SteveM

Yeah...me too. And つつじ. I really wonder if average people in the Edo period intuitively knew how to read hentaigana, or if they just picked it up from the context, or if they just waited until some educated person came along and told them how to read (for example) a caption like this? The text in the red box I could pick out half of the characters, but the other half came with the help of the internet.

From the series 風流花鳥尽 (Compilation of Tasteful Flowers and Birds) by Hiroshige 2nd. 雉子つづじ　Pheasants and Azaleas きくうづら　Chrysanthemums and Quail 藤の花つばめ　Wisteria and swallows Some of these are in hentaigana, so they look different to what I've written above

I presume any modern engraving machine/device can do this. The IJA may well have made use of such a device, but certainly Iga-no-kami Kinmichi did not.

Yes, it says 三池典太　Miike Tenta, a name of a near-legendary swordsmith from the Heian era. Best to consider this one an "homage". The mei adds nothing to the sword, and most people will find it suspicious and therefore an unfortunate addition to the sword.

Yes, written in a kind of off-the shelf "Times New Roman" kind of font. I believe this is machine-inscribed. Maybe some kind of souvenir sword.

Here is another "Hizen-kuni-jū Tadayuki" blade. https://www.samuraishokai.jp/sword/09125.html

I'm not very well-versed in these things, but Wikipedia tells me that the Obaku school considered themselves a kind of orthodox version of Chinese Zen, hence the use of "Rinzai Seishu" in not only this seal, but in others I saw online while fishing around. There are a few other examples on the calligraphy at the site below https://note.com/hakubutsu/n/n2fba5de59e7a "Taiga-hō" ...I just assumed "hō" (法) was the same as sometimes seen in swordsmith signatures, and represents having achieved a certain level of study/enlightenment, but again, I'm out of my zone of experience here. Just to clarify, the three seals I mentioned above are the ones on the calligraphy (text), and not the ones on the depiction of the seated figure. So the seal with Taiga in it is attached to the text. The seals on the figure are 葉室山主 (Hamuro-san shu) and 檗僧半囗 (can't read the final one...looks like 霞 or something).

Yes, the Japanese information card mentions it was most likely a sword intended for dedication to a shrine (hōnō). Edit: just noticed this is also mentioned on the actual sword inscription, too.

The square inscription that looks like a seal reads 大明成化 (Dai ming sei ka), or, if you use the Chinese pronunciation Da ming cheng hua, alluding to Chinese emperor Chenghua (mid-1400s) It's apparently a motif that was used by Japanese ceramic artisans to give their wares an air of antiquity and authenticity. I think used by Imari porcelain artisans in the late 1800s.

Seals for the calligraphy are: top left: 臨済正宗　(Rinzai Seishu) bottom right, upper seal: 黄檗主人 (Ōbaku shujin) bottom right, lower seal 大雅法印 (Taiga-hō-no-in)

望後　bōgo = 2nd half of the month.

A few more crumbs... AI now tells me that Seki-shi "Ko" (the neighborhood where this building was located) is part of what is today known as Hon-machi (本町) and Sennen-chō (千年町) near Heiwa-dōri (平和通). So I guess the building was quite close to where the Seki Swordsmith's Museum is located. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Seki+Swordsmith+Museum/@35.4824856,136.9151115,18z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x60030417b19c0539:0xa08c0b4e66285ed1!2sHeiwadori,+Seki,+Gifu+501-3874,+Japan!3b1!8m2!3d35.4830386!4d136.9134498!16s%2Fg%2F1pxyw_khs!3m5!1s0x6003043dea7ba5df:0xb88094cdce501761!8m2!3d35.4818101!4d136.9164444!16s%2Fg%2F121gzx98?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDUwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D Maybe the old building was torn down to make space for this museum??

It should be related to the shrine's receiving an official ranking. Shintō shrines had a kind of ranking system, with the shrines most closely connected to the Imperial family receiving the rank of "Imperial Shrine", and other major shrines receiving various "National Shrine" rankings. The phrase you posted means something like "appointed National Shrine 3rd Rank" (see Wikipedia for a list of such designated shrines). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_system_of_ranked_Shinto_shrines#Imperial_shrines,_3rd_rank

My guess is that the readings of the individual kanji themselves won't change (jinchū sokumei), but I don't know why the order is rearranged from the order of the original Chinese phrase. Jinchū is a valid word (loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness), but "sokumei" isn't a word as far as I know. Maybe its an intentional pun, or play on words. Sokumei could be the kanji used for someone's name, so perhaps a retainer or disciple had a tsuba made using this phrase, but rearranged the kanji to mean "loyalty to Sokumei". ? Anyway, maybe that 3rd line in Kanzan's hakogaki gives a clue, but I still can't figure it out. I also note there is a phrase 無出其右 (mushukkiyu) meaning "unrivled", but I don't think it's used in Japanese, and while its temptingly close to what Kanzan has written on the box, those last two kanji just seem too far away.

蓋同銘中・無出典在者 Not sure of the red, but my guess is that the meaning is "The meaning of the phrase on the tsuba (also noted on the lid) is unknown" (not listed in any published resources). Edit: Hmm, rethinking this, at least the 2nd part. The phrase 忠則盡命 is known (devoting your life to your lord). A reference to a Chinese classic, Thousand Character Essay (孝當竭力，忠則盡命).

The two seals to the right of the text in the first post should read 性潡 and 高氏, and I found other examples of his works with these seals, or similar. scroll with 高氏 and 性潡 https://choondo.jp/Japanese-paintings/obaku-sect-kousen-syouton-calligraphy-painting/ I wasn't quite convinced of the first character of the 性潡 seal, but I don't think it could be anything else, and the art gallery also says its 性潡, so I assume it's correct. I was also interested in the faint seal to the left which reads 囗空文字 and looked around for clues to its meaning, but I couldn't find anything. I could find one other scroll with this same seal. (Dealer suggests its 禾空文字, which looks right, but the meaning is still lost to me). https://cn.sowas-group.com/auctions/item/41237?currency_unit=JPY Anyway, not much help in deciphering the text, but it is some corroboration for the seals and, by extension, the validity of the work.

I have a file on some registered gunto...I'll see if I can dig it up.

This book looks like it was first published in Taishō 15 (1926), with this edition being printed in Shōwa 9 (1934). I don't know what year the last edition was printed. According to Google AI, copyright protection in Japan was extended to 70 years beyond the death of the author. I don't know when this author (YOSHINO Takejiro) passed away, but his works might still be protected.

Both Aoi's Japanese and English websites are mistaken. The Japanese website claims the sayagaki and polish were done by "the famous Hon'ami Kōkei", but Hon'ami Kōkei died in 1800 or thereabouts. And...I don't think he was particularly famous. He seems to be a bit obscure. The English website is completely lost in translation, as it says the sayagaki and polish were done by Hon'ami Kōson. Anyway, the sayagaki has a date of 1990, so it couldn't have been written by either Hon'ami Kōkei or Hon'ami Kōson. The sayagaki isn't signed by the author. The sayagaki does say that the polish was done by "Kōkei" (光敬), who I presume refers to the living national treasure sword-polisher Ono Kōkei (小野光敬), who died in 1994. No idea about the condition of the blade. Looks OK from the photos. Ubu, signed, published in a very old book (Muromachi-era "Ōsekishō" 往昔抄), validated by the NTHK in 1980, and by NBTHK in 2020. One worth looking at in hand. The timing of the NBTHK papers makes me wonder if this sword maybe never quite got the approval of the old guard at the NBTHK.

I thought maybe it was 貴良作 (Takayoshi-saku), but I couldn't find anything online that might corroborate this. I did find one 貴宗 that has a similar chippy "taka", but it is just a wild guess because yours doesn't really look like mune. So... I ran out of ideas at that point.

I didn't really dig into the lore behind this inscription. I'm not sure who it is intended for, and why there seems to be multiple items with this same inscription. Maybe they are a kind of commemorative item from the master to his disciples or colleagues as he was winding down production?

Maybe the stamp is 名匠　(Master craftsman) And the name is 貴囗　　Takayoshi? or Takamune?

刀剱造法其理明而不畏古之冶工雖然亦不侮是唯以鍛錬去 鈍滓全鐵氣而不泥刄文陰陽相和鉾刄清利難折難撓無所疑 According to the site below, the meaning is: The principles of swordsmithing are well understood, and although I do not believe it is impossible to surpass the old masters, I cannot say that I am better than them. The most important thing in swordmaking is to continue forging (folding) the steel until all the impurities are removed, preserving the essence of the iron, and to not become preoccupied with the shape of the hamon. The blade will become pure and sharp when the yin and yang are in harmony, and it will doubtless become difficult to break, and resistant to bending. https://www.touken-world.jp/search/38586/

Wakayama lists one Toshiyuki (利之). Tokyo based artisan, active from end of Edo to Meiji. Surname of Yanagawa.

Found a photo of the whole thing posted by a guy named Willy. The reading/meaning hasn't changed. Its the Chinese zodiac name for the year 1660 ("Kanoe-ne", or year of the "metal rat").