Bugyotsuji

Showed your Abumi to an expert in Japanese armour/armor today. They look like Kaga work he said, and the name there is typical of Kaga Zogan artists. The Abumi themselves are Edo, he said, and he made a note of the name and promised to find out more and let me know.

KoBizen? AoBizen? I took it to the Kantei in the Bizen Pottery Kaikan in Imbe, Bizen to let the experts decide. Several hours later it was tagged "Not". The reason? Bizen pottery up until the end of Edo is considered 'old Bizen' 古備前　Ko Bizen. This Koro was made 'around' (either before or just after the end of Edo), and in the absence of total agreement they felt it safer to label it not KoBizen. :lol:

I like that, Jan. In the shape of a yoroi-bitsu, and the kabuto somehow reminiscent of Boy's Day, (5th May). Yes, the air smells much fresher now! This is a good change for the Edo Period corner. Has anyone else got a Koh-ro to share? (I'll post mine too!)

是宗　是城とも言う At the top, "Koremune" and below "Alternatively Koreshiro" (?)

Starting from the right, the last two columns on the left? The first column is divided into 1. Mei on Front: "Kore 口" = 是 + something they cannot read. 2. Mei on Reverse. "Nothing" The second column with red writing says the certificate was reissued or updated on 7 July Heisei 21, as Jean said above. The issuing authority is the Shizuoka Board of Education. The sword should not have this certificate with it abroad, and if possible you should cover up the registration number. You could be getting a dealer into trouble by posting it.

Good posts, Malcolm and Steve. My Karuka is slim enough to fit into the socket, but it has a bow to it that makes it a tight fit and difficult to remove. PS How did you know what tramps' toes smell like?

Malcolm, I fell asleep three times while reading that but I got to the end eventually. Mandatory reading for anyone proposing to work with wood. Glad I didn't see this before I started. What a complicated world we live in...

Chris, that's what the dealer said it was, a 15" section of the 主柱 omobashira from a Tokonoma. Really heavy. Whereabouts in Japan was your house? :lol: Sub-block, rough cut-out, and experimental finished ramrod.

John, interesting post, thanks, and.... chuffed, yes indeed! :lol: We are having a party on Sunday with all the characters from the teppotai and people will be bringing interesting 'bits' of this and that. I will be carrying some recent experiments in karuka, and a question about the silver signature on a pair of abumi. Brian, you should have seen when I blew my nose last night. All black, every speck of it!

Black persimmon (kurogaki) story, Pt II. The big block I have left at a friend's house while we think of something to do with it. The smaller section I took to a friend who has a circular saw and asked him to slice it lengthwise into six square x-section sticks. He took one look at it and said "No, too dangerous and not enough grip on it. What do you want to make?" "Karuka" I answered. He laughed. "Don't you know that karuka are made from Akagashi?" Hmmm... I was going to give two of them to him and a mutual friend. Later I went round to the hardware store and asked if they could run it along their circular saw. "Muri 無理" said the chap in uniform. What do you mean, Muri?" I asked but he just repeated "Muri desu". Hmmm... so I went in and bought a handsaw and spare blade. The cover said it was the right size and sharpness of teeth for hardwood, eg ebony etc. Late this afternoon I started sawing the first long cut on the table in the garden. What a labour/labor of love! Kurogaki is pretty hard stuff. It took me much cursing and fumbling and cutting of fingers to come up with a suitable block. The blade bent and the end snapped off. There was a strange smell of vomit all the while which I thought was maybe residual nuts from the Gingko tree that I had stepped on, but then it dawned on me that persimmon wood itself smells bad. Akagashi smells fresh like pine and artisans must have appreciated that over the centuries. Is it partly a purity thing, I wondered, that Japanese weapons makers chose akagashi for yari handles and gunstocks? Anyway, seven hours of filing and sanding later, it is 1:30 am and I have just finished my first Karuka out of persimmon, with wavy black stripes in the dark wood. This'll show them it can be done, was my guiding thought. It's not too bad a result, if a little bent and twisted, but I would not recommend anyone doing this in black persimmon. :lol:

They are beautiful! There is someone I am meeting on Sunday who might be able to answer your question, but he doesn't have e-mail so I will wait till then and look for an opportunity if I am not too drunk.

Justin, can you remind me of the caliber/bore again? As to the Mekugi (same word as for swords) you can make them yourself from bamboo. Put a slight taper on them, smooth off the ends, and they run through from the right of the gun (lock side, viewed from above) to the left. Ideally if you can find it, smoked bamboo. (susu-dake)

And I have found a dated gun made by your same gunsmith, "Kunitomo Kojuro To Setsu" marked with Kitae Ni-ju Makibari, Bunsei 7. (1825)

Ay, yes, and Justin, did I mention that Tsuji seems to refer to a Kunitomo lockmaker of the 天保 Tempo Era, 辻村長右衛門 Tsujimura Chouemon, according to the researcher Mr Urabe in 'Nihon no Teppo Kaji', p48.　(No, I didn't as I didn't have this reference back in 2007.) The same author lists a Toshimasa as inside your stock, Tanaka Matashiro Toshimasa, same characters, in the Bunka Period.

Justin, what is written underneath is just a description of the style of Mon. Often Mon on guns were added later for all kinds of reasons. Even today people will ask traditional craftsmen to add a good one (sometimes not so good) to increase the value of the gun, choosing a Mon that may simply be popular in that area for example. Makino is such a well-known Mon that it may be better not to define it any further and just go with that. Does it tie in with the Mei in any way?

Also, look at the size of the central dot. Nicely done Mon, by the way.

There seem to be various words to describe ways of fixing a gold surface to an object. You can have Nunome Zogan, Hon-zogan, Kin-paku and Tokin, for example. If you are wanting a Japanese word, in your case it may be Tokin.

Jan, yes, I think you have hit the nail on the head. An easy way to judge/adjust the exact load for your gun. That tube holds what, about 6-8 gm? PS A funny thing happened today. At an antiques fair I found a fairly large and heavy block of Kurogaki (black persimmon) and the dealer kept telling me how valuable and rare it was and how many pairs of chopsticks I could make from it. Yes, I nodded vaguely, thinking Karuka, and eventually bought the thing. Later I mentioned my idea to the leader of the matchlock troop and he said "Don't you know that Karuka were made from Red Oak?" Hahaha, that just goes to show how receptive some people are to new ideas! :lol: Anyway I want to make one from black persimmon, even if only for my own amusement. My wife's reaction was, "Please make some earrings with it."

Thank you, Malcolm, I enjoyed that. A pity the moment the point is inserted into his fist is missing. It seems that they strike the steel to get it hot and use that to light the straw...? He must have thick and calloused hands not to get burnt carrying the flame like that. The comment towards the end was interesting where he said, "People often think that the Nihon-to is a Buki. a weapon 武器, whereas it is really Mamori, protection 守り". Perhaps the meaning of protection is spiritual fortification and pure energy for the soul, as much as, if not more than, mere physical defence/defence.

Kunitaro San, two of my Chinese exchange students have confirmed your reading as being correct. Many thanks again.

Perhaps the "lucky treasure" carried by such ships could include products of the Nabeshima Pottery?

Mmm... I like that Kunitaro San. Many thanks! Black ship? Yes, those masts and rigging certainly do not suggest a Chinese junk.

Could 去　来 mean 'coming and going' ? and the rest 福建 province in China? 慶 Kei, 'congratulations' ...or Amoy アモイ　シアメン　a town in Fukien, Fujian Province from whence many people set sail to other countries? and 清 Qing of the Qing Dynasty 清朝...??? or are all these lucky words 福　縁　慶　晴?

They look good!

I know it is better not to post until you are 100% sure, but even so, here is a 75% version based on the upside-down signature! 関住　川崎　兼泉作 (?)