Shirasaya Sayagaki Translation Needed

[Ed Hicks]

Shirasaya Sayagaki Translation needed. Thanks for looking and for assistance. Ed

[raaay]

Quick guess Bizen  kunitomo - maybe !!

[Ray Singer]

Etchu no kuni Uda Kunitomo

[DirkO]

Kao looks like Honami Tadataka or Tenrai. The first one sadly being a notorious drinker and of somewhat doubtfull repute and Tenrai his son. There's more info about them in Markus' excellent book on the Honami family.

[DirkO]

Checked my resources - it's Hon'Ami Tenrai (from the Komi lineage). Far more reputable than his father, published some books and was avidly looking to revive interest in nihonto (start of 20th century). 

[Bugyotsuji]

大正弐年

Taisho Ninen

[SteveM]

Piers just beat me to it. I'll add in what I think are the remaining bits.

 

越中国宇多国友

Etchū-no-kuni Uda Kunitomo

 

長さ一尺四寸四分有之

Nagasa 1 shaku, 4 sun, 4 bu 

 

大正貮年霜月三日研上げ記之

Taishō 2, November 3rd, migakiage 

 

The Taishō date rules out Tadataka, but I couldn't find any kao for Tenrai, so Dirk's post above seals the deal and removes any doubt. 

The month I have no confidence in. I can only say that the left side of the kanji resembles a ki hen (or possibly te-hen) and the closest plausible month would be 霜月 (Shimotsuki: or November). But the kanji on the sayagaki doesn't resemble 霜 at all, and so 霜月 is almost a wild guess. Or, maybe the kanji on the sayagaki is a poetic variation of one of the twelve month names that I do not know about. 

 

The okurigana for the last bit 研上げ (migakiage - polished) may be off, but the meaning wouldn't change.

[Ed Hicks]

Thanks for the help with the translation.

 

Ed

[DirkO]

  On 11/25/2018 at 12:16 AM, SteveM said:

The month I have no confidence in. I can only say that the left side of the kanji resembles a ki hen (or possibly te-hen) and the closest plausible month would be 霜月 (Shimotsuki: or November). But the kanji on the sayagaki doesn't resemble 霜 at all, and so 霜月 is almost a wild guess. Or, maybe the kanji on the sayagaki is a poetic variation of one of the twelve month names that I do not know about. 

 

Hi Steve,

 

this puzzled me as well, especially seeing I could easily find other Hon'ami origami with the same kanji (albeit a bit less stylized)

 

After some searching, I came up with the idea that it might not be describing an exact month (going from your poetic variation remark) and it might be this:

極月

giwametsuki

not a real word, but could be something like "appraisal month" ?

[Markus]

The very last part is:

 

研并記之

kore o togi narabi ni shirushite

"polished and recorded this (on the third day of the twelfth month of Taisho two)"

 

And 極月 (gokugetsu, kiwamarizuki) is another term for the twelfth month.

[DirkO]

Thx @Markus for the explanation - had the kanji right, but didn't know the correct reading/meaning!

[Peter Bleed]

This was a great thread that I got to late. I wish I had been able to dive in instead of simply watching others. Thank you NMB!

Interesting sword, Ed. Thanks to you, too!

Peter

[SteveM]

Thanks all. Always relieved to have the blank spots filled in.