Tsuba Translation

[James]

Dear NMB Members,

 

Will someone please translate this for me? Many thanks.

[Ludolf Richter]

Probably a poem.At a first glance "Myochin---3 hitherto for me unknown Kanji---Muneyoshi saku".There is only one possibility in the Haynes index:

H 06351 from Tosa province,who worked around 1800,with a lack of personal data.Haynes has used a different 2nd Kanji for Myochin,but yours is in the Mei dictionaries.Let our Japanese friends do the rest!Ludolf

[Nobody]

Check the following thread. Valuable info as well as the answer are included.

 

http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... ht=shikami

[IanB]

James, This is quite an interesting tsuba. On the right is the date: 2nd year of Keio (1866), 8th month a lucky day. The signature reads: Miochin Katsumi Ki Munenaga saku. Kei Chappelear (Japanese Armor Makers for the Samurai) gives him as a member of the Tosa Miochin working in the late Edo period and known to be a tsuba maker. What is a bit unclear is the Katsumi. Koop & Inada gives this as the name of a courtesan. Perhaps he moonlighted to bring in a bit of extra income :D .

 

The inscription on the left is interesting. The last two characters read motome - to the special order of. The person referred to seems to read - Sakamoto Naokata (or Nogata). A very nice tsuba.

 

Ian

[IanB]

Just went through the whole thing only to have been pipped at the post by the previous post. Ian

[Rich T]

Hi James, Ludolf has the bulk of it.

 

from right to left

 

A date: Kiyo Ni Nen Hachi Gatsu Kichi Hi . A lucky day in August, 1866.

 

The mei: Myochin Katsumi Ki Munenaga

 

Then a request: Sakamoto Naokata requested this.

 

This may be the exact tsuba noted in Haynes. M-R page 1219 (H 06165.0)

 

It is noted with this mei and date. Unless he made a few for this client. Munenaga was a student of the first Akasaka Tadanoti and a retainer of Yamanouchi Daimyo of Tosa.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[Rich T]

  IanB said:

Just went through the whole thing only to have been pipped at the post by the previous post. Ian

 

That seems to be the same for me :-) I worked all that out only to find I am mimicking someone else's work. Oh well, "practice makes practiced".

 

Rich

[James]

Thankyou all for the information. The tsuba shown on the thread that Mr Moriyama posted is identical but it isn't the same tsuba even though it has the exact same design and inscription.

Is this perhaps an indicator of a fake?

[docliss]

Dear Ian B

 

It gives me great pleasure to see that you are back in circulation; I look forward enormously to benefitting from your experience and expertise.

 

Regards, John L.

[remzy]

This tsuba looks wicked!

[Brian]

Mr Bottomley,

 

Welcome to the forum, it is good to have you here.

Are you perhaps the same Mr Bottomly that wrote Arms and Armor of the Samurai and Introduction to Japanese Armour?

 

Either way, it is good to have another knowledgeable collector on board, and especially another one that spells the word "armour" and not "armor" like our American friends :D

 

Regards,

Brian

[Bungo]

http://cgi.ebay.com/385-Edo-Signed-Copp ... dZViewItem

 

 

 

milt the ronin

[Nobody]

See 鍔(7):

http://www.mizusumashi.com/17/index.php?page=9

http://mizusumashi.com/DSCF0128-3.html

[Bungo]

" The inscription on the left is interesting. The last two characters read motome - to the special order of. The person referred to seems to read - Sakamoto Naokata (or Nogata). "

 

seems like Mr. Sakamoto likes that tsuba so much , he ordered some more !!

 

milt the ronin