Bugyotsuji

Mention of Tsuyama suggests I should post a pic of a yari I bought very recently. Even at 12 feet it is probably not at its full original length. The Mei is "Yamashiro no Kami Kunishige" 山代守国重 and I was assured that this was either Takahashi Mizuta or Edo Mizuta. I am not convinced. Anyway, I was hoping to mix it in with the other Yari so my wife would not notice the new-comer...

The 'Portuguese' guns on the wrecked Chinese junk at Tanegashima would in all likelihood have been reasonably large bore military guns, and these would surely have set the pattern for the frenetic activity that followed throughout Japan. Diplomatic exchange guns would have happened at the highest level, almost in another world. Had a long chat in the Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo yesterday with someone who knows his oats, and I felt the best I can do at the moment is take the quotation above from the National Museum of Japanese History and add it to the mix of theories out there. "Always keep a measure of doubt and eventually the truth will be somewhere in between" is my motto, perhaps first instilled in me at college in the USA.

Well, I cannot say anything really, except generally agree, but wonder if it was all really so clear cut. The first usage of teppo in battle is recorded in the encyclopedia as 1549 at Kajiki Castle in Kyushu, and first proper use at Iwatsurugi Castle in 1554, so perhaps they were used mainly for hunting animals, and it took a little time for them to really prove their worth on the battlefield, to like Oda Nobunaga who could establish a system for using them. 百科事典に記載されており、ヤフー、Googleで、｢鉄砲伝来｣を検索しても、伊集院忠朗と記載されています。伊集院忠朗は、伊集院城を居城とする島津貴久の家臣で、薩摩統一戦、加治木城を攻めた時に、日本最初となる鉄砲を発砲!! これが、日本人第一号、鉄砲実戦使用者となった訳です。１５４９年伊集院忠朗、日本初、鉄砲実戦使用 = first use in battle, 1549 by Shimazu retainer Ijuin Tadaaki, at Kajiki Jo. http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1066645845 実戦での最初の使用は、薩摩国の島津氏家臣の伊集院忠朗による大隅国の加治木城攻めであるとされる。九州や中国地方の戦国大名から、やがて天下統一事業を推進していた尾張国の織田信長が1575年（天正3年）に甲斐武田氏との長篠の戦いをはじめとする戦で、鉄砲を有効活用したとされ、鉄砲が戦争における主力兵器として活用される軍事革命が起こる。 http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%89%84%E7%A0%B2%E4%BC%9D%E6%9D%A5 First effective use in battle in 1554年 by Ijuin Tadaaki at Iwatsurugi Jo、忠朗は岩剣城を攻めたが、このとき、忠朗の進言で島津軍は初めて鉄砲を実戦に投入して本格的に使ったという。http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E9%9B%86%E9%99%A2%E5%BF%A0%E6%9C%97

Wow, congratulations!

What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable mass? 矛盾 Mujun, ie paradox, contradiction, conflict. Hoko vs Shield. The blade and the armour kept redefining themselves to overcome the other. They surely challenged each other for thousands of years, as evidenced by this modern Japanese word Mujun, expressing the essence of an ancient Chinese concept. On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for the mechanicals of 飛び道具 Tobi-dogu, rocks, arrows, throwing spears, bullets, etc. The sword stays in the hand, but many things were thrown, to hit the enemy from a distance. Hmmm... The gun does both, staying in the hand to launch projectiles. There are so many things in common with Nihonto and Hinawa-Ju guns, but they are also in a way mutually exclusive, even if they do sit happily together in my alcove. The problem with the Japanese sword is that she is a jealous lover. There are Nihonto, and then everything else. Perhaps a brush to write poetry?

This reminds me of the idea in Japan that there is a clear difference between Nihon-To, and all other 'knives' of the domestic and agricultural variety.

Without getting into too much detail, there has always been a conscious difference in the use of this term in Japan. In general what is called a Hinawa-Ju or a teppo (from Teppau) in Japanese, was called something closer to a fire lance or bird gun in Chinese. The spoken and written words which were commonly and popularly used to refer to old guns were always clearly differentiated between the two cultures. Quite apart from the Chinese usage, the expression Tori-ju is very rarely used here, and I was astonished to hear it not so long ago for the first time. When it was used in my presence I noticed a slightly pejorative sense, as though there was a clear mental difference between army guns and bird guns (hunting guns). There it was too, in your illustrations, Eric. Perhaps it was legal to sell 'tori-ju'. Larger guns were only permitted within the remit of the Ryu-ha, or schools of gunnery, practiced as a martial art, as Eric's earlier Japanese article mentions. Sawada's book is full of this consciousness, and I am beginning to sense that this discrimination between types of guns has existed in the Japanese subconscious for hundreds of years. Based possibly on some law perhaps, or did some law find it convenient to base itself upon an existing divide?

Congratulations Steve. No 6 in your list above. Not bad.

If you look at Sawada San's book (he is based in Sakai, so we can assume that Osaka is where his heart is), on p.29 he describes the decorated Sakai guns as being under 3.5 Monme, and anything above that as being unadorned army guns.

Very similar. The banners say "Kaji-Ya" (Smith's shop) and "Tori Ju" (Bird Guns)

Great picture Eric! A very good question that we need to follow up! Notice that the description top right says the shop is selling 鳥銃 Tori Ju ie "Bird Guns"

Get some better shots!

Justin, you raise an interesting question, and my imagination works overtime. The dog Shogun banned hunting altogether and the country was overrun with bold and pesky wild animals. A series of edicts throughout the Tokugawa/Edo period suggests to me that gun-use laws needed to be reinforced periodically, but as with wakizashi, perhaps with guns there was a limit to the size of caliber/bore that was allowed to the general populace for hunting. There is a difference in appearance between army guns and small-game hunting guns, and this difference may well have had some foundation in the laws. Those highly-decorated Sakai guns fit into mid to late Edo in my brain, but based upon what, you might well ask. I will put out some feelers for more information.

Interesting that it has registration papers, not normally needed for kama. Two Nakago holes. The haft has been sawn off, sadly, but it would be a rare object to own.

Well, Brian, I think you are well in amongst the pigeons there. Having just said on another thread that I had never seen a Tanegashima-style matchlock pistol with a belt hook, I ran across one... well, the length suggests it is for an obi, rather than for a belt. This one is very late Edo, too, so we cannot discount a strong influence of Western guns. In fact the order for this gun came from the Daimyo for, in every other respect, an exact specification Fujioka Ryu gun, almost as if he was swimming against the tide of new fashions, and the spec can be checked against Fujioka Ryu scrolls of the time.

Here is an object for consideration. Brass, very late Edo, owned as part of something else, by Ikeda Mochimasa, Lord of Bizen/Okayama.

Chatting today and heard the following. Not only rich merchants but anyone was allowed to carry a blade of wakizashi length or less. The once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Ise, for example, was rounded off with the purchase of a wakizashi to take home afterwards. Cheap and crudely made, they were nicknamed Ise-mono, or something similar. The big difference between decorated Sakai/Settsu/Sesshu/Osaka guns and understated Kunitomo guns, stemmed from their the method of sale. Kunitomo guns were largely ordered in advance, made to order, and sent off upon completion. Sakai guns were, on the other hand, made in advance and placed in racks in the shop front, competing with other local gunsmiths for custom off the street. For this reason they became more and more eye-catching, apparently.

Something wrong with Nihonto1001's email address above? Info@onihonto.com

PS The single attractive Kanji character on the barrel of the first gun that started this thread reads 飾 Kazari, which means simply "decoration" or "ornamentation", to me an unthinkable word on a serious gun.

Sakai guns below a certain caliber (1.3cm +/-) were highly decorated. They were used for shooting small game in the marshes and hills, and owned by ostentatious Osaka merchants, who liked to flaunt their wealth, despite the many restrictions on gaudiness under laws introduced by the Tokugawa. They had also managed to push for the right to wear a Wakizashi. The Yakuza have always loved bright and shiny and flashy. Even the word Iro 色, literally 'color/colour' has a whole slew of meanings we do not find in English. It indicates a whole forbidden underworld, such as tattoos, and strongly includes a sexual sense of lechery, debauchery. The farting scrolls were secretly shown to one's closest and most trusted friends, but there was a pleasurably dangerous paranoia at the thought of being found out. Westerners visiting Japan tended to snap up the brighter and more decorated items, as they still do today. Chinese objects tend/ed to be more gaudy and more popular. Naturally there are those in the West who prefer more subtlety, as there are many in Japan. Minimalism rules, or once ruled. The final gun you posted above, Eric, would offend many Japanese people's sense of taste, but there will always be people wanting something cheerful and decorative regardless, in fact the flashier the better. There are exceptions to every rule, and bling can be king.

Again, I have to agree with Brian, but without taking it in hand I cannot be sure. It looks very good generally, especially the barrel itself and the underlying brass lockwork, but certain aspects make one stop and think. (I have never seen or heard of a belt-hook on a Japanese matchlock, only on Dondoru percussion cap pistols.) Some vital parts are not shown in the photos. A judgment call here is not for the faint-hearted. The butt shape suggests Inoue-Ryu school, but nothing else supports this.The wood is covered in Western-style varnish, often a sign of a new stock. (Compare surface finish with Eric's No.3 pic above). Much of the Zogan inlay is not true Hon-Zogan inlay, but an application onto a scratched/cross-hatched surface, called Nunome-Zogan, with large areas of the cross-hatch exposed. My guess is that it was applied at an even later date. To summarize, not exactly what the description implies, and expensive indeed, but a nice decorative piece for the Western taste.

For a number of reasons, Brian, I agree with you, but is it right to express opinions that might influence an upcoming auction?

Lovely looking work, but no idea of the modern regulations. Here is an adjustable rear sight on an Awa long gun. Notice the decorated finger grips for sliding it out before swinging it up into place.

PS If you are willing to be shot down repeatedly, you can post some shots of your treasured Netsuke over on the INS forum and post here when you have passed muster! http://netsuke.websitetoolbox.com/

Swords are a big enough minefield for one lifetime; welcome to another! In my own experience out in the world marketplace there are three types of Netsuke. 1. Obvious fakes, 2. not-so-obvious fakes and 3. the genuine article. Obvious fakes make up around 20%, not-so-obvious fakes, 75%, and the genuine article about 5%. If however you spend time in Netsuke books, a few select auction houses, private collections and concentrated London shops you can change these percentages radically. There is a site, in Japanese, where the site owner makes a stab at showing the genuine article alongside fakes, and attempts to show some differences. 5th 口　tick/check box down, 'The Fakes'. http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~mystudy/kikite/kikitetop.htm