Bugyotsuji

Agreed with the above, except that musket seems to have originated from bolts flying from a crossbow, a mouche, or fly (think 'mosquito'). (Dic of Etymology) Without source reference I find this hard to believe. If there had been such a 'rifle' in pre-Edo Japan it would surely have been a complete one-off. Japanese Wiki makes no mention of it. (Not that I am a Wiki fan...) If there was a remote possibility, I am sure some Japanese person would have written it here in the history of rifling. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9% ... 3%E3%82%B0

Hmmm... not sure how much help you want/need. Inside the spoiler is the name, still in Kanji, which might help you to look it up more easily... Yes, you are right on the last Kanji! If you get really stuck, we will help again! (Hoping you are not in a hurry)

Thank you for the kind sentiments, Ron. Allow a week to pass and all kinds of doubts begin to assail me concerning this over-long thread. The occasional reaction (of any kind) certainly keeps me honest!

Hmmm... now you have introduced a measure of doubt into my mind, John. No bad thing! For men, you think? One shows a fishing net suspended among some reeds. The other seems to be a scene from Lady Murasaki's Genji Monogatari. As to the 'hand-rolled pills' (I like the phrase) it was just the opinion of one blogger, but I see that they could have been any pill. The only ones I have come across recently are Jintan, and Sei-ro-gan, said to have been created for the Russo-Japanese war around 1904/5.

John, I don't know. Just now I found some similar boxes on a Japanese blog site, but the owner knew little about them. He had three originally but then found one more of a slightly different size, making four in all. His suggestion was for 丸薬　'ganyaku' which sounds like creosote balls for stomach ailments. (?) I wish I could find someone who knows. O-haguro sets for tooth blackening tend to be much larger, but yes, I have heard that court men also blackened their teeth for fashion. As to the two ivory Beni-ita-ire rouge boxes, I passed on what the dealer told me. He has sold me three of these so far. One I gave to a lady friend some time back. He seemed quite sure that a) a slice of Beni was inserted as necessary, and b) they would have been for a high ranking lady.

Eric, thanks for the feedback. Renewed my faith!!! :lol: Actually the little metal box set kind of mystifies me. Who made them, for whom and why? (Given to me by a collector friend.) Right now I am going to do a web search and see if I can discover anything... you have tickled my curiosity!

Lady's bits. The two flat containers are carved from solid ivory, one piece for the base and one for the lid. They would have contained a slice of 'beni' rouge for the lips. The Beni seller would come round with a block of it and slice some off. The slice was called 'beni-ita' and the container 'beni-ita-ire'. The little metal boxes would have contained various cosmetics, the whole ensemble small enough to fit into the smallest carry fold. Not sure on the age of this last. Guessing Meiji/Showa by the silk/velvety clasp material?

Actually you may have seen the top two already in this thread somewhere. I have grown old in the meantime. So here are the rest of the shots anyway. 5 x Different metals (?)

Well, there are rumours doing the rounds as to who shelled out such big bills for one Netsuke. (Think M.E. and give it a shake.) An Inro also fetched exactly the same price, BTW. Some collectors are smiling as they see this lifting the whole Netsuke value across the board. I received the Bonhams catalog(ue) today for last week's sale with Neil Davey's preamble in both E and J, and it is stunningly beautifully done. 35 GBP... & cheap at the price. Here is a mystery pic. Can anyone tell what they are? The square/rectangular objects are about the size of a small matchbox, but much thinner. The cloth case is about the size of a 100 yen lighter. It contains five objects, each about the size of a thumbnail and as thick as a Shogi (J chess) piece.

Is it related to Ten-nen Rishin-Ryu? http://www.tennenrishinryu.com/aisatu.htm

Although it doesn't actually say Hizen, but something broader that includes Hizen and Higo, you are just about there! PS The seller says it was 'authenticated' by an 'authenticator', OK, but presumably that person could not read the Mei. You have to wonder then as to what it was 'authenticated' as? A genuinely old Japanese sword? ...ie not a new sword?

Excellent. Many thanks Moriyama san! (And to John of course!) (I had wondered if it might not be this one: http://ja.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A5%90 )

Can anyone clarify this question? The lacquer school is to be read Koami, apparently. What is the artist's name? Some people see this as the known, recorded artist Gyosei 魚清　作 but the character is not terribly fish-like. Could this actually be a misreading by Wrangham, an elder 'expert'. Thanks in advance. http://netsuke.websitetoolbox.com/file?id=1230240

I'll go along with Chris there!

佳奥（？） no Kami, Fujiwara Kanetaka

Very interesting story and great write-up, Thomas. Yes, black powder is very expensive here in Japan and the paperwork involved is prohibitive. Naturally it has to go through the Police and they are so afraid of the possibility of accidents since whoever stamped the papers will be held responsible. We had a nasty accident earlier this year. I can find out the exact price if you like. The donation that is sometimes given for the displays is often not enough to cover the cost of our meals and the black powder. PS How on earth did you get a reproduction matchlock into SK? They are totally prohibited here.

Christian, many thanks for the insight. Much appreciated! This should give me a reason to start looking at Umetada.

Just had a quick ask-around about this with Japanese sword related people. Unlikely that a dedicated sword was created for the sole purpose of exection was the reply. Even the Yasukuni swords were all-purpose swords. It is possible, and I am imagining here, that in some WWII military situations, one large-ish sword was set aside for this job, as the officers may not have wanted to soil and clean their own swords on any kind of frequent basis. Whether such a sword was actually initially made for such a job is another question. When one was politely allowed to commit seppuku in older times, I believe the doer could designate not only his Kaishakunin, but also which sword he wanted him to use. It seems that the kubikiri knife pictured by Ford above was not a large weighty sword for public execution, but designed for the after-death severing of an enemy head, rather as the Yoroi-doshi also had a specific purpose.

I came across this tsuba. This is the background so far. Can anyone add or detract? Iron, 7.8 x 8.3~4 cm, 4+mm at nakago hitsu. Gold, silver, shakudo zogan. "Possibly Shoami, mid Edo". (Seller's words) Two hitsu ana with Shakudo fill-ins. Mumei. General wear all round. On the front is flowing water, a cupped water wheel in Shakudo gold and silver, a rock and a pine tree. "Yodo-gawa Suisha". On the reverse are five "Kui" posts, representing a river bank landing stage, or "Funa-domari". (Apologies for the poor-quality shots.)

Mmmm... good post, Pete.

Surely that's the force of the market. The dealers will push you down as hard as they can and then sell for roughly the price that you bought it at so that he/she makes a decent profit. Pawn brokers work on a similar principle. As to why collectors don't buy, maybe the times are changing, with less ready cash around, or perhaps you need to rearrange your shop window every so often.

Curtis , thanks for the information.

No attempt to be devious. Just outright lies from start to finish. With bad spelling thrown in. :lol:

Hi Mark, yes, that sure makes a lot of sense, not! :lol: I can get the general drift of the poem, and it is an interesting story with a sterling sentiment, but it would take me quite a long time to get names and places in Japanese and Chinese history down accurately without getting ostrich egg all over my face. I'll hold off in case someone else can step in for you. If I get some time over the next couple of days and no-one else has helped, then I'll start playing with it.

Thanks Ron. Have you seen some of the prices realized on the first day of the Harriet Szechenyi Netsuke and Inro sales at Bonhams in London... breaking records galore!!!