Bugyotsuji

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:

What I heard regarding Juyo Bijutsuhin is that, being an old category and thus no longer a renewable category, they remain "Juyo Bijutsuhin" as long as no-one tries to buy or sell them. When they were originally categorized there was a huge variety in quality, ranging from the very good to the not particularly; they might have been part of a famous collection etc. At the point of any proposed sale, they automatically lose their old status/paperwork and need to be re-evaluated by a board of experts. If they get elevated to Juyo Bunkazai, then they move out of our reach, but the ones that get relegated and re-papered lower down become available for general sale. Now, I can go back to the source and re-check this if anyone requires.

Morita San, do you know roughly when this old-fashioned kana writing died out?

Actually the story with Juyo Bijutsuhin is slightly more complicated, although Dirk is essentially right, but I am on the iPhone and about to crash, so I'll post the explanation (which I heard over the weekend) tomorrow.

Hello Morita San. Hmmm... that was a little unexpected, but many thanks for the welcome feedback. Could it be 基礎　台, then, meaning a base for further work?

Would anyone be able to read this little strip of paper affixed under the lid of a kagamibuta Netsuke? Unfortunately it is half torn, lying right where something might be inserted to open the lid. I have tried my best to reproduce the writing but it is not entirely like modern Kana. To my eyes it looks like キ then... い?り?... then メ? and イ? with 濁点dakuten? Could the reading be kirimei, ie 切り銘? There is a carved design on the outside that looks like a 花押 kao. Wishful thinking? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Nice find! Remember not to try to clean it up any more as the Police will want to be sure it was found as is. Any evidence of attempts to polish it, etc., will not be received well. They can be extremely harsh with people who try to register an old sword and the experience often leaves people feeling drained, I have heard, even when the transaction was successful. They try to pick holes in your story and can make you feel as if you are doing something wrong. Good luck! Broken swords were often used as farm implements, for splitting bamboo etc. Depending on the length of the blade it might be wise to tell them about that section too, showing your honesty and giving them something to take away 'in exchange'.