Tanto translation

[loui]

Hi Guys, I'm stuck on this tanto and need some help.

 

For the date I have "Man-en ni nen ni gatsu kitu jitsu" "1860 +2 one lucky day in february"?

 

The signature is throwing me off, the first character looks like "Kawa..michi.masayoshi"

 

These fricking characters are small and my eyes are killing me.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

 

Louis

[Nobody]

川崎権之進源正吉 (Kawasaki Gon’noshin Minamoto Masayoshi)

 

The lower part of the date is not shown in the picture. But as far as I can read, the date may be 萬延元年二 (Man’en Gan-nen ni … = Feb.?, 1860). BTW, Man’en Gan-nen (the first year) started on the 18th of Mar. (in the lunar calendar). The date is strange.

[loui]

Ah sorry - here is the other picture of the date - thanks for the help!

 

Louis

[Toryu2020]

Moriyama-san -

Wouldn't that be March 18 on the Solar calendar - the year begins on the first day of the lunar new year which was March 18 on the western (solar) calendar just as Chinese new years was Feb 14 this year. So March 18, 1860 for Commodore Perry was January, 1st in the year of Man'en for Ii Naosuke ja nai?

-t

[Nobody]

Generally, a new Nengo (年号 - era) does not start at the beginning of a new year in both sola calendar and lunar calendar. I wanted to say that Man’en 2nd month did not exist in lunar calendar.

 

Sola calendar vs. Lunar calendar

Jan. 1, 1860 = 12th month 9th day of Ansei (安政) 6th year – the beginning of the new year in the sola calendar

Jan. 23, 1860 = 1st month 1st day of Ansei (安政) 7th year – the beginning of the new year in the lunar calendar

Apr. 7, 1860 = 3rd month 17th day of Ansei (安政) 7th year – The last day of Ansei era

Apr. 8, 1860 = 3rd month 18th day of Man’en (万延) 1st year – The first day of Man’en era

[Toryu2020]

Moriyama San -

I wanted to revisit this and say, thank you. This is something that I have known for a long time or thought I knew but until your post did not realize I had let the knowledge slip and was labouring under a false assumption. You are quite correct. The Nengo changed in the third month of the year, 1860. The correct practice is that once this happens the first few months of the year in question become "Manen". Thereafter the whole year would be referred to as Manen and official documents would have to be rewritten to include the correct nengo. Thank you again.

 

Therefore if this sword was made in the second month of 1860 it would have been dated the 7th year of Ansei, since Manen had not been promulgated as yet. So this dating is strange.

 

I think Louis needs to compare his piece to other works by this smith, check the signatures and dating closely. Only because there is the possibility that the smith dated the work much later than when he actually made it....

-t