Help identifying symbol

[Ronin 47]

Does anybody recognize this symbol? Thanks for any help.

 

Austin

 

http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... bolim1.png

[Stephen]

Austin

 

the link does not open for me...how about using the boards downloading.

[Ronin 47]

Here try this

 

http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... bolhd6.png

[Guest reinhard]

Your links don't work properly. Why not post images directly? By the way, it's not much fun to be redirected to other pages (click-counters). Nothing personal, just something I wanted to say for a while anyway.

 

reinhard

[Bugyotsuji]

Does anybody recognize this symbol? Thanks for any help.

 

Austin

 

http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... bolim1.png

 

No, but where did you find it? Context can be useful.

 

Your drawing doesn't show any 'stroke' directions, by the way.

[Ronin 47]

Sorry, I tried to post the picture directly to the board but it doesn't seem to work, if somebody would like to give me some pointers on how to get them directly on the board I'm all ears. The symbol is on the nakago-mune of a tanto, and I'm trying to figure out what it means if anything.

[Gabriel L]

It's the seventh symbol needed to go back to Earth in the movie Stargate.

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :lol:

 

(PS - the links work fine for me.)

[Brian]

Here's the image. It was a .png file...I think you should save images as a jpeg instead, as some can't view png's.

I don't recognise it as anything Nihonto related?

 

Brian

[Ronin 47]

Thanks for the help with the picture Brian, and I will try to save my images as a JPEG next time. Concerning the symbol, somebody definitely put this on the nakago-mune of this tanto intentionally, but the question is why? Could it be a family Mon?

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for the help with the picture Brian, and I will try to save my images as a JPEG next time. Concerning the symbol, somebody definitely put this on the nakago-mune of this tanto intentionally, but the question is why? Could it be a family Mon?

 

Why can't you show the actual marks? It could be directons for hitting a family Mon... but without the stroke directions and other little indentations in the metal we are having to work through a Western mind filter here. Look at number 3 on this page:

http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/buke_km/buke_km5.html

This Mitsuboshi Mon was also used in an upside down version, so your drawing could... possibly... be the one stroke, with a direction arrow meaning 'faces up' on it??? This is a very long shot, though, as I've never heard of this being done!!! :lol:

 

PS Your signature may need to be reinstalled, Austin!

[Ronin 47]

I was having trouble getting a clear shot of the symbol, and I thought the drawing would be easier to see and Identify. But anyway I have finally got a pretty good shot of the symbol so I hope this makes it easier for someone to identify.

[Bugyotsuji]

Had a chance to ask some 'experts' this evening and one of them had an interesting story.

 

He said he has seen marks like this before on post Meiji swords, particularly on those produced by Hori...i? (He couldn't remember the smith's name) from Hokkaido who was in charge of producing lots of swords from the blown-up No.2 turret of the Mikasa which had come back for repairs from the Russian war. Many of these war swords were in fact made by the smith's disciples, and he had a system of codes so that he knew which disciple had made which blade. He asked if your tanto hahaba is thin, indicating it might be a navy blade.

 

PS One of the swordsmiths told me as an additon that the Nakago mune could be used for writing the name of the person for whom the sword was being made, the Tame-mei. It could also be used for practising inscribing a Mei, or even for completing a Mei when there was no more space left on the Nakago.

[Nobody]

He said he has seen marks like this before on post Meiji swords, particularly on those produced by Hori...i? (He couldn't remember the smith's name) from Hokkaido who was in charge of producing lots of swords from the blown-up No.2 turret of the Mikasa which had come back for repairs from the Russian war. Many of these war swords were in fact made by the smith's disciples, and he had a system of codes so that he knew which disciple had made which blade. He asked if your tanto hahaba is thin, indicating it might be a navy blade.

The smith is Horii Hideaki.

 

Ref. Hideaki and Mikasa-to.

http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~t-ohmura/gunto_113.htm

[Bugyotsuji]

Very good. Thank you that very interesting link.

 

So, I must have misunderstood what my friend was saying; it wasn't the Number 2 turret, but a 12 inch secondary gun turret.

 

Oh, and he mentioned that such swords are illegal in Japan. If you take one to the police and try to register it, they will confiscate it and cut it in pieces. Sometimes the pieces find their way back to katana kaji, but often they are disposed of as scrap.

[Ronin 47]

Thanks for that info guys, that is very interesting about Horii Hideaki's students signing with a code of sorts. I suppose it's possible that this blade could be by a student who hasn't yet gained the right to sign his own name? or has not yet chosen an art name so instead he signed with a code of sorts so his teacher can tell that this is his work, but of course IM just guessing. Any thoughts on that theory?

 

P. s The blade is not a post Meiji piece but appears to be at least ÅŒei and possible as old as late Kamakura.

 

Austin