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SteveM

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Everything posted by SteveM

  1. 国廣 https://japaneseswordindex.com/oshigata/kunihir2.jpg I wouldn't have guessed it myself, but the cursive form of kuni checks out. https://moji.tekkai.com/zoom/%E5%9B%BD/page.html
  2. Stylized kanji characters, usually made to look like ancient Chinese seals. (Actually its often referred to as "seal script"). The one you posted is the seal script version of the character "本".
  3. I think 源 or possibly 漂 but that doesn't bring me too much closer to the answer.
  4. I'm not sure if that talcum powder on the tang is helping or hurting. The year on the reverse side looks like 天文十二 Tenbun 12 So that somewhat narrows the field. See here for a non-exhaustive list of candidates. https://meitou.info/index.php/%E9%95%B7%E8%88%B9%E6%B4%BE Your sword does not look like 清光 (Kiyomitsu), but it is of the same vintage as the many Kiyomitsu smiths listed near the bottom of that site. Another name that pops up often in Tenbun is Sukesada (祐定), but the name on this sword doesn't resemble Sukesada either, so we get deeper into the weeds. For sure it is a combination of given name and art name: something like 左兵衛尉囗光 (Sahyōe-no-jyo -mitsu). Edit: George beat me to the punch.
  5. 緒 is usually pronounced ”o" when used by itself or as part of a compound word. へその緒 heso-no-o (umbilical cord, literally "bellybutton tassel") 下緒 (sageo) But wikipedia and other sources tell me that 刀緒 takes on the unique reading of tōcho https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8B%E7%B7%92 (midway through the page they discuss 刀緒) https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/9969/ When 太刀 (tachi) is combined with 緒, it is pronounced tachio. In contrast, Ohmura goes out of his way to say that 刀緒 is pronounced tōsho, which is unusual. As he has studied guntō pretty extensively, I'd be interested to know why his reading of this is different from the majority of other sources on the internet. (It could be a regional variation of his that he is unaware of).
  6. Hello Andrei, 服部鍛刀所造之 Made at Hattori Foundry (i.e. sword-making place) It blows my mind that people could decipher the somewhat difficult hand-written address on the tag, and completely give up on the clear inscription on the tang. Hattori is one of the better-known names of the WW2 smiths. I don't think the word on the peeled-off part of the scabbard is 平和. It looks more to me like 中和, but who knows what it means. There is such a word in Japanese, but in this case I think it is a shorthand for a name. I don't think a Japanese soldier would randomly write "peace" on his scabbard.
  7. Yes there is - its 五瓜に中陰蔦 https://kamon.myoji-yurai.net/kamonDetail.htm?kamonName=%E4%BA%94%E7%93%9C%E3%81%AB%E4%B8%AD%E9%99%B0%E8%94%A6
  8. I can't see 無常 in there. The second to the last one has the same strong vertical line that 常 has, but I feel that is the only thing it has, and its missing too many of the other bits that a 常 should have. I think it might be 事. 無 is a word that often appears in zen phrases, so its a good guess. But 無 has a distinct style. I don't think the fourth word on your scroll shares any elements that a calligraphic 無 should have. So...it was a good enough guess to get me looking again, but in the end I think 無常 is a dead end. The last kanji is frustrating. Your suggestion is very close - at least the right side is close. Its the same as 你 or 弥. I actually think the radical of the kanji on your scroll is water (sanzui-hen), but I've hit a brick wall. The right side of 弥 is in itself a simplified version of 爾, but after going down all these side streets I'm convinced the one on your scroll is something probably much more common. A calligraphic form of 漂 or something.
  9. I can't help much with this. More blanks than words for me 一囗年囗囗囗囗 My guess is that this is a zen maxim or aphorism, but I can't find any that begin with ichi followed by something-year. I was guessing at 一万年 (ten-thousand years) as the opening three words with no luck. The last one is clear enough that it should be decipherable - I have yet to figure it out though.
  10. Left side is 有楽刻 Yūraku koku I assume this is a 3-kanji art name, but no such art name shows up in Wakayama. I don't consider Wakayama's art name list to be exhaustive though. I'm also not 100% sure of the last kanji, so I put it in red The right side is a bit more enigmatic, using a stylized tensho script. My gut feeling is that it is supposed to be 宗珉 (Sōmin) with kao.
  11. All things considered, it was probably a fair price for the piece, but the experience was ruined because the dealer was a bit dishonest with the description. If you want a sword with no major flaws, and a verifiable signature you are already talking about a sword that is perhaps twice (at least) what you paid for the sword in this thread. I think if you look for a sword in the $700 range, you will struggle to find one that doesn't have some significant flaw with it. (Take a look on "for sale" section of the board - you might find something interesting). Unpapered shintō wakizashi are the unloved orphans of the sword world. Chris/Valric started an interesting thread that runs parallel to this topic. That thread is worth reading as well. Edit: see "Distortion in the Sword Market"
  12. Finally figured out the other kanji. The right side of the wakizashi fuchi is 應柳堂, Ō-Yanagidō (Dedicated to Yanagidō) The artist is using a variant of 柳 Yanagi. I don't know what or who Yanagidō is. There exists such a last name in Japan, but it i extremely rare. It could be part of a dedication to a temple (Yanagidō sounds like it could be part of a buddhist temple), but I'm not sure.
  13. It looks like 山 and then katakana ホ.
  14. SteveM

    Dry Or Dragon Fish?

    武州住 正久  Masahisa. Just enough left to make out the top part of hisa. Edit: I see Ray got it on the other thread! 
  15. 五二六 I'm willing to entertain 五三六, but to me it looks like 五二六.
  16. You are mistaken about the Japanese characters. The ones on your sword are 正 Sei (or Shō or Masa) 方 Hō (or Kata) 太 Tai 平 Hei 一 Ichi (or I or Kazu or a few other things) 夫 Fu/Pu (or O) Seihō Taihei Ippu or possibly Masakata Taihei Ippu or possibly Seihō/Masakata Taihei Kazuo The most common reading for the final two kanji is probably Kazuo, a very common male name. The literal meaning of these two kanji are "one" and "husband". These two kanji are also used in the Japanese translation for the word "polygamy", 一夫多妻 (ippu tasai) literally = one husband, many wives. These last two kanji are not particular to swordsmiths, and are not in any way used by swordsmiths (unless the name of the smith was Kazuo) There is no "water" or "cut" on this sword. And they are oriented the wrong way on this sword.
  17. You and Geraint have the kanji right 美濃住 Minō-jū 光仲 Mitsunaka
  18. I have my doubts 1. I can't find any variation of 住 that resembles the 4th kanji on this sword. http://glyphwiki.org/wiki/u4f4f-ue0100 2. 住 after 守 doesn't make any sense. Edit: 大動 (Daidō) is the most likely candidate so far, but the 4th kanji bothers me (what is it?, and does it help confirm Daidō), and the left part of 動 looks weird. But I have no better name to offer. There seem to be no examples of Daidō on the internet. If anybody has one, I'd be interested to have a look. Seems to be a slightly obscure smith. This is the long way of saying, I'm still scratching my head over this one.
  19. My guess: 豊後守囗六助 Bungo-no-kami ? rokusuke   But when I search for the above, or combinations of the above, I get no worthwhile hits. I really wonder if this sword is worth the several hundred miles road trip. If the seller is unable or unwilling to provide pictures, particularly of the hamon, I wouldn't bother with making such a trip when there are so many other swords out there. Edit: I think the 5th kanji is 大, as Ray said. So maybe 大助?Anyway, I still get no validation when I search on that.
  20. Made at Kasama city (in what was formerly Hitachi province...now Ibaraki). 彫剣之 I think this is kanbun, so the reading is probably a bit idiosyncratic. Ken de kore wo horu, or some such reading, would be my guess, but I am not a kanbun expert. Basically it just means "carved by", and would be read together with the inscriptions on the companion piece. I don't know which families used this crest. So many families use the same mon, rarely is anyone able to pinpoint a specific mon to one family, unless you have the provenance of the item.
  21. First line on the right of the 3rd (last) picture is a dedication 應囗堂 I don't know the kanji in the middle. Maybe a variation of 栖 or 栗. The first kanji (in blue above) is the one that indicates this is a dedication: some acknowledgement of the person or organization who requested the item. So yes they look like a matched set, with the artist and dedication on the one piece, and the location of the place where this was crafted on the other. A bit uncommon, I would think, and an interesting oddity. The mon is Ivy in quince. 五瓜に蔦 https://www.google.com/search?q=%E4%BA%94%E7%93%9C%E3%81%AB%E8%94%A6&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=fJj9p9jESkgSsM%253A%252CPhabvrJNHXoLnM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQBQd8pn-c8b1Bf5QJVSSt5dktHmg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji7fGoi9rfAhWFQd4KHebbDwYQ9QEwA3oECAUQCg#imgrc=fJj9p9jESkgSsM:
  22. First one is 吉田兼門 Yoshida Kanekado. As Brian says, arsenal sword. Yoshida is the family name, Kanekado is the "art name" of the craftsman that oversaw production, or perhaps he had some deeper involvement. hard to say. In any event, he put his name to the sword. Second one is 相模守藤原廣重 Sagami-no-kami Fujiwara Hiroshige. Sagami is the province (modern-day Yokohama and Kamakura area). Fujiwara is a clan name, and Hiroshige is the art name of the craftsman. Guido, if you are around, I found another example of a naginata sheath/scabbard that may be of interest to you in determining the orientation of the designs on the sheath. (This popped up when I was looking for the above smith). ↓ http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2014/1410_4010syousai.htm
  23. 服部正廣作 Hattori Masahiro saku. Weird coincidence; this name just popped up on another blade on another thread in the past 24 hours.
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