Hello Albert,
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Kai- No hairline crack inline with the dots.
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Yeah, I wasn't suggesting it in this case - just mentioning possibilities in general.
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Does the dots have anything to do with the tang repair? Cato said that the Jin is released if the blade is separated from the ganya. I wonder if the dots were placed on the blade prior to doing the repair, to prevent the Jin from escaping.
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With one of the dots on the gangya, I don't see how this might have been supposed to work. A master bladesmith should be able to (re-)apply a Jin when finishing the repair work; I'd guess that there were rituals to house the Jin elsewhere while working on a blade, too.
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Which came first the tang repair or the copper dots???
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We'll probably never know. However, I'd guess the dots were part of the original talismanic design.
Regards,
Kai