Assitance with Translation of NBTHK Hozon Paper

[sugopomedoro]

Hi All, I wish to import a Wakizashi in to the UK and as part of the process I would like to supply 

customs with a translated version of the Hozon paper to support the fact that the item is an authentic 

antique. I would like to place the translation both on and in the shipping package. As such I would be hugely appreciative 

of help with both the trnaslation and the format in which I can subit this "evidence" to customs.

 

For a format I thought of typing the translated text next to the original on an editted image, or to give each line or entry a number and reference the translation by number.

 

I have made a crude effort myself using resources on the net. but I am sure I am not accurate as the smith should be Kanenori Late Muromachi as described by the dealer and the details about the Nagasa seem wrong as translated to be "less than 7 inches"

 

So far I have got

 

1) Certificate of Authenticity

2) Wakizashi Mumei (Kaneho) - Wrong, should be Kanenori

3) Long (less than seven inches long) - wrong ? - continued - the one on the

4) right is a preserved sword as a result of the examination at the association - does this mean what it says or is there more to it ? why the one on the right?

5) Appraise and Prove this

6) May 31, the sixth year of Reiwa - how does this translate to a date in english ?

7) public interest incorporated foundation Japan art swords and swords preservation assocaitation - the identity of the association that made the appraisal.

8 - Keep 

 

I would be very very appreciative of assistance with this.

 

Thank you !

[Shugyosha]

Have a look down this page, there should be some help:

http://www.nihontocr...se_sword_papers.html

[sugopomedoro]

8 minutes ago, Shugyosha said:

Have a look down this page, there should be some help:

http://www.nihontocr...se_sword_papers.html

Thank you I have been looking at that this afternoon, whilst it is very helpful explaining the structure of the paper I still cant read the Japanese 

[Nobody]

42 minutes ago, sugopomedoro said:

Thank you I have been looking at that this afternoon, whilst it is very helpful explaining the structure of the paper I still cant read the Japanese 

I do not recommend the site. There are many unacceptable misunderstandings.

 

 

[Shugyosha]

Hi Ronen,

Sorry, I'll try to add a bit to what you've worked out, the numbers of the paragraphs below refer to those in your OP:

 

3. Length 長 - 1 shaku (尺)= 33cm, 7 sun (1 sun 寸= 3.03cm so) 21.21 cm, total = 54.21cm but, as you noted, 弱 means "a little less". Info here on traditional Japanese measurements: https://en.wikipedia...units_of_measurement

4. It means the (in this case) sword described on the right, so a mumei wakizashi attributed to Kanenori.

6. Yes it needs to be translated into the Western calendar, so to begin, you need to look up the relevant Nengo era (these track the reigns of the Japanese Emperors) and the current one is Reiwa which commenced on 1st May 2019, so the 6th year is 2024 (count on the number of years from the start of the era and then deduct one to change it into the Western calendar). This is the date the paper was issued.

8. 保存 = Hozon meaning "worthy of preservation" as opposed to 特別保存 tokubetsu hozon, especially worthy of preservation.

 

Just so you know (and sorry if you already do), all of the information to the left of the first three columns is pretty much pro-forma and appears on every paper. Only the first three columns are specific to the blade appraised. I think you have a reasonable translation of the rest of it and I hope I haven't been teaching you to suck eggs. One more egg: this kanji for kane 兼 is the one used by smiths from Mino/ Seki province and related schools so that might point you towards some further research for the maker of your sword.

 

I hope that has given you a bit to go on.

 

*Edit: should have said, I gained most of my knowledge from the Nihontocraft website so please add salt to the above and season to your taste, I'd relied on it in the past and wasn't aware if the issues that Nobody san spotted.

[sugopomedoro]

2 hours ago, Nobody said:

I do not recommend the site. There are many unacceptable misunderstandings.

 

 

Thank you for the advice.

 

can you assist in my quest ?

[sugopomedoro]

1 hour ago, Shugyosha said:

Hi Ronen,

Sorry, I'll try to add a bit to what you've worked out, the numbers of the paragraphs below refer to those in your OP:

 

3. Length 長 - 1 shaku (尺)= 33cm, 7 sun (1 sun 寸= 3.03cm so) 21.21 cm, total = 54.21cm but, as you noted, 弱 means "a little less". Info here on traditional Japanese measurements: https://en.wikipedia...units_of_measurement

4. It means the (in this case) sword described on the right, so a mumei wakizashi attributed to Kanenori.

6. Yes it needs to be translated into the Western calendar, so to begin, you need to look up the relevant Nengo era (these track the reigns of the Japanese Emperors) and the current one is Reiwa which commenced on 1st May 2019, so the 6th year is 2024 (count on the number of years from the start of the era and then deduct one to change it into the Western calendar). This is the date the paper was issued.

8. 保存 = Hozon meaning "worthy of preservation" as opposed to 特別保存 tokubetsu hozon, especially worthy of preservation.

 

Just so you know (and sorry if you already do), all of the information to the left of the first three columns is pretty much pro-forma and appears on every paper. Only the first three columns are specific to the blade appraised. I think you have a reasonable translation of the rest of it and I hope I haven't been teaching you to suck eggs. One more egg: this kanji for kane 兼 is the one used by smiths from Mino/ Seki province and related schools so that might point you towards some further research for the maker of your sword.

 

I hope that has given you a bit to go on.

 

*Edit: should have said, I gained most of my knowledge from the Nihontocraft website so please add salt to the above and season to your taste, I'd relied on it in the past and wasn't aware if the issues that Nobody san spotted.

Much appreciated and no you weren’t teaching me to suck eggs.

 

i checked the sword index and found one Kanenori Seki region.

 

but I digress. Translation is what I really need and I am grateful for your help.

[ROKUJURO]

.....3. Length 長 - 1 shaku (尺)= 33cm...

No, 1 SHAKU is 303 mm/30,3 cm.

[SteveM]

20 minutes ago, sugopomedoro said:

Translation is what I really need and I am grateful for your help.

 

I think you've gotten all the bits (with some slight corrections as noted above). Are you still unsure of anything?

As John (Shugyosha) said above, nearly everything from #4 onward is just boilerplate for this type of certificate. It is a standard "Hozon" certificate. "Hozon" is the basic level of certification from the NBTHK (Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, aka the NBTHK). 

 

Hozon literally means "keep" or "preserve", and in this case it means roughly "art sword worthy of preservation". The next level up from this is "Tokubetsu Hozon" which means especially worthy of preservation. Typically only swords with signatures, or particularly good examples from well-known smiths get the Tokubetsu Hozon distinction (the paper looks very similar to the Hozon paper). The next two levels up from this are reserved for museum-worthy pieces, and are hard to obtain. So the vast majority of swords available for sale from most sites/dealers or other collectors are either Hozon or Tokubetsu Hozon-rated swords. These are good certificates to have, because they validate the sword as being a genuine antique nihontō. In the case of a sword without a signature, the certificate provides the NBTHK's opinion of who made the sword. 

 

There isn't anything in the boilerplate that changes. The NBTHK doesn't issue certificates with any notes like, "needs more study in order to deem it worthy of preservation". So no need to overthink any of the writing on it. 

 

 

 

[sugopomedoro]

8 minutes ago, SteveM said:

 

I think you've gotten all the bits (with some slight corrections as noted above). Are you still unsure of anything?

As John (Shugyosha) said above, nearly everything from #4 onward is just boilerplate for this type of certificate. It is a standard "Hozon" certificate. "Hozon" is the basic level of certification from the NBTHK (Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, aka the NBTHK). 

 

Hozon literally means "keep" or "preserve", and in this case it means roughly "art sword worthy of preservation". The next level up from this is "Tokubetsu Hozon" which means especially worthy of preservation. Typically only swords with signatures, or particularly good examples from well-known smiths get the Tokubetsu Hozon distinction (the paper looks very similar to the Hozon paper). The next two levels up from this are reserved for museum-worthy pieces, and are hard to obtain. So the vast majority of swords available for sale from most sites/dealers or other collectors are either Hozon or Tokubetsu Hozon-rated swords. These are good certificates to have, because they validate the sword as being a genuine antique nihontō. In the case of a sword without a signature, the certificate provides the NBTHK's opinion of who made the sword. 

 

There isn't anything in the boilerplate that changes. The NBTHK doesn't issue certificates with any notes like, "needs more study in order to deem it worthy of preservation". So no need to overthink any of the writing on it. 

 

 

 

Thank you Steve.

 

The only thing left is finding out which Kanenori smith it’s attributed to and that’s beyond the scope of translation. 
 

The dealer I got it from said it’s koto period so I guess he deduced this from the attribution to Kanenori and the Seki region combined - my guess.

 

thank you I think I now have enough to hopefully satisfy customs 

[sugopomedoro]

The finished result - I hope this is correct

[Shugyosha]

Hi Ronen. 

The length is one shaku PLUS a little under 7 sun so 54 and a bit cm in total(see my post above). 
 

[SteveM]

1. "Certificate of Appraisal" is more accurate. 

2. One, Wakizashi: (Kanenori).  note: the paper makes no mention or promise or hint that it is Kanenori of Mino/Seki. This might be able to be inferred (I honestly don't know how many smiths named "Kanenori" there were, who used these exact kanji), maybe just this one smith. In any event, the paper doesn't make any mention of Mino/Seki. It just says (Kanenori). 

3. Just under 1 shaku, 7 sun. (51.53cm) (using this site https://www.kampaibudokai.org/Script.htm for conversion)

4. As a result of examination by this organization, we hereby appraise this sword to be "Worthy Of Preservation". 

5. The official English name of the NBTHK is Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords.

"Public Interest Incorporated Foundation is slightly tortured English translation of a particular kind of Japanese organization. In the NBTHK's case, its a non-profit organization, but not all of these kinds of groups are non-profit. It's just a signifier of what kind of group it is, like "Co. Ltd" or "Pty Ltd" or "Inc.". Anyway, in my view its best to just use the official English name of Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords.

 

[sugopomedoro]

@SteveM Thank you kindly. I have updated my image.

 

The only reason I mentioned Mino / Seki is due to " kane 兼 is the one used by smiths from Mino/ Seki province and related schools"

 

I realise this is a best effort approach and subject to interpretation.