SteveM

Did a quick search: In the Reimeikan in Kagoshima there is a history of gun production in Satsuma-han dating from 1601 written by Nanpō Bunshi, and it apparently has details of gun manufacturing in the 16th century. I think this is the primary source for much of our information on Portuguese weapons. The article below says that after buying 2 guns from the Portuguese, Tanegashima Toki was instructed to learn how to produce the weapons, and he succeeded in producing gunpowder and rifle barrels, but failed to produce the necessary screws. It took another year and another foreign ship to transmit the method for manufacturing screws, but in 1544 they were able to produce a few tens of guns. From there, the center of gun production moved to the Kinki area, and by the time the forces of Ishiyama Honganji battled Oda Nobunaga in 1570, they employed 8000 guns. Anyway, this history of gun production might have the details you want. The above was just taken from some random gun enthusiast's site in Japan. http://blog.zaq.ne.jp/shibayan/article/105/ https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/reimeikan/ I guess the question of brass manufacture is really a question of zinc mining and/or importation, and the lack of a significant zinc supply in Japan seems to have retarded the Japanese development of brass. Wikipedia and other sources say that brass production (亜鉛, or 真鍮) by the Japanese followed their encounter with the Portuguese, although there is one article that notes the presence of zinc was discovered in the gold ink of a 12th century buddhist sutra scroll. https://web.archive.org/web/20140429205011/http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/national/news/CK2014042202000144.html Other than this (apparently) minor amount, zinc seems to have been more or less overlooked/unknown in both China and Japan, until its production in China in the 16th century, after being imported from India. http://www.geocities.jp/hiroyuki0620785/zairyou/historym8zinc.htm Anyway, if you are looking for primary sources on gun production, I think the Reimeikan is one source.

No - its a mystery to me. The stamp is very unique, isn't it. Kind of like a pot, with two inscrutable kanji characters on it, but it also looks like the design of the pot and the lid might contain some bits of kanji characters also. I haven't seen anything like it.

I thought 明和 (Meiwa) would refer to the gengo Meiwa, maybe Meiwa 2 (1765). Zodiac sign for this year is 乙酉, which is tantalizingly close to what is on the painting, but not an exact match. 佛成通日 I thought might also be a calendar reference, but nothing pops out. Other than those very tenuous guesses, I couldn't make any headway.

This is the place... (or thereabouts) http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/362-Takada-Castle

If Sakushū (作州) is correct, then this would be Takada in the province of Mimasaka (美作), Sakushū being the abbreviation for Mimasaka-shū. The Takada in Oita would have a different province/country name at the beginning.

Regrets in both directions.... I should not have bought the mediocre pieces that I bought when I was first starting out, but I had more money than sense at the time and convinced myself (easily) they were good purchases. I enjoyed them in my newbiedom, but now I look at them with more experienced eyes and wished I would have had more knowledge or wisdom or patience when I was an early student of these things. Recently, I kind of regret not buying the exquisite tsuba I saw at the DTI.

Another puzzle. To me it looks like 作州高田住信包 Sakushū Takada-jū Nobukane I couldn't find much to support this reading, though. A couple of obscure references on Google...but that's about it.

囗囗於氏房作之 ?? oite Ujifusa saku kore I am struggling with the first two, which would seal the deal on which Ujifusa this is. I wouldn't expect there to be too much mystery about a showa-era Ujifusa, but I can't place this one. Maybe somebody can give me a hand.

雲龍図鐔無名（水戸元孚） 赤銅地丸形高彫 Tsuba with dragon and cloud design. Mumei (Mito Motozane) Shakudo-chi, maru-gata, takabori

Hello Philip, You nailed it. 兼 (kane) in calligraphy (especially on swords) is often written very differently from how the printed version looks, or how it displays using typical computer fonts. In fact, it is often abbreviated to the point where it hardly resembles the printed version at all. You do get used to it. The kane on this sword is about as abbreviated as it comes, but it is definitely 兼 Showa 1 = 1926 Showa 19 = 1944

Don't know if you got the other side or not, but this is what it is 於八幡宮社前切試ｼ並ﾆ武運長久祈ﾙ Tested and consecrated for good luck in battle at Hachimangu shrine Also, note that you want to be looking for 天秀, and not 大秀 as you have above.

Hello - here's your man http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/514-translation-help-please/

道辰 Michitoki

The kogatana says 金華山麓　於濃州長良川邉藤原兼長 Kinkasanroku (in large letters, "Kinka" on the top, "sanroku" on the bottom) Oite Nōshū Nagaragawa / hotori Fujiwara Kanenaga

The kanji in the far right picture read 越前 - Echizen - which is a province in Japan, corresponding to present day Fukui prefecture. (The picture is displayed upside-down. The orientation should be rotated 180°). Normally there would be the smith's name underneath his location, but in this sword the smith's name has been lost due to corrosion. The sword has been shortened from its original length, as you can tell by the shortened tang, and the addition of an extra hole above the original hole (mekugi-ana). But it kind of looks like it was already a short sword (wakizashi) to begin with. The writing has the choppy style that is often seen on WW2 blades, but there is not enough for me to say definitively what period this is from. The fact that it was shortened at some point, and the use of the old province name could point to an Edo (or older) blade, but those two things by themselves are insufficient to say for sure, and the choppy writing gives me some doubt. Usually you'd also look at the temper line (hamon), and the hamon area of the tip...so maybe some close ups of these areas would help.

Yes! You are right. Each is a four-character name. There are three names on the top, three on the bottom, arranged vertically (read as if you were holding the kogatana vertically, i.e. tip pointing upwards) top row 喜撰法師 Kisen Hōshi 僧正遍昭 Sōjō Henjō 文屋康秀 Fun'ya no Yasuhide bottom row 在原業平 Ariwara no Narihira 大友黒主 Ōtomo no Kuronushi 小野小町 Ono no Komachi

If I'm not mistaken, the kogatana has "六歌仙" (rokkasen) written on it in large letters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokkasen If my reading is correct, the fine writing underneath it might be representative poems from the six poets of the Rokkasen. I have never seen anything quite like this on a kogatana, so to me it is interesting and enigmatic. If I could only go back in time and warn your grandfather to refrain from using any abrasive on it... Note my reading may be incorrect. The middle kanji isn't enough of a match for me to have complete confidence.

Hello Grev, The first one is too tough for me. It could indeed be Shigetoshi. I looked around for other samples of this signature to try to compare, but couldn't find any You have the second one right; 重次 Shigetsugu.

The thing itself was made by the father, Natsuo. The signature plate was added on later by the son, Akio. I'm not sure what the kanji "補" (ho, ogina(u)) signifies here. I couldn't find any other such usages. The kanji itself means (In verb form) to supplement or replenish, and it is used in compound words that have similar meanings. I think its just the son's way of saying, "my father made this, but I added the signature".

Yes - this would be my translation of the last line: 金物裏には夏雄息子, 秋雄による極めの短冊銘がある. On the reverse side of the object is a signature plate (tanzaku) identifying the artist, made by Natsuo's son Akio.

Hello, The magazine is 寫眞週報 (Shashin Shūhō) - Photograph Weekly - May 6th, 1942 edition. The left picture is the back cover, and it is an advertisement for insurance ("help support the war effort by buying this insurance...")

Yes! you got it. 小原 Kohara

皇紀二千六百二年新春 為囗原正大君精鍛 Imperial Year 2602 (1942), Spring Made for (?)~hara/wara Masahiro I cannot read the kanji before hara/wara. It would be the surname of the person for whom the sword was made (eg. Fujiwara, Kurihara, etc.). I think probably Fujiwara.

明珎豊後守 = Myōchin Bungo no kami Myōchin is a famous group/line of metalworkers. Bungo no kami means lord/governor of Bungo province, which was located in present-day Kyūshū. In this case "Lord" would be an honorific title - one given out for merit (for example) and not necessarily meaning the person had any political authority (sort of like OBE). No idea of date...

Hello Truc, Compare your sword with this Nagamitsu here, in fine condition and in a fine state of polish, with non-military mounts, going for a bit over US$3000 here in Japan. http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords3/KT327378.htm