Bugyotsuji

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 (?)

This little guinomi has 長春 written on the base, indicating it is by Ogasawara ? Choshun of the Imari, Nabeshima pottery. The writing on the side has me puzzled. The title Tailwind Voyage 順風相送 in Japanese "Junpu So-so" seems to be a sea chart or description of voyages kept by China Sea Chinese sailors in the 14th and 15th C, in the Ming Dynasty. (Lately it is being quoted to support China's claims on those islands half-way between Taiwan and Okinawa, but that is not the purpose of this request.) Can anyone tell me what the rest of the writing says? I can see 去　福縁X晴 来　? but what does it mean? Whoops, pics 2 & 3 are the wrong way round!

Or even an art name, suggesting that the artist lived/worked in a group called the "Literature State Castle" deliberately substituting 文 for　武? Ah, so you think that the name starts earlier and the last two characters mean a "true likeness" or "faithful copy'?

Just trying to think why such a thing might not be welcome and one possibility which comes to mind among others is that the sword would have to be registered here. This is not an easy thing to do for the average person, so just imagining the task alone might put them off. Many sword owners here keep their ownership completely secret. They may not wish others to know of the existence of the family treasure. They may be afraid of the wrong sort finding out and burgling the place, with the resultant responsibility afterwards for "negligence". Would they need to install a safe in the house? The husband might be agreeable, but once his wife finds out then the whole deal could get thrown out. Nowadays people live in much smaller houses, not the large Kominka of old. Does the sword have a bloody history? Even such a possibility alone could be enough to freak anyone out; Japanese tend to be quite superstitious. Even so, rather than doing nothing, contacting one person in the family and popping the question does seem like a good idea.

Eric, yes it has been a really interesting discovery for me, but to most people this is probably the most mind-crackingly boring thing in the world! Glad to know that some people are pulling them out in wonder and seeing things anew! Season's greetings.

My computer does not express some of the Kanji there, but the lower half seems to be The third character may be an old form of Toride/Sai 塞, possibly meaning the Fortress of Bushu, wherever that is? Then the family name Motoshige, and the first name (101 ways to read those two together), followed by 'copy of' or 'reproduction of'...? If anyone can adjust this in anyway I would be glad to learn. The above is just a guess based on some old reference books here.

The first half is easy 豊臣秀吉公小具足　

This time I made sure to get some shots of the Karuka from the Lord's butterfly Mon pistol which I mentioned above (Pistol itself not shown). The ramrod looks to have been covered in lacquer which has mostly rubbed off, leaving only the exposed part. The slimmer end is decorated with a silver cap.