Bugyotsuji

Enjoyed those, especially the first. Thanks.

Now we start to get into difficulties. Different schools of gunnery called things by different names. We were simply after generalized names to begin with, but if you compare the charts above you will see some differences. For example although the trigger guard is Yojintetsu (Not you or yuo), with Seki guns (see the long snaky trigger guard) they are called Yojingane, or Saru-watari, or monkey slide. PS The vent hole is generally called the Himichi or 火道 literally 'fire path'. PPS There are several other words in the charts we have not listed yet. For example, Daikabu for butt, Kanime (crab's eye) for the moving/protruding tip of the serpentine catch, Ibo-kakushi (wart hider) for the distinctively-shaped little standing screen, piece of metal that hides it, and Wasoku ana, lanyard hole, etc.

NB Ron's list has those little updated spelling corrections that the image doesn't. (Sugawa used old-fashioned Romanization in his book, and his final editing throughout was sloppy.) I.e. Sakujo for Sakujuo, Byo for Biyo, Udenuki no ana, etc.

Recently I came across a Kama (sickle) which seems to have been made by a Katana-kaji swordsmith rather than by a No-kaji or agricultural blacksmith. Some of us have had a bit of a debate about this. It reminded me of those crossed Kama, in the Mon of Kobayakawa for example. Jin-gama literally means 'Camp-sickle'. Sasama says in his book Nihon no Katchu/Bugu Jiten, (and I translate): "The handles of those for the army camp were bound in metal, and fastened with Byo (Mekugi) rivets. They could be used simply as weapons, but also to rip down barricades of 'sakamogi' thorny brambles, to cut cords pegged and stretched out (designed to catch horses' hooves) and to clear paths through long grass, a weapon with many purposes". Would anyone have any specialized knowledge in this area, or illustrations of such Kama for comparison purposes?

You are welcome. Thanks for taking the trouble to do this Ron, something long overdue.

Chris, a katana, Mino smith 1942, 月仙 'Gessen' I think it was written in English. Katana, Noshu Seki Ju Kojima Katsumasa, 20th C. And Tachi by Imaizumi Toshimitsu, 1944, whose son chopped off his fingers and runs the 'Meito' Udon shop nearby, (sadly closed on Sundays). Otherwise at the end a Miya-iri Shohei Tachi of 1963, and a modern 2007 Tanto utsushi of Kanenobu/Kagemitsu, by the present-day Kagemitsu.

Well, that is roughly what the title is in Japanese. 「古刀・新刀・新々刀から現代刀まで」　"From Koto, Shinto, Shinshinto to Gendaito". Nothing on loan this time, they have gone through their vaults at the Sword Museum and dug out representative swords for an overview, but having seen them today I was quite impressed. Not stuffed with Kokuho, but good depth of quality throughout. If anyone is down in the west of Honshu it would definitely be worth swinging by, (and maybe catching the exhibit at the Fukuyama Castle Museum at the same time, which is stuffed with Kokuho, Jubun, Jubi, etc.). My favourites today were a Norimitsu 法光, and a Yosozaemon Sukesada in the Koto section on the ground floor. Upstairs were some eye-openers, including two Takahira, a gorgeous katana of 1833 and a lovely wakizashi of 1836. The beauty of some of those end-of-Edo Shinshinto swords blew me away, such as an 87.9 cm Sukenaga of 1841. Even a couple from WWII were seriously impressive, including a stunner from Imaizumi Toshimitsu. Naturally there were many Bizen swords, but the rest of the country was represented too. Musashi, Mino, Echizen, Shinano, Yamashiro, Higo, Bungo, etc.

Given the popularity of the Nozarashi skull-in-the-wilderness theme to symbolize loyalty beyond death to one's lord, I could accept the idea that these might be not fleshly but skeletal bones clinging onto the sword, even in death.

Too right!

A former British Airways pilot who flew the Narita/Heathrow route regularly, told me how he managed to fit a Yari diagonally into the cockpit on a return flight one time. (Among other things including a Nihonto, etc.) Incidentally after you guys posted photographs I realized that this has to be good advertising for the DTI and so I recommended suggesting lifting the ban to some dealers today.

Was there only in spirit this year, Guido.

To be so positive, he must have taken careful note of the Boshi and Hamon. (Of course, it could have been by Takemitsu or his disciple Chikumitsu.)

Chatting with one of the dealers last Friday and asked how the sales went. He said there was a slight overall disappointment throughout. Perhaps the general dealer expectation had been that with the cheaper yen rate there would be more overseas visitors carrying more ready cash. In the event there were not as many customers as had been hoped. I said that in my experience the prices at the DTI are too high and he agreed. Maybe some of the dealers set the initial price extra high to cover booth rental and in the expectation that there will be some inevitable haggling...?

According to various searches, Nanzan (no) Ju is a classical Chinese hope for a long future for the country of Nanzan, and by inference prayers for long life of a person or business. Could have been hung on a wall inside a shop or business premises? http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/165734/m0u/ 《「詩経」小雅・天保から》終南山が崩れないように生命や事業がいつまでも続くこと。人の長寿を祝う言葉。

According to one theory, the first percussion guns in Japan were invented by Yoshio Josan of the Owari Han, a doctor of Dutch medicine, and were called "Funho". He wrote "Fun Ho Ko" 粉砲考 a pamphlet about it, in 1842. It involved fitting a paper-wrapped cap explosive over a nipple in the top of the barrel and striking it. The nipple was roughly in line with the sights. There is an illustration on p.153 of Sawada. Could the hardened central striker section of the hammer have been lost/removed for some reason? The second and more convincing theory (according to Sawada) is that of the Seika Ju, invented by Kume Tsuken (Michikata). Kume described its completion in 1839 in a hand-written text called "Taiseikimei". The hammer (plugged serpentine top?) on this example looks a little similar to our example here, but hard to tell from one b&w photo. A pill-lock, it involved using a removable pin that was dropped on the explosive and hit from above. The old matchlock side pan was used, however. p.154

Ouch. Hope you were able to find something reasonable there!

I agree with what Ron says above. The inlay has been cleaned a little too often, I might add. This can be a problem as in the West people generally like the inlay bright and shiny when often silver for example may be best left black. The gun is from Settsu, although I had thought like Ron that it might be Kunitomo. The writing is quite stylistically exaggerated, so slightly difficult to read. 総巻張　（Thrice bound) 摂州住 Sesshu Ju (Living in Sesshu, the privince of Settsu, ie Osaka) 島谷喜八郎重光　Shimatani/Shimaya Kihachiro Shigemitsu There were various ways that the house of Shimaya/Shimatani wrote their Shima character, but within that forge there was a line of 13 who carried the name Kihachiro. The second in line uses the character Shige in his name, (Shigekazu) and Shigemitsu is the seventh down, putting him into the first half of the 1800s, ie late Edo, I would imagine. Thanks for the clear pics, especially of the signature.

Often matchlock serpentine heads were simply filled in with a striker plug, but in this case the specially-bent serpentine looks custom made? Was it an earlier percussion pill type? Doing some research on the Kamon, the Inage family of Sanuki, Kagawa Prefecture (originally fled from Chiba/Edo area) had three standing hawk feathers, Mittsu Narabi Taka-no-ha, but as far as I am aware not in a circle. 讃岐　Sanuki 稲毛氏　Inage Shi. See: http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil ... kanoha.svg Hawk feather Kamon images: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B7%B9% ... E%E7%BE%BD

Why split the pictures and threads? :| Interesting that the nipple is on top of the barrel, and not at the side. Missing the front sight.

As Bazza says, converted to percussion. It was an Ogino-Ryu gun, probably a Shizutsu (samurai gun). Judging by the hammer, screws, nipple, and trigger once converted from an earlier life as a matchlock, probably in the closing stages of Edo; then more recently partly converted back again to matchlock...? The muzzle looks good. The writing is saying 大和の守　之飾　Yamato no kami, Kore shoku/kazaru (decorated this?) .... (will check) It would be nice to see the whole gun, maybe half and half for ease of photography, from the side.

Love the link, Peter. Many thanks. (Funny the name is Ota again, written the same way too, although it's in Tokyo!)

Further thought leads me to feel that Ota Jo fits the bill here. The siege of Ota Castle, (now Wakayama Castle) in March-April 1585 (Tensho 13) by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his nephew Hidetsugu with 100,000 men, was one of the three great 水攻め water seiges of Japanese castles. It was defended by the Saiga Ikki, and remaining monks of Negoro Ji which had just been burnt down, so the exchange of gunfire portrayed has to have been particularly important as they were famous for their guns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_%C5%8Cta_Castle

Hint. The first character you should be looking for is 則 The second you are correct with -ko, (sparkle, light) meaningwise, but you have the wrong sound out of several possible for that Kanji. Look at the Kun reading, not the On reading. Good luck!

Good old feel to it. Interesting to see the two materials working together, ie brass dish on an iron stand. Someone recently handed me an old booklet written in pre-war Kanji and katakana, telling the known story of how he fought for Amako/Amago against Mohri, and witness accounts of how he died at the river crossing in Takahashi..

If it's translation you need help with, it mentions only rough physical characteristics, ie Wakizashi, length, sori, number of mekugi holes, Mumei and gives a date the paper was issued by the local regional Ministry of Education offices. On these registration papers you will not get mention of any era or anything artistic or historical.