Japanese sword I found (signature)

Edustin New member

Registered: 2013-06-24 Posts: 3

I was wondering if anyone could translate this signature for me. I am not a student of Japanese so I have no way to figure it out. It is a signature on an old blade from a Japanese sword.

I have tried everything I can even trying to decipher each symbol but I don't know what I'm doing. So if I am breaking any forum rules by piston this then I do apologize. I just thought it might be an interesting task for some Japanese speakers to decipher something that hasn't been read in probably 60 years.

http://s24.postimg.org/l2db6a9yt/image.jpg

http://s24.postimg.org/otmvslnn9/image.jpg

Thank you in advance.

nadiatims Member

Registered: 2008-01-10 Posts: 1676

摂州住藤原長綱

A sword made by a famous edo-period sword smith by the name of Tsunbo Nagatsuna (聾長綱) from a region called Settsu no kuni (摂津国) also known as Sesshuu (摂州) near present day Osaka.

ju (住) means to reside. I'm guessing it is used to mean something like Nagaoka of Seshu in this context. 藤原 is the name Fujiwara.

I'm not totally sure but i think 摂州住藤原長綱 means:

Nagaoka sword belonging to Fujiwara of (residing in) Sesshu.

Fujiwara might also be the name of a place or clan or something. You'll get a better answer from someone familiar with writing conventions (or sword naming conventions) of the Edo-period.

by the way the second character seems to be an old form. I can't recognise it.

Last edited by nadiatims (2013 June 24, 8:34 am)

Zgarbas Watchman

From: 名古屋 Registered: 2011-10-09 Posts: 1210 Website

Isn't it The Fujiwara clan? I doubt anyone would carry the name without being directly descended from them.

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nadiatims Member

Registered: 2008-01-10 Posts: 1676

could be. i have no idea.

nadiatims Member

Registered: 2008-01-10 Posts: 1676

by the way, that sword could be really valuable if it's real.

http://www.iidakoendo.com/info/item/a010.htm

check out the price!

Zgarbas Watchman

From: 名古屋 Registered: 2011-10-09 Posts: 1210 Website

Shouldn't swords like this be one of a kind? How can it be sold in different places?

(and how exactly do you find a medieval sword, anyway? I'm genuinely curious)

nadiatims Member

Registered: 2008-01-10 Posts: 1676

I don't know a sword smith could produce a lot of swords in their lifetime.

And I'm probably wrong about Fujiwara being the name of the owner anyway. Who writes their name on their sword? haha

I imagine they're heirlooms that get passed down through generations.

I wouldn't be at all suprised though if there's a village in China somewhere mass producing antique samurai swords though.

toshiromiballza Member

Registered: 2010-10-27 Posts: 277

That's an interesting script style, especially 綱.

Is this some Edomoji style or just artistic freedom?

The old form of the second character is .

Last edited by toshiromiballza (2013 June 24, 9:25 am)

Edustin New member

Registered: 2013-06-24 Posts: 3

The sword was brought back from Japan during WW2.

toshiromiballza Member

Registered: 2010-10-27 Posts: 277

Edustin wrote:
The sword was brought back from Japan during WW2.

http://www.trekspace.org/video/1977635:Video:106873

Good luck!

Edustin New member

Registered: 2013-06-24 Posts: 3

The sword sheath is made of leather and looks ww2 era but when I found the sword the handle had duct tape wrapped all over it. The sword has a lot of age to it and some nicks on the blade. It has never been polished fortunately. The original sheath and handle
Are missing.

Taishi Member

From: Sweden Registered: 2009-04-24 Posts: 127

toshiromiballza wrote:
That's an interesting script style, especially 綱.

Is this some Edomoji style or just artistic freedom?

It looks to me like it could be a slightly stylized version of or 䌉, both being variants of 綱.

bertoni Member

From: Mountain View, CA, USA Registered: 2009-11-08 Posts: 291

I don't know much about sword inscriptions, but the "Fujiwara Nagatsuna" likely would be (one of) the trade name(s) of the smith. The "Fujiwara" part might just be the clan in control of his place of work or a name he used. Often, there's a "作之" to be more explicit. I think the signatures on my katana all have at least the smith's name. That's actually an important part of the value of the blade.

It would be rare to extremely unusual for the inscription to list the owner of the blade.

If you want to get an estimate for the value, be prepared to deal with the rather, hmmm, difficult world of sword collectors and merchants.

You could get a sword-cleaning kit and polish the blade a bit with an uchiko and some washi, and oil it with clove oil (basically impossible to find), camellia oil, or a light mineral oil. You don't want to slime the inside of the saya (sheath) with oil, so a very light coating is fine. That cleanup should help remove rust and help prevent any further corrosion. It's the nakago (tang) that shouldn't be cleaned.

Last edited by bertoni (2013 June 24, 7:59 pm)

bertoni Member

From: Mountain View, CA, USA Registered: 2009-11-08 Posts: 291

nadiatims wrote:
I don't know a sword smith could produce a lot of swords in their lifetime.

By law, a modern smith can product at most 2 katana per month, but that's based on the output rate of a very slow smith. Depending on the quality that's wanted, most smiths could produce a lot more, and even top quality output at 5 swords a month or more likely is quite doable by most smiths. You can find various books (or at least a few) on swords that discuss this issue.

Last edited by bertoni (2013 June 24, 7:45 pm)

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Edustin wrote:

toshiromiballza wrote:

nadiatims wrote: