ANYONE READ JAPANESE ? help on Samurai wakizashi sword. ID and value for a friend.

[ARC]

Yes... I too occasionally need some help on I.D's etc... :P

Any help / knowledge on this rare samurai wakizashi would help.
May even have been a "polearm" at one time... not sure.

Thanks in advance.

Oriental items are not my strongpoint... Especially the language.
My eyes begin to play tricks on me.

Writing meaning / what it says... AND a value is the target here.

 

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[ARC]

Flatulent man who only drink milk have dairy air.

 

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[A2coins]

Man who farts in breathalyzer test positive for crack Sorry AARC that's the last one. I hope you find its origin and value

 

[ARC]

Man who farts in breathalyzer test positive for crack Sorry AARC that's the last one. I hope you find its origin and value

Actually keep em coming... at least the thread is staying "bumped up" on the active list as to perhaps draw the attention it needs to be solved.
Or at least partially heh

The jokes at least keep the thread alive in other words. :P
So...
Post em.

 

[Keith Jackson]

I was wrong in my first translation. I am now sure that it starts out: "A minister, a priest, and a rabbi walk into a bar...."

 

[niffler]

Actually the file marks on the tang are supposed to be there, it is part of the sword makers finishing process. The Japanese have a name for it that translates to "falling rain" or something like that. The tang is supposed to never be cleaned, it just is allowed to get surface rust over time. DO NOT CLEAN OR ALTER IT! The blade is never touched with bare hands, or even breathed on. The hole for the bamboo retaining peg (mekugi I think it's called) is correct for Nihonto (Literally "Japanese sword") in that it is made with a chisel or punched out from alternating sides, not ever drilled. The value is really in the maker and age. The scabbard is Shirasaya (White sheath), a way of storing blades when they are not being used and without all the fittings attached. BTW the writing is in a language called Kanji, and is almost always the name of the sword maker.

 

[Leatherneck2111]

Do not mess with it in any way...if it is original and old you can easily ruin any collector value trying to "make it better"...

Do not go to any site selling swords to get any help, most are more interested in buying yours than helping you find info.

If you want real help then go here and ask lots of questions..... Nihonto Message Board


or here http://www.thejapanesesword.com/forum/

They are the two best places. I appraise firearms, militaria, swords, etc....for a living and these are the best ones I have found.

 

[ARC]

Do not mess with it in any way...if it is original and old you can easily ruin any collector value trying to "make it better"...

Do not go to any site selling swords to get any help, most are more interested in buying yours than helping you find info.

If you want real help then go here and ask lots of questions..... Nihonto Message Board


or here The Japanese Sword Forum ? Index page

They are the two best places. I appraise firearms, militaria, swords, etc....for a living and these are the best ones I have found.

The msg board one seems to have some sort of "problem" with it my com does not like...
I get a warning.

 

[DCMatt]

Pic # 8 shows the date. My son (a student of Japanese language) and I are not 100% sure but we think it says:

Bunkwa san-nen ni-gatsu (the third year, second month of the Bunkwa era). In our calendar that would be February 1807. (Edit - Japan used the Chinese lunar calendar until 1873 so the month may be more like March or April.)

The other side of the tang is likely the sword makers name (mei). Often, name kanji is not standard and difficult to translate - like trying to read someone's signature.

But there are books out there to use for comparison.

DCMatt & son

 

[ARC]

Pic # 8 shows the date. My son (a student of Japanese language) and I are not 100% sure but we think it says:

Bunkwa san-nen ni-gatsu (the third year, second month of the Bunkwa era). In our calendar that would be February 1807. (Edit - Japan used the Chinese lunar calendar until 1873 so the month may be more like March or April.)

The other side of the tang is likely the sword makers name (mei). Often, name kanji is not standard and difficult to translate - like trying to read someone's signature.

But there are books out there to use for comparison.

DCMatt & son

Nice... Thanks for the info DC.
Now perhaps it can be verified / fill in the blanks / and give it an estimate value.

Also Dc...
Thank your son for his help.

 

[Leatherneck2111]

The msg board one seems to have some sort of "problem" with it my com does not like...
I get a warning.

Odd, I've never gotten and warnings or other issues from it. May be your ISPs settings.

 

[ARC]

DC matt...

I ran across this earlier which is close to what you said... but there is difference ?

Bungi San-nen Ni Gatsu-Hi

Which appears on this blade... which I know is not the same blade... but markings were CLOSE the same.
And close to what you guys found...
So I wonder... which is what ?
heh.

Oh thisis from the KAI MIHARA School

 

[mojjax]

you should PM Yang Hao , he is from China , but he has been helpful before on Japanese things on Tnet .

 

[DCMatt]

DC matt...

I ran across this earlier which is close to what you said... but there is difference ?

Bungi San-nen Ni Gatsu-Hi

Which appears on this blade... which I know is not the same blade... but markings were CLOSE the same.
And close to what you guys found...
So I wonder... which is what ?
heh.

Oh thisis from the KAI MIHARA School

A close look at the second kanji character in the date shows it is different than etching on the OP blade. The top character is the same (bun - pronounced boon). Bungi is much older (1500's). The matching nen or year date is coincidental. I read that blades were typically finished in May or September due to more stable weather temperatures. So the matching month date is likely for May as is the OP blade.

The other side of the OP blade may be the school name. As I mentioned before, there are books available (but not to me) to match the characters.

Pronunciation of Bunkwa is like Boon-qua - the QUA as in QUALITY.

DCMatt

 

[Yang Hao]

大慶直胤 is what is on the blade as for the last character I'm not sure. Hope this helps point you in the right direction. Google may have an index of Japanese sword smiths that could help you. Good luck

 

[nhbenz]

Very helpful, as always Yang Hao. That seems to point to Taikei Naotane

 

[Coach Stack]

I have been watching this thread, tnet is a great source of info. was there a "definitive" answer to the translation? I have a couple of people I could ask but I don't want to reach out to them yet if you have a good answer. (I practice kendo and we have a elder sensei in Denver and a few forums that I am also a part of.)

 

[angelito1]

gift for person named Kawasaki-kun, kun denoting a younger man ...shouwa 19 (1944 AD) year of presentation, month of March... name on metal tang with hole is daikei? naoki?

 

[angelito1]

gift for person named Kawasaki-kun, kun denoting a younger man ...shouwa 19 (1944 AD) year of presentation, month of March... name on metal tang with hole is daikei? naoki?

 

[ARC]

Man who eats dirty food... farts dust. :P

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Hey AARC,
here's a little from my perspective. It took me years to accept, and I still don't understand, but the japanese language evolves really fast, especially the written language. 90 percent of people today cannot understand the written language from three generations ago. No kidding. I've oft tried to get translations on antique items from my friends here in japan and i usually get something like "I wish my great grandfather was still alive, he could help you".
Even if you were here in japan, you would probably have to take it to a katana expert. If you had a written text or something from over a hundred years ago, you'd have to take it to a museum or a historian to get any info.
thats my take.
I always enjoy your posts and comments.
dave

ps- the corny jokes are based on confusionism chinese. nothing to do with shinto / buddist japanese folks