Gendaito katana

[Binnawan]

I have aquired a gendaito by, I believe, Kanenori.

Can someone please confirm and help with the rest of the mei?

I have a scan of the mei, my camera is not up to it.

thanks

 

Baz

[Jean]

Baz,

 

Try to take kanji by kanji pictures, your picture is barely visible.

 

You must learn to read a signature/mei

 

To read it you start from the bottom (western style, not Japanese as you start to read it from teh top)

 

Generally, the last kanji means made, the two above are the smith name, then above you have the province or the town where he is resident.

 

To help you go to Dr Stein website: hera are three links coming from his site:

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/kanji/kanji1.htm

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm

[Binnawan]

Thanks for your quick reply Jean.

Unfortunately, when it comes to kanji, I have a blind spot. I have tried for a long time to learn to translate makers names, but have made NO progress at all.

I will try and take better scans or pics of the kanji.

 

Baz

[Jean]

Baz,

 

I am not good at kanji myself but the links provided give you the solution. You should by now comparing the smith name you provided with the link to Seki smith know if you are right now.

 

It is quite esay for all mei. Apart the smith name, 90% of mei have the same syntax

 

Province - resident - optional: Town/Title - smith name - then: made by

 

Question:

 

First kanji: from which town originates the smith: The answer is in title of one of the Three links I gave you, that is the first kanji

 

second kanji: what is he doing here, is he a foreigner or a resident? the answer is also provided in the "kanji link provided and given as example.

 

the smith name is Kane XX , cannot see the kanji, but you can check as I gave you the list of the smiths with their kanji

 

Last kanji, if you refer to the link provided on kanji, you will find it immediately, it is in the first example given by Dr Stein (Nagamitsu ..)

 

All this to say that my friend Baz, you are a very lazy boy and you did not even try to have a go at it with the links I provided, it would have taken 5 minutes. :D

[Veli]

Just to aid the process: the second kanji of the smith's name (after Kane...) is 則, I think.

 

BR, Veli

[hxv]

Hi,

 

I think see an arsenal stamp just above the mekugi ana. So I don't know if you can classify this sword as a gendaito.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[SwordGuyJoe]

This is Kanenori. Here is an example: http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/kanenor2.jpg

[Kai-Gunto]

Its not gendaito ,but showato.

[Binnawan]

You are correct Hoanh.

 

I thought that was just a mark on the tang, but under magnification it is in fact the Showa stamp. You have good eyesight. So, the blade is probably not traditional made? (some doubt on the Dr Stein site).

I still intend to try for some half decent pics today to post here.

 

Baz

[Binnawan]

Jean,

I promise you I am not lazy (60 + years since I was referred to as a boy :D :D ). I was up until 1130pm last night and back to it again at 0500 this morning on the sites you gave me. I make no progress or sense of any of it.

I am rather hoping that someone will give me a Morita San style translation to this.

BTW, showa era was 1926 to 1989, how do you tell when this sword was made?

 

edit: just noticed your post Joe, almost (not quite) what I have here, thanks.

 

Baz

[Mark]

looks like Seki (City), Ju Nin (resident of) Kanenori (makers name) Saku (made this)

[k morita]

Yes, it's Kanenori.

[Binnawan]

Thanks very much for that Morita san.

 

Thanks Mark

 

Baz

[Jean]

Baz,

 

I gave you all the keys with the links:

 

First kanji: I told you it was included in one of the provided link:

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm

 

Go to the link provided at the bottom you will find Kanji pages. Go to kanji "M to T" and check the kanji for Seki:

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/kanji/kanji1.htm   http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/kanji/kanji3.htm

 

Second Kanji: same link example given :

 

Soshu Ju Masahiro saku

 

Smith name: go to the link provided

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm and check Kanenori

 

Last Kanji:: I told you about the example given: Nagamitsu saku

 

The only one missing in the list was "nin"

 

 

Now check again the links, it will enable you to find the kanji

 

BTW, I am past 60 :D

[Binnawan]

Jean,

I really appreciate the help you offer, but I am being truthful. When it comes to kanji I am dyslexic. No way I can connect the kanji on a sword with kanji on the page. those things just dissolve in front of my eyes. I envy those of you who can handle this.

 

Baz

[chrisf]

Baz,a lot of Showa mei are more difficult to read than older signatures because they are not particularly well cut and are frequently done in very 'chippy' strokes.

When I started to try reading mei I found it most helpful to have a pile of reference books on hand,in those days it was Fuller and Gregory's oshigata books,B.W.Robinson and eventually a Hawley,the oshigata books were of most use because it was easy to compare the oshigata with the tang in hand and eventually learn how to see the 'picture' of how the mei was made up,the Slough book is even better to use as the oshigata are bigger and clearer.

Another difficulty with Showa mei is that some are done by the swordsmith (shoshinmei) and others by professional signature cutters (nakirishimei) working in the Seki gunto workshops and many of the latter have strokes that are only a token representation of the character that they are meant to be.

Not easy but stick at it and the bulb will suddenly light up!

[SwordGuyJoe]

This is Kanenori. Here is an example: http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/kanenor2.jpg

 

This link literally contained every character you were looking for. You just needed to line it up.