Bugyotsuji

Sesshu Ju Kuni-...xx Agreed.

John, can you get two or three closer shots of the Mei. The first character is visible, the second is fuzzy and... where is the third, down left? Is it a Kao? A very pretty object, by the way. There are nine metalworkers starting with 篤 Atsu in one of my books here by the way. 篤興 篤良 篤旨 篤昌 篤明 篤行 篤二 篤弘 篤義

The angle on the Nakago-jiri

Very quick update on this yari. I took it round to the sword sensei for consultation over polishing and we were discussing the possible smith again, and the way the nakago has been cut off with a diagonal finish. Sometimes spears are rusted into poles in in such bad condition that a cut is made right across and through the shaft and the nakago, he said. In this case it would appear that the person who maybe did this made the assumption of Mizuta Kunishige, and thus ended off the remaining part of the nakago at an angle with that in mind. The Mei, however, compared to Oshigata and Mei references, is more likely a mid-Edo Bushu/Musashi smith, he said, possibly connected with Yasukuni.

My biggest mistake was trusting a 'financial adviser' 'friend' who pushed me into investing 80,000 USD of my savings, among other things, and then scarpered. Took me years to get over the shock of that, especially as he had told me he would guarantee the initial investment, and I had told him the money was for my daughter's education and thus I wanted a decidedly low-risk investment. Still have his signed letter agreeing to pay me back... Since then I have learned to be a little more circumspect. Having a J wife has helped me learn too. As for sword-related purchases, two rusted arrowheads a couple of years ago take the cake, I guess. Chinese fakes with the latest upgrades. But as the Japanese say, if you have learned a lesson from your purchase, then the money spent is school fees. 授業料 Jugyo-ryo.

October 2014?

Chatting with a couple of guys at the dinner last night who had come from Hakata (even though the Kyushu bloc was not part of the Taikai). Both really interesting and active in very different fields. The one sitting next to me grew gradually drunker on Shochu, (the other guy was drinking Sake from a small wine glass) but he lit up when I asked what swords he collects. "Three factors rule my choice in swords", he announced. "Number One is スタイル (style)." Here I had to stop him. "Why are you using a Katakana foreign word? Isn't there a Japanese word?" "Well, the Japanese word is TAIHAI, but most people would not understand it and you probably won't find it in your dictionary," he replied. "So I say sutairu (style). That is the most important factor for me. The moment that I set eyes on the Heian JIdai Ken I was glad I came all this way." (I DID find taihai 帯佩 in my handy dictionary by the way, but he said the characters were wrong!) "Number two is Tetsu-aji," he said, "the quality/appearance/texture of the iron in a blade. No particular area of sword manufacture. Koto, especially those of the Kamakura Period have a wide variety of impurities in the them, and it is this lack of consistency that I like, as opposed to the smoother blend in Shin and Shinshinto swords." "And my third criterion is the Hamon. Suguha if possible. I do not like flamboyant Hamon..." I told him it was refreshing to chat with someone with a clear philosophy, not necessarily following the crowd. Or was he just phrasing things in a different way?

The Convention just finished. The first sword was a Mumei Heian blade, a "Yamato Ko-Ken" from Yaegaki Jinja. Beautiful. The leading edges had Hamon, but the waisted part seemed to lack them, either right from the beginning of time or from Togiberi. A heavy object it was indeed! Tokubetsu Juyo Token. Sweaty time at the dinner when they asked me to give the toast in Japanese. Had five minutes flat to learn my lines. Talk about nervous tension! You could have run a light saber off my system.

I have a feeling it is being recycled, but there might be an extra lock set in there somewhere. For a pistol, right? Will ask, Brian. Oh, and Jean, believe me, you do not want to go there.

No, luckily this time surprisingly no-one was hurt, Ray. Brian, the simple answer is that the middle section blew into many pieces and got lost in the long grass. The foresight section, and the breech with pan and lid were found. The gun stock splintered and shattered. I took some photos, but that was considered a breach of etiquette.

With zero information, that's good going Ray. Part of a matchlock pistol that blew up. An artisan made a 'Netsuke' from it.

She needed a new ring.

Thanks Ian, an interesting lead to follow.

Mystery object, seen worn around a young lady's neck yesterday.

Small update on this. Recently I was told in the Osafune artisan/collector community that this is definitely a Kusari-gama, and not a Jingama, because it has a hole in the blade, and the overall quality makes it infinitely higher on the pecking scale. "Please lend it for exhibitions as there are few like this around", was one request. Two or three people have advised getting the shirasaya lacquered, so I have two or three candidates for that, ranging from amateur to professional. (And no, I will not be attempting it myself!)

Some rather splendid examples. Thanks for sharing.

1. On May 9th the Chugoku/Shikoku bloc of the NBTHK are having a big gathering hosted by the Okayama Ken Shibu at the Convention Center behind the station. A couple of thousand JPY just to get in and have a gander, but there will be 40 blades, 26 of which are Juyo, one Jubi and three Tokubetsu Juyo. The swords belong to members from Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori, Shimane branches, and then from Shikoku: Sanuki, Kagawa, Tokushima, Ehime and Kochi. 2. At the Osafune Token Sword Museum on the ground floor there is an exhibition of 16 swords of the Bakumatsu, which runs until 17 May. (They have a French tour group arriving next Saturday). The oldest dated sword on the list is 1836, but some at "19C" may be earlier. Some stunning examples, eg 5 Sukenaga, then Sukehisa, Sukenari, Sukenao, Takehira, 4 Sukekane, etc. The second floor has a selection of 24 swords of all regions and ages.

The decoration? Thus. The aogai abalone inlay is falling off like dandruff. The saya has a little ring for the yari jirushi.

I shall look forward to that Ian, both the images, and the book.

Apologies, this was harder than I thought. Ignore shots # three and four above. Here is a definitive shot of the three side facets! (Right side)

LOL @ Brian. I was hoping someone would not ask this question as it is the logical way forward, sure, but it means dismantling it again and taking some closer shots. OK, yes, I enjoyed the process. Grrr... Right. If these shots are in the right order, you should see in pic 1. that the eighth facet of the Kerakubi lies flat with the 'underneath' base of the triangle, (and aligns correctly with the Mekugi ana). Pic 2. The fourth facet lies flat up against the apex of the triangle, (and aligns with the Mei on the Nakago). The first, second & third, and the fifth, sixth & seventh, three each side, large and small, form bilateral symmetries. Pic 3. from right, pic 4. from left.

Recently a yari was thrust this way and I took the bait. The pole is just under 12 feet long, so to confuse my wife's eyes I have placed it on top of the curtain rail upstairs where it has blended in with the furnishings, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The tiny head is conversely 6.5 cm long, (7.0 cm including the Kerakubi), so no registration paperwork needed. Sadly part of the original Nakago has been lost. Yesterday I showed it to a sword polisher who, unusually, particularly likes arrowheads and spear points. He went into ecstasy about the Kerakubi collar, calling it "sekushii". The Nakago is four-sided, the blade is a perfect equilateral triangle, and the ruff/collar is eight-sided. "Look how each facet is differently cut, to make all eight line up with the three blade faces, forming a 'front' and a 'back'!" he enthused. The Mei is 山代守国重　Yamashiro no Kami Kunishige. "This will be Osaka work; no country smiths would bother to do this." "This is a Kago-yari", he said, "and should be on a short pole for self defense when inside a Norimono/Kago, where a sword could not be drawn." When I asked the price for polishing and shaping, I was forced to draw a sharp breath, even before considering the cost of having a shirasaya created for it. (My ship should come home sometime in the near future, I hope. In the meantime, lottery tickets?)

Cher Fromaes, 1. You can find some description of them in English on page 12 of Sugawa San's book. In fact the gun has the same red velvet background as the one you posted yesterday, so it could be the same gun. The short story can be found on his website here: http://japaneseweapons.com/hinawajyu/shurui/english.htm In Book II from pages 50-60 there is a detailed account of Seki guns, but in Japanese. 2. Sawada San has written in some detail in his book, about Yonezawa on page 86, and on pages 102-107 about the closely-related Seki (Mino) guns, but again in Japanese.

As Kronos says the Makino used this. Mittsu-gashiwa 三つ柏, three oak leaves. Originally connected with Jinja/Jingu shrines as the sacred Kashiwa oak leaf. In this wide-leaved form used by the Lords Makino, Chiaki, Nakagawa and Hachisuka, but in a thinner-leaf (propeller/-or) format by Yamauchi/Yamanouchi of Tosa.

Ah.... that would have to be on another thread. Hmmm...