Help with kozuka mei

[kuromido]

Hello All,

I am having some trouble with this mei and would like some help if possible. What I have (and I am sure I am way off) is"

?,take,moto,haruyama nobu mune .

Any help on this mei and particularly information on the maker would be of great help. The kozuka is of fine shibuishi but somewhere along the way someone saw fit to lacquer it.

 

Thank you in advance,

 

PeterD

[John A Stuart]

It looks like 泰山東愚 but, I may be off on the last one. Taizan (Togu?) No Togu as an artist. John

[kuromido]

Hi John, Thaks for the reply. Could you resend it in romanji? I still have no idea what it reads.

Thanks sincerely,

PeterD

[John A Stuart]

I did in the previous post. The first two kanji in the four character mei are Taizan. The last two do not make sense being a combination of 'To' and 'Gu'. Togu?? That is why I think I have the last kanji read wrongly. Sorry. John

[Ludolf Richter]

Hi,the Mei reads

Sekijoken Taizan Togu.

Haynes has recorded him with his alternate artist name ("Go") Motozane,

H 06004,1741-1830,from Mito/Hitachi.Taizan is his family name.Ludolf

[John A Stuart]

Great Ludolf, Where did you find the reference to Motozane being Togu? John

[Ludolf Richter]

I found Togu vs Motozane in my Tosogu-Mei-Database (more than 4.000 entries).Look at the pih.Ludolf

[Brian]

Ludolf,

I know you have built up a huge library of sword mei and tosogu mei in your private capacity. I really hope you are planning to publish or at least put it down in hard copy for future generations someday. Would be a shame to lose that valuable info.

 

Brian

[kuromido]

Hello John and ludolf. First I thank you for your fast responses and ludolf's indepth information on this maker.

I would like to ask 100 questions but what I will ask is this, Is there a more comprehensive list of kanji. And is this what is needed to further my understanding and ability to decipher mei. I am using, jssus kanji pages,bladesharks mei chart, J.Yomoto & Murthas books and richard steins amazing list and site and I still cant find any reference to taizan or togo or Sekijoken for that matter. I understand that many kanji have multiple "readings" but how does one get started when there is no printed examples? for example, All of the references I listed show the fifth kanji as "yama" with no other readings. Is there a reference that includes "zan" for this kanji? If not , how do we arrive there? Please dont think I am questioning your translations or help in any way. Quite the contrary, I am very appreciative of all of your help and only wish to start on the road you have all traveled. If recognizing kanji is just a start, what would the next step be? Can anyone take a few moments to help a frustrated greenhorn?

 

 

Sincerely,

PeterD

[John A Stuart]

The easiest book to use is The New Nelson Japanese English Character Dictionary. Plus other books devoted to Japanese art names. Internet sources Jim Breen's EDICT, ENAMDICT etc. etc. John