Mystery Kanna

Do you have a Japanese plane, or chisel, or box, or brochure and you can't read the characters? Post a hi-res. pic of what you are looking to read and see if the mystery can be solved!
User avatar
Jon B
Sweeper of Floors, Maker of Tea
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:33 am

Mystery Kanna

Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:09 am

I'm trying to find out some more info about this kanna. My girlfriend has told me the mei might be read as 闘龍斎 (tou-ryu-sai), but I haven't been able to find much info or any images of a similar kanna when searching for that name.

So I just thought I'd see if anyone here has any other insights. I included a picture of the dai in case that can offer any additional hints.

Thanks!
Attachments
IMG_20150829_084159821.jpg
IMG_20150829_084159821.jpg (71.27 KiB) Viewed 5884 times
IMG_20150829_084234422.jpg
IMG_20150829_084234422.jpg (66.03 KiB) Viewed 5884 times
User avatar
Jon B
Sweeper of Floors, Maker of Tea
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:33 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:12 am

Looking through the various kanna makers by region here on the forum I noticed that the small design on the lower left of my blade resembles the design that can be see on this blade (even though on mine the design is somewhat incomplete):

Fukusaburo, Uozumi 魚住福三郎 A smith trained under Tsunesaburo.
Attachments
fukusabukannas.JPG
fukusabukannas.JPG (121.67 KiB) Viewed 5883 times
User avatar
Chris Hall
Site Admin
Contact:
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:46 pm

Re: Mystery Kanna

Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:28 pm

Jon B wrote:I'm trying to find out some more info about this kanna. My girlfriend has told me the mei might be read as 闘龍斎 (tou-ryu-sai), but I haven't been able to find much info or any images of a similar kanna when searching for that name.

So I just thought I'd see if anyone here has any other insights. I included a picture of the dai in case that can offer any additional hints.

Thanks!
The dai is make by Tanaka Hisao.

The characters written on the right side of the blade read 神道流 'Shintō Ryū', and the same is inscribed on the dai on the right side.
User avatar
Jon B
Sweeper of Floors, Maker of Tea
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:33 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Mon Aug 31, 2015 6:12 pm

Thanks Chris, I searched for Tanaka Hisao and found a discussion about the same plane on another forum. From what I read there it sounds like Tanaka Hisao was known for making high quality dai, but no one was able to identify the maker of the blade.
User avatar
Brian
Deshi
Posts: 1090
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:46 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:39 pm

The last fellow on this video is Tanaka Hisao making rather impressive chops into an ebony dai with IiRC a two lb hammer;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KaeQxEr ... e=youtu.be
djwong
Deshi
Location: Cupertino, CA
Posts: 134
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:52 pm

Re: Mystery Kanna

Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:52 pm

I found this kanna in the old Mahogany Masterpiece catalog. Brian's mention prompted me to take a look.

Here is the text from the catalog entry:

Toryu Sai
Toryu Sai Tool of a Master Carpenter is a high quality blue steel blade made exclusively for Tanaka Hisao by a 65 year old master blacksmith. The maker's name is a Tanaka secret. The blade has been engraved by hand with delicate gravers with the plane's name and the statement that the blade was "made in the Shinto way" (a Japanese religion seeking perfection in form): this is a very serious guarantee of high quality.

The subblade is made to the same specifications as the main blade, and signed by the maker.

The blades have been set at 43" to work curly hardwoods, and rowed grain. The hand-cut dai is Akagashi aged in the master's shop, 11-3/8"L x 3-1/2"W x 1-1/2" T, and bears Tanaka Hisao's "Three Circles in Triangle"" stamp meaning it is ready to use, MTX-212.

Here is a link to a scan of the page from the catalog.
User avatar
Brian
Deshi
Posts: 1090
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:46 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:10 pm

User avatar
Jon B
Sweeper of Floors, Maker of Tea
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:33 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:14 pm

Thanks for the great info guys! I had never heard of Mahogany Masterpieces or Robert Major before. It's interesting to look through the old catalog, and find out where this plane came from. I really appreciate the link DJwong.

The video of Tanaka Hisao chopping away at the ebony dai is impressive. He must have some tough chisels to put up with that kind of work.
User avatar
Chris Hall
Site Admin
Contact:
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:46 pm

Re: Mystery Kanna

Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:37 am

Nice work djwong

"made in the Shinto way" = 神道流

The '' stamp on the end of the dai, read tsutsumi, means the dai has the tsutsumi return at the bottom of the mouth.
User avatar
Brian
Deshi
Posts: 1090
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:46 am

Re: Mystery Kanna

Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:52 am

Jon B wrote:Thanks for the great info guys! I had never heard of Mahogany Masterpieces or Robert Major before. It's interesting to look through the old catalog, and find out where this plane came from. I really appreciate the link DJwong.

The video of Tanaka Hisao chopping away at the ebony dai is impressive. He must have some tough chisels to put up with that kind of work.
I saw a discussion on the video which pointed to him being about 75 years old at the time of the video.

And of course a very important take-away is to fix your socks before chopping. :D

Return to “ID this Tool”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest