Japanese translator

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Thanks Paul. I will look into it.

[LewisM]

Don't oil the blade with usual oil either. If it is a genuine blade, you should only use urushi oil on it. You can buy it here in Australia as a kit.

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

I thought the samurai sword was a sacred object to the Japaneses & it was passed from father to son. This is why many swords from WW2 are being returned to many family's in Japan.

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Lewis I am using choji oil which is the oil recommended for samurai sword maintenance.

[LewisM]

Whoops, brain fart! Yes, choji. Urushi was used on Arisaka rifles etc (my area), and Japanese enamels.

You CAN use clove oil (the stuff dentists use), as Choji contains clove oil anyway. Better to use the real deal though.

[OzStarGazer]

Maybe you can identify at least some characters here: http://quanonline.com/military/milit...ignatures.html
or here http://meiboku.info/mei/index.htm for example. But a forum is better, as PHC said, because character by character identification can be tiresome.
It looks like a fascinating sword.

[alistairsam]

I asked a Japanese colleague of mine, she said its Chinese, something to do with a king, she couldn't say much else.

Hope someone else can translate it.

Cheers
Alistair

[OzStarGazer]

Originally Posted by alistairsam

I asked a Japanese colleague of mine, she said its Chinese, something to do with a king, she couldn't say much else.

Hope someone else can translate it.

Cheers
Alistair

Well, then now we have to change the subject of the thread so that somebody can help us...

[LewisM]

Throw it here - the guys will rip it apart for you and tell you if genuine or not.

http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdis...The-Rising-Sun

MANY Japanese speakers/culturals there.

Be prepared though - a LOT of VERY good Chinese reproductions are around these days, so don't hold hopes too high. Iam not saying it is a fake, but as I said, the Chinese have got exceptionally good, to even replicate the damascus blade rather well!!!

[traveller (Bo)]

Send a PM to Mill (Martin) as he knows his Japanese swords.
I can read some Chinese, the inscription is in three parts, the first 3 characters (read from tip of sword to the hilt) is in Kanji (Chinese characters) and almost certainly is the surname of someone, the second set of two characters are Japanese. I can only assume this is the given name of the first three characters (Asian names go by Surname-Given name)
The final character is in Kanji, meaning "work" or "craft".
Putting it all together, it could mean the name of the swordmaster who made the blade, or even the name of the workshop where the blade is made.
Asian cultures place a lot of value of master craftsman who makes such blades, but I am not sure how common it is for the craftsman to make such a large name inscription on the blade.
That plus the ornate nature of the sheath and hilt would suggest this is more a ceremonial sword and not a "combat" sword.
The other clue is that most combat swords would have the cutting edge only made in Damascus steel as it would be quite expensive to make the entire sword of the same material. It would be simpler and cheaper to make a carbon steel casing around a Damascus steel core with the cutting edge polished.
Others may know more, but this is purely from my understanding of the Chinese and Japanese cultures.
Bo

[alistairsam]

This is what I got from a chinese friend, not sure how accurate though and the extra characters

Google 日本史天元韦及卫剑

Japanese history and Wei Wei Jian Tianyuan” according to google translate
but as Lewis said, the other forum might get you something more accurate.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

My chinese wife and step-son cannot read it. My stepson feels it may be calligraphy.

[johnnyt123 (John)]

I have just signed up with the site recommended by Lewis.
Awaiting activation of account.

Seems like we are still torn between being possibly Chinese or Japanese...

I might just take the sword to a sushi train and ask someone to translate it for me.........and eat some sushi of course....

And you are right Bo. It is a ceremonial sword. But still quite sharp....
And I definitely wouldn't butter my bread with it....

[Regulus (Trevor)]

夫 元工, hmm, i recognise the symbols but old Japanese is like latin, I don't know what it means; even my Japanese friends can't read it. By themselves kanji have meanings but the meaning changes when you combine them.
I'm sure it's Japanese but the symbols are different from modern ones and the combination is unusual, very old

That's the reply from my nephew in Japan. It is either a very old sword or its a replica of quality with attention to detail
U may need a student of classical Japanese
Trevor

[johnnyt123 (John)]

Originally Posted by Regulus

That's the reply from my nephew in Japan. It is either a very old sword or its a replica of quality with attention to detail
U may need a student of classical Japanese
Trevor

So we can say that it is Japanese then....
Now i just need to try and determine the authenticity.

It may still be a very good Chinese reproduction...
Either way it is my sword, it's beautiful and I am going to love it and look after it.

Thanks for the update Trevor. Much appreciated.

John.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

A Japanese colleague provided the following general meaning/intent of each symbol, reading Left to Right.

History

Sky (God/Universe) - to that effect

Origin

Youngest Child (end of era/last in sequence)

Extending influence to...

Procedure (no heart, mind) manufacture/engineer

I guess the interpetation is left to the imagination.