Bugyotsuji

The similar black ‘patina’ on the habaki and seppa makes me think it is not old. Hard to see much in the photos. Try taking it to a sword show for certainty. OK, we get it’s not brand new, but 30 years, 40 years, 50 years is nothing in the life of a Japanese sword. All modern.

Yesterday the 15th fell on a weekday, but I found various bits like tsuba, netsuke, inro, etc. A simple child’s black lacquer inro bears the Wakisaka ‘Wachigai’ Kamon on the side. …Oh, and a black lacquer tray which I left with the dealer as I was walking around, and then totally forgot. (Just remembered while writing this!)

Lewis, this is the Oishi Kuranosuke Shrine (Oishi Jinja) inside the remains of Ako Castle, home of the Daimyo Asano Nagayoshi who was forced to commit seppuku for drawing his sword on Kira in Edo Castle. The shrine is dedicated to the 47 ronin, who were retainers in Ako, and many original artefacts are on ‘permanent’ display. (Although some rearrangement seems to have taken place recently.) (They have an antiques fair in the grounds. Brian came to visit one time some years ago.) Sengakuji Temple in Edo is where the 47 ronin headstones are, but their home is and was Ako in Harima.

Adam, good questions, but one day you will be able to visit, I feel sure! Remember to purify your hands by the entrance.

And a wakizashi koshiraé in a corner…

There was another katana, though. and 2nd gen Hizen Munetsugu

Best I could get, Nathaniel.

Moody shot of an egret on Ako Castle ruins.

With a bit of twister I got further shots. The Yasumitsu wakizashi was turned away and almost buried in the display cloth, so I could get no clear shots of it.

Katana said to be by Osafuné Kiyomitsu. The captions in the first case say the following: And for the Tantō

Just a teaser… 47 Ronin swords.

OK, Lewis said to forget the 47 Ronin swords. So could I have the ¥500 entrance fee back, and the cost of today’s gasoline, say ¥2,000 please! BTW I need to eat some humble crow pie. The sword displays were far from perfect, but better than before. I spent an hour or so photographing them, and chopping out as many of the reflections as possible. But back to Musashi. There is a village not far from here where he was allegedly born, with a dedicated museum. I’ll need the travel costs and entrance fee in advance this time, though!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention. The one I saw there did not look like a masterpiece to my eyes. This was another disincentive.

No. Several times I have thought to try but their positioning is really unhelpful. Behind glass, they are placed in the dark entranceway, reflecting the outside light through the wide open doors. The light contrast is strong, with shadows thrown by your own body. If you want to see one lonely wakizashi(?) blade in a glass case, I will try again on Wednesday, …if I remember. Meantime the photos above I chose because I thought they would be more interesting. ??)

Maple leaves as in Stephen’s photo above suggest the fall (autumn) season. They are often used in different settings and combinations. These can bear a strong resemblance to 麻 asa, (hemp) but there was never any strong message associated with hemp other than as a minor decorative motif.

栄水画 Eisui ga(?) … Ichirakutei Eisui perhaps

The Mei is casually rendered on the registration certificate, but it looks like Yoshimitsu 吉光, with the other form of Yoshi, i.e 𠮷. (Unfortunately I cannot see the Mei itself on the nakago clearly.)

Agreed. As I suggested earlier above, a Shikami. *Be careful not to say 'Shigami' or 'Shishikami/Shishigami', despite how the kanji look; they have totally different meanings. Don't ask, I've been there... (But it does have elements of shishi too.)

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2126614537572848&id=100054495068210&locale=ja_JP&http_ref=eyJ0cyI6MTc1OTkyODczMDAwMCwiciI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbVwvIn0%3D Morimoto Naoyuki is the potter’s name. (I don’t do f/b though…)

By the way, I have a Netsuke also reminiscent…

Hokke, I will ask them, for more detail on this story. Interestingly a young and enterprising Bizen-Yaki potter near here has made a series of sword tōsōgu in fired clay, including a full-size reproduction Sanchōmō with patterns representing hamon! He told me that it took countless experiments to create one without any cracks developing during the process. (Not as expensive as using Tamahagane though!)

Seven-year jump, but agreed!

One of the local Osafuné smiths was asked to replicate the Sanchōmō a few years back. It was when Setouchi City were purchasing it for the Osafuné Sword Museum. A little birdie told me he had to create several blades at great personal expense and time, discarding all of them, before finding a possible candidate to work with. (Not strictly on topic, but somehow related)

Menuki pairs did not need to be exactly the same and many had deliberately differences. A foo dog is a Chinese-English expression, but these do seem to be a kind of Shishi-Shikami cross. (Some similarities with this tsuba?)

If it’s a special order sword for one’s overlord, the smith will strive for perfection. If it’s almost perfect but not acceptable for some reason, maybe he might have considered dedicating it to a shrine.