grapppa

Photos of #79

I have been struggling with this one for a few days - so I thought I would ask for assistance. This signature is on a post-war PX sword I purchased recently. I will post more details on this fascinating sword in another discussion.... My best guess is toyo - suke - saku. However, I speculated that it might be toyo - wara - saku as that was where the swords were make in the aftermath of WWII post war Japan. Wara however did not fit from a kanji perspective Thank you again!

and MASA is solved on p.117

Look what I found in J. Yumoto The Samurai Sword p.115

Not too rudimentary for me. Somewhat of a stretch for me admittedly... but good for training the eye to the variability in writing. I guess one has to learn by example. Thank you! ...now on to MASA

I can clearly identify the 4th kanji from the left.... fascinating.... thank you

I am working on a project to translate WWII smiths into electronic form using Slough's research. In order to get the electronic kanji symbols I am using https://Japanese-names.info/last-name. I have been very successful except for a few names - notably KANE. The translations I find are 兼 and 金. Many smiths with KANE is found in Slough as The source is a comprehensive list and I can find accurate translations for 90% of the name symbols but KANE, and others, like MASA have eluded me. I searched many many entries yet no luck finding symbol that matches the one above. A sample of my work is below from p71 KANETSUGU. I will add differentiating first names later, if applicable. 兼 継 Kanetsugu Is the difference due to kazuuchihimei vs nakirishimei? I can make my document available when I complete it, if interested. Thanks in advance!

Thank you David and Koichi! I will study and try to learn from it!

Assistance requested for Nakriishimei signed sword. Here is my translation - first mei - seki; second mei - Toshi third mei - Ko. (Toshiko isnt found in the list so no likely correct ). I was able to locate a list of all seki smiths with their associated mei but it is difficult for me to translate even with that advantage (http://www.jp-sword.com/files/seki/gendaito.html). This is the only image I have. I photoshopped it and I must say it looks a lot better... Thank you for your time.

I have a few swords that might meet your requirements. PM me for details, if interested.

I need to restore the sarute for one of my swords. It requires brown Kumihimo 4mm for the sarute that was on my Shin Gunto. Is anyone interested in a bulk buy - or - does anyone have a some I can buy? I have located a source from Japan. They indicated that they can supply 4mm diameter in color BG3 which is pretty close. https://www.etsy.com/listing/782536560/silk-round-cord-kumihimo-5mm-Japanese?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Silk+round+cord+kumihimo+4mm&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1&col=1&variation0=1357281118 Here is a pic of the remnants of the original sarute.

This mei (right image) is from a Type 94 late war officers gunto. The first character I translated to "yoshi". It is the second character that I am having difficulty with. Looked through Slough without success... Translation of the mei left image dated the sword to October 1944 (sho - wa - ju - ku - nen - ju - gatsu). Thank you!

Added pic of nakago... 1 - hide? 2 - gami? 3 - ? 4 - hisa? Other side, I think, is sho - wa - ju - ku - nen - ? - hi which is showa 19 Thank you! This one was difficult for me.

I got it! Googled takayama-to sword smith and lucked upon a translated mei with the exact same first 4 characters - shin bu fusa tsu Now to check the hidden text.... so the characters are shin bu fu satsu - ah ha! Interestingly enough, this sword is mounted in standard army mounts Thanks to all!

I spent a good deal of time trying to decipher this one! Here is my best guess... 1- shin? 2- ? 3- ? 4- toshi 5- taka 6- yama 7- to 8- nen? 9- ko /nobu ? 10- kitau 11- kore Thank you for your time. Will add pics of sword if interested, let me know!

Does go gatsu hi mean 5 day 5 month? SwordGuy Joe - thank you very much... Will send pics... Took a few pics - if you'd like the higher res versions let me know

I have translated partially - need assistance to complete the translation. First pic - sho - wa - ju - hachi - nen - ? - gatsu - hi Second pic - my guess is ... Tsugu? - Masa? - saku As always, thank you for your time and help!

Thank you very much Steve M. The sword is unsigned and I thought the shira saya would have details of its maker...but doesnt seem to be the case.

This is an inscription on both sides of shira saya. Thank you for any assistance. First pic, left, seems to be a date inscription. I see "month", "two" and "ten" symbols.

I think its "Ju" ?

I think I have most of it from p64 of Slough...assistance to complete the translation would be greatly appreciated 1- No 2-Shu 3-? 4-Mura 5-Yama 6-Kane 7-Shige 8-Kitau 9-Koru Thank you for your time! -----Added pic------

My reading is sho - wa - ju - shichi - nen (showa year 17) yoshi - michi I would appreciate your interpretation. thank you!

additional pics... Paul.

I would like to see if this sword is an authentic Hizen school sword or if it is gimei. Posting pics of a wakizashi whose mei was translated here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17909 sori = 12mm, total length= 61.2cm I tried to capture images of the hamon and crystalline patterns. Thank you for your analysis.

Thank you all. I will be posting details on the sword and saya shortly.