Kanzan Sato Sayagaki Translation

[Mark S.]

May I please have some help translating a Kanzan Sato sayagaki for a Hizen Tadahiro katana?  I tried my best, but much is just beyond me!  I’ll start at top and work my way down.  Each section will be in a different post. Please feel free to correct all mistakes no matter how minor.

[Mark S.]

I have no idea how to translate this section.  Any help appreciated.

[Mark S.]

Got a little of it... but really not sure.  I’ve seen the first two kanji many times at the start of what would be the blade length, but does it actually translate to nagasa or something else?  

[Mark S.]

I just can’t read or figure out the date the attribution was made.

[Mark S.]

And finally... I think I got this right.

[Mark S.]

Thank you in advance.  I know I am asking a lot.

[Shugyosha]

First part, name and title is correct. Second picture top right four kanji refers to era: “jidai Keian” which began in 1648. 
 

And I’m done - the rest is for the better linguists. 😬

[SteveM]

Second picture

時代慶安之頃 as John says. After that
 

Spoiler

地刃健全優作之一也

 

with that and the help of google-sensei, you should be able to sort it out. If not, let me know. 

 

Third picture is mostly right. The first two are 刃長 (hachō), which basically means nagasa. The last two characters on that picture are 有之. Just think of it as a set phrase intended to formally complete the sentence containing the length. 

 

The fourth picture, as you know, is the date. If you know it is the date, and you've already picked out Shōwa, the next step is almost always sorting out the zodiac year. For this, you almost don't need to be able to read the kanji exactly...you can usually pick out the zodiac year even if the written kanji is in a highly stylized grass script. In this particular case, the first component of the year is straightforward. The second component is highly stylized, but you can pick it out given that you only have 12 options (12 zodiac animals) to choose from. The part after the year is tricky. Actually, I'm not sure if the final two are correct, so I am taking a small leap of faith. 

 

Spoiler

昭和乙卯年師走吉日

 

The fifth picture is 寒山誌 (Kanzan shirusu) + kao

 

 

[Mark S.]

So here is the second try at Section 4... closer?

[Mark S.]

Section 2 is going to take a while... But thank you both so much.  Your help is always generous and appreciated.  

[Mark S.]

From SteveM above:

Second picture

時代慶安之頃 as John says. After that 地刃健全優作之一也

I tried to figure this out, and think a couple parts are close. But the overall meaning that makes sense? 
 

地刃 = Ji ha ?

健全 = Kenzen = Healthy?

優 = Yu = Superior?

作之 = Kore = Made this

一也 = Kazuya (Ichiya?) = “one - to be”

[SteveM]

Yes - you got most of it right, although you need to put them together in a way that makes grammatical sense.

It's written in "kanbun" style, so it won't have syntax or grammar like standard Japanese. I'm not a kanbun expert, but I think it goes something like 

 

地刃健全優作之一也

Jiba ga kenzen de, kore ha ichi yūsaku ni naru.

 

This is a masterpiece with a healthy blade surface. 

[Mark S.]

Steve,

Thank you for your always generous and patient guidance and knowledge.  Did I get the date closer (posted before this one)?

 

[SteveM]

Yes, you nailed the date.

[Tom Darling]

If this katana has a mei,  it would be on interest to see it.  

[Mark S.]

More pics in the above thread... but here is the mei...