SteveM

濃州住源天秀鍛之 Nōshū-jū Minamoto Amahide Kitaeru Kore Need a better shot of the surrender tag. The surname name on it is 石亀 Ishikame It's a WW2-era sword.

I think less than 10% were "samurai" (with regional variation). But at the end of Edo, there was very lax enforcement of the rules regarding sword ownership. http://honkawa2.sakura.ne.jp/7860.html (Japanese only, but the blue portion of the graphs represent the nobility/samurai).

加賀守藤原 Kaga-no-kami Fujiwara

My very rough guess based on page count would be maybe $15k to translate the book from Japanese to English. At 243 pages, and translating 4 pages a day, I reckon it would take maybe 3 months, give or take a couple of weeks for proofreading and rewriting. The cost and time required will drop if there are a lot of illustrations, but I think this is offset by the increase in cost that comes from the nature of the specialized and technical vocabulary used.

Some web-surfing turned up a bit more information regarding the ink stick. The manufacturer of the stick is Hu Kai Wen (胡開文), a firm that still exists, in the Huizhou District of Anhui. From reading about it, it seems it is a high-quality ink, and the owner must have been a serious student of calligraphy. Kinfukan (金不換), which I mistook for a Japanese brand, is a Chinese phrase that means precious (or, literally, "better than money", "non-exchangeable, even with money"). I don't think this was a special made-to-order ink, but it makes me curious as to the journey it took from China to Yamagata. Edit: 徽 instead of 微 Reading about this company, it seems to be really unique. I leave some links here because they talk a bit about the factory and the ink. https://www.chinadiscovery.com/anhui/huangshan/hu-kaiwen-ink-factory.html https://www.inkston.com/stories/people/hu-kai-wen/ For Brian, I can only speak for myself, but helping and being helped here on NMB is its own reward. If I can get occasional tips like the above from Moriyama-san, or Morita-san, it makes it all the more worthwhile. Viva NMB.

The writing on the ink sticks are just brands of ink. One of the brands (金不換 - Kinfukan) is still around. The other one comes from Anhui province in China. The last one (looks like a seal) says 横一氏　 Yokoichi (Mr.)

The handwriting is an address in Yamagata Prefecture 吹浦村字宿町 山形縣平氏 渋谷三郎 明治四拾年旧五月六日 新調 Fukuramura Aza Shuku-chō Yamagata-ken, Taira-shi Shibuya Saburō Meiji 40, (old calendar) May 6th Newly made Made or bought for Mr. Taira (presumably) by Saburō SHIBUYA

Yes, thank you!

摩利支眞天 Marishi shinten Marici = Buddhist god of protection. Not 100% positive of the 眞, but the invocation is Marici https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marici_(Buddhism)

I thought it was 代 myself. Had to google around a bit before I figured it out.

小久保人　Slight chance this could be Kokubo Hitoshi (or, Okubo Hitoshi)

Nitpicking 一代溝　ichi dai mizo 筏溝　いかだみぞ　Ikadamizo https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ikadamizo,+Oki,+Mizuma+District,+Fukuoka+830-0425/@33.1973572,130.4269527,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3541b252177b9729:0x4305232fce332f86!8m2!3d33.1974818!4d130.4350792

Beautiful sword. Was this your first purchase? Because if it is... wow. You've done well. I think mid-to-late 1600s, which is not a popular era because the sword shapes tend to be a bit straight and boring, but the hada and hamon on this sword look outstanding. Its in very good condition, and even the furnishings look interesting.

尾崎源五右衛門助隆 Ozaki Minamoto Goemon Suketaka

Yes, it could easily be bunsai 文斎.

I kind of feel the left side of the third one is trying to be 如竹 (Jochiku). Edit: Or 女竹? I see one example on an auction site with this mei, but it feels dodgy, and I can't find 女竹 in Wakayama.

関住兼松兼達 I think. Kanematsu Kanetatsu See here for comparison. There are a few like this on various places on the internet. http://tachi-Japan.com/2019/12/26/%E3%83%86%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88-2/

The shape is lovely. It looks to have been shortened by just a little bit, so the shape is still wonderful. It takes very little imagination to see how majestic it would have been at full length since it is still very close to its original length. Regarding the condition of the hada: I can't tell if its a poor polish, or if it has been polished a few too many times. My first impression is the latter, and that it looks to have shingane showing through, but take that as a very amateur opinion given after looking at a few photos on the internet. I think the sword itself is a very fine koto sword - but whether it can be brought back to excellent condition, or if it has one too many polishing stones applied in its lifetime, is something I leave to someone more knowledgeable.

I just use wikipedia, but there are a million online sites with charts showing gregorian dates with corresponding Japanese nengō and zodiac/eto http://www.natubunko.net/rekishi02.html

於吾妻　環 天保乙未八月 Oite Azuma Tamaki Tenpō Kinoto Hitsuji hachigatsu Made by Tamaki at Azuma 1835 August Let's have a look at the sword, if possible.

I couldn't find any reference which mentions specifically "ōwakige" as opposed to just "wakige". My guess is that the 大 (ō) was added for dramatic effect, to emphasize it was the widest part of the chest.

陸奥会津住三善政長 文政十丁亥秋 安政五年九月十日 常州水戸藩士佐野二郎光義試帶刀之 於会津西河大脇毛土壇払 Mutsu Aizu-jū Miyoshi Masanaga Bunsei 10 (1827) Hinotoi, aki Ansei 5, September 10 (1858) Jōshū Mito-han-shi Sano Jirō Mitsuyoshi tamesu taitō kore Oite Aizu Nishikawa Ōwakige dotan-barai MIYOSHI Masanaga of Aizu in Mutsu 1827 (year of the boar), Autumn Cutting test of "Ōwakige" performed on this day of September 10th, 1858, by retainer of Mito-han in Jōshū province, Sano Jirō Mitsuyoshi, at the cutting place of Nishikawa in Aizu city.

黒羽勝随 Kurobane Katsuyuki Hamano school, Iwama group. Right side might be 丈斎 (Jōsai), but that art name doesn't match with what is in my reference book.

We visited this cul-de-sac back in January http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/30891-unusual-mei/

We already have the following 新刀 = 　　shintō: literally "new swords". Edo to late 1700s 新新刀 = shin-shintō: literally "new new swords". Late 1700s to late 1800s So may I be the first to offer this suggestion 新新新刀 = shin-shin-shintō: literally "new new new swords". 1900s