscription

[glyptos]

Hi members from a new member.

Its a pleasure to find such a knowledgable group for a subject I'm new to. Could any of you help me with a translation of an inscription on the tang of a short sword I believe is called a Wakizashi? I've included pictures of the entire sword and of the inscription with a partial close up. It is supposed to be a late 19th century item, but as I have no expertise, I will most likely not purchase it, unless something fairly conclusive is revealed. Nevertheless I'm curious about the inscription. I have taken the advice of Brian and attempted to try the translation myself. I think I've can be sure that the second character from the top means "village" and the next character means "3". The top character might mean "1000", but I'm not sure. The rest I haven't been able to find. I appreciate whatever help you folks can provide.

[leo]

Hi and welcome to the board, though it would have been nice to know your name.

Unfortunately for you your sword seems to be chinese scrap, so it would be useless to translate the mei.

You will find a useful link at the top of this page.

 

All the Best, Martin

[glyptos]

Hey Martin, thanks for the welcome, and I apologize for the lack of name. I'm Stuart.

I guess I knew this was the case, but thought I'd ask anyway. I expect that if I keep watching this site I'll learn something. Thanks again.

Stuart

[Brian]

Yep, Chinese fake, not even close.

Glad you haven't purchased it yet. Study, study, study. And good that you asked first.

 

Brian

[glyptos]

That's why I joined up, Brian.

Stuart

[Brian]

No worries Stuart. There are some great links above to go through, and also a lot of recommended books. If you post your location, we can perhaps also let you know where to see some good swords in your area and/or a sword study group.

Feel free to ask anything....we are always happy to get in the way of sales by the Chinese fakers.

 

Brian

[glyptos]

Thanks again Brian. I live in Philadlephia. I have already begun exploring the links on this site, and am enjoying it very much.

Stuart

[Nobody]

Although the mei translation is useless, you will see how absurd it is if you know the last four characters.

 

三船敏郎 – Mifune Toshiro

Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshir%C5%8D_Mifune

[Ted Tenold]

Wow! A classic actor *and* a swordsmith. Gee, I wonder how he found the time.

 

 

Stuart, welcome to the board and congratulations on dodging a bullet!

[reinhard]

Maybe Guido can tell us something about Chinese sense of humour. A good laugh it was anyway.

 

reinhard

[Guido]

In my experience, Chinese humor lacks any sense of irony or sarcasm (at least here in the North). I therefore don't think that inscribing Mifune Toshiro is meant as a joke, as usual a random name was chosen that is distinct Japanese.

 

Recently a Chinese colleague parked his Chery Tiggo next to my Toyota RAV4, and he and some others remarked that both cars look almost the same, except for the fog lights. When I jokingly told them that my Toyota is probably a cheap copy of the Tiggo, they looked at me like I was retarted, and slowly and patiently started to explain to me that it is the other way around.