Mei translation help.

[kbt]

Could I please get some help with this mei, this is on a wak I am looking to purchase, and yes, I know I should try to figure it out myself. Hopefully, one day I will be able to do that, any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Kim B Toth

[cabowen]

Bungo Kuni X X ju Fujiwara Masa X

 

Can't make out everything. Maybe a better photo....

[Jean]

KIM,

 

YOU DID NOT EVEN GIVE A TRY!!!!

 

NEXT TOPIC BY TTyMiller WAS GIVING THE NAME OF THE PROVINCE!!!

 

CHRIS IS TOO KIND .....

[Veli]

This one is hard to see clearly... Bungo no Kuni Saeki ju Fujiwara Masatsugu?

 

Veli

[kbt]

Thank you guys very much, I'll try to get a better picture and have a go at it myself. I do appreciate all the help I

have received from this board.

Thank You

Kim B Toth

[kbt]

To me that first kanji looks nothing like this 豊, how do you tell what strokes can be missing and if there can be missing

strokes then how can I ever figure this out.

I'll try to explain what I mean. In this kanji starting from the bottom you have a long line running horizontal with two

slanted strokes with a square on top of these . In the kanji on the blade the sides of the box are missing or maybe moved

out of place. To me they do not look very similar at all.

If anyone wants to take the time I would love a tutorial on how to count the strokes of kanji.

Again thank you

Kim B Toth

[runagmc]

Kim, unfortunately it's never that simple. Kanji can be written in different styles and with varying strokes. A good portion of the population in antiquity had minimal reading and writing skills, which is probably one reason you see so many variations. The only way to get good is practice.

[cabowen]

To me that first kanji looks nothing like this 豊,

 

Kim-

 

The top left vertical stoke is missing (or difficult to see) due to its proximity to the mekugi-ana. The rest is written pro forma...Have a look....

 

 

豊

[Veli]

Kim, here's my guess how the kanji of the signature look in print :豊後國佐伯住藤原正次 (Bun-go Kuni Sa-eki ju Fuji-wara Masa-tsugu). Try to figure out the corresponding strokes on the mei.

 

Veli

[kbt]

Thank you all very much, I'm going to have to start having a go at the ones on here until I get better. I didnt know that a word like fuji-wara would be 2 kanji instead of one, that might help.

Thank you again.

Kim B Toth

[kbt]

So he is a 15 point smith, thats not good is it ? Of course there probably weren't any bad smiths right the skill it takes to make one of these is mind boggling. I would appreciate any opinions, the price seams ok if the blade is thick enough for a polish, I guess thats how you tell if a blade can be polished or not.

Thanks

Kim B Toth

[kbt]

If I could get just a little more help on this, what I am looking for is the stroke count of the individual kanji . I downloaded the book on translating kanji but it seems that I just cant get the

stroke count right. The more examples that I can see the more I will be able to get right myself. If you guys dont mind that is.

Thank you

Kim B Toth

[runagmc]

Kim, others may suggest something different, but for me, just looking at as many translated mei as possible, and practicing writing the most commonly used kanji is the best way to learn. Stroke counting can be difficult, and shouldn't be neccessary most of the time.

[kbt]

Thanks Adam .

Kim

[kbt]

Can anyone tell me where to find info on this smith ? Is Hawley's just lists of names or does it have other info like what there blades looked like etc ? I haven't bought Hawley's yet.

I have searched on google but can come up with anything on this smith, is it because he is only rated at 15 ? Sorry for so many questions .

Kim

[kusunokimasahige]

Imho you add way too much weight to the rating system.

 

What is interesting about this sword is the way it was made, the metal aspects of it, the manner in which you can study its appearance, hamon, nioi/nie, boshi, zori, the smith and where he came from, what age/century/style it was made in and so many more things.

 

Not interesting when you study swords would/should be what its worth, how its rated by, or even if Hawley's mentions this smith on one of his pages, though it can give you a clue to its provenance.

 

KM

[kbt]

Well I'm kind of at a loss for words, I relieved the sword today , and the hamon on the kissaki is maybe 1/8th inch . The handle wrap was nice and tight and all my fittings I sent fit tight, the menuki which are of samurai are facing the kashira which

I believe makes them backwards. I guess I'm just a slow learner. I'm only into the blade for 650.00us the hamon is pleasing .

I'll post pictures when my camera battery charges up. Thank you everyone for your help with my many questions.

Kim Toth

[kbt]

I put the pictures on imageshack . Thanks for taking the time to look and give your opinion . I know I should never buy a sword I cant hold in my hand and inspect, but at the price I decided to take a chance .

Kim Toth

P.S. I have my eye on a wak in Tulsa in full polish. lol

http://imageshack.us/g/801/img1032l.jpg/

 

Forgot the link to the pictures.

[kbt]

Please not he lost the shitadomes from the kashira .

Kim

[Alan Morton]

Hello Kim,

 

are there any other Japanese sword collectors in your town or area

 

so you can get together and look at more swords. This type of contact

 

and friendship wil save you years of struggle learning about swords

 

by yourself. Sword societies abound in the US ,you have got to start looking

 

at more good swords.

 

regards Alan.

[kbt]

Thank you Alan, I couldn't agree more.

Kim Toth