Bugyotsuji

What the man said!

Fujiwara Kinju, as Ray says; the same 金重 Kanji are also sometimes read with their alternate reading as Kaneshige.

There was a very good video on Japanese axes posted somewhere on this site just recently, well, a few months back.

John, the quick answer is yes, you are correct. The reality is however that there were degrees of subtlety in genuine old Netsuké. Use of a shell for example would say more than overtly open legs. And ladies might not have followed our modern ideas of beauty. See this stag antler Ama San.

It is a crucifix, but the question remains as to when it was inserted there, centuries ago or more recently.

Bladed cross 剣十の字 'Ken Jū-no-Ji' Mon motif. Not recorded, but from circumstantial evidence, probably the Hachisuka Mon while they were openly Christian.

Perhaps not 'explicit' as it would have been somewhat covered by both seppa.

線刻銘「法實」 Search Results (nii.ac.jp) Compare with Hojitsu Netsuke.

劍白　靖俊　Yasutoshi Saku (variant Kanji?) See https://www.samurais....jp/sword/15137.html

In for a penny, in for a pound. The remains of one…

Managed to retrieve this and enhance it.

The other two photos not showing up…

Himo means ‘string’ or ‘cord’, tōshi means ‘passing’, so the string passages. Their type, size, shape and placement can tell you several things. You don’t need a microscope, just a closer shot of the underneath!

Ah, many thanks. It looks like an old barrel has been updated for the percussion fitment. The Mon looks to have lost too much of the original inlay to be deciphered. The silver disc says 寶 Hō (Takara), meaning treasure.

That all sounds healthy, William. This kind of rather crude craft carving is sometimes described as 民芸 Mingei (pronounced min-gay), but many were genuine honest hard-working Netsuke in their own right. Yours is heavily stained, so it is difficult to decide exactly what type of material it is from those distant shots. PS You could crop out 75% of the featureless foreground and background.

Gama Sen-nin was a Chinese sage usually shown with a frog/toad. These frogs often have only three legs.

Sadly Brian, I cannot remember exactly how it worked. During a sword exhibition in April in Kurashiki last year or the year before, a friend said “Do you want to see something unusual?” He laid it on the verandah of a temple building, and I recall taking photos. Did it click-lock at a right angle like a kagiyari? Is this the same one or are there more? Never seen anything like it before or since. It did not look like a practical weapon.

Hmmm… I seem to recall seeing that a year or two back, but it did not have a Koshiraé at the time. Took photos, but maybe with the camera, as I can't find them in the phone. Grrr... The 'real' blade is hidden within the spear-looking blade, hinged to swing out on a pin which you can see near the tip.

Now that the technical aspect has been addressed somewhat, I’d like to add that Mitsukado is more generally used for three-joining road junctions, meaning ‘three corners’, a three-way crossroads. Similarly Mitsugashira is three heads, or the place where the heads of three road heads (for example) meet. Not too long ago someone was saying that a sword had had a new kissaki fashioned at one time. When I inquired, he pointed at the mitsukashira, how it looked sort of ok on one side, but didn’t quite match up on the other.

江戸、高田の馬場 Edo, Takada no Baba Hiroshige

Thanks David. That rust looks thick and heavy. Where is/was the Mon?

Additional thought. This is a very plain, basic long-barrel smoothbore gun, so without a Mei, there is little else to indicate gunnery school or place of manufacture. Helpful remaining pointers might be the fact of four mekugi holes, (one, two or three are more common in my experience), the broad brass lock band, the shapes of the lockplate and sights, the water droplet trigger, and any metalwork inlay on the stock, etc.

Ahhh........................ just craning my neck to see. John, just getting my hat and coat.

Well the three-legged crows of Japan are famous, so it could be two three-legged egrets!?!?

Hi David, Apologies for the delay. Tanegashima threads do not come up in my 'new posts' for some reason, and the email notification is usually a couple of days late. At first I thought your new gun was not Japanese, but now I can see that it is. The only part of the Mei that you have photographed is the barrel construction, i.e. 二重巻張, Ni-ju makibari, or double helix bound barrel. There should be more writing on the lowermost facet of the barrel base. Can you get shots of the bisen breech screw, or even the head of it? As to pins missing, no problem; the simplest thing is to make some with bamboo or wood. You can try toothpicks and skewers for size, and file them to fit perfectly, inserting from the right side of the stock. Once you get the hang of making and playing with these, you can try to source smoked bamboo, even better for the job. Having said that, your gun has been through various changes and modifications, so it is possible that the mekigi holes and under-barrel loops do not match up, and that may be why it has been fitted with brass retaining rings.(?) PS Some people like to see fancy inlay on Japanese barrels, but personally speaking they do not interest me as they are usually (but not always) added later as extra decoration for sale purposes. Looking forward to closer shots from various angles!