Bugyotsuji

Been away. Apologies. Will reply asap.

John, thanks. Yes, the pronunciation Kyu- sounds more natural than Ku-. The ending of names like this always sound like '-bei' to my ear, and I believe they were shortened thus.

The books are supposed to be a literal translation, but there are many differences. Even in the original Japanese the same earlier provisos about pinches of salt still apply.

The Mei is: Go-shu　江州　(east of Ohmi & Lake Biwa) Kunitomo Kubei (?) XX (?) The other inscription is the method of manufacture of the barrel. 二重巻張　Niju Makibari The first character looks as though it has a hit on it, but usually if a barrel was bound in the manufacturing process more than twice, then it would not say 三重 but 総巻張 So-makibari, (Full/complete binding). So I am guessing it should be saying two... 'Steel double-twist bound'.

You must be hot in Melbourne right now! I for one, very much look forward to the material when it comes.

John, you are correct. Anyone reading this thread and the above link should always remain sceptical. His website and the books need to be taken with a large pinch of salt, but there are nevertheless some good photographs there. Your question about Hayago. Yes, there were some very simple cardboard or even paper twists which could not really be used more than once. As far as I am aware, they were not sold all made up like that as cartridges, (unlike in the West) but probably handmade and handfilled. Until recently I had a couple for the neckstring, but they soon got squashed and crumpled after five or six displays.

Without stuffing the bandwidth too badly, (for more than one, we could show them together in one pic to start with, for example), would anyone be interested in showing their Tanegashima? Perhaps we could get a body of general knowledge rolling. Presumably people have seen Mr Shigeo Sugawa san's books in Japanese and English, and his website here: http://www.japaneseweapons.com/index.htm

The name of the slices is Kyogi (経木). Ref. http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kyougi/newpage5.htm Excellent link, Koichi san. Many thanks.

Tom, Many thanks for the good advice. In fact that is pretty much what the guy did. He had a drawer full of curly shavings and did the work in front of me, eventually cutting the sliver down to such a small size. He said that it should go above or below the Habaki, depending on the resultant 'look' but not at the sides. As you say, give it plenty of time to dry. His final advice was, once dry, file it gently down until the tightness feels right.

Trawling an antiques fair this morning I came across some Ukiyo-e in terrible condition. The dealer said to me, "Well, you're not going to believe this, but they are genuine Hiroshige." :lol: Utagawa Hiroshige, 1797-1858. There were five from an 1855 set originally called 五十三次名所図絵 or Pictures of Famous Places on the 53 Stations. (No 13, Numazu; No 17, Yui; No. 49, Saka-no-shita; No 52, Ishibe and No.54 (!) Otsu.) There was also one from an earlier set, 江戸名所　titled Toeizan Temple in Ueno. (He threw in another as a gesture, but later print, not Hiroshige.) Well, I like a challenge. The backs looked as if they had been pasted onto a Byobu screen at one time, and then pulled off with parts of the screen still attached. This evening I decided to attempt to clean one of them, the one in the worst condition. No heartache if it fails, I thought. Terribly faded, stained and torn, it has probably been burnt brown in the sun too. Below you can see a before shot and an after shot. Can anyone see a difference? I used the super gentle method, twice for good measure. You can see a thumbnail of No 49 Sakanoshita, here: http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=QvTY ... 55&f=false

Sorry but I am not familiar with the Skip Method. Your numbers therefore mean nothing to me and I am unable to comment... :?

Whoah, you're pulling me into deeper water. I like my paddling pool here.

Barry, I have your copy sitting here and waiting to be sent. Forgive the delay. Just laziness. A while back I saw a Fuchi kicking around at a stall and bought it on impulse. I do not collect furnishings separated into pieces like this. I was planning to give it to my daughter who is a bit of an artisan. This week I bought a new digital camera with the ability to get within 1 cm of an object, and these are the very first attempts. Low density pics, most with no flash. What do you people think?

John, it's still moving. Bit of a waste of electricity. Did you forget to switch it off?

Hi Jean, Happy New Year. Surely you didn't learn those in France! I learnt them at school in bonny Ecosse.

Just remember that a proper polish of the blade might cost more than 100 dollars an inch.

Well, M.Lee, what do you have? You have a very good camera, a sword blade and a set of fittings, with a businesslike Tsuba. The Fuchi Mei is upside down. The Nakago Mei reads

What the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp. Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears And watered heaven with their tears: Did He smile His work to see? Did He who made the lamb make thee? Tiger Tiger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? The Tiger William Blake

Brilliant stuff. The last one is great!!! The wife is in the kotatsu watching TV. I called her over to see these but she just grunted, glued as always to the screen. Plus ca change...

These can probably still be ordered direct from the Museum, as in the link above. A friend had a few copies and there are two left. One of those I have asked him to put aside for me and I have just asked him to keep the other one for you, Barry. (If you could PM me your address.)

Small point, but the Nakago says Bishu, and the Saya says Bizen.

The final weekend of 2009 and Twenty-Ten approaches. Two of my Tanto have loose-shutting Saya. This can be dangerous, so I have asked for the Koikuchi and Saya inner to be adjusted with a sliver of something to create a tighter fit. Yesterday I purchased a very good book on Tanto, put out by Sano Bijutsukan for an exhibition running from Nov 28 till Dec 23 2009. Tanto no Bi, Kurogane no kirameki. I was assured by someone that I respect that this book is excellent. The photos are so clear that even unwanted scratches show up. (!) For anyone studying Tanto, this book is quite informative, indeed eye-opening, I was told. Goes into why Tanto of Shintogo Kunimitsu are so highly prized. Unfortunately a different friend wanted it, so I now have to go and beg another. (In Japanese) http://www.sanobi.or.jp/shop/shop.html

For anyone who might have missed it, Merry Christmas http://japantoday.com/category/entertai ... -christmas

Many thanks to all the people behind the scenes who make this place tick. Wishing everyone a fulfilling Twenty Ten.

The first two characters are problematical even for a Japanese, I believe. You probably read the family name either