Hiro

I appreciate your correction…！ I will make sure to remember how to read the kanji as well.　magane…！

Hi, I will write only the characters. （I also do not know the correct reading of the first sentence.） 「純正直鐡入鍛 　濃刕住浅野兼眞作之」 （To me, it looks like the character “入,” but on the auction site below, it is identified as “人”. 　Looking at the photo of the registration paper on the same website, it says “入”.） ↓ 刀　(銘：濃州住浅野兼真作・純正眞鉄人鍛) auction site（yahoo!Japan）There are still some photos near the bottom of the website. 刕＝州　濃刕＝濃州＝美濃Mino 住＝live 浅野Asano兼眞Kanezane 作之=make this 眞＝an old-style “真” ↓There was also a brief biography on this website. sword dealer Giheiya 「Mei 濃州住浅野兼真 　Real name 浅野真一 　Date of birth 明治45年3月15日（March 15, Meiji 45 [1912]） 　Address 関市仲町住 Title 陸軍受命刀匠」 ↓以安来鋼浅野兼真作之刻印 Asano Kanezane sword dealer Meirin sangyo

Hi, At first glance, I also thought it was “芝” , but after looking more carefully, I began to think it might actually be “艺”. The character form 「艺」 is used in Chinese simplified script（簡体字）. 艺 wiktionary it would result in the somewhat unusual situation of the sculpture appearing Japanese in style while the name is written in Chinese script. Would it perhaps be more natural, after all, to regard this as “芝”…?

I would like to make a partial correction. I previously translated 「聡隊」 as “総隊,” but in the military organizational terminology of that period, they may have referred to different units.These were probably pronounced the same (sōtai). “Sōtai” (聡隊) is said to have been a colloquial designation or unit title referring to an internal formation within an infantry regiment, particularly a battalion-level unit. Rather than forcing an uncertain translation, I would prefer to leave the term untranslated and defer to those with greater expertise in historical military terminology.

I’m amazed that photographs from the Taishō era could survive in such beautiful condition. Thank you very much for sharing them here!

↑ It’s photographed very beautifully! The text in the first image reads: “MAINICHIKEN” (毎日軒) （Address: ）Osaka Sennichimae大阪千日前, just west of Nankai-dōri南海通西入. (This would be south of Osaka Castle, around the present-day Namba Station area.) when I hear the word ‘ken’ (軒) today, I tend to think of a restaurant, but at that time it may actually have been the name of a photography studio. The third image reads: 大正3年8月15日 August 15, Taishō 3 (1914) 歩兵 第８総隊 Infantry 8th Regiment Headquarters 陸軍中尉 服装 Imperial Japanese Army First Lieutenant’s Uniform （NAME）瀧澤繁信 Takizawa Shigenobu I think August 15 would have been a holiday period back then as well (the Obon season). I wonder whether the photography studio was open…？

It is an honor to be of help. (I truly understand the frustration of not being able to access the information you seek due to the language barrier.) I hope you will find the answers you are looking for…！

That’s highly specialized research…! （As I’m sure you are already aware, Gifu was also affected by air raids, so when you search for information from that period, you often find only references to documents having been destroyed.） I found the 1935 and 1939 commercial directories (lists compiling information on commercial and industrial businesses商工名鑑). (I can see the characters for “sword(s)刀剣” , but I am not sure whether this refers to a blacksmith’s workshop or a retail shop.）You may have already found this information, but I hope it will be helpful. 「刀劍　（古物）　美浪町Minami chō 尾關憲司OzekiKenji」 Town Minami chō 美浪町corresponds to the present-day Town Onami chō御浪町, and the numbers refer to telephone numbers. National Diet Library Digital Collection 商工名鑑 (Shōwa 10) National Diet Library Digital Collection 商工名鑑 (Shōwa 14)　　 I hope your research progresses well.

・Hōbei / Hōhei (奉幣) refers to the act of offering heihaku to the deities. ・Heihaku (幣帛) is a collective term in Shinto ritual practice for offerings presented before the deities, excluding shinsen (神饌)—that is, food offerings such as rice and sake. It includes items such as cloth, paper, and jewels. From 1875 onward, kinpei (金幣)—monetary offerings wrapped in paper—were also included as part of heihaku. ↓Text is in Japanese only.There is a photograph of textile offerings used as heihaku幣帛. 佐川記念神道博物館　Sagawa Memorial Museum of Shintō and Japanese Culture, Kōgakkan University.

The following is information about the term. ・Kampeisha (官幣社) and Kokuheisha (国幣社)→ These are the two major categories of ‘kansha官社’ , which indicated the ranking of Shinto shrines under the Modern Shrine Ranking System that lasted from the Meiji period until the prewar era. ・Kansha (官社) refers to shrines that received offerings from the state during the Kinensai (祈年祭) and Niinamesai (新嘗祭) festivals.These shrines were divided into Kampeisha (官幣社) and Kokuheisha (国幣社). The modern shrine ranking system was historically influenced by earlier state-controlled classifications, and was organized into major, medium, and minor ranks within each category（大・中・小).Promotions within this hierarchical system were also carried out. ・官幣社（Kampeisha ）：the shrine that receives ritual offerings (heihaku幣帛) from the central government (the Jingikan神祇官,the government office responsible for Shinto affairs under the imperial court) ・国幣社（Kokuheisha）：the shrine that receives ritual offerings (heihaku) from provincial authorities (kokushi国司, and later prefectural governments) ↓The text is in Japanese only, but there is a clear diagram. Please refer to section 3: Modern shrine ranking system (after the Meiji Restoration)近代社格制度 （明治維新以降）. 神社研究所Jinja-lab

（This is an additional note.） “升格　為　国幣小社”= It was promoted to the minor rank of Kokuheisha. Is this perhaps the shrine you are referring to?→伊奈波inaba神社Shrine （In Meiji 6 (1873), it was ranked as a prefectural shrine, and in 1939 (Shōwa 14), It was elevated to the rank of a kokuhei shōsha） It is located at the foot of Gifu Castle 岐阜城 and is quite close to Seki関. wiki.inaba.shrine(Gifu) the Inaba shrine’s official website

I also came across a pair of trousers like this. It is said to be a pair of trousers made by repurposing an army wool overcoat from the 1940s–50s (likely postwar). In this case, it is possible that it was created independently by a private individual, so I thought it might be possible that such unexplained markings were added…（This is all purely speculative. ）

(I will keep notes only of what I have imagined.) I considered that it might perhaps also be a memo containing sewing instructions. 上 ue :meaning [↑]. Would it mean something like this: ‘Please place the fabric on this side (the left edge) over the fabric on the right edge’? I am afraid I do not understand the second line. I suspect that technical terms may sometimes be written in an abbreviated form. However, would it, in the first place, be customary to write text on a military uniform in this manner? From a brief look into the matter,It appears that the markings on military uniforms were generally based on a standardized format, such as the manufacturer’s name.（I imagine that those here may be more knowledgeable about this point.）

Jitsuden's calligraphy It’s quiet and beautiful.I, too, was able to deepen my knowledge of the Ōbaku school this time. I sincerely hope the curator will be able to provide you with a helpful response…！

Komazawa University houses the Zen Culture History Museum 駒沢大学Komazawa University禅文化歴史博物館the Zen Culture History Museum If you were to make an inquiry here, I am not certain to what extent they would be able to address highly specialized academic questions; however, I would imagine that there is a possibility they may be able to refer you to a specialist. This is about the extent of the information I am able to provide…！