Bugyotsuji

Malcolm, I tried to reply but your pm replies are blocked/disabled. "I have little advice to give, unfortunately, as I do not live near there. If you can get to the O-Edo Antiques Market in Tokyo, however, then this one I can recommend." http://antique-market.jp/jp/index.html

George, Thank you for asking. I removed the three sheets from their frame and slipped them into the art folder which I took to the venue. When the 90 minutes were up, and the bowing and thanks were over, I realized that this whole chunk of the talk had been waiting untouched. They never got used. But during the course of this thread people have showed me new ways of considering this work, the times in which it was set, and the cultural factors behind it. For this I am very grateful.

Part of the problem is that the outside is covered in lacquer. To apply magic mixture onto the leather itself, you would need to be able to get your (wife's) arm down the inside of a long thin hard envelope that not only doesn't open but also threatens to crack.

Many thanks Ian, for the erm....　 RON, you had to go and ask, didn't you!?

Ah yes, thanks, now I recall. A lovely gun, that one, and a happy match!　

PS Remember your cover was probably made to fit a particular gun, possibly not a large one. My wife upon request made 20 assorted red cloth gun-covers for our squad, but she should have made them in S, M, L and LL... You should see the longer gun owners trying to bag the longest covers first...

Ron, I love that gun cover. Really nice. I have a similar one, but sadly at the point when I inherited it, (I should have stopped him) the friend who gave it to me cut it down and made it into a shorter 'holster' for my pistol. It too is very hard, but through use of gradually larger wads of newspaper (thinking shoe trees) and repeated insertions of the pistol it will take the short gun. The lacquer must have been a rain-proofing technique. I wonder how hard and/or flexible/ inflexible it was when new... I too would be very interested to see if Ian has any ideas.

Thanks Ron. With the new baby, in keeping with the ideas of reversibility and minimal intervention, I saved the original string and neckband. The spout cannula was loose and pushed too far in, the wrong way round; the interleaves (seppa?) were all insect-eaten and loose. The internal plug was jammed and seemed to have been glued in place into the flask body, if so a big no-no, since you immediately lose the ability to refill. The cap, the body and the ivory/bone locking pins were in good condition. The seed pod had in effect shrunk, tightening its grip on the plug, I discovered. Someone, trying to open it, had pulled loose the neck decorations. With a file I gently smoothed off the inner edges of the neck opening in the seed pod, rounded off the crudely carved sides of the plug, and applied candle-wax to enable subsequent ease of removal. I wiped everything to remove some of the accrued black powder remains, but not all. Just enough to make things work smoothly. By feel I found just the right position for the spout cannula tube to sit inside the plug, the lower edges flush internally with the plug, allowing for smooth pouring of powder from inside. There was a slight lip there where it stopped and sat happily. This cannula I glued in place with a wood glue. From experience of live firing, I know the cannula tube needs to be fixed properly. (Pour in the priming powder, tap tap tap... ooops. I lost one on the bridge at Tottori Castle in the heat of 'battle' and it reduced my ability to load the gun quickly by a factor of about 90%. Afterwards I was down on my hands and knees searching for it, in full armour and no specs.... PS It had actually been pushed down completely inside the flask where I later found it.) Finally I glued the 'seppa' plates together and onto the wooden plug. No point in being loose, and by pinching everything, ie plates and spout, it is easy to pull out the plug as a complete unit, as originally designed. The dealer had said on Sunday that it is not a particularly high class priming flask, and I had rejoined that I would be using it for parts anyway. Now though, I am reasonably happy that it has been 'restored' to working order. I would be tempted to use it for the next display, except for some residual concern about the slide-ablility of those strings. The cap always needs to drop back down quickly and easily to cover the spout. for reading.

Here is a variety of primer flasks. The very little one (Jacaranda nut?, Nata-no-Mi?)(Fuji-no-Mi, = Giant Wisteria?) I discovered at an early morning flea market today. Yes, some of us do get up at 5:30 am on a Sunday!!! I bought it for parts to fix the other one, but playing with it showed it to be viable as a unit, so I have fixed it and added it to the collection. I have affixed a picture of a larger flask for comparison; you will notice the construction is quite different, despite the similar shape, telling us that it is a coarse powder flask.

See an example of the One Mon coin on Henk-Jan's linked page above.

You could carry small beads (mame-kin, mame-gin) of gold or silver with you, but when you wanted to buy everyday necessities you would have these weighed and exchanged for square-holed copper cash Mon coins for your coin purse. There were 一文　Ichi-mon coins with the mark 文　on the reverse, and slightly larger 四文　Yon-mon coins with wave-patterns on the reverse.

Are you psychic, Henk-Jan?

Recently I met a nurse who studied Japanese literature and can read much of the old writings of the different ages. I have asked her to help me learn. I tested her this evening...

And thanks to you too, the date is confirmed as 'from Koka 4 Nen', the year that my Kumamoto Castle Hinawa-Ju was made! 　(But my 武鑑 is 弘化三年）

May I say that I am happy when a Japanese person is sure of the answer, but I am even happier when a Japanese person is NOT sure but gives me some indication, some opinion, even though it might be wrong. This helps me breathe more easily. Silence is particularly difficult to deal with. I hope that both of you will continue to give us your input, whether 100% accurate or 85% possibility. Having you two here makes this site the best on the web for me. It adds a very special dimension and helps me learn. You are like my parents, but they got divorced. I think we all understand that you have different personalities and different approaches, but we never question your motivation or dedication. Moriyama san, Morita san. Please know how much we value your input, both of you!

Just looking at my office calendar for May/June.

That looks good, Malcolm.

Many thanks Malcolm. I have found two or three relatively large repositories of his prints, and stylistically I am guessing the three panels were done from around Koka 4, or 1847~. In many (most) cases he specifies what he is portraying. I now believe he deliberately avoided doing so with the moated-castle scene.

Grazie mille, 'Renzo, but in this case I think you should keep it with the certificate as proof to the wife of your true worth. When you have more time and money, then please make something for me! (Before you become famous and too expensive...)

Thank you Moriyama san. I cannot find any record of such a series, though. Perhaps it was to be the first one but did not sell well! :|

Well done indeed! And to Rorenzo too, of course! :lol: You guys must all be very proud.

Thanks for showing that. Pretty sure I have a leather tsuba for a tanto at home. I'll check later.

Thanks for the input Mark. Every contribution helps push the truth up and out, I believe. Another very Japanese possibility that has been occurring to me since this whole discussion went off the boil, is that the artist did not want to rekindle old emotions. This was painted in late Edo, and the Bakufu system was still in full control over a 'peaceful' united country. By depicting Hideyoshi, he has removed the scene from any Tokugawa involvement. By making the defenders and the castle unrecognizable, he has avoided offending the family name of anyone or their offspring. No-one can take offense, and everyone can feel the glory of the heat of the battlefield, without anyone knowing the outcome, one way or another. A very diplomatic solution.

Hi, I can't see the central circle that you refer to, but there are 蔓　tsuru vines between the 樫　kashi/gashi oak leaves. It is a common combination with oak leaves and comes in many varieties. Look for "maru ni mittsu tsuru gashi", for example.

If this seller in Hiroshima is who I think it is, then he has a reason for not being able to read the signature. :|