USMC-LCPL Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 If it's too much trouble to get a full translation, then I would be more than content with a "Yup, it's Japanese/ Nope, it's gibberish" answer... But I'm currently trying to restore a family heirloom, a gunto, and I've found one online for a steal that has crap for a blade, but nearly flawless fittings. Exactly what I need. The problem: the sig on the tang is freaking me out. I'm more than aware that a certain risk accompanies all Ebay usage, but I'd like my risk to not be a careless one. Please tell me if this sig is authentic. Thank you. Quote
Brian Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 Yes, it's real. That is the date side, the other side has the smith name. http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/common_kanji.html and also http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/kanji/nengo.htm Have a go at the date..it is a Showa WW2 date. Brian Quote
USMC-LCPL Posted February 29, 2008 Author Report Posted February 29, 2008 Ooooh... I'm still so bad at this... The first figure is "Showa," which began in 1926...? I'll try: The second figure is "Go," or "Five" The third figure is "Roku," or "Six" The fourth figure I'm having problems with... The fifth I think is "Ni," or two... but that horizontal stroke doesn't make sense... And the final stroke is "Gatsu," meaning "Month"... Which makes absolutely ZERO sense if you try to string it together as is... but assuming that I'm just getting some of it wrong, and going off your hint... I can make an educated guess: "Showa the 26th Year, 2nd Month," Or February of 1942. I know I got "Roku" and "Showa" right, and that's all I really need for the year. The month however was a wild guess... Um, hows that for a total newbie at this? Quote
Nobody Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 USMC-LCPL said: Um, hows that for a total newbie at this? This pic shows clear image of the kanji. Quote
Jacques Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 Hi, æ˜ SHO å’Œ WA å JU (10) å…« HACHI ( å¹´ NEN (year) å JU 一 ICHI (one) 月 GATSU (month) this blade was made in november 1943. Quote
USMC-LCPL Posted February 29, 2008 Author Report Posted February 29, 2008 Wow... My first try was epic failure. After 20 years I can still barely read my own Mother's handwriting... I guess it's not surprising that Japanese Sword Signatures are kicking my ass... :| "Showa Ju Hachi Nen Ju Ichi Gatsu." Or, October/November 1944. A Desperation Sword for sure, which might explain the crappy handwriting! I mean, come on guys, you have to admit that the "Ju Hachi" looked a whole lot like "Roku..." :? EDIT: @ Jacques: Is it really 1943? It would appear I need to go back to math class as well... Quote
Brian Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 Remember that Showa 1 is not 1926 + 1....it is the first year of Showa..so 1926. You always minus one from the year. So the 18th year of Showa is 1926 + 18 - 1 = 1943 :D Good on you for at least having a go. That's what we are encouraging here. After a few, you will start to get the hang of them. Thanks to Koichi for making it more legible too, and Jacques for the help. These are always good for novices to have a go at. Next time I think we will use the spoiler function so that more people can have a go Brian Quote
USMC-LCPL Posted February 29, 2008 Author Report Posted February 29, 2008 Thank you to all three of you for your help. That was an excellent pair of links Brian, and Nobody, that clear depiction of the characters was even more helpful... Quote
Guest kaien Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 I have a question, I hope I can properly explain it as I dont have Japanese language software so i can't write in it. ok, the first one that i guess is translated as "SHO" using the translations in Jacques post. ok well the right side of it has 2 symbols one on top of the other. On all of the translations the bottom symbol is a square, however, on the sword it is written twice as more of a V shape then a square. Is this a common variance? If so, are there many other variances like this, and if so how does one know what is actually meant? I am just now starting to learn to write Japanese, though I am not putting nearly as much effort into writing as I am into learning the spoken form. All I know is the one character I have learned thus far I had one hell of a time drawing it properly. all of my artistic ability is in music, I have never been able to draw worth a damn thing, even my stick figures were pitiful, so kanji hasn't been easy for me. I wish they would just toss it out and go to Romaji, it would make things so incredibly much simpler. Quote
John A Stuart Posted March 1, 2008 Report Posted March 1, 2008 Hi Loren, I understand your frustration but after a tiome you will get more accustomed to the kanji connected with nihonto. Romanji would not make the language comprehensible since there are so many homophones that have completely different meanings. Even using kana you need to be aware of context to decipher the meanings. John Quote
Nobody Posted March 1, 2008 Report Posted March 1, 2008 kaien said: ok, the first one that i guess is translated as "SHO" using the translations in Jacques post. ok well the right side of it has 2 symbols one on top of the other. On all of the translations the bottom symbol is a square, however, on the sword it is written twice as more of a V shape then a square. Is this a common variance? If so, are there many other variances like this, and if so how does one know what is actually meant? Loren, I understand your question. Experience may be the only answer. The variations of the style of å£ (kuchi) will be naturally understood when you write the character again and again with your own hand. The V shape you saw in the mei is similar with Gyosho (行書) style with faint horizontal lines. You can see other examples of variations of kanji parts on the following site. http://www.nisk.jp/shodokisochishiki/so ... boeho.html Quote
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