Bugyotsuji

Not much to add really, as Drago, Ron, Morita San etc., have already answered most questions. On the face of it, a nicely presented gun, I agree. You may want to source a proper hollow hinge pin. Strange marks on the barrel were often made by the vice when trying to open the large Bisen breech screw that Ron mentions above. (The screw sometimes gets split and destroyed in the process if not done correctly.) How is the inside appearance of the pan? Can we get a shot of that? Most importantly, once you know the barrel is clear, how badly pitted is it? If I am teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, please forgive me. Many extant examples were not kept clean inside, for a number of reasons, and blackpowder residue is especially unkind to steel, so you may want to take it easy on the charge in the beginning if you are planning to fire ball from it. As we know, these Tanegashima are pretty toughly made, though. Although it looks more like a Kunitomo gun, as Ron says, (lacking any of the gaudiness of Osaka guns), the smith Daishido Jinzaemon is a true blue Sakai/Settsu smith. Slightly unusual with a signed gun not to have the region 摂津住 inscribed above the signature. Congratulations on your purchase, by the way.

Not according to my wife.

Dango? Yes, Malcolm, that sort of thing! "Okashi-Ya" I think the couple said. All the instruments came from the cupboard of one old shop, but of them I found these three to be the most interesting, the rest being slim brass spoons of which I already have a couple. Not quite sure if a brass pastry cutter counts as Nihonto though...

Scraping a sake barrel is good, but noodle cutter is even better. John, you are in the right cricket ground... (just add a little sweetness). These were used in an Edo Period shop for producing

Until Sunday (yesterday) I had no idea what these were, and only when the dealer told me what it was did I decide to buy it. Since you gave it a try, Bazza, perhaps I should provide a very small hint. Look at the bottom edge...

Vagues is "waves" in English. Ohmori were famous for their amazing waves on fuchi and kashira.

Here's a slightly harder one. What is the purpose of this article? （Made of 真鍮 Shinchu）

Hello, your very elaborately worked kiseru is signed 大森作 Ohmori Saku, ie "Made by Ohmori". (Oh is a relatively longer sound)

Does this page help to get you moving again? http://www.sanmei.com/contents/media/A71229_PUP1.html

Hit 50 views, or close enough. So here is the answer. Been doing some running repairs on my armour. Each square of thick leather has been shaped to a dome with bent-up edges and dried. Nerikawa/gawa, then gold foiled and red lacquered and punched with eight holes. Some of the lacquer seems to be covering a piece of something reflective underneath...?　Haidate, (hakidate), goes under the gesan or kusazuri.

Good answer. It could be, or it could have been in a previous configuration, I can imagine. In this particular case though, it isn't horse armour.

Here's something different. No hints yet, other than it is Japanese and old, possibly even pre-Edo.

John, yes with that inserted you would not want to bend over. The 0, 10, 20 numbers that you can see go up in increments of 10 to 60, and that's it. :|

:lol: Ron, I didn't answer your post because I was, embarrassingly for me, still looking for the correct reading for that Kanji! The answer to your question above is yes, it is incised into the surface of the thermometer. It could be the old kanji for shizumu, botsu 没 but I am not sure why it would be written here, unless it means "insert from this end into the carrying tube". (?)

Just for interest here is a Maedate made from an old mirror, with a simple sear spring on the back of the handle. Probably Hachisuka. In the Tokushima Castle Museum I saw many examples of Manji in different contexts portrayed both ways, left and right.

He says he has the oshigata in digital form, but not everything was covered in those materials until the Bunka Cho ordered the Honma edition. If I got this right over a rather bad telephone line, there is a former Bunka Cho employee named Yuichi Hiroi (he has written books on Nihonto) who continues today to issue certificates for Juyo Bijiutsuhin that may have lost their original paperwork. He will certify that a sword someone possesses is indeed the same object as originally listed, although this paperwork is a private certification.

Dirk, you might be right, but my contact has not seen the 8 Volume work you mention. Is it all swords, or just a volume or two for Juyu Bijutsuhin swords? He said that after the war so many good swords appeared out of the woodwork, originally listed in old inventories, that from about 1950 onwards they gave up on that system of evaluation. They are not allowed to be sent abroad, but there has been a bit of a thing in the press just recently in Japan about the number of Juyo Bijutsu Hin that have mysteriously 'disappeared' off the charts, over 100 I believe. Each one needs to be re-evaluated at the point of sale to certify whether it can be released, or if it needs to be categorized upwards to Kokuho/Juyo Bunkazai.

Now Ron, that's not fair. I haven't told a soul. How on earth did you get that?

Would anyone like a) a hint, or b) a shot of the container opened up? Be prepared to be disappointed! Oh, alright then, a hint, in Japanese. メンバーで、科学者はいませんでしょうか？

Lee, I am pretty sure it is stag antler as you say. I have seen many Netsuke made of this material. Often the spongy inner core material is burned out, and the hole can be plugged. The tsuba maker has left a little of the antler outer skin, probably deliberately. (See illustration of edge) See http://netsuke.websitetoolbox.com/post/ ... stcount=11

Ah, so you've seen one before. I hadn't, but I was happy to pick this one up for next to nothing at an antiques show yesterday. Always useful to have a variety of spare tsuba material for tanto koshirae mix'n match. Christian, just as I pushed 'submit' your photos above appeared. Very nice example! Thanks.

These things handed down within the family have a special romance to them. Two Mon suggests this maybe part of a wedding dowry? (Although most families had several Mon including an Omote Mon and an Ura Mon.) Here is something especially hard for the members to knock their heads upon. The only hint is that it may be Meiji rather than Edo, but that is no hint at all. (I bought this as I wanted the container, but the content(s) is/are interesting in its/their own right.) Overall length, 39 cm, 1' 3.5", 1 shaku 3 sun. Break a leg. (I did)

Has anyone seen one of these before?

Stunning. Really great shots. Thank you for posting, even though I know very few of the people concerned.

Let me follow up on that Dirk. Bump this thread if I have not reposted by Monday. :lol: