Bugyotsuji

Nice find. Many thanks Eric. The white paperwork suggests it was made by Masuda Genjiro Masayoshi. I wonder if the absence of a hole and the long nakago might have led to calling this one a Kama-yari? (Knudsen's kamayari definition at the top mentions no vertical point.)

My wife made me get rid of mine, but it did not have those racks in it. A superb example!

And the male has a 剣 Ken in its tail.

First rule with a Tanegashima is not to lay it on a surface with the lockwork facing downwards. Many kemurigaeshi must have been lost this way. Among the many guns with no kemurigaeshi, you will sometimes see a space where one must have been at some time.

Note that the pan itself is not illustrated in Eric's excellent photographs above. Also, a kemurigaeshi is not so commonly fitted, so omission of that would not be a serious problem. A luxury option? Looking forward to a shot of the stamp forward of the trigger, and of the Mei if any.

They look to be in understated, pristine condition. NB Post #9 should be "Cha ishime ji nuri ..." but the edit button has gone. Slip of the key. Apologies. = Brown stone finish lacquer surface. Post#11 Sunpo overall length is given for both Dai and Sho in centimeters.

The problem would be easier if you could tell me which bits you do or don't understand. If I assume you're ok up to line three, and in the absence of any photos, then the Koshirae sword furnishings are described as: White shark(skin) (which is probably ray) brown string bound in diamond shape, Fuchi (rim) and Kashira (pommel) Shakudo (black copper) relief carving enamel portrayal of wave(s) and dragon(s), Menuki shakudo yobori (feature chiseling?) enamel Tatsutagawa River scene Tsuba iron russet (is sanji supposed to be sabiji?) ground, round shape, both hitsu holes, mushroom(s) scene Mei (signed) Takuuchi made

Pan and surrounding bits!

I have never bought from them and have no axe to grind either way. Your description seems fair enough. I just felt it might be good to let them know what is coming down, or do you reckon they need to wake up and smell the coffee?

Hmmm... in the light of Ford's last comment about how such castings have been around for more than 30 years, maybe we should take these problems to the seller (Aoi Art) instead of spreading them here like this? What would be most fair?

(Ogino-Ryu). Ramrods are fun to make from a dowelling rod, either with machinery to save time, or lovingly shaped by hand!

A good-looking gun, if needing a little TLC. The Ryuha school of gunnery is easy to see. Agree with Brian, hold off on all the abrasive stuff until you are ready to go gently all round. Needing a new pan and ramrod. Nice, thanks for posting.

Or would more explanation of the meaning have helped? The old 'Translation' or 'Romanization' question again.

Ditto the above! Let us know what you have said.

Did you add the highest price you would willingly go? Someone is willing to go to 100,000, right? Did you read this page? http://www.sword-auction.jp/en/howtobid

The starting bid is 50,000, and two people have bid so far...? The bidding increments are 1,000 JPY, so the present total is 52,000? Apart from that, no, I do not understand how their system works. (Nice menuki though!)

Looks like Shibuichi to me too.

Many thanks, Greg. It has been hard to keep this thread honest and dispassionate. Naturally as a pensioner I have these inner expectations and urges to own a big name smith's creation without splashing out on a full-length tachi or katana, and sadly that has probably shown through my over-eager descriptions. So, just as long as I can remember to use these blades as study pieces, and remove myself from subjectivity, then a goal of sorts can be achieved. And regardless of any other factors, I must confess that I do love them. I think I will take them both along to our next sword meeting as extra material. The members here do like a bit of amusement on the side, and they know me and how I like to bring unusual things along! (At the last meeting some of them were fascinated to see for the first time a Koshi-ate leather pad once hung to protect the Tachi saya from banging against the hip. Neither did they recognize the donut-shaped Tsuru-maki hanging from it.)

Alex, in the absence of anyone else taking over, I'll start the longer one. The mechanics of bringing it up on screen each time and then making it disappear for each phrase defeat me, so in the absence of efficiency I will take it slowly!. No. 5970 Mumei Sunpo: (length) Koshirae: Shira Same Cha Ito Hishi Maki Gara, Fuchi Kashira, Shakudo Takabori Iro-e Nami Ryu no Zu, Menuki Shakudo Yo-bori Iro-e Tatsutagawa no Zu, Tsuba, Tetsu San Ji Marugata Ryo Hitsu (Ki-no-ko)Take no Zu, Mei, Taku-uchi Saku Kinsei (between Meiji and WWII)

Yes, I have moved kiseru backwards and forwards (to Europe) over the years, but always in my own luggage. I suspect your collection is very special and you do not want to take any risks. Mine were all silver kiseru, of no great artistic/historical value. They usually stink of tobacco, which would surely not attract sniffer dogs. Good luck, and please keep us updated.

Whoever does this for you will have to set aside some time to do it. Would you need 'translation' of their meanings, or are you happy with a Romanization of the Japanese terms? The paper on the left for example says: "Ichi. Katana Koshirae. Cha Ichime Ji Nuri Dai-Sho Uchigatana Koshirae. Shoshin" Percentage of confidence, 98%. (Give or take a kanji)

Yes, smoked bamboo, as for swords, makes the best Mekugi pins, unsmoked next best! Brass was and still is used but for some reason they tend to work themselves loose with usage and get lost. My regular army gun still has one left of the brass mekugi... :8( ....

Jumping back to the first Kama for a minute, ie the Minamoto Nobuyoshi with a Yokote starting this thread. Yesterday I was at the local sword meet when a young (?) lady brought out a katana in gunto leather saya and asked the sensei to check it out for her. It was among her father's belongings and she needed to know if it was worth keeping. I heard my name being called out and walked over to see. "Look at the registration card!" they said. Brand new, it said 源信吉 "Minamoto Nobuyoshi" in clear black writing...! He drew out the rusty blade and they managed to get the tsuka off. Frantically I dialled backwards through the phone to find a comparative shot of my nakago. Sadly they were different, but now I can cross off another Nobuyoshi, bringing me ever closer to the truth! (The katana was probably Kanbun/Enpo Kyoto/Yamashiro (Kiku mon) Takai Echizen no Kami Minamoto Nobuyoshi, the Yasurime being typical? Takanoha.)

Modern US cent = 19.05 mm, so we are looking at what is generally called a '10 Monme' Shizutsu or samurai gun, although more strictly speaking yours is around 12 Monme, a big bore. The mon looks like Hi-no-Maru Ohgi, 日の丸扇 , in a diamond(?). PS If you are using a smart phone, go to the photographs and edit them in any little way you like, light, size, contrast etc. Then push 'done'. This will fix the orientation, and stop them swiveling round annoyingly when you post here.

Thank you for posting your gun. It is fairly generic, displaying no particular characteristics of gunnery school or region of manufacture, but a good solid gun probably made well before 1850. The date on the (stock/butt/barrel?) will be the general round-up and registration date at the beginning of Meiji, the 'Jinshin Bango'. The photos are upside down and the pan lid is on back to front, with a too-short hinge pin! The back of the serpentine should catch on the little 'crab's eye' that pops out of the lock plate upon release of the trigger. It may be a bit sticky, so the serpentine cannot lock back as it should. (Pulling the trigger should cause the eye to retract, so the serpentine can fall.) When you say a 'penny', you must mean a US cent, but how wide is that in cm for us world-wide brethren? Were you able to remove the Bisen breech screw? How does the pan look inside?