Helmet breaker Hachiwara

[den70]

Gentlemen, tell me about this subject. The seller is positioning helmet breaker Hachiwara, Imperial period. Please tell me the translation of the inscriptions on the shank. And how can you attribute it correctly. Measures 17 1/4 inches and 20 inches in Saya. Thank you.

[SteveM]

楠多門兵衛正成   Kusunoki Tamon Hyōei Masanari 
五郎入道正宗      Gorō Nyūdō (Masamune)
志津三郎源兼氏   Shizu Saburō Minamoto (Kaneuji)
元弘元年二月       Genkō gannen (ni)gatsu   

 

The first three lines are names. I can't read the bits in red, but I can guess at them from looking at other items like this one. The last line is a date: February 1331. These seem to be common inscriptions on items like this. I don't know the back story of why other kabutowari also carry these inscriptions. They are not the smiths who made the item, and the item was not made in 1334. Probably made sometime in the 1800s. 

 

Someone else on the board may know. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Nice example.

 

NB Kabuto-wari = hachi-wari. Hachi (sounds like hatchi, not hashi) can mean either bowl of helmet, or crown of head.

Generally I find the word kabuto-wari has a more classical ring to it.

 

Although officers of the law carried jutte during the Edo Period, these kabuto-wari seem to date from after the ‘haitōrei’ law banning the carrying of swords in early Meiji. I’d be happy if someone can prove any earlier usage.

[den70]

Thank you.