DaveT

LOL, yes in a way, but its paying lots of money and I like that a lot. So think of this more as what Cosworth did with the rotten old Ford Sierra. Pimped TF! What people want to spend their money on is not for me to judge, however, there is one main factor between old armour and new, most people cant wear old armour as its too small. So for movie work, TV or whatever battle is going down in the woods against demon wizards that's on the cards a gendai suit fits the bill.

I've just spent a day with the owner of one the factories that makes these. They want me to rework one of thier top armours in urushi as no one in Japan will do this for them. They also want the urushi to look aged with a patina. As to odoshige, all the factories use rayon or cotten, not silk. So again they want me to make the odoshi in silk. Lets see what happens.

I'm in. We need a PayPal fund set up.

I know that feeling

If you look at Uwe's muti plate the shot has gone from side to side. Not directly towards it, so it glanced off leaving a loving kiss on the surface. I bet the owner went and traded it in for a zunari afterwards.

Some more examples of heavy Zunari that are bulletproof. The red having tameshi

Also for consideration, we have seen the entry of the new tosei class of Kabuto, but also some examples that are very robust with very thick plates. I know a few of us own these super heavys.

What is this about?

As you know I too am a member of MEMBER OF 一般社団法人 日本甲冑武具研究保存会 Japan Please don't mistake my comments as aggressive or awkward. My feelings are that comments based on subjection can be dangerous as others will not delve into what has been said to satisfy the validity of the statement. I have the photos and the script from Takemura San which I think is excellent with the chronological order, and that he references items from museums and shrines. My point is all academical study should be supported by this type of research. When we as katchuphiles make a comment it must be able to be defended. Exploring the development and implementation of tosei kabuto in line with the introduction and growth of the teppo is an exciting prospect.

School of Thought means nothing other than a subjective opinion, Anthony is talking about a timeline and its relevance to construction from the new ballistic weaponry that sent shockwaves up the country. This for me is of interest. Agreed there is evidence to support that the manufacture and spread of teppo were rather slow. However, tosei kabuto can only be dated based on archaeological finds or where armour has been kept in one place untouched, otherwise its speculation. I cant do speculation. What we do know is that Kabuto underwent a radical change with new groups emerging, Zunari, Toppai, Eboshi and Momonari became the norm, all of which were robust, easy to make and in some cases more expensive than the multi-plate suji. If I was asked, "What is your favourite zunari from the Muromachi jidai" I would not be able to provide an answer, the reason being I have no evidence to provide an answer. The only value to this would be to put together a construction timeline based on armour that had been time locked. If there are the resources or documentation for this in Japan then we need it.

Agreed, and that his mistake to upset a community and customer base. Silly move, however, if you want the trademark removed it will need to go legal. He has already forced one person to not use the word in his trading name, so this is very much out of the boards control.

I defended a US trademark where a UK retailer copied my logo and trading name, he filled for the Trademark before I could. The result was that I won and he had to destroy his stock. This Nihonto Trademark is ridiculous, but please let me assure you that no amount of speculation will stop the trademark from being enforced by its owner. The TM and device must be challenged, and it needs money and a very good Trademark Lawyer to fight this.

A lot of similarities are shared between these two Kabuto. What I like is the slight variation in the dan of the shikoro. From the hachi-tsuke-ita to the Yon-no-ita having almost identical sabi-nuri relief. But the difference (personal taste of the original owner) with the Kata-zuri-no-ita, Gilles having uname-ito just gives it that extra touch of quality. Both are splendid examples of zunari with the Tsuke-mabezashi / sanko-no-byo adaption.

Count me in 100%. If one is allowed to do this then we will see TM on Tosogu, tsuba, and even Katchu. We have a very large community and pulling together as a whole is warranted.

The only Gitsu I've seen in person belongs to Ian.

Im happy to contribute to a paypal fund to have this trademark challenged as Passing Off Could one of the Tokens managed this?

Waiting for all the Gitsu collectors to comment? Odd how the topic can pop up on another thread, yet when a dedicated one is posted they all hold back. This is not really in the spirit of sharing and learning.

Super Ian, Do you have any photo's?

There's not much to say about yoshimitsu apart from the fact that he designed an overcomplicated helmet that was not fit for battle, he then dropped the design and made more robust and functional types. The reason Gitsu are rare is that they didn't work, no good for anything. Saotome adopted the concept of his design for their Kabuto that were produced during a time of peace. Now steering back towards the actual thread Javier has a great example of a true samurai kabuto. The thing about zunari is that most of them are different in some way, which is marvellous considering that they were produced en-masse. Zunari are affordable to most and often overlooked by snobby collectors. I would say to any nihonto collector that if they were going to make their first purchase to buy a zunari.

Zunari, the most underrated and overlooked kabuto to date. I love em. Great find, well done.

Nice job Ford!

From Japan and JAUCE will lift such bans. From Japan is amazing, they only charge 300/900 yen as a service fee. No percentage. You can also state whatever value you like, and the packaging is the best I've had from any agent.

It was fantastic, and what a venue!

Gilles, I'm in Berlin this week working at the Samurai Arts Museum before the Gathering. The wifi and 4G is very poor. If you post the book to Piers and then send me a PM I'll pay for it all via Paypal as soon as I get an internet connection which is guaranteed from Friday onwards.

I would take up Gilles offer if you want I'll do the PayPal thing for you piers and you can sort me out later. The catalogue is excellent. And after speaking to the staff they said that only the shop will be stocked, so you have to buy there in person.