Useful kanji

Listed below are some useful Kanji for when surfing Japanese web sites looking for swords. Whilst this is not everything you will see, it will be enough to get you through the basics. Also, remember that some sites may use different kanji for some descriptions. These are the most common I have found so far. If you know of something that should be added, or notice any errors, please contact me and I will amend the chart. Email: ikkanshi@amnet.net.au

Remember to take time to look at the Japanese pages carefully, these kanji may be seen in combinations as well. A hamon example may be ŒÝ‚Ì–Ú’šŽq—‚ê or Gunome Choji Midare.

Nihontô Terms - “ú–{“Œ¾—t

‘¾“
Tachi
‘呾“
O Dachi
¬‘¾“
Ko Dachi
‘å“
Daito
¬“
Shoto
Katana
˜e· (˜eŽw)
Wakizashi
’Z“
Tantô
‘„
Yari
“ã“
Naginata
’·‚³
Nagasa
”½‚è
Sori
g•
Mihaba (width from mune to ha)
Œ³•
Motohaba (width from mune to ha at hamachi)
æ•
Sakihaba (width from mune to ha at yokote)
Œ³d
Motogasane (sword thickness at hamachi)
d‚Ë
Kasane (thickness at base of the mune)
Øæ
Kissaki
‰¡Žè
Yokote
–XŽq
Boshi
‹æ
Machi
“‹æ
Munemachi
n‹æ
Hamachi
Mune
–Á
Mei
–³–Á
Mumei
‹U–Á
Gimei
‰Ô‰Ÿ
Kao (makers seal)
”N†
Nengo (Era name)
”N‹I
Nenkai (date inscription)
’†S (Œs)
Nakagô (tang)
Ubu
ŒsK
Nakagojiri
–Ú“BŒŠ
Mekugiana
–ã
Suriage
‘å–ã
Ôsuriage
“V³–ã
Tenshô suriage
Žž‘ã
Period( translates as 'Times")
ŒÃ“
Old Sword ( Kotô )
V“
New Sword ( shintô )
VX“
New New Sword ( Shinshintô )
Œ»‘ã
Modern (Today)
]ŒËŠú
Edo Era ( Shintô )
‰Šú
Shoki Period ( beginning )
‘OŠú
Zenki Period (the first part )
’†Šú
Chuki Period ( the middle )
ŒãŠú
Kouki Period (late)
––Šú
Makki Period (the end)
“`
Den ( school )
—¬”h
Ryuha ( School )
Kuni ( Province )
ŠÓ’è
Kantei


Sizes seen in hamon, hada, hataraki and kissaki descriptions.

‘å
Ô ( large )
’†
Chû ( medium )
¬
Ko ( small )


Tsukurikomi ( construction ) - ‘¢ž

èM‘¢
Shinogi Zukuri
•½‘¢
Hira Zukuri
•ÐØn‘¢
Katakira Zukuri
—¼n‘¢
Moroha Zukuri
ÒŠ—‘¢
Shobu Zukuri
‰LŽñ‘¢
Unokubi Zukuri


Kitae - ’b

Sometimes you may see these types of Hada written with the kanji ”§ ( hada ) after the name such as ”–ڔ§ Itame hada.

’n“S
Jigane
Ӥ
Hada
•½
Hira
’n
Ji
”–Ú
Itame
–Û–Ú
Mokume
––Ú
Masame
ˆ»™
Ayasugi
—œ’n”§
Nashiji
¬f”§
Konuka
–³’n
Muji
–³’n•—
MujiFû


Hamon - n•¶

sometimes you may see the kanji n (ba or ha) after a hamon name, such as Natoreba ˜p‚ên

—‚ê
’¼n
Suguha ( Suguba )
˜p‚ê
Notare
Midare
ŒÝ‚Ì–Ú
Gunome
’šŽq
Chôji
Ÿ·àpn
Toranba ( Doranba )


Hataraki - “­‚«

the features you find associated with hamon. I have added the kanji for Iri “ü( added to) as you see this frequently in sword descriptions.
An example of this may be in a hamon's hataraki description, such as ’¼¬‘«“ü Sugu ko ashi iri or small ashi added to Suguba hamon

“õ‚¢
Nioi
•¦‚¦
Nie
•¦‚¦o—ˆ
Nie Deki
“õ‚¢o—ˆ
Nioi Deki
o—ˆ
Deki
‘«
Ashi 
»—¬‚µ
Sunagashi
‹à‹Ø
Kinsuji
”òÄ
Tobiyaki
‘|Š|‚¯
Hakikake 
“Ä
Muneyaki
“ü
Iri ( added to )
‘l‘«
Nezumi ashi


Boshi - “­–XŽq


ŠÛ
Maru
—‚ê
Midare
‘|Š|‚¯
Hakikake
’nåU
Jizô


Tôsôgu - “‘•‹ï


Different kinds of Kodôgu and accoutrements

’Õ
Tsuba
Fuchi
һ
Kashira
–ÚŠÑ
Menuki
¥Kozuka
â 
Kôgai
â
Saya
”’â
Shirasaya
n
Koshirae
ƒcƒiƒM
Tsunagi
•¿
Tsuka
¬“¹‹ï
Kôdôgu


Kanteisho - ŠÓ’è‘


Appraisal or judgment papers )

“ú–{”üp“Œ••Û‘¶‹¦‰ï
-
NBTHK Paper
“ú–{“Œ••Û‘¶‰ïŠÓ’è‘
-
NTHK Judgement Paper
“¡‘ãŠÓ’è‘
-
Fujishiro Judgement Paper
“¾”\ŠÓ’è‘
-
Tokunou Kazuo Judgement Paper
ŽÄ“cŽŠÓ’è‘
-
Shibata Judgement Paper


Kanji for translating prices on Japanese websites.>

’艿
Price
‰~
Yen
ç
1000
–œ
10,000

Seeing a price on an item on a Japanese web site can be a little confusing at first. If you see this as an example, ’艿@250–œ‰~, it would read as follows. ’艿 = Price, 250–œ ( 250 x ten thousand ) ‰~ ( Yen ). So that would be 250 x 10,000 = 2,500,000 Yen. So 25 –œ‰~ would be 250,000 Yen. and 2 –œ 5 ç‰~ would be 25,000 Yen. Fortunately, many Japanese websites are now displaying prices such as 25,000 ‰~ making all our lives a little easier.


Copyright 2006. Richard Turner