Help With Sayagaki

[WAK]

 

I hope someone can shed some light on this. From a little wakizashi I bought about 3 years ago, I was thinking about a polish but as its a mumei I would like to see if the sayagaki can help. Yes I have tried but I cannot find any real correlation to the Japanese alphabet or other symbols to help myself. I don't really have a commercial intention, this is my first Nihonto buy, which was an impulsive novice driven purchase, there is not really much more to go on as it is in pretty poor condition.

 

Please see pics attached. Pic with tape measure along length to show form.

 

Some measurements.

 

Nakago  =   118mm

 

Nagasa  =    496mm

 

Thickness at Mune machi  =  6mm

 

Mune machi to Ha machi width   =  22mm

 

Thickness at back of Yokote  =     4.5mm

 

Width at Yokote  =  18.5mm

 

Overall Length 614mm.

 

Please forgive me if my terminologies are incorrect. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

 

 

[Stephen]

No help here on kanji, i can tell you to save your money, blade is not worth any more money.

[SteveM]

I even wonder if it is Japanese. It is rare when you can't pick out a single kanji from a sayagaki that long. I would expect to recognize something - a part of a word...a name, a location, a title, a year, a description, anything. On this one, I cannot pick out anything. 

[WAK]

I have been wondering the same Steve, I have looked at the different dialects down from Old Japanese to modern and still cannot find anything, Mumbo jumbo?? it certainly is odd. I don't really have the experience to make any further comment, the steel does look to be tempered, but without being in polish any real features are too hard for my inexperience to distinguish anything, you can see the cross work marking from what looks like a foundation polish. Its looking to be a fake, possibly from what era and location is anyone's guess. If nothing conclusive comes forward from members, I may just keep it as a practice polish blade, and another lesson in my never ending education.

[Guido]

Can't make a single character out either. Looks somehow like grass script. The kind you'll find in a lawn mower bagger .

[kissakai]

To me the script seems to have an uninterrupted flow and maybe sosho script

I believe Marcus is the one to say if it is Japanese although he may not have the time to do a translation

[WAK]

If someone does have any experience with this sort of dialect, I am prepared to pay for the time and research in order to reveal its details and hopefully origins, short of that, I have thought of having an XRF done on the steel to at least reveal its composition, or if anyone knows of someone somewhere that may specialise I may consider the international post to have this work done. I find it hard to believe the item would be junk, looking at the item objectively, I would not have thought you would go to the lengths of making an item that fits the Wakizashi class almost perfectly by its dimensional stats alone, let alone bothering to write a sayagaki just for the pure hell of it, someone put the time to complete the project, I wont relegate to a garden pruner until all my avenues have been positively exhausted.

[Bazza]

Well, agreeing with Grev I think this is sosho script of the most poetic sort that only the likes of Morita san or Marcus could translate.  For mine I would suggest two lines of attack - (1) have the sayagaki translated if it all possible, and (2) at the least have a window put in the blade.

 

The blade may be a kazuuchimono (not signed), but maybe not.  An indication that the blade might be late Koto is the bohi going past the yokote in the shinogi ji.  I have a faint little bell tinkling in my head that is saying the tsure hi turning up along the koshinogi occurs in Bizen swords.  I would think that an XRF would be an absolute waste of time.  Sword art doesn't easily yield its secrets via technology.  The eye of a togishi is far, far more accurate...  Oh, and do forget about "polishing practice".  Many have trodden that path only to "see the light" after 20 years or more of study - or less if they are perceptive and receptive to professional advice.

 

BaZZa.

 

EDIT:  I suggest this be moved to Translation Assistance.

[kissakai]

Hi Benjamin

I would suggest buying the 'Sword of Japan' by J.W. Bott as it's cheap and has a lot of context for a beginner

There are many good books but this is a good starter

See if there are any Nihonto clubs in your area as they are always a wealth of knowledge

I wouldn't rush into a polish just find out as much as you can then make a decision

I like the sword and the 'cat scratched' habaki is a good sign

[Brian]

If Morita san can't decipher this, then no-one can. Hopefully he is able to see this post. If Guido can't make out a single kanji, then maybe it is gibberish. But is appears to be fairly fluent and flowing and well done, so someone had some skill.

[Kronos]

Bazza's idea's on it being Bizen fit with my own although kantei in an out of polish sword is a most futile pursuit you can get some idea's from the shape. muromachi Bizen looks most likely but it needs a window to get a firmer idea.