seeking info on Sanada clan

[katsuyuki]

Hello,

Can anyone help me find information on the Sanada family from Ueda city in Nagano, during the time of the warring states (Sengoku era).

So far, Ive found wiki's on Sanada Yukimura and the like and Ive found Japanese tourism sites for Nagano and Ueda and even the Sanada museum itself. But I cannot speak nor read Japanese :cry:

Can anyone help me in locating a book in English? or even a catalog of the displays in the Sanada museum (even if in Japanese, it must have a wealth of photographs); or better yet has anyone heard of sites that link up over seas pen-pals?

Please let me know if anyone can offer any assistance.

thank you ever so kindly,
-Jason Adams
www.Rogue-Artist.com

[Neil Yamamoto]

http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22742

Nathan Scott posted this before, and it's ties to but isn't exactly what you are looking for, but is good information.

Second, Chokuji (I've also seen this as Chohkoku) is the temple associated with the Sanada family. Telephone # for the temple 026-278-2454, since you need reservations to view Sanada Nobuyuki's grave.

What Bernie Lau did when he wanted information, he got got information as to the addresses needed, a name if possible, then got someone to write a letter for him in Japanese, a local Buddhist priest usually, included the same letter in English, explaining he didn't read or write Japanese, and finally what he was looking for. He then sent the letter, along with a small donation, read at least $20 to $50. BTW, expect to pay the writer of the letter a fee as well.

This always seemed to work for getting a reply and some, if not all, the information he needed. Why not send a letter to the temple, the museum, and see what you get. The addresses and everything can be found on line with a bit of digging if it's important enough to look up. Try Bablefish, Yahoo's online translations too for Japanese to english website translations. It's far from good, but it will help a lot for basic information seaches.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

Third, why not contact the Nagano convention and visitor bureau. Explain what you are seeking and ask if there is a way to purchase a museum guide or picture book. At the least, you will get a contact to the museum.

Now, I found all this stuff in about 5 minutes, it took me longer to write this down. Try using "Nagano tourist information" "Matsushiro Sanada" and see if you can find the addresses and contacts too.

Best of luck in the search!

[katsuyuki]

thanks for the suggestions. Ive liberally pilfered google's results :) The post you mentioned is how I found this site actually. lol

Ive sent an e-mail to a university in/near Nagano and one to the tourism board asking about the Sanada mansion. I hope someone at these places speaks English!

Ill see if I can find a Buddhist function in the area to see about having a letter translated :) Thanks for that! That's an awesome suggestion.