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I need help with translation on this.


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予家X(?) – Given from Ie+something

I am not sure.

 

大食XX餅喰請日本一 gluttony, (something), and filled with rice cake, the best in Japan guaranteed

 

 

I am not sure if the above inscriptions are real or fake.

BTW, I heard that a katana given to Sanada Nobuyuki ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanada_Nobuyuki ) from Tokugawa Yorinobu ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Yorinobu ) had the same nickname – 大食上戸餅食. The nickname means gluttony, heavy drinking, and filled with rice cake.

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Here are a bunch of pictures of the sword. Sorry about the latter pictures. They were not as clear. In my opinion it is the finest sword that I have. Any information would be greatly appreciated. It almost looks as if the man who owned this before me put powder on the mei to make it easier to see. Any idea who made this? With these pictures can the mei be completely translated? Any idea of the age of the sword? Any information on the Habaki? What does it mean if it is silver? What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance,

Brandon

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That is a really nice blade Brandon. The experts will have to complete the read on the nakago. I have seen a couple of blades who's inscriber had poor writing skills, and both turned out to be legit. I guess some smiths just missed the whole "caligraphy" practice part of their apprentice-ship.

 

If you don't get more help here, there's a guy named "Guy" over on Wehrmacht-Awards that is great at translation: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

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That is a really nice blade Brandon. The experts will have to complete the read on the nakago. I have seen a couple of blades who's inscriber had poor writing skills, and both turned out to be legit. I guess some smiths just missed the whole "caligraphy" practice part of their apprentice-ship.

If you don't get more help here, there's a guy named "Guy" over on Wehrmacht-Awards that is great at translation: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

I have held different swords, but out of all of them it looks and feels amazing.

 

Thanks,

Brandon

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The sword mentioned in Moriyama-san's post was supposedly made by Sōshū Akihiro (相州秋広). More on this smith at the site below.

https://www.nihonto.com/soshu-akihiro-相州秋広/

 

 

link to dialogue mentioning the Akihiro sword given from Tokugawa to Sanads

http://iiwarui.blog90.fc2.com/?mode=m&no=4460

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Brandon, it looks like a legitimate samurai sword, likely made in either the muromachi or edo period.  

 

It was probably cut down a bit and may have initially had a cutting edge of over 30".  

 

You are correct to try to work out the significance of the engraving in the tang, though it seems that it won't give you information about who made it and that will require submission to one of the shinsa teams, a process that will only give you an expert's opinion of the school and perhaps maker.  

 

It is clear that you are really enjoying owning it, and there is no reason not to continue doing so in your quest to find more about it.  

 

My gut feeling about it is that it is probably not worthy of a polish and restoration on purely financial grounds, but that is not a well formed opinion.  

Cheers, Bob

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The sword mentioned in Moriyama-san's post was supposedly made by Sōshū Akihiro (相州秋広). More on this smith at the site below.https://www.nihonto.com/soshu-akihiro-相州秋広/link to dialogue mentioning the Akihiro sword given from Tokugawa to Sanadshttp://iiwarui.blog90.fc2.com/?mode=m&no=4460

Steve,

Do you know if it is available in English. Or do you know a way that I can translate it? This is all very fascinating. I wish I could read both sides of the tang.

 

Thank you,

Brandon

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I don't think there is an English translation of that whole dialogue. If I'm not mistaken the dialogue I linked to is from an NHK drama. The salient bit is

「せっかくだ、わしの愛刀を差し上げよう。銘を『大食上戸餅食らい』と申す相州秋広の業物、その切れ味底無しじゃ。」
頼宣は大いに感謝し、信之に兼光の脇差等を贈った。

"To commemorate the occasion, I will give you a treasured sword of mine. The mei on it reads "A glutton, drunkard, and rice cake eater", and it is a wazamono (sharp sword) made by Akihiro of Sōshū. Its sharpness is infinite." Yorinobu was so grateful he sent Nobuyuki this as well as a wakizashi from Kanemitsu and other items.

 

I actually can't find a whole lot of other references to that inscription anywhere. And, like Moriyama-san, I can't decide if the inscription on yours is a genuine Japanese inscription, or a fake that was scrawled onto the sword by someone who watched the NHK drama. The inscription (name?) on the reverse side certainly looks dodgy to me. It isn't Sōshū Akihiro, so we can strike that possibility off the list. 

 

And always remember the sword itself is the thing that you should focus on. I can't tell you much about your sword. I can't even tell if yours is a 100+ year old authentic nihontō, or if it is a WW2 guntō. The nakago looks recent to me, and the words look crudely scratched on, so this is why I have doubts about the sword's vintage. Also, you don't mention where you got it. If it is a purchase from an online auction site, it would make me suspicious. If it is something that came out of the woodwork - something that was handed down from a vet, or a sword collector, or if it had some other provenance that might point to authenticity, it would be good background info.

 

The rest of the sword - in other words the things that should tell you more about its age and quality, i.e. the hamon, boshi, etc... are too out of focus. I can see it has a hamon which might have interesting activities, and the mitsu-mune is interesting, but its hard to tell. I recommend you take it to a sword show or dealer or study group that can tell you more after looking at it in hand.  And submitting it for authentication is of course always the best way to dispel any doubts. Be careful of the rust on the blade. Make sure it doesn't spread. 

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I think you have a genuine Japanese, pre-war, traditionally-made sword. The openings in the steel are unfortunate, but many swords have such openings. The longish horizontal crack (or opening?) is a worry, but this too is relatively common. I can't tell if it is a welding flaw or something more serious. It appears that the tip of your sword may have been broken and repaired at one point because I can't see any boshi on there. The rust spots are something that needs to be remedied. All of these issues combined pose problems. 

 

On the positive side of the ledger, the sword is authentic. I like the hamon, There could be nice activities lurking in the hamon that would be revealed with a polish.

 

But is it worth the expense to have the sword polished and put into a new/clean shirasaya...that is a tough question. See if you can get an expert to look at it in hand. I think the inscription is a later addition, and I don't think it offers any clue as to who made the sword. 

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This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one, unless your post is really relevant and adds to the topic..

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