Bugyotsuji

Jan, check out the Mo-ri Kamon, ichi (one) stroke on top and three hoshi (stars or dots) underneath. Mohri, Mouri, Mo-ri were based there. 長門 Nagato Mittsuboshi

Now I need to be clear that I am not recommending this in any way, but when I am in Japan I have used this with good results. What is good for an expensive car shine... What will happen ten years down the road I have no idea. I would suggest using it (or something similar) on experimental bits, but I would not use it on my very best pieces. When in the UK I have something similar, but cannot remember the name right now, so I have called it magic gunk. It cleans, fills in tiny scratches in the surface, protects and brings up a wonderful shine. It lists 'resin' in the applicable surfaces. http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%97%E3%83 ... 2_edpp_url

Going back through some old photos. Bought this a while ago and it came with a flat Urushi drinking dish. Gave it a bit of a clean with a dab of magic gunk, the stuff they use for glass, mirrors, car paintwork etc.

Bit of teamwork really feels good! Here is the "2012 Best Scenes" video again, but now with some English subtitles artfully blended in by our splendid cameraman! Enjoy it more!

Thanks Ron, but it's just the one video which contains scenes from 2012, a compilation, set to Bolero. About 15 mins long. The first one that comes up. If you liked that one, then go over to some of the others on the right indeed! :D

A friend's set.

Oops, there's an illustration on p416 in Sasama too.

Jack, there are several pages in Sasama showing some evolution in Abumi, pp 411-422. In another book I found a detailed illustration with the names of the Abumi parts. Do you need the readings in English?

You spotted Wally? :lol: These were taken in the west of Japan, mainly in Tottori, Okayama, Hyogo, Kyoto and Tokushima. The place with the tower is Tanabe Castle in Maizuru, where the Hosokawas were located in Oda Nobunaga/Hideyoshi Muromachi/Momoyama. I bowed to Mrs Hosokawa (wife of the ex-Prime Minister) as she was there to wave the Saihai and shout "Hanate!!!" (In a previous year they asked me to step forward and fire my long gun for the salute as it is a Hosokawa gun from Kumamoto Castle in Kyushu, a later Hosokawa stronghold.) Ball for the 100 Monme hand cannon

Beautifully done. What a work!

This is my rough translation of the titles and subtitles and some of the background calls. The video link is below that. Find somewhere you can turn the volume up loud, or use earphones! 備州岡山城鉄砲隊　Bishu Okayama Jo Teppotai (Okayama Castle Matchlock Troop) Scenes from 2012. 1. 礼射　Reisha (Opening Salute) with single 馬上筒 Bajo-zutsu (cavalry pistol) @1:52 2. 軍用筒　立ち放し一斉　Gunyo-zutsu (Army long guns) Tachi-hanashi Issei (Standing Line broadside/s) 2:39~ 構えてKamaete! (Get ready to fire!) 火蓋斬れ Hibuta Kire! (Open your panlids) 放て　Hanate! (Fire!) 　 3. 膝台放ち　Hizadai Hanatchi (Kneel & fire) 3:30 4. つるべ撃ち Tsurube Uchi ("well-bucket drop" quick succession fire) 4:19 5. 千鳥の構え　Chidori no Kamae (Mixed Kneel & Stand) 順射　Junsha (Fire in regular succession) 5:08 6. 公開演舞　Kokai Enbu (Show & tell the public how to load a matchlock, abridged) "Remove one preload from your Do-ran case, pour powder and ball down muzzle, ram home with ramrod, pour priming powder into pan,... blow and place your matchcords", etc. 7. 馬上筒 Bajo-zutsu (pistols in line, for those that have one) 6:48 8. １０匁士筒　Ju-Monme Shizutsu (10 Monme, 18 mm diameter lead ball, Samurai heavy guns) 7:52 9. ２０匁大筒　Niju-Monme Ozutsu (20 Monme = 22mm Large Guns, or Hand Cannons) 9:08 10. ３０匁大筒　Sanju-Monme Ozutsu 10:47 11. ５０匁大筒 Goju-Monme Ozutsu 12:20 12. 100匁大筒 Hyaku Monme Ozutsu 14:00 (Hand cannon fired by the Taicho) First posted on NNK; I have now slightly improved my own translation. A version with this English translation will be appearing on YouTube soon.

The tag reads 大日本国防婦人会

On top of the rump above the tail... Quite sexy!?!?

Does anyone know what this is? From about 1700, apparently, around about the time of the 赤穂浪士 Ako Roshi incident?

Jan, thanks, but his left arm seems somehow a little short. Nice golden nipples, though. Notice the smoke rising from some excellent incense I picked up in Kyoto. Malcolm, forgive the oversight, but I have just looked back and seen your link to the American woods book. It looks an amazing work. My NBTHK sword teacher loves wood as a material for working on, and the resultant patterns in the surfaces. Perhaps years of reading Nihonto has given him a fatal attraction. He particularly likes Kuwa (mulberry) and the other day pulled out all the boxes and things he has nested away over the years. Recently he has been furiously working on Bunchin paperweights, to give to friends, I wonder? Into a bar of selected wood he drills a large hollow, fills it with lead, and seals the end inconspicuously. Much rubbing and polishing later and there is a weighted block of mulberry, or maple, or sakura, or Keyaki (Zelkova). At our sword meeting on Saturday he couldn't breathe, his nose blocked by sawdust. He looked quite ill, actually.

Your link below pic 2 does not work for me. Edit: Now it does! Thanks for posting. It stimulates the juices of imagination.

Some lovely examples. I have seen these at 150,000 yen in Japan before the bubble burst, but Ron's suggestion of 1,000 US for insurance purposes seems about right to me too. The two I owned both had strong springs, but one had a split in the head of the iron flint-holder screw, and the other had a worn lip in the iron cover square catch hole. So you see each one is likely to have some small problem, hand-made as they were back in Edo times.

Jack, I know even less, but I had seen an article by this guy the other day where he was discussing Abumi, so that is why I suspected he might be able to tell me something. The one thing I gathered as I flicked through his article is that the longer the Abumi are, the more age they are likely to have. There were illustrations with measurements explaining some of the salient features. (Maybe I should have a quick read up in Sasama's Bugu Jiten.)

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...