Unusual Plaque With Kanji Attached To A Sword Cane Hilt

[Ed Hicks]

Unusual plaque with kanji attached to a sword cane hilt...First character is the number three I believe and I have no idea what this one reads. Thanks for looking. Ed

[lonely panet]

Hi, I think it reads

 

"property on zatoichi,"

if found, please return

 

[obiwanknabbe]

Hi, I think it reads

 

"property on zatoichi,"

if found, please return

 

I am actually watching that right now!

[SteveM]

It says 三谷喜 which I presume is a name, MITANI Yoshi (but Yoshi by itself is somewhat strange).

 

Could also be the name of a company: there is a lacquerware company in Kyoto by this name (Mitaniki)

 

The final kanji in the picture above is a variant of 喜, but the meaning is the same.

[Ed Hicks]

Thanks, Steve, that makes sense. I guess it's just advertising. The lacquer was decent quality work when new, but it's now sadly about shot. The sword is a good o-suriage koto blade. I'll post photos in the Nihonto section soon. Ed