Bugyotsuji

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.

That sounds pretty impressive. Congratulations, Paul!

OK, I'll go with that. I was looking at pic 3 only!

Looks like 備州長船　宗吉 to me.

Thanks for the close-ups, Jan. I see what you mean about a screw. The red one may have had a square hole which became mis-shapen from use of string or some kind of jag or worm fitment. (Which way is the end? Is that a spiral on the left?)

Justin, it sounds as though what you did was just fine. A wooden ramrod will look roughly the same for any Tanegashima, but the differences will be governed by barrel length, the diameter of the ramrod holder and the caliber/bore. Yours will be quite long and thin I should imagine. Guns look funny with nothing there, so cosmetically almost any material will do; oak has to be good. I was interested to discover what the most highly recommended wood would be and why. Over the years I have had occasion to make several of them, and you can see a collection on page 10 of this thread. You may find that the ideal ramrod slots into its pocket, hits the far end, and given a quarter twist will lock into place, with the flared end coming to rest just about level with the edge of the muzzle. The flare can be gradual the whole length, or it can be more sudden to gain a larger tamping face.

PS Last night I cut a slotted hole in the best ramrod and despite a wobbly start managed to finish up with a passable result. Phew!!! Pics of holes later, maybe.

Thanks for the sensible input, Brian. The funny story is that almost all the ones I saw were rectangular. For this reason all the experimental ones I made were slotted. Round at a friend's house last week (a sword expert, but not yet compeletely up to speed with guns... surely getting there though) and saw that all of his ramrods had round holes. For this reason I made the latest one with a round hole, partly in respect to him and partly because you can later change a round hole to a square one once you have the time and the confidence. On Sunday I was round at the Taicho's house and showed him the red ramrod. "Don't you know that the holes are supposed to be slotted?" he asked me in an accusatory voice. I laughed, as the sword expert who said the only old ones he had ever seen were round, was also sitting there. I then pulled out in proof my long piece-de-resistance, "Ta-taaaa!" and then to my horror saw it was blank, and remembered that I had hesitated to cut any hole in it in case I botched it, and had been waiting for the right moment to take the plunge. Not a leg to stand on therefore, as all my slotted ramrods were at home. At that moment he pulled out the very special beautifully fashioned short one from the Daimyo pistol we discussed above, and to his horror he saw that it has a round hole!!! :lol: