"Help with JAPANESE NAMES for Ii Naomasa's vanguard !" Topic

Hi everyone,

I am trying to re-create the sashimono's of the vanguard of Ii Nanomasa's red devils, commanded by Kimata Morikatsu.

An excellent starting point is the series of posts by evalerio on Samurai Archives:
link

I also found the following plate in "The Ii Clan" by Martin Jones, published by Daisho Publications in 1996:

However, I'm not really sure how to write properly in Japanese the names from this plate … could anyone please help ?

OKAMOTO Hansuke -> 岡本半介 (I am almost sure about this one)
NAKAMURA Taroemon -> 中村太郎右衛門 ?
SEKIGUCHI Kaemon -> 関口嘉右衛門 ?
NODA Shinkuro -> 野田????

If the esteemed evalerio reads this post, I'm sure you could be of great help again!

Many thanks in advance.
Oliver

The esteemed Kano Saki.

Thanks Terrement, but these Hiragana "fonts" are just phonetic characters. :/

What I am really after is the more complex "kanjis".
There are many kanjis for the same pronunciation, so I really need the help from someone who is quite literate in (ancient) Japanese names and/or has access to registers where we could find the names of these specific samurais.

But thanks anyway, much appreciated the help! ;)

Caught them all! :)

For those interested :
The first two names were correct ; the third one I had the spelling of Kaemon wrong (see correct spelling below), and finally I got Shinkurô as well:

OKAMOTO Hansuke 岡本半介
NAKAMURA Tarôemon 中村太郎右衛門
SEKIGUCHI Kaemon 関口何右衛門
NODA Shinkurô 野田新九郎

Although I do not have the original source, the last 3 names are confirmed as being part of the Ii vanguard in the enclosed link:
link

木俣守勝
　土佐守、清三郎。家康の直臣であったが、家康の下を離れて明智光秀に仕える。明智家での活躍が家康の耳に入り帰参。天正十年、武田旧臣の懐柔のために奔走。さらに北条家と若神子対陣の講和の使者になった井伊直政を補佐。家康の命により附家老となる。守勝を通じて徳川家に属した者は井伊直政に附けられ、「井伊の赤備え」になった。守勝の功績により、井伊家に重点的に配置されたのだ。天正十一年一月、家康が信州高遠の押さえに甲斐、信濃の軍勢に動員をかけた時、井伊家の「同心の物主」として守勝を挙げ、これを指揮するよう命じた。赤備え先鋒木俣隊八百人は、徳川全軍の攻めの要となるため、井伊家の選りすぐりの勇士を揃えていた。なかでも関口何右衛門、野田新九郎、中村太郎右衛門は守勝をよく補佐したという。

Nice find!

oliverjapan,

I passed on your question to the Samurai Forum:
link

With Bethetsu's help, I did speculative illustrations:

As the names were likely written with a brush by the individuals themselves, each would have different 'handwriting'. I tried my best to 'copy' four different techniques from actual samples of Red Devil heraldry.

Thanks a lot Evalerio.

Your "brushtrokes" style is very nice indeed ! :)
If I may just give you a minor constructive criticism : on the last sashimono (Noda Shinkuro), the first character ("no" 野) is incorrectly written (both the left side and the top-right side).

See below what it should look like (although in a different style) :

Also, as you can see, the small "dot" at the bottom of your last character ("ro" 郎) should not be there.

Please don't take it offensively, it's still really good, but I'm sure that, same as me, you would rather have it perfect ! ;)
All the other characters are perfect!

Thanks again anyway! :D

PS: Evalerio, any chance you could please send me via Private Message your email address?
I never figured out how to send a PM on this Forum, and there are a few heraldry issues I'd like to discuss directly with you. ;)

Thanks!
Oliver

Oliver,

Thanks. I see the error on the 'No' part. I tried looking for the closest possible examples from dozens of Ii sashimono. I wondered about the 'dot' as it appears on Bethetsu's samples.

Your sashimono looks right. I was trying to see if I could do a very rough version of brushstrokes for Noda. Some samples were so complex but 'fluid' , as if written in one continuous brushstroke. I am often disappointed trying these versions.

No offense taken. I post my speculations to be reviewed for corrections. Your thread have helped me paint a more detailed picture of the Red Devils.

Emmanuel