DaveT

I'm home now if you had said yesterday I would have got you one.

I enjoyed it very much. The only downside these days is that everything seems to focus on Art. Art armour from the mid to late edo period. The older suits are ugly and plain I guess. But putting that aside one of the best exhibits Ive seen. (Exluding the Samurai Art Museum)

Update. I visited today. The shop has hundreds of catalogues.

I'll be there on Tuesday, I'll have a look and see if there are any catalogues on sale. I have one already, so if they have them I'll pick a few up for others.

All Booked, see you there guys!

FYI. Anyone wishing to join the Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū Hozon Kai can do so directly. You do not have to be a member of the Western Branch which is now 3,000 yen more expensive. Magazines will be posted out to you directly. I today have taken this opportunity to renew my membership. There are 2 ways. 1:Paypal Please send membership fee + 4％ commission・・・ 12,480yen to our Paypal (info@Japanese-armor.org). 2:International Postal Order Please send 12,000yen by International Postal Order name: The Association for the Research and Preservation of Japanese Helmets and Armor(not NKBKHK) address: Suzuyasu-building 201 350 Yamabuki-cho Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 162-0801 Japan

5:48 in Low res version that my urushi sensei found online https://youtu.be/TwFBOja8JI0

Royal Mail and Parcel Force will not insure Art or Antiques, or even a bacon sandwich. They will gladly sell you insurance, but will not pay out when they damage or misplace it. I took out an independent Restorer and Dealers Insurance policy. I can ship anywhere with a value of 50k in transit. On the outside of the parcel, I write "Nylon or Metal Machine Cogs eBay, then a very low value. My insurer instructed me to do so as it reduces the likelihood of someone in the logistics chain liberate the parcel. $10,000 /500 yr old antique samurai sword is a description that some may find tempting. Usually they get stolen at the RDC(HUB) where they cannot be traced to a driver etc. As many cant justify buying a dedicated insurance policy its best to completely fib about whats inside the box. Risk it without insurance or have it based on the invented contents description. The only downside to this is when you send overseas, antiques have either no, or low import duty, if you change the contents description the recipient gets a higher duty bill.

If you know a book is flawed with errors it's probably not the best source to use when correcting Ian Bottomley on Katchu. As you say the experts in Japan are using this term, maybe that is a reflection of their level of expertise?

So its Kaku, glad that was cleared up. For a second there Ian I thought you had finally dropped the terminology ball and that we needed to re-write the Samurai Armour Glossary. On that note, if you are not aware there is a FREE downloadable Glossary prepared by Ian and myself online. Please enjoy it. https://issuu.com/davethatcher/docs/the_samurai_armour_glossary_2013_v2/

I think its leather, rawhide. from the looks of it, its lost its urushi and someone has made a repair with modern products.

Menpo, from what I can see its: 1. Somthing made up 2. Maybe an really bad repair in terms of re surfacing 3. Nerigawa with point 2 If I can see the back it would help. I think the value in this armour is the kabuto and Dou, so still money well invested

They look like gilded kokuso with shibu urushi. What a great find. Well done.

My view its Edo period.

Ukebare: asa hemp and chirimen silk. Outer rim smoked deer skin Tetsu-sabiji-nuri: rice flour, urushi, Shinobi-no-o: hemp strands or jute

I think this is a good opportunity to point out to new katchu collectors about Tetsu-Sabiji Nuri. it's a lacquer effect that simulates russet iron. You may ask yourself why would you apply a russet iron effect to an iron helmet? Well, there are a number of logical reasons. Tetsu is often very thin or in some cases recycled (a common practice during Sengoku). The flaws and cosmetic flaws can be concealed. Also, the ground layers of the lacquer helps to strengthen the assembly. More importantly urushi waterproofs the iron. Here is are some images from a recent commission/s I had where I need to replace the tetsu-sabiji effect. It looks like iron, but you don't ever need to oil it. Before After Replacing the Shinobi-no-o is easy, just can Youtube a video on basic rope twisting and then twist up some jute rope from the local DIY store. Here are a few I made, they are dyed green with a little fabric dye. Making a replacement ukebare is a task, it's not impossible but requires a little skill. They usually take around 9hrs to make and fit. I hope that helps and apologies for the shameless plugs but I've had to watermark all my photos due to Pintersters.

A good point to make here is that the Samurai Art Museum is the personal collection of Peter Janssen. He is basically allowing access for all to enjoy. He also is a great host, the Armour and Sword Societies have been able to make use of his venue to host events. It is without a doubt a special place. Since last year I have been spending more time working with the Token Societies in GB. My aim is to bridge the gap between armour and sword collectors. What sparked this was the fact that I have a number of Sansai armours which were used by the Hosokawa clan, I have no knowledge of Higo fittings or what swords the Hosokawa used. In a way, this made me a one-dimensional collector paying focus to just armour. The samurai valued their swords, then their armour. Yet as collectors, we are worlds apart. The Samurai Arts Museum delivers the message that both swords and armour are complementary but integral to understanding the warrior culture. The forthcoming Samurai Arts Expo also features arms and armour. I hope that this can become the way forward for every sword collector owning an armour and every armour collector owning a nihonto.

Here are few examples of Yukinoshita I have. They support what Ian has written.

Could be a box full of hatamoto brand toilet paper Brian? Its a hitsu of some description for sure, maybe a tatami armour?

Piers, We have central heating now in the UK. No need to burn coal in the living room with 80% of the heat escaping up the chimney. Easter Eggs, little gifts to hunt for. Well here are a few. The woodblock print on the wall is depicting a samurai taking a very smelly dump. They didn't notice. I put the kyubi and sendan no ita on the Aka-Domaru on the wrong sides and one dou backwards. I thought it would be funny for an educated katchu person in Japan to watch it and say, ah, stupid gaijin. Something that Felix Beato in 1856 would have encountered without knowing any better. There were some funny questions. TV: Is this room cold for a reason? DT: The heating is turned off during the day TV: Are all your customers in England? DT: Worldwide including Japan TV: Why Japan? DT: Because I'm good at what I do TV: What was your biggest surprise when buying an armour? DT: My wife divorcing me after she found out how much money I had spent You kind of get the drift.

It's my living room inside a Victorian house. Art Deco fireplace has to remain I'm afraid as its grade 2 listed.

I had the pleasure of working with Osaka TV today. The crew has flown to the UK to make a short program about the English Katchushi who makes his own odoshi and works for Japanese dealers. There was a lot to film and we covered the difference between sengoku and edo period armours, also the changes that took place in manufacturing after the teppo was introduced to the battlefield. We spent some time filming the process of making odoshi-ito and then a section on armour making and urushi. I managed to get the message across that there is an obligation for a katchushi to restorer armour to the best of his/her ability and that such work preserves katchu for future generations. A sense of giri which is extended to the former samurai owners. I felt this was an eye opener for the Japanese when they saw 30 armours they freaked out. We are certainly letting them know that there is a lot going on in the west. I was naughty and put some katchu "easter eggs" in should you be able to spot them.

the bohi and the taper on the mune seem to demonstrate that this is not kikuchi then? So I guess this is a salvage job from a longer blade that made its way to become a yoroidoshi. On the subject of yoroidoshi I had a wake-up call one day sitting at a seminar. It dawned on me that post sekigahara armour was no longer needed in its heavy ita-mono form of tetsu plates. Armour became soft in the form of tatami. small plates and chain mail. Tatami could also be worn under clothing, it added weight to the wearer. If you think about the dynamics of judo and jiu-jitsu is all about a purchase and throw to the ground, a simple group dynamic could see a guy on his feet one second and in prone the next being held while another cuts his throat or bleeds him out with multiple stabbing. A new knife was required that could punch through the mail, hence the amount of edo period yoroidoshi we see. Especially to the conversion of yari. At first, I thought they were put into tanto fittings as a gimmick, but a converted yari makes an excellent tatami puncher. Just my opinion of course. All speculation.

I have this Yoroidoshi from a UK Token member. I would welcome any comments as if this may be a cut-down Kikuchi? its a cut down something for sure. It's pretty meaty. 9-inch blade, 9mm thick. No idea of age. I'm a katchu man, so please forgive me as I know nothing about nihonto before shooting me down.....

.......and it's your turn to buy the drinks.