Mark S.

Mr Bowen, Thank you for your help. So, based on the Kanteisho and the worksheet, there is no indication that the blade was shortened? I may have misunderstood the person who led me to believe the blade had been shortened and I also thought that 2 mekugiana and the hi running into the nakago were at least an indicator that it was shortened. I know dealing with a novice is probably very frustrating for the more experienced members, but I do appreciate your help. Mark S.

I am so sorry... this is not a 'gotcha' question. It is my fault for not providing the worksheet initially. Strange, "Ubu" is not circled... but there is kanji off to the right and I believe that means 'shortened'. Honestly Mr Bowen, I am not playing games or 'stump the experts'... I just wasn't sure how much info to dump here and overload everyone. I guess I should have included it so it would have helped from the beginning. Thank you so much for your help! Mark S.

Mr Stuart, Thank you for your help. I do not question whether the attribution is correct... I question my ability to read it correctly and was just looking for confirmation. Mark S.

Mr Bowen, Thank you for your help and please excuse my confusion... I was led to believe the blade had been shortened? Wouldn't "Ubu mumei" mean the nakago is original and simply unsigned? Does the circled kanji indicated it had been shortened? Mark S.

Kunitaro-san, THANK YOU so much! Exactly what I needed. I created a new post (with more information) before you provided this gracious translation. Mark S.

A close up of the back of the paper. I know I should probably have turned my notes - the words in red (that are sideways) - the opposite direction so it would read from the top down... I apologize.

I am adding a close up of the Horimono/Hi section to aid in translation. Thank You, Mark S.

Good morning all. I made a previous attempt to ask questions about a recent purchase, but soon realized more information was needed, so I will try again. I am very interested in filling a few ‘translation holes’ in the Kanteisho paper for a sword I purchased at the recent Chicago show on Saturday. My questions are below and circled in red on the pics of the paper. General information: Katana: Nagasa 70.9cm (27.91”) / Sori 1.8cm (11/16”) / Nakago (2 mekugiana) 18.5cm (7-1/4”) Mumei – shortened. Not in full polish, but in pretty good condition as it is. Was submitted for Shinsa at the Minneapolis Show, October 8, 2011 and received Kanteisho paper with the following attribution: Bingo / Mihara / Masamori / Tensho era Score: 75/100 according to the original worksheet. I believe this is a mid-level score? In an effort to learn on my own, I did my best trying to translate as much of the Kanteisho paper as I could, but I have the following questions that correlate to the circled areas (in red) on the Kanteisho paper attached. Also, if I missed anything else, please correct me: Front - attribution information: 1st character is Den? (attributed to)? 4th character is Kai? (group or school)? Front – nagasa information: Are the last two characters of the line a general term for ‘length’? Back: Meibun section: 2nd character Ubu _? Mumei Jigane section: 2nd two characters Itame ? ?__ Boshi section: 1st two characters ? ?_ Ko Maru Horimono/Hi section: Full translation please (just too many kanji for me to know where to start) Judges section: Does anyone know who the 4 judges were, and match them to their seals from the Minneapolis show in 2011? If anyone knows anything about the smith/school, please let me know. I am doing research and have found some info about the Mihara (particularly Sue-Mihara) school, but always interested in more. In fact ANY information about what I have posted is VERY much welcome. I know it is a lot to ask (and I hope I am not breaking any rules or etiquette), but being my first blade (and being REALLY excited about it as you can tell), I would like to get as much detailed information as possible. For my first blade (other than a WW2 Gunto), I think I did all right. Price on the blade was good, had papers (I know, not the most important, but it did give me an additional level of comfort for a first purchase), and most important, I just liked the blade. It did come in Gunto mounts, but sooner or later, I will consider a polish and shirasaya. Mr. Benson (at the show) believed it would polish up nicely and was generally a solid blade. Thank you (very much) in advance, Mark S.

Thank you Jean and Morita-san. I am going to try again in a new post with more information. I hope you both will take the time to look! Mark S.

Yes, that is it exactly. Both run only about 6" along the blade and into the nakago. I have been trying to translate the kanteisho paper in detail, and I thought just posting that section of the paper would be enough, but there are so many kanji in that section, I just had no idea where to begin. I will post more detail tomorrow. I hope you will take another look Morita-san... and anyone else who can help. Thank you, Mark S.

Jean, I apologize, just purchased katana yesterday and haven't had the chance to take pics. I will try to get something together tonight, and do a more 'in depth' request tomorrow with the full Kanteisho paper as well as some additional translation requests. Sorry for 'jumping the gun'. Mark S.

Made my first ever purchase of a nihonto this weekend at the Chicago show. While I am trying to translate as much of the Kanteisho paper, (that came with the sword) as I can, I am asking for help with the Horimono/Hi section of the paper. Any help with a detailed translation would be appreciated. I will be asking for bits and pieces from the rest of the Kanteisho, but I 'think' I have most of the rest figured out. Inside side of the blade has two short thin grooves (Gomabashi?) Outside side of the blade has a single wide short groove (Koshi?) Are these the correct terms? Thank you, Mark S.

REALLY GREAT show! So much so, I made my first ever Nihonto purchase! Of course, now I am VERY eager to ask LOTS of questions, and get parts of the Kanteisho papers translated (in detail), although I am trying my best to figure out as much as I can on my own first. Mark S.

I saw that same blade. Hate to make guesses from the photos, but that is all we have right now. I was more interested in the condition of the blade a few inches from the tip. Seems as if the hamon runs very close to the edge (on both sides). Also 'seems' like a patch of the underlying steel is showing through? Possibly a large area of rust was removed from both sides of the blade? A 'touch up' polish for a small cost is mentioned... but is there more going on than that? Hard to tell from the photos.

Many times 'provenance' has to be determined by the 'status' of the previous owners. If the 'provenance' of an item is tied to owners who are in themselves considered to be 'masters' or have their opinions valued in their selections of items, as opposed to the previous owners just being 'famous'... then provenance does seem to matter more. Would you pay more for a tea bowl owned by Rikyu (considered to be THE master of tea and of his discernment of tea items), or a tea bowl owned by Justin Bieber because he thought it was 'pretty' and could simply afford to purchase an expensive tea bowl because he is rich and 'famous'... or more likey 'infamous'? It would be the same for swords I would suppose. Would a sword attributed to having been owned for several generations by a famous samurai family, or a sword owned by a famous polisher because he thought it was a masterpiece be worth more (provenance-wise) than a sword owned by a wealthy famous businessman? I do believe so, because we sometimes 'trust' the discernment of certain people based on what they know vs who they are. Of course, the above does not include what it takes to 'prove' provenance... only whether or not paying for provenance is legitimate. Sometimes we pay for others discernment.

Provenance always seems to be a 'depends on where you sit' type of thing. General rule of collecting: When YOU are BUYING, provenance is VERY important to the SELLER... when YOU are SELLING, the same provenance seems to have 'less value'... :D

Not sure if equating coin collecting to what you want to do is 'apples to apples'... but what's the old saying? "How do you make a penny worth $1000 only worth a penny again?"... Answer: "Clean it!" Mark S.

Like anything... 'value' can be subjective and a bit esoteric... The true value of a chawan is based on many things and none are easy to define: 1) The most simplisitic (except to someone who follows Chanoyu... it is the MOST important) is 'how well does the chawan do it's job'?... ie, as a vessel to make tea. Does it keep the tea warm long enough for the guest to enjoy properly (especially koicha - 'thick tea')?... how does it 'feel' in the hand?... can the host handle it properly throughout the ceremony?... how does it co-exist with the other tea utensils presented?... etc. 2) In the case of the types of chawan you have, do they present the wabi 'feeling' that is sought so highly in wabi-chanoyu? In some case, very formal utensils are required, but for wabi style Chanoyu, finding bowls that perfectly capture that 'feel' is not as easy as it seems... old, imperfect, or subdued is not always the sole criteria... it's as if one is seeking the 'perfectly-imperfect'. 3) Provinence or age are only important for people concerned with those types of things, but they shouldn't be discounted as well if the piece is 'important'. 4) Personal taste of the host 5) Many, many things I am sure I am overlooking. My personal taste leans toward the second bowl... but each person is different. I would love to see the green color of the tea in the bottom of that bowl, feel the warmth rise and smell the tea as I raised it to my lips, feel the bowl in my hand... how does one put a $$$ figure on that? I leave that to others... Sorry if this doesn't help with your 'identification' questions. They are wonderful bowls...

... and here is where a 'less learned member' dips his toe nervously into the discussion to ask a couple questions... 1) On the shortening of older blades, would sori be 'taken into account' in the final product, or was overall length the determining factor in an effort to match the 'standard of the day' or the particular 'wants' of the end user? Would older swords be excluded from the decision to shorten because the resultant sori (either 'depth' of the sori, and 'style'... or both) wouldn't quite match the accepted 'standard of the day'? 2) Maybe more of a theoretical question, but just how far 'out of standard' would a smith allow his sori before condemning a sword to the 'not up to my spec' bin? Obviously, Japanese smiths were masters at controlling the whole process of creating their blades, but I'm sure the quenching process is not a 'perfect' science and some variation in result was expected. Was the smith able to 'make up' enough with final shaping, or were there times where the examination of sori after quenching resulting in a "darn, not quite enough", or "too much"? Would a smith really not 'allow' a blade without the 'correct' sori out of his shop?... I suppose the simple answer might not be that far removed from modern times (and much less 'mystical')... "Could he still sell it the way it is?" Sorry to take this back down to a 'basic level'...

Morita San, Thank you... as always, you are generous with your time and knowledge. Mark S.

Would someone mind helping with translating the label on a box top for a hexagonal tray I purchased from a resale shop. Tray is made of wood and has black (hard to see) and red flower patterns printed on bottom (sakura/cherry?) Thanks in advance, Mark S.

The tsuka cover on a friends sword...

Here are both sides of a tag for a sword I have. Sword was made by Unjousai Katsunaga, an undocumented smith. I'm going to assume (?) both sides read the same about who owned the sword. Mark S.

My first ever 'Treasure Hunt' story! Yes, I'm going to bore you... Sorry if it isn't exactly Nihonto related! I stop into a couple thrift stores in my area, usually about once a month (just so happen to be near my barber, and due to National Guard duty, I am in the area once a month whether I want to or not... gotta get spiffed up!). So I walk into the store and after a few minutes of walking around, come across a wooden box with Japanese kanji on it and an artist stamp. Having studied Chanoyu for just a few years, I at least knew this might be 'interesting'! I pick up the box and... DARN!... empty. A few minutes later, I see what looks to be some type of tall Shino-ware vase sitting on the front counter and being quick on the uptake, I think, "Hey, that just might fit in the wood box... I wonder...?" So as I walk over with the wood box in tow and reach for the vase, a woman nicely says, "I'm buying that [vase]". With that 'feeling' in the pit of my stomach, I ask the confused woman if I could at least see if the vase fits the box. LIKE A GLOVE! So my mind starts spinning and after a few minutes I say, "Well, I'm not positive (can't read Japanese), but if the box and vase go together, it would be a shame to seperate them." No one who worked in the store knew if the items came in together. After some humming and hawing the woman says, "Would YOU like to buy the vase seeing how you know what it is?" I figured being nice, purchasing an item for her (rather than just giving her money), and saying "THANK YOU!" was better than waiting for her in the parking lot and... well... Upon making contact with someone I knew could answer my questions, the box reads Flower Vase / Shino-ware / Takashi (name of the potter). A MATCH! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again! Vase is 22 cm tall and about 11 cm in dia. And all this for the princely sum of $1 for the box and $4 for the vase. I'd say it was a good day to be lucky and "timing is everything". So... how did I do? Mark

Here was the reference mei I found: http://www.sho-shin.com/hojo1.html