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Bugyotsuji

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Everything posted by Bugyotsuji

  1. Bugyotsuji

    Wakisashi

    No possibility of 國歳? 國徳? 國武?
  2. Hi Henry, you could contact the Murakami Suigun Museum directly for more precise answers to your questions. The Mayor of one of the islands I visited was called Murakami, and he told us proudly of some of their history. https://www.visitehi...om/en/see-and-do/212
  3. Try 螺旋 Rasen, ゼンマイ Zenmai spiral, 模様 moyou (pattern). For example: ゼンマイ螺旋調模様 - 検索 画像 (bing.com)
  4. It all hangs on the (illegible) top Kanji in p.2
  5. And the answer to the quiz, for anyone who struggled with it, is to look at 1868 on my diary page above. A short war broke out in that year, and they called it the ‘Boshin War’, after the Eto symbols 戊辰 Boshin. Short /o/ sound in Boshin. Another famous example was the great gun registration of 1872, Meiji 5, putting a 壬申 ‘Jinshin’ mark and number on each gun. And the cherry on the cake is 2024, the year of the dragon, (which is 辰 tatsu, another character for dragon'), more properly in the 60-year cycle 甲辰 Koshin/Kinoe-tatsu, or 'armored dragon'. See 2024, the yellow one in the pink chart here: 干支-年齢早見表 (nenrei-hayami.net)
  6. Bruce, there is a sixty year cycle of years, and each year is allotted one character from a 10-character ‘wheel’ and one character from a 12-character wheel. (Like two interlocking cogs turning and giving you a double-character designation for each year.) Don’t ask me to justify their usage of old Chinese fortune characters, but that is what they did, perhaps giving a different reference of certainty in a constantly changing world. They are more like symbols, rather than having individual meanings. The two photos above are just parts of pages from my swords diary year reference. They tell the ‘Eto’ characters for a given year. How to pronounce the Eto however, takes a different kind of chart, which I have not yet posted in this poor Francis’s thread. If I post the chart (assuming it has not yet been posted here on the NMB before) I want it to be somewhere easy for people to find. Your question about the purpose of 亥after 3, I tried to answer earlier, but it is a piece of the official 2-character year designation. Swords and armour often have these revolving characters within the year notation, written slightly smaller and offset slightly, and sometimes only the right one as a kind of shorthand. 1863 was more properly written 文久三癸亥年 but in the sword above: 文久三亥年 …and yes, as you say, an auspicious day in August. Hoping this helps!
  7. AC DC? Depends on your leaning, Bruce. I could put the chart up here but then no one could find it later. Make a sticky? (Unless there's a link on the site already somewhere...) Here is Bunkyū 3, see attachment. (All you need now is the key to reading them. By the way, a famous war is also listed by ‘Eto’ there!)
  8. Bruce, you need a sexagenary chart to read them off. Bunkyu 3 is 'Mizunotoi', and the alternative reading of 癸亥 (the two kanji), is 'Kigai'. This is shortened on the blade above to the second kanji 'gai' only, a kind of extra date key.
  9. The water gives the game away and the Kikusui prize goes to... Stephen.
  10. Official attempt for: “Largest Hitsu Ana in the World” Guinness Book of World Records.
  11. 埋める umeru, is to bury. This kanji did not look too good to some folks, (buried fields... = burial fields?) so it is said that Umetada kept the sound, but changed their written name from 埋忠 to 梅忠. Thus there is the possibility that the 'bury' reading is older, unless that blade is a modern construct. PS Although they made a variety of artefacts, (tsuba etc.) I have heard that an actual signed and verified Umetada blade is very rare.
  12. Dealers are often wrong.
  13. Umetada Life of 73 years (?) with artisan signature flourish(?) 壽七十三才 + Kao(?)
  14. Fascinating stuff, John. Thank you. And nice tsuba examples. Without going too far off-topic, I hope, here is a somewhat similar one which I may have posted over on the long Namban thread last year. (Photo should follow...) Also I have a Netsuké with a similar (puzzling to me, Shikami? Enma Dai Ō?) demon mask. Netsuké
  15. How do you know that the wakizashi is "from the Edo Period (or later)"?
  16. Hi Francis, Just crossing with Brian's reply, so I have hidden the hint.
  17. There's an easy fix but I've explained it so many times there should be a button on this site to press for help! Just fired up my phone and turned it upside down for you! (No one thinks you are lazy!) Check out: - 加藤寿命 Katou Jumyou - 日本刀の通信販売 明倫産業株式会社 (nipponto.co.jp)
  18. Always best to assume the kozuka is not original. It does however give you one more trail to follow while you enjoy the sleuthing and the scenery. No need to hurry in this hobby. Some of us got so excited by the chase we even went out and bought shelfloads of expensive reference books!
  19. The design seems to multipy outwards from a sukashi Christian trifoliate budded cross motif. Three leaves changes to five in the outer circle.
  20. Reminds me of a rude joke!
  21. Onigoroshi, assuming you have access to smith lists to further narrow down which particular Muneaki this might be?
  22. Haha, wish I could say it was mine! Apparently it was having some work done to it, possibly being fitted with a new tsunagi, and had just surfaced momentarily from someone's collection.
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