I need help in translating the Characters on the Sword

[scorpionking]

HI Everyone 

 

I have a Katana which was hand down to our generations and now it has reached me . 

 

I saw on the tang that there are some characters which I am not able to decode. Would it be possible for you to help me in decoding the characters? 

[Ray Singer]

Photos please.

[robinalexander]

No......I can't work it out either 

[robinalexander]

Received by PM from Scorpionking .....

 

HI Robin 

 

I was wondering if you can pls help me in decoding the characters on the Katana. could please share me your Gmail id. 

 

Sorry Frank (Scorpionking), no can do.

[Brian]

I think maybe the confusion is because of language difficulties. I think maybe Frank is asking for an email address to send the pics to? May not be familiar with pic uploading here.
Let's first clarify. Frank?

[robinalexander]

Frank @scorpionking just PM'd me the following pics for trans (tks) .......

 

PS ... you were spot on Brian 

[Ray Singer]

I received an email from him a couple of days ago and already provided the translation and information below.

 

Tōto ni oite Chōjusai Tsunatoshi

Bunkyu gannen hachi gatsu hi

 

(dated a day in August 1861 - a day in the 8th month of the first year of the Bunkyu era).

 

 

TSUNATOSHI (綱俊), 1st gen., Tenpō (天保, 1830-1844), Musashi – “Katō Hachirō Tsunatoshi kore o tsukuru” (加藤八郎綱俊造之), “Katō Tsunatoshi tsukuru” (加藤綱俊造), “Tōto ni oite Katō Hachirō Tsunatoshi kore o tsukuru” (於東都加藤八郎綱俊造之, “made by Katō Hachirō Tsunatoshi in the eastern capital [= Edo]”), “Ushū Yonezawa-jū Katō Chōunsai Tsunatoshi” (羽州米沢住加藤長運斎綱俊), “Chōunsai Tsunatoshi” (長運斎綱俊), “Chōunsai Tsunatoshi tsukuru” (長運斎綱俊造), “Efu ni oite Katō Chōunsai Tsunatoshi” (於江府 加藤長運斎綱俊, “made by Katō Chōunsai Tsunatoshi in Edo”), real name Katō Hachirō (加藤八郎), he came originally from Dewa´s Yonezawa (米沢) and was like his father Katō Kunihide (国秀) a student of Suishinshi Masahide (水心子正秀), he moved to Edo during the Bunsei era (文政, 1818-1830) where he worked in the residence of the Uesugi family (上杉), the daimyō of Yonezawa, around the first year of Ansei (安政, 1854) he left his gō Chōunsai to his son Koretoshi (是俊) and changed his pseudonym to Chōjusai (長寿斎), he died on the fifth day of the twelfth month Bunkyū three (文久, 1863) in the Uesugi Edo residence at the age of 66, like his brother Tsunahide (綱英) he too hardened a tōran-midare but his best works are in the Bizen tradition, the jigane is a dense ko-itame with ji-nie which tends to muji, the hamon is a ko-chōji-midare or ko-midare in nioi-deki with tight nioiguchi, the bōshi is a smaller midare-komi, the jihada can also be a dense mokume which tends to muji but which also show mixed-in ō-hada, blades are generally rather long, have a deep sori, and a thick kasane, jō-saku

 

Best regards, 

Ray