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help with translating english to kanji (for japanese sword)

paleoglobe

後輩
25 May 2013
8
1
13
Hi,
I would like to add a mei (inscription) on my ordered katana
This is the text:
Bushi Swords 2013
Bushi means ofcourse warrior
For the date 2013, I would like to be more poetic if possible.
I know that the chinese call 2013 the year of the snake. Is this the same in Japan?
If so, the text would be
Bushi Swords Year of the Snake
Thank you so much for your help
Christophe
 
The plural disappears, first off.

That it is a sword is obvious by looking at it and that it is for a warrior is obvious by the fact it is a sword. That leaves you with "2013". Here you have some choices:

2013年
二千十三年
平成25年
平成二十五癸巳
平成二十五年
皇紀2673年

and maybe some others as well

Where are you ordering the sword from?
 
I understand, but Bushi Swords is a brand name, so I want it on the tang.

I know the kanji for bushi, also for sword, but i know nothing about the japanese language. So I don't know what the order of the kanji will be or even if an extra kanji will link both words...

So what will be the result for Bushi Swords?

Thanks
Christophe

The plural disappears, first off.

That it is a sword is obvious by looking at it and that it is for a warrior is obvious by the fact it is a sword. That leaves you with "2013". Here you have some choices:

2013窶扼
窶愿アツ静ァツ十ナスO窶扼
窶「ツスツ青ャ25窶扼
窶「ツスツ青ャ窶愿アツ十ナ津愿。ツ。窶督、
窶「ツスツ青ャ窶愿アツ十ナ津懌?扼
ツ皇窶ケI2673窶扼

and maybe some others as well

Where are you ordering the sword from?
 
So, is it neccesary to use the word "Bushi"? Samurai can't be an alternative, for instance? Bushigatana sounds rather odd to me.

The year of the snake is used also in Japan, but it comes every twelve years. Thus, it indeed refers to 2013, but also to 2025, 2001, 1989, 1977,,,,,. Similarly, 癸巳[Mizunoto Mi] the year of yin water snake can be used, as in Mike-san's post, but it comes every sixty years, so can refer to 2073, 1953, 1893, 1833,,,,.
 
So, is it neccesary to use the word "Bushi"? Samurai can't be an alternative, for instance? Bushigatana sounds rather odd to me.

The year of the snake is used also in Japan, but it comes every twelve years. Thus, it indeed refers to 2013, but also to 2025, 2001, 1989, 1977,,,,,. Similarly, 癸巳[Mizunoto Mi] the year of yin water snake can be used, as in Mike-san's post, but it comes every sixty years, so can refer to 2073, 1953, 1893, 1833,,,,.

Yes, that's why I included it after the current year, Heisei 25, as the old custom used to be on tombstones and some religious statuary. The "yin water snake" bit would be unclear without it.
 
Yeah, I realized the reason why it's not just 癸巳.:) 平成癸巳[Heisei Mizunoto Mi] also can work since it's rare that an era continues for more than sixty years. (昭和 is an exception, though.)
 
So 窶「ツスツ青ャテ。ツ。窶督、[Heisei Mizunoto Mi] is the year. What is the exact translation of this?
Why is it strange to write bushi swords? As far as i know is that bushi and samurai are indeed different words but during the course of history they became synonyms. Or am i mistaken.

Thanks
Christophe

QUOTE=Toritoribe;722280]Yeah, I realized the reason why it's not just テ。ツ。窶督、.:) 窶「ツスツ青ャテ。ツ。窶督、[Heisei Mizunoto Mi] also can work since it's rare that an era continues for more than sixty years. (ツ渉コヒ彗 is an exception, though.)[/QUOTE]
Y
 
So 平成癸巳[Heisei Mizunoto Mi] is the year. What is the exact translation of this?
平成[Heisei] is the name of the current era in Japan.

Why is it strange to write bushi swords? As far as i know is that bushi and samurai are indeed different words but during the course of history they became synonyms. Or am i mistaken.
The reason I feel it's odd would be that bushi and samurai are different in nuance, plus bushi is an on'yomi(Chinese origin reading) and katana is a kun'yomi(Japanese origin reading).
 
would it be different if you did not translate sword with katana?
I mean sword has 剣 as kanji, but katana has 刀 as kanji.

Would the result be 戦士剣 or am I mistaken?
 
剣 indeed means sword, but, unlike 刀, it more likely has a nuance of "sword art / sword technique" when used as a suffix.

戦士 is senshi, meaning "warrior". The kanji for bushi is 武士, by the way.
 
I think it sort of comes back to what I said in my first reply. Some terms can't be jammed together. You don't travel in your driver car. You don't ride your cyclist bicycle. You don't eat your diner dinner. You don't shoot your soldier gun.

It is obvious it is a sword and it is obvious swords are used by warriors. If you think about it "warrior sword" sounds as awkward as all the examples I gave above. "Bushi sword" not so much, as it introduces a term with a specific regional/cultural subcontext, letting us know it is a Japanese sword, at least. But when you switch both words to the same language, you reintroduce the obviousness and awkwardness.

You could fix it by making it possessive: "Bushi's Sword" = 武士の刀 but the obviousness problem is still there. It would be as odd as spray painting "DOG" on the side of your cocker spaniel. Yeah....we can all see it's a dog....you don't have to tell us.
 
Hi,

I would like to add a new mei on my swords that will be made in 2014.
It should say something like "Heisei, year of the ..."
About the ..., is 2014 year of the Yang wood horse in Japan? And we still are in the Heisei period, yes?

Thanks for the feedback.
 
I would like to add a new mei on my swords that will be made in 2015.
It should say something like "Heisei, year of the ..."
About the ..., is 2015 the year of the wood sheep in Japan? And we still are in the Heisei period, yes?

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Are you in the Franklin Mint Sword of the Year Club or something?

Yes, this is still the Heisei Era. Twenty-seventh year.
 
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