Nobody

桜に岐 (Gi and a cherry) Ref. http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_118.htm

A simple DIY tool

Hi Dan, Sorry but I think that there is something suspicious about the tanto. 1. The mei on the blade is ridiculous. The characters are 粟田田吉光, which might be a bad joke. The name is similar to 粟田口吉光 (Awataguchi Yoshimitsu) which is a BIG name. 2. A mei generally is not chiseled on a blade but on a tang, though there are exceptions. 3. The carving on the scabbard is upside-down. 4. The blade itself might be a broken tip of a katana or a genuine tanto.

Hi, I cannot say that your Yasutoku is gimei. But the writing of the mei is a little different from another mei on the following page. http://www.geocities.jp/kanetoyo2666/ya ... igata.html BTW, the correct reading of 靖徳 might be Yasunori.

That sheet seems to be a memorandum for communication. The printed formats to be filled are as follows; The time and date of the Dispatch: The time and date of the Reception: Recipient: Place of dispatch: Sender:

If the name is 若吉, it may generally be read as one of the combinations below. We cannot know the true reading. 若 (nao, masa, yori, waka) 吉 (kichi, yoshi) BTW, the family name may be Ohta (太田).

Hi, I am almost sure that they are previous owner's address and name. The date is Showa 21st year. The format reminds me of something like a surrender tag.

Ido Hidetoshi (井戸秀俊) is listed on the following table as both Chuge-saku and Ge-saku ranks. http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/tosho.htm

Obviously the same smith. Matsui, Meiji 3 nen; http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... php?t=1919

Thanks Erol, Yes, I also know the Nobumitsu of eary Kamakura. That must be a bargain, though that is still too expensive for me.

I will give it a try. :lol: The score may be less than 60 %, as I know very little about the orthodox Japanese readings for classical Chinese. 虎為群獣尊 (tora wa gunju no son wo nasu) :?: 誰敢触其怒 (tare ga aete sono ikari ni fureyouka) 唯有父子情 (tada fushi no jo aru nomi) 一歩一回顧 (ippo ikkai kaerimiru)

Hi Nigel, That is a traditional type of ordinary Japanese Scissors usually used for sewing, not for bonsai. home: http://www.misuzu-hasami.co.jp/ similar type: http://www.misuzu-hasami.co.jp/501.html

Ah, I thought that the head was being held with his right hand.

This is only a possibitily, but we can see the tail of the saya （equipped with shirizaya [尻鞘]) on the attached photo.

I have just read the section of Shinchokoki. The translation of the measurement is correct, as far as the original text had no typo. IMHO, the sword seems to be an O-dachi according to the description of the text. length (maybe total): 181.8 cm width (of saya): 15.1 - 18.2 cm Machida version of original text (the part is p. 11): 192 kB http://www.page.sannet.ne.jp/gutoku2/sintyokouki_1.pdf

Thanks Ron, So, if you inform the owner of the family web site of the katana with its documents, she will be pleased.

Darcy, I do not know why Tanobe sensei used 觀 instead of 鑒 in this case. There might be no special meaning in the choise of the kanji for him. Or he might use 觀 because the sayagaki included some hearsay evidence.

Thanks Ron, That seems to be a very fantastic story. But there are also other possibilities that he is not, because Ogasawara is a family name which is not so rare in Japan and also Hideo is a very common given name. It is probable that there were many Ogasawara Hideo(s) in that times, although I do not intend to deny your finding.

The mukansa swordsmith Kawachi Kunihira says in the video that the 2nd month and the 8th month roughly correspond to March and September of our current calendar respectively. In that season, the temperature of water and air (atmosphere) become almost equal and that is good for tempering/quenching. http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... php?t=1773

Thanks Darcy, Actually, I realized the point. Generally, when a appraiser appraised a katana, he/she usually use a kanji "Kan (鑑 or 鑒)" which means "appraise". However, when he/she only see the katana and does not (or does not want to) appraise it, a kanji "Kan (観 or 觀) is used, which means just "see". [Ref. Tokuno Kazuo (得能一男)] This is only my general knowledge. And I do not think that this practice applies to this case.

Here are the translations, although some English terms may be inappropriate. Also, I do not know who Mr. Miwa was. I am unsure about the reading of three kanji after Miwa. But I guess that they could be his given name or his post (assistant interpreter???). Anyway he seems to be a soldier who served in the Russo-Japanese War. 美濃國直江志津 Mino no kuni Naoe Shizu 但大磨上無銘也 同極ハ志津兼氏ノ門人等ヲ汎称スル者也 時代南北朝期 地刃共典型而 出来宜敷候 明治卅八年旅順之役ノ際三輪輔佐（or 佑?）象本刀ヲ携行シ奮闘セシニ仍リ熟慮断行ノ名號被付ト謂フ However, it is O-suriage and mumei. This attribution generally includes students of Shizu Kaneuji (志津兼氏). Era: Nanbokucho period. Both Ji and Ha are typical and its workmanship is good. At the battle of Lüshun (旅順) in Meiji 38th yr. (1905), Miwa ??? (三輪輔佐[or 佑?]象) bore this katana and fought well. So, it is said that it was given an honorable neme “Jukuryo Danko (熟慮断行 = To think deeply, act decisively)â€. 刃長貮尺二寸参分半有之 Blade length: 2 shaku 2 sun 3 and a half bu (= 67.72 cm) 干時丁亥歳皐月吉辰 （Tokini Hinoto-I no toshi Satsuki kisshin） 探山觀并誌 Date: a lucky day in May of 2007 Tanzan saw and wrote this.

Hi, I am afraid that your theory is not always true. AFAIK, Tadayoshi's wakizashi and/or tanto were always signed on the omote side.

Just out of curiosity, how did you know the dates of birth and death of Mr. Hideo Ogasawara who seemed to be the original owner of the katana?

Here are the correct readings. mei: Ishihara Kanenao (石原兼直) date: Kigen ni-sen roppyaku nen ni gatsu (紀元二千六百年二月 = 2600th Imperial yr., 2nd month) = Feb. 1940

Hi, The first two kanji in the date are Kigen (紀元 = the Era). In this case, it is equivalent to Koki (皇紀) which means the Imperial era. FYI: http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... light=2600