Viper6924

No worries, Ron. This auctionhouse is acctually regarded as on of top one´s in Scandinavia, perhaps northern Europe. The question of authenticity never popped in my mind. Especially because it´s a bit banged up, not signed and sold at a low price. However, if Piers or someone else supports Your train of thoughts, an angry mail is in place But I acctually enjoying the learning experince of the wonderful world of netsuke. Makes collecting nihonto a walk in the park... Looking forward to more comments regarding this subject. Keep em´coming, Ron! Jan

You might be on to something, Ron. I checked the itemdiscriptions from the auctionhouse and it said late 18th to early 19th century. I agree with You regarding the intrest in the Japanese arts. For me it´s the combination of function and beauty. I also enjoy the researching part. And thats where the NMB comes into play. A great place to find knowledge of the highest level. I have in my collection swords, prints, fittings, armorparts and now netsukes. God only knows where it will end Would be great if Piers or someone else could help with the signature. There I go with the research again Thanks for Your input, Ron! Jan

With pleasure, Ron! I hope this is what You mean. /Jan

Hi! Let´s talk netsuke :D I´ve just strayed far away from swords and teppos and picked up this two charming items at a local auction. The first one is the angry Hankwai with the door under his arm. Ready to wrek mayhem. Love his "fightingface". Unsigned probably late 18th century. The other one is a bundle of chinese coppercoins. Late 18th century. This one have a signature. Anyone? I have a feeling that my Japanese collection is soon going out of hand...or at least out of my designated room. /Jan

Here´s a picture from the inside. You can clearly see the construction of the support. /Jan

Nice picture, Eric. I´t seems to be in the same league regarding the heavy ironplates. My kabuto is def not for swordtesting :D I have never seen such heavyduty ironwork in any kabuto, chochin or regular. Somehow it goes against the theory that chochin kabutos was made for easy handling on the road. Ok, it´s flat but heavy. See if I can take some closer pictures of the inside later on. /Jan

Thanks a lot for all Your comments. The reason I got this one, was partly because of the dragons and partly because I´ve never seen anything like it before. It´s heavy like hell. I acctually tried it on before I took the pictures, to my girlfriends enjoyment It acctually keeps it´s shape fairly good once the ironplates are placed togheter. I´ve not been able to find a signature. But it´s def a beefy kabuto. Thanks again! Jan

Hi! Here´s another object for the armour-experts on this board. I have this chochin kabuto as part of my complete armour. My question is about the dragonmotif in the front of the kabuto. Can this be traced to some specific clan or area? I know dragons often is used as a protection against fire. And these dragons are ingulfed in flames. The few chochin kabutos I´ve seen has always had lacings between the metalplates, holding it in place. Not this one. The metalplates are really thick. The top one is at least 5 mm. I have a feel that the top is somewhat older than the rest of the kabuto. When folded it´s flat as a pancake. Any input is appreciated, as always. /Jan

Ian, the whole rawhide in armourproduction is really a new topic for me. And a very intresting one. I´ve had this menpo for at least 5 years. Always wonderigng what it could have been made of. I didn´t think this was of any value at all, except as a funny peace of Japanese history. I´m looking forward to some pics of your armour. And I will be content by placing my menpo in the Edo-period. Perhaps I will promote it to my full Sengoku armour. As You said rawhide beats iron Thansk again, Ian! Jan

Thanks for Your comment, Ian. I acctually couldn´t make up my mind what this matr could be. Felt kind of strange. It´s acctually pretty light now when You mention it. So they used this nerigawa in battle outfits? Very intresting. Was there any period that this was more common than others? Thanks again, Ian! Jan

Hi guys! I picked up this menpo years ago from an old man that have a lot of things from asia. He said it was EDO-period. The thing that made it a bit special is that it´s not made from iron. Only the throatprotection is ironplate. I have two other menpos made from iron. This one is wood covered in some kind of resin, I guess. I really would like to know more about this special mask. Was this common practise? I guess a menpo made from wood was cheaper to make than from iron. And with the Edo-period there were really now reason to dress for real combat. This looks like somekind of showpeace. Thanks in advance for Your input! Jan

Roger that, Ron! I wouldn´t mind owning one just to extend the collection. But the bloodpressure-part still stands for any poor soldier forced to use it Jan

Thanks for the info, Ian. Imagine You have the old foe closing in and You´re desperatly trying to handle a 2mm pellet of gunpowder from your pocket. Can´t be good for Your bloodpressure Jan

Here´s a teppo that was up for an auction in Sweden a couple of years ago. I don´t know the correct english term for this kind of model. But the stock and firemechanism are different compared to older teppos. I would place it at 1800-1850:ish. About 107 cm and 15mm caliber. Kind of the next generation of teppo I guess. Personally I like the older mods. Jan

Intresting about the Kunitomo-mei, Morita-san. Never seen that style of teppo-mei before. I wonder if it´s also inscribed in the standard way under the stock? Jan

Nice little collection of teppos. I agree that someone gone to some length to get hold of similar teppos. All three have dif woodgrains. Very intresting to see the signatures, if present. Perhaps the same group of gunsmiths have produced them. The top teppo belongs to the Ito-clan. The bottom bottom to the Abe-clan. The middle one I would take a stab and place it with a sohei from a buddisttemple. I have never come across this mon before. I can be way wrong here, but what´s life without some gamble once in awhile :D Piers; I will def take a moment and visit the EDO-corner. Jan

Piers; it would be great if You had some pics to share of Your teppo-collection. Either direct here on the forum or in a PM. It helps a lot to have pictures for future ref. So if You have some sparetime... Jan

Bazza; Thanks for the info about Hankei. This is the reason I love this forum. If a thread lives long enough you can get a whole lot of info that is almost impossible to find anywhere else. Please take some pictures (more than one :D ) of Your teppos tomorrow. It´s great for references. Thanks again! Jan

After I adress the horrible "cleanup-job" done to the barrel I think it will be a rather good looking old gun in my collection. Here´s some pics of the amazing woodgrain. If only my IKEA-furniture could sport this patina... Jan

Sneaky people, those samurais :lol: I find this whole concept of the teppo very intriguing. Here we have a weapon that changed the Japanese history more than any other with the yari at a close second. Compared to the sword or bow it´s history is very brief indeed but the impact was earthshattering.

Eric, I found this information in a book called "Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868"". A catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art i NY. It´s from their exhibition that ran from oct 2009 until jan 2010. It´s a great book with very nice high quality pictures. Only one teppo. But a lot of nihonto and other good stuff. Piers, thanks for the additional info. You might by right about the sniping detail. The rather small caliber compared to other teppos I seen could support that notion. But on the other hand, the barrel is not rifled on the inside. So unless Your were sniping someone within 50 meters, it would be hard to hit a bullseye. I will def look into the trigger-issue. It´s a hairtrigger right now, I can tell You :D It´s also a really heavy gun. I pity the poor samuari who had to haul it in the hot and humid climate of Japan. Not considering 25+ kg of armor and other weapons. Seems like the two layer teppo was used by middle to highranking samurais and the three layer for the elit who could afford it. /Jan

I´ve been looking into the nanban-steel that this gun is made with. The only ref I find in my limited arsenal about Japanese firearms is a gun that was on display in New York at the Met. It was a matchlock used by Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was made by Noda Zenshiro Kiyotaka in 1612. Forged in three layers "So-maki-bari" (thanks Piers). He used sword steel and imported irons "nanban-tetsu. So I guess the samuari didn´t consider import steel a bad thing in guns, when even the big boss himself carried one. Is there any good ref-sites on the web regarding this an other fact about teppos? /Jan

You right about the patina, Ron. But thats an easy thing to correct. I also have a faint museumstamp on the tip of the riflebutt that needs adressing. But considering the age and intresting mei, it´s def worth spending some extra dineros fixing it. I also agree on the Sakai-looking muzzle and the Kunitomo paleness of the oak. But the mei puts it in the Nagasaki-area. Who knows. Perhaps it was in use during the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-38. For an avid samuarihistorian like myself it´s an intriging prospect... /Jan

I´m in harmony with my camera again... Here´s some pics of the teppo. It´s about 125 cm long with a caliber of about 11mm. I really like the old patina of the oak. It´s fully functional.I even think the loadingrodd is original. Any thoughts from this boards teppo-experts are always intresting to hear. All the best! Jan

Piers, You are the Yoda of Japanese guns I acctually got on speaking terms with my camera. So I will be able to post some pics of the gun tonight, Swedish time. Thanks again Piers for Your valued input! Jan