Bugyotsuji

Looking good. (Some of the hiragana needs extra proof-reading!)

Of course Yamamoto Kansuke is said to have died along with his two main retainers. Is there a third horse on the missing sheet? Just had hours of fun with that scroll, Malcolm. Thanks for the link. So much to learn, and so little time to do it...

Wow! That was clever, Brian! Now I am a little confused. According to this article, http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index. ... to_Kansuke ...he is reputed to have taken a spear and made his charge, so I had assumed he was the man on the black horse... yet the one on the white horse appears to be the central figure in the overall picture there, and is he carrying a spear too? Is this why Kuniyoshi returned to this theme later on? I.e. No-one could figure out who was supposed to be Kansuke? :lol:

Brian, try the Kuniyoshi Project link in my post above Malcolm's.

Update. At Malcolm's suggestion I have written to the Kuniyoshi Project to alert them to the left of my two prints above, a hitherto missing part of Kuniyoshi's work? As Malcolm says, this may prove to be the trigger for someone to come forward with a third sheet to complete the puzzle.

The 1840s was a period when the central government in Edo was alarmed at the encroachments of barbarians in China and worried that Japan would be next. Artists were advised to abandon using beauties and the pleasure quarters for subject matter and to help foster a renewed national interest in things martial. One of the things that interests me is to see how an artist in 1845 understood Japanese history at the end of Muromachi, (however accurate or inaccurate) and how that understanding was manifested in a popular woodblock print.

That was quick Malcolm. Many thanks as always. If I am not mistaken, the last line you mention (Yamamoto Kansuke Haruyuki Nyûdô Dôkisai uchijini no zu) is what is written in the top right corner of the right sheet, making the rider of the black horse Yamamoto Kansuke, right-hand man to Takeda Shingen, charging to his death in a hail of bullets at Kawanaka-Jima in 1561. If this is so, the gun would be one of the first guns used in battle, less than 20 years after guns first arrived in Japan. It looks suspiciously like the gun that is alleged even today to have killed Takeda Shingen, having no extant trigger mechanism. I like the fact that the gun is covered in black lacquer, (like one of mine) and the print shows use of shields. So the one on its own that I saw here is meant to go with the triptych right above it! なるほど http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Warrior%20triptychs%201845,%20Part%20II%20(T159-T172).htm

John, I can say no because I have had the benefit of reading some of the writing. When I bought the thing, I knew nothing about it. Thank you for having an honest go at it despite the fog of war!

Ron, you are on the right track. Apologies for the poor quality shot. Reflections on the glass make it worse. If you need any hints or closer shots, just say. Just hitting the sack, but I will check this thread in the morning.

Bought this in London recently. Properly framed conjoining woodblock ukiyo-e prints, either a diptych or 2 parts of a triptych (?) but apart from the single right screen of which I found one example, I cannot find another example of this work online. Created and printed in the mid 1800s, it depicts a scene from the mid 1500s. The important figure is on the horse with a yari in his right hand. A famous battle. Does anyone recognize a) The battle scene and figure, b) the artist and/or c) why I wanted this print? :| Close-ups also available upon request.

David, as Ron said above, the title is in Japanese, as is the book. It is published privately in Japan. Are you still interested?　The Hino gunsmiths section is pp 48-50... 日本の鉄砲鍛冶　－　主として鍛冶銘　－　占部日出明

Just happen to have brought one of the books with me, David, but unfortunately none of the Hino gunsmiths listed on 3 pages of signatures fits exactly with all the kanji on your gun... There is a simple Sukemitsu (if Koichi San is correct) listed but with no other information, ie Goshu Hino Ju Sukemitsu 江州日野住助光 To tell the truth, it is hard to make out the scratchings on the left facet. 木村吉本　平　? Kimura Yoshimoto ... Hira/Hei possibly? Two Kimura gunsmiths are listed but the endings of their names do not correspond.

Good stuff. BTW the fitting on the left in the bottom pic actually has 'Shibuichi' written on it.

Next Saturday, 14 Sept at the Tower of London. Is anyone else planning to go and support Ian there? :D http://www.royalarmouriesshop.org/tickets/lectures.html

My pleasure, Lance. Here he is giving his speech on Wednesday, and Tosho Mikami is behind the desk on the right. http://www.sanyo.oni.co.jp/news_s/news/ ... 0721420364

And then some smaller shots... :|

Three artists, one sword. In the camera I can find one bigger shot, Lance, taken before his book was placed in there... He used to write and have the illustrations done for him, so his series was always a cooperative work.

Curran, yesterday I had the fortune to attend a lecture given by the author of Lone Wolf and Cub, Koike Kazuo and he was discussing this subject. He said that swords can take on new life and meaning in the popular imagination if they are associated with a character, or characters. He called it getting the right hormones flowing. The blade Excalibur comes alive with the story of Arthur, he said. Dotanuki took popular hold when he chose it for his hero, and nowadays many people use the spelling "Do 太 nuki" he created in his story in place of the real spelling "Do 田 nuki". I thought of Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill, and some of the Muramasa legends, but kept my mouth shut. He told an amazing tale of travelling to the world Anime/Manga SDCC Comic-Con gathering in San Diego with the swordsmith Mikami of Hiroshima, carrying the specially-boxed 'Dotanuki' sword. They were stopped at customs and despite having all the proper documentation to carry it legally they were surrounded by security and taken to a special room where they struggled for more than an hour to explain what they were doing with this Samurai sword. Luckily they had a copy of the English version of the book and after many efforts of saying Rohn Ulf, they saw a spark of recognition in one of the security officers' eyes. Suddenly everyone was surrounding them for group photos and asking them for their signatures and things went smoothly from then on.

Your wish is my command! :lol:

As explained above, this is a cooperative event between three venues, so today with a free ticket in hand I took the opportunity to see how the Hayashibara Museum of Art in Okayama City are holding up their end of things. The museum is set within part of the former grounds of the castle and incorporates one of the old gates as its entrance. On display was an eclectic mix of historically and artistically interesting pieces. A cute and colourful set of Ikeda lady's armour. A marvellous see-through summer Jimbaori. Kawari-kabuto and a huge dragonfly maedate. Relics of Ikeda Tsuneoki who with his son was killed at the battle of Nagakute (1584), kept by the Tottori Ikeda branch. Several swords of interest including an Unsho tachi and a Kokuho Masamune tanto with koshirae that the museum is alleged to have purchased for 200,000,000 JPY. The anime wall panels were simply extra eye candy. More, but it's been a long day and I need to sleep! (Now I have the last of their three folders these places are handing out for the summer joint exhibition!) :D

John. Many thanks to all who took part! Ron, this is how it came to me, and I admit that I did indeed rub it a little with a very soft cloth. Pity about that patina though...

For a kiseru on the other hand, it was a little expensive for me.

Thanks for the extra shots. A tough one to shoot! Have you tried Kunikata 国方? ( From 大隈, 1716-1735 享保. p.150 in Kawaguchi & Iida's Toko Soran)

Three wider shots.

Today I stumbled over a Kozuka and after some struggle discovered the signature in the gold section reads Nagatsune, plus Kao. According to the Kokin Kinko Zenshu, and my trusty little Token Katchu Techo (with all you need to know about swords and armour at your fingertips), this would appear to be "Ichinomiya Nagatsune" of Kyoto who worked around 明和　天明, 1770-1788. It shows a well carved Chinese sage with a naginata on one side, with gold, silver and shakudo zogan, and some other hairy Yamabushi type fella on the reverse. That's all I know, plus one other thing... it was relatively cheap. The dealer gave me a reason, which apart from some minor damage, sorta, kinda makes sense. Any guesses as to why?