KungFooey Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 Hi guys, i'm sorry for the terrible photos but I've seen similar inscriptions on another thread (very anti American and British slogan) and wondered if this was the real deal? Thanks as always! Dee Quote
Shugyosha Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 Hi Dee, Yes I think it expresses some of those kind of sentiments but one of the better linguists will have to tell you exactly what it says. In the first picture there's a reference to the Empire, something I can't make out and then "no bones": 皇口無骨 - the swordsmith's name follows that. On the other side, something about (my paraphrasing) the Imperial declaration of war against the USA and England and a wish for good luck - perhaps wishing the owner of the sword good luck in the war against the allies. 1 Quote
francois2605 Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 I have a Moritaka with a similar slogan. It's signed "Koteki Mu Kotsu Minamoto Moritaka + Kao" According to the seller: "Muteki Kotsu = patriotic saying & meaning "our enemy has no backbone"" 1 1 1 Quote
SteveM Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 皇敵無骨 = Kōteki Bukotsu Enemies of the Emperor/Empire are savages. (Well, the meaning of "bukotsu" is "unrefined", but somehow that doesn't quite work as a slogan when translated back into English, although you can find a lot of web sites that use this as a translation). Even the word "savage" or "brute" doesn't feel particularly impactful to our ears, but perhaps in 1940s Japan this was a profound insult. The other bit on Dee's sword looks like 対米英宣戦之告被作 Made upon the declaration of war against the US and Britain. 5 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 16 Author Report Posted January 16 21 hours ago, francois2605 said: I have a Moritaka with a similar slogan. It's signed "Koteki Mu Kotsu Minamoto Moritaka + Kao" According to the seller: "Muteki Kotsu = patriotic saying & meaning "our enemy has no backbone"" I saw that François and it's a beautiful example! Quote
KungFooey Posted January 16 Author Report Posted January 16 13 hours ago, SteveM said: 皇敵無骨 = Kōteki Bukotsu Enemies of the Emperor/Empire are savages. (Well, the meaning of "bukotsu" is "unrefined", but somehow that doesn't quite work as a slogan when translated back into English, although you can find a lot of web sites that use this as a translation). Even the word "savage" or "brute" doesn't feel particularly impactful to our ears, but perhaps in 1940s Japan this was a profound insult. The other bit on Dee's sword looks like 対米英宣戦之告被作 Made upon the declaration of war against the US and Britain. Thank you so much Steve!!! After a lot of deliberation, I've decided to get this sword so your transcription is real helpful. I hope that gentle rubbing with camellia oil will deactivate the red rust on the tang but, as to the blade itself, I've made one of my crazy gambles - so I'll just have to wait and see what I end up with. 🤦🏻♂️ 1 Quote
francois2605 Posted January 16 Report Posted January 16 Not sure if you already found this about Moritaka. The source is Markus Sesko's Encyclopedia of Japanese Swordsmiths Quote YASUHIRO (靖博), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Kumamoto – “Minamoto Moritaka” (源盛高), “Kongōbyōe Moritaka Yasuhiro” (金剛兵衛盛高靖博), “Kōtei-bukotsu Mina- moto Moritaka” (皇敵無骨源盛高, about “against the unrefined enemies of the Emperor/Empire”), “Tetsuō” (鉄王), “Jingūji Ryōsai” (神宮寺良西), real name Moritaka Yoshio (盛高良夫), born October 30th 1908, he was a late smith smith from the lineage of Chikuzen Kongōbyōe Moritaka (盛高), he signed first with Akihiro (煕博) and changed his name in 1927 to Yasuhiro, 1933 he learned the art of jūmonji-yari (十文字鎗) forging from Enju Tarō Nobushige (延寿太郎宣繁), gō Tetsuō (鉄王), kihin no retsu (Akihide), First Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941) 2 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 16 Author Report Posted January 16 46 minutes ago, francois2605 said: Not sure if you already found this about Moritaka. The source is Markus Sesko's Encyclopedia of Japanese Swordsmiths Thank you again Francois!!! 1 Quote
ChrisW Posted January 16 Report Posted January 16 I have one of his blades. Our token kai meeting is this Saturday, so I will hopefully have some nice pictures to post soon. Freshly polished! 2 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 16 Author Report Posted January 16 5 hours ago, ChrisW said: I have one of his blades. Our token kai meeting is this Saturday, so I will hopefully have some nice pictures to post soon. Freshly polished! I'd absolutely love to see it Chris!!! Dee Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 Hi all, I just finished a very early morning FaceTime chat with my brother In Japan. He received the sword today and showed it to me online. It is SO beautiful! Amazing mokume hada and suguha hamon with lots of activity. Broad, with a 69 cm nagasa and 1.9cm sori, it has absolutely no rust, chips or any other kizu. It's still in the original wartime polish so there are a few minor scratches but it even has the original ubuha while the rest of it is almost shaving sharp! The seller deals almost exclusively in household junk and knickknacks along with electronic items - this was the only sword. They must have recently cleared out some deceased old guy's house and not realized what they had. They obviously just wanted to make a quick buck so, for such a respected Gendai smith, it was an absolute bargain at ¥150,000. Dee PS: I took a screenshot of the torokusho - the translation is exactly as @SteveM said - thank you Steve!!!! 3 2 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 Interesting development for @Bruce Pennington. At my request, my brother was camellia oiling the nakago of the Moritaka to deactivate the red rust and found these two stamps on the mune. 😳 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 PS: just checked Bruce's wonderful document on stamps and apparently this stamp means 'Ho'. As there's two of them it says 'Ho Ho' - so maybe this is a late Christmas present from Santa? 3 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 ホ actually reads ‘ho’ with a short ‘o’ sound, like blowing quickly on a glasses lens. What it means is another question, but it could be related to which section of the army it was for. In Kokura, hosting a large army barracks, Ho could have stood for Hoheitai 歩兵隊, infantry. Ki stood for Kiheitai 騎兵隊, originally cavalry but denoting motorized armored troops, and ホウ Hō with a long sound Hōheitai 砲兵隊, or artillery forces. (Not definitive, but just throwing this into the pot for consideration) 1 1 Quote
SteveM Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 6 hours ago, KungFooey said: the translation is exactly as @SteveM said I was one character off. According to the registration card, the inscription is 対米英宣戦之吉辰作 (made on the auspicious day of the declaration of war against America and Britain). 1 Quote
Stephen Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 I didn't read all I might have missed so your brother takes it to the police station and have them deregistered before mails to you or how does that work. Looking forward to you getting it so we can see more 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 23 minutes ago, SteveM said: I was one character off. According to the registration card, the inscription is 対米英宣戦之吉辰作 (made on the auspicious day of the declaration of war against America and Britain). Wow! So made on December 7th, 1941? 😳 Thank you yet again, Steve!!! Dee Quote
SteveM Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 Well, I think its more of a spiritual marker than an actual temporal marker, but yes sometime around that date (note that Japan is one day ahead, so Pearl Harbor happens on the 8th for them). 2 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 1 hour ago, Stephen said: I didn't read all I might have missed so your brother takes it to the police station and have them deregistered before mails to you or how does that work. Looking forward to you getting it so we can see more Hi Stephen! Yes, I've actually got three swords and that tanto now hopefully coming home with him next time he's on leave. He's promised me he can sort it all out; apparently, he'll get them deregistered using an 'export audit certificate'. I'm in no rush as I know these things take a long time but I'll gladly post photos whenever I get them in hand. 😊 Dee 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 Yes, you have it right, inspector stamp of Kokura's 1st Factory. Another example that "arsenal stamps" are not a definitive sign of showato. They are commonly seen on other gendaito like star-stamped RJT blades. I see you have plenty of info on Moritaka, but here is his page from Slough: 1 Quote
KungFooey Posted January 20 Author Report Posted January 20 16 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said: Yes, you have it right, inspector stamp of Kokura's 1st Factory. Another example that "arsenal stamps" are not a definitive sign of showato. They are commonly seen on other gendaito like star-stamped RJT blades. I see you have plenty of info on Moritaka, but here is his page from Slough: Thanks Bruce! Quote
ChrisW Posted January 21 Report Posted January 21 @KungFooey As promised, here are some photos of my Yasuhiro after polish. This blade has both the smith's name, a patriotic quote inferring a year, as well as the owner's name. 2 3 Quote
ChrisW Posted January 21 Report Posted January 21 And a few more (we're still working on the photography): 1 1 Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted January 22 Report Posted January 22 Very nice, Chris. Do you have the owners name translated? Quote
KungFooey Posted January 22 Author Report Posted January 22 That's a fine sword @ChrisW!!! What is the patriotic slogan - declaration of war, invasion of Singapore or other? Thank you! Dee Quote
ChrisW Posted January 22 Report Posted January 22 1 hour ago, PNSSHOGUN said: Very nice, Chris. Do you have the owners name translated? Tokio Takahara is the owner's name I believe. I haven't been able to find any information on him yet, so I believe I'll need to reach out to the Japanese Consulate in Chicago. 1 hour ago, KungFooey said: That's a fine sword @ChrisW!!! What is the patriotic slogan - declaration of war, invasion of Singapore or other? Thank you! Dee Something to the effect of "For the frontline of the Asian holy war of Unification" I believe. 1 Quote
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