Bugyotsuji

Brian, too late, he's just assured me that he will be donating them to the famous Bugyotsuji Foundation.

A sweet collection and chart. Many thanks, John.

Oops, yes, that reminds me Malcolm, thanks, the silver coins issued to the workforce were nicknamed ‘Odaiba Gin’ or Odaiba silvers.

Here is the mathematics behind it. The little 2-Shu in the frame above is worth between 35 and 70 USD today depending on condition and rarity apparently.

And that really brings us to the clearing. The smallest common coins for everyday use were the Mon copper or bronze cash, and the largest denomination for calculation purposes was the Ryo. One gold Ryo Koban　一両小判 was worth 2 'NiBuKin'二分金, or four 'Ichi-Bu' 一分 (either gold or silver), 16 gold or silver Shu朱 (8 gold nishu kin 二朱金) or 4,000 Mon文. I have heard it said that a samurai could carry these small gold or silver coins or nuggets hidden about him, which could be changed for lowly Mon coins for everyday necessities. The black ships turned up off Uraga in 1853. The Bakufu decided to build 'Odaiba' an artificial island with fort cannon emplacements in Edo Bay the following year, and the workers were paid 250 Mon a day, ie in the newly-issued (1864)One-Shu silver rectangular coins. The tray which I found in an antiques market is divided into 80 spaces each side. *One side is 5 Ryo's worth, i.e. 80 Isshu Gin coins, @16 every two rows (= One Ryo). (cf One Shu, a day's wages @ 250 Mon.) *The other side is for 10 Ryo's worth, 80 of the smaller gold 2 Shu coins, each worth 500 Mon. Since we know when the coins were issued and in circulation, and these little silver and gold coins were probably the most useful denominations above the 1 Mon, 4 Mon and the Tempo 10 Mon, it must have been used in a financial clearing office of some kind.

Malcolm, you're a card. The important numbers were 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. Also 250, 500 and 一貫 Ikkan 1,000. We can define the dates of this to somewhere between 1830 and 1870. PS For another hint, check out the sumi brushwriting on either side.

(Brian! Very good. Hago-ita though has a long history, from Heian!) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/羽子板#/media/File:Kusakabe_Kimbei_152_Girls.JPG The answer to yesterday's quiz can be worked from here, for those who like mathematics: (Oh, and the faint sword connection is that these were often hidden in the koshirae.)

https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%8F%93%E5%AD%90%E5%9E%8B-461983 I can see now where you are coming from, Malcolm.

If the photos upload happily, then here is an object for perusal. Definitely Edo Period, but not directly sword related. Level of difficulty 2/5? (No hints unless people start to struggle.) Edit. No replies so far, so perhaps the level of difficulty could be 3/5...?

Until they arrive I will join the chorus. 藤原久永+作

And ever thus are they passed down to posterity.

Mark, an okimono can be almost any size you like. Do you mean Netsuke? Is it signed? Will you be showing us any photos, drawings, even from a fuzzy distance? You can send it legally or illegally but either way will not be easy. Carrying it in with no research, no advanced warning and no translation is courting trouble.

Hi Drew, much better and more informative shots. Thanks! I once bought a gun (visiting Ako with Brian) with the back sight in a similar unusual position, and no marks further back on the barrel to suggest that there had ever been another. It looks as though an attempt to remove the Bisen has failed? You have not mentioned the bore, the muzzle's internal diameter. Looking like it could be over 1.6 cm, at a rough guess. Much good in your gun, and worth restoring sympathetically. From your links it looks as though the 'Takakura Jinroku' name was used through several generations, the three-barreled gun being right at the end of Edo. Perhaps relatives moved to Himeji? The other longer barrelled gun is in many ways quite different from yours, not least the muzzle shape and positioning of the rear sight.

Ken, how does it sound when you flick it? PS With all that lava on the Big Island, I would imagine you to be an expert in burnt objects!

Loving the koshirae!

Oops Peter, I was not aiming at you or Jan particularly, but trying to clarify that I personally do not feel comfortable making a negative judgement on something without first knowing the context. In the past, (and on another site) posters have used the given information in ways that I had not foreseen. If I had known in advance why they were asking the question and for what purpose, I would not have replied in the way I did. Examples. Are these items real? (because I have just bought them and a friend cast doubt on them, and now I need ammunition to go back and get the dealer to give my money back). Are these items real? (because they are being offered for sale and I am tempted to buy them). Are these items from a museum or a friend's collection real? Adonets, a little context please!

You should probably mention if these are yours, or on sale somewhere, Adonets. Personally I do not like trashing something that someone might be wanting to sell, and would like to remain silent if I do not like something. That option is not offered here. On the other hand, I agree with Jan above. The gun passes the 'first glance' test. It is cleverly made with mostly genuine parts of other guns such as a shortened barrel, and fitted into a new stock, with a Mon slapped on top. The very rough pan has been filed out. Was there any paperwork with it? The remaining question with the powder flask is when this work done. Some of the fittings look old, at least the end of Edo or Meiji, as are the lacquer dishes. Did the gun and flask set come together, or are they separate things, on offer perhaps? Philosophically they could even have come out of the same workshop.

What the man said.

Flickering page, giving up editing above....

This Shinto guy exists in the Meikan, around Kanbun they say, but the Toko Soran is more open regarding date. (OK. Can edit here on my iPhone, but I cannot even read Morita San’s post on the PC, let alone write anything.)

Step 1. The Mei starts with Yamashiro 山城... Moritake? 山城介盛武...?

Yet Brian you continue to have faith in them. They are just lazy, you reckon?

Haha, thanks!

Tetsugendo, what is a ‘Dickens’ sale?

Never seen one like that. Why two faces on the reverse, I wonder? 'Severe' should probably be 'severed' though!