John C Posted February 1 Report Posted February 1 Hello: I'm including 3 shots of the mei. I have seen it on other yajiri, however not translated. Any help is appreciated. Thank you, John C. Quote
John C Posted February 3 Author Report Posted February 3 I knew it would be tough. Here is the same mei on a different yajiri being sold in Japan. I contacted them, however they couldn't read it either. Can anyone take a wild guess? John C. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted February 3 Report Posted February 3 The first three photos are upside down and almost equally blurred. The latest shot, while the correct way up, is also of quite poor quality for an attempted reading. It would need serious editing with contract, sharpness etc., to bring up the Mei to visual recognition standard. Better shots would be a better start. 1 Quote
John C Posted February 3 Author Report Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said: The first three photos are upside down and almost equally blurred. Sorry about that. I took the pics of the mei with the tip up, similar to the other example, thinking it would be the same as swords. I'll try to get each part individually but my camera is limited. Thanks for taking a look. John C. 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted February 3 Report Posted February 3 Apologies, tip of the blade upwards is correct. Just shows how much I cannot ‘see’ what is written there, like a doctor or bank manager’s signature. I was expecting it to say 下坂 Shimosaka, but even that does not seem to fit happily! 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted February 5 Report Posted February 5 Now at this end I may need to qualify once more. For some reason I was thinking this was a yari nakago even though you clearly stated yajiri! It was the kerakubi that finally caught my eye. Whereas yari Mei follow the conventions of sword and gun Mei, yajiri seem to be more free, perhaps because the narrowness of the nakago makes inserting an inscription problematical. Often they are unsigned, but when signed you are more likely in my (admittedly limited) experience to find a Mei inscribed somewhere on the blade of the arrowhead itself. Quote
John C Posted February 5 Author Report Posted February 5 15 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said: find a Mei inscribed Agreed. I have both, with the majority being on the blade. The photo in the second post is one for sale in Japan with the same signature. Maybe it was his thing? Below is another one, which I believe has the same last kanji. John C. 1 Quote
John C Posted February 9 Author Report Posted February 9 I'll give this another shot with some added photos. This is the best I can do with the camera I have. Hopefully, someone can make it out. I have separated the kanji in order to get closer shots. The first pic is the first character; the second pic is the second. Thanks for trying to figure this out. Much appreciated. John C. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 Ah, now those are much better! Many thanks. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted February 13 Report Posted February 13 Some similarity with this kiritsuke Mei on a Dōtanuki spear. (The number 28) https://www.e-sword.jp/yari/2210-4040.htm 1 Quote
John C Posted February 13 Author Report Posted February 13 Thanks, Piers. It gives me another avenue to try to figure it out. John C. Quote
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