outlier48

Morita -san, Thanks for your quick response. As usual, I am not surprised that you were able to read and translate the calligraphy. Charlie B.

I hope I am posting this in the correct place. A friend has this hanging on the wall in his living room. When I commented on it, my friend said he had no idea what the writing said. I think the inscription is the title of the scroll (first 2 kanji) and the name of the artist (second 2 kanji). The first character is "spring" (haru or shun), last is "made" (saku). I am guessing the the title is "early spring day". Any help with this would be appreciated. Charlie B.

My humble thanks to the info provided. I will pass it along. I do not possess the sword but will try to get photos from the owner. I have seen it and can say for certain that the tsuka, F&K and saya are NOT the traditional military hardware that would have originally come with this sword (eg type 95, I think). Those have, unfortunately, been removed and lost. The current tsuka, F&K and saya appear to be modern creations of average to low quality. I'm guessing whoever brought this back from WWII made the changes to the mounts. So, it should be relatively easy to remove the tsuka. If so, I will also include photos of the nakago. I'll post photos when I get them along with any historical info about the tsuka, etc the current owner may have. Sincerely, Charlie B

A friend with a WWII NCO Gunto sent me a photo of just the serial number stamped on the blade - 19420 東. I saw this sword a while ago and it appeared to me to be a very common machine made blade. Interestingly (to me) this sword is not in standard war issue hardware but in more traditional hardware, all of which is quite ordinary. He would like some info. I believe this was manufactured at Tokyo Kokura Arsenal based on the "To" stamp. Can anyone confirm if this and whether the number sequence is valid? I recall reading that a leading "0" would indicate a fake, but I have nothing to go on besides that. I will try to get the owner to remove the tsuka. Will removal of the tsuka likely reveal any additional information such as the sword name of the smith? Charlie B

I think this is the Sanskrit Seed Syllable (bonji) for Fudoo Myou-ou Charlie B

Care to post any photos? Nakago, kissaki, tsuka, overall photo, etc. would be of interest. Charlie Brashear

Why not invest in some books (and if possible go to a show and or meeting(s)) and study first. You will learn and probably will quickly be able to identify if your others are obvious fakes as well. The learning you do and the knowledge and appreciation you gain will be their own reward. Charlie Brashear

Dimensions would be nice, too. Charlie Brashear

As an absolute beginner, I have appreciated it when those in the know have used a "spoiler" to respond to such requests. It allows me as much time as I care to take to attempt a translation on my own. Maybe this is one simple way to solve the question as to when to post "the answer". BTW - I did not see a post of any additional pics. Did I miss this? Charlie Brashear

Hi Ian, IF they mean anything, 小川歩子 it appears to me to be a woman's name (family name probably Ogawa, given name has multiple pronunciations). More experienced members can correct and enlighten me. Keep in mind this is very likely a fake so who knows what was being inscribed. Charlie Brashear

Unfortunately, this statement is one we see far too often from folks who get the nihonto "bug". Hopefully you did not pay much for this "lesson". Now that you have found this board I hope you will take the time to use its resources and to study before your next purchase. Charles Brashear

Hope this is not considered off topic. NHK has presented its "Taiga Drama" annually for 49 years. Each year studies in depth an important historical figure out of the samurai past. Last year featured the story of Sakamoto Ryoma. These are generally accurate (with only a little license to make the story flow) and give a great in depth look at not only the main character but several of the other historically important people who lived at the time. I strongly suggest these stories instead of the nonsense put out by hollywood. Charlie Brashear

Jimmy, Clearly this has been a problem transaction for you. However, it appears you made the purchase even though the seller failed to provide a copy of the requested provenance. So, I am a bit confused. Maybe I missed something. Why would you go forward with the purchase without that documentation if it was that important. In any event, thanks for the heads up on dealing with this seller but like the others, I fail to see the issue since you sent good funds prior to seeing the evidence you desired. I will take this as a general caveat not to complete a transaction under such circumstances. I hope that you future purchases do go better. Charlie

I find the "shishi and peony" tsuba quite impressive. However, maybe because of the condition of the "soten" tsuba (rust, lack of detail) or the missing 製 kanji we would normally find in the mei of such a piece, I do not find it a particularly good example of a soten tsuba and am wondering about its authenticity. Anyone else feel this way, or am I really off track here? Charlie Brashear edit: spelling

Clive, I hope you are correct. It would explain much. If so, I wonder what their success rate has been on returning swords to families of previous owners. In any event, let's be patient and watch how this finally unfolds and concludes. I suspect the final result will be quite different from the original story and its implications. Charlie Brashear

Yimu, Before you have a professional polisher "open a window" on this sword, can you please try to enhance the kanji in the last photo by using talcum powder to "highlight" the kanji. I cannot see these characters clearly but they seem to be related to date and smith/province. FWIW, I hope you will take Morita-san's advice. Looking forward to a better photo. Charlie Brashear

Lee, Rich, David, Thanks for the suggestions. As it turns out, I am sure I will be in both Harajuku and Ginza so I will be sure to see all the recommended stores/exhibits. I am looking for very specific pieces and am looking forward to taking the time and enjoying seeing all these stores and showrooms and museums and exhibits. Regards, Charlie Brashear

And many many happy returns! Charlie Brashear

David, Lee, Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely put both places on my agenda. Charlie Brashear

I will be in Tokyo (Shibuya-Ku) at the beginning of December and would like to do a bit of shopping for a "chidori and pine theme" fuchi to replace the one missing from a tsuka that I have. Can anyone recommend any shops in or near that area? Since most of this trip is "free time" and it will be too damned cold to play golf, I plan on visiting the NBTHK museum and nihonto shops in the area. Any other suggestions on things related to nihonto that I should see would also be appreciated. Regards, Charles Brashear

Rick - Congrats for taking a step back and starting over with study materials. For too many folks new to nihonto want to start the translation of the mei instead of studying and learning about the characteristics of a good sword (personally guilty of this myself a while back so I know from personal experience of whence I speak ). Kind of like seeing a painting and focusing in on the signature of the artist instead of studying the art itself. Be sure to join a sword society or local club (if there is one) and try to attend shows. Be patient; your knowledge will grow and you will enjoy both the journey and the progress. Good luck! Charlie Brashear

Tobias - In addition to reading as suggested above, join a local sword club if possible, as well as attend shows. Seeing and holding quality swords is a great learning experience. Above all, be patient. I,for one, believe "the sword finds the owner". Good luck! Charlie Brashear

Charlie Brashear

Thank you, Moriyama-san, for the correction. Charlie Brashear

I think the kanji reads 奥井 三廊 之 所持 (Okui (no) sanryo kore (o) shoji). Okui (faimily) third son owns this (?) Perhaps some with more experience and skill and correct me and tackle the remainder. Charlie Brashear