Bugyotsuji

It's really, really hard work, John. The vans are loaded with trolleys and stands and Taiko drums, gun boxes, bags of armour/armor, flags and posts, Shogi folding stools, bentos, ad nauseam, and all this has to be lugged in and out of every venue by us poor suckers. I will see if anyone got some moving pictures for YouTube...

'Safely' (?) back in Japan under the flightpath of the Taepodong and now readjusting to life with a wife and resumed responsibilities. We had a full display on Sunday for the cherry blossom Matsuri on the main steps of Tsuyama Castle. I wore my 'new' Toppai Kabuto for the first time and it was well received. It is becoming clear that the better off Samurai would have picked and chosen what bits of armour they would wear for each occasion, a sort of fashion show each time, and they would have gone round commenting on each other's appearance and discussing the relative merits of their latest piece of kit / fashion accessory. Swords, their Koshirae and Tsuba would also have been part of this kaleidoscopic ever-changing display. Last night we dressed in full armour/armour for the Rotary Club dinner. The curtains on the big plate glass ballroom windows were pulled and there in the garden, in front of the cherries and the waterfall they saw us lined up under the spotlights, bowing in salute. We marched into the dining hall to the banging of gongs and drums, and the blowing of conches, where we did a full Tanegashima display, to the amazement of the 100 or so guests. There was Imperial family staying at the hotel last night, so the police presence was heavy and thus we were not allowed to carry real guns, or even set off the planned fireworks. We had to find replica guns; one way or another we managed to get about 18 for everyone to hold. This involved borrowing the display guns from a very famous castle near here, which only happened because of 'Ko-ne' (connections), and actually making some guns up from scratch. Some of the results were stunning, including two O-zutsu 30 & 50 Monme guns which a couple of drunken guests picked up and waved around. The bang of the big drums to indicate the guns going off was a bit disappointing, though. As we were changing, one of our group offered me a little Kutani milk pourer with a naval scene and a battleship on it, possibly ”Yamato” he says(?)　（Two funnels... I'm now thinking "Mutsu"). He said he has the teapot that goes with it, and wants to give me that too. He absolutely refuses to take any money for it (them). Hoping to post pics when I get a minute.

As you all know, Japan is constantly shaking from earthquakes (see the last couple of weeks for an average example) http://typhoon.yahoo.co.jp/weather/jp/earthquake/ but even so, this Italian earthquake was large by any standards and hit where there are many old and heavy buildings. My feelings go out to the families...

Carlo, You never miss a trick! This month I have been in London and cut off from the 'normal' environment. It's been a fall-back to my second hobby, which is messing around with fast cars and racing circuits, interspersed with quick visits to antique fairs and auctions here and there. There is very little Japanese on offer, and what there is tends to be cracked or broken. Missed out on a lovely Satsuma vase at auction though! Tomorrow I fly back to the Land of Wa and resume my 'Shima-nagashi' lifestyle. The only things I have found so far for the collection are an 1860 'SC' (Special Constabulary) London policeman's truncheon and two tiny (overall length 4 cm) fully-working rim-fire... (edit, 'pin-fire', thanks to Brian for the correction) pistols, which were described by the two traders variously as 'fob pistol' and/or 'cyclist dog scarer pistol'. (Chatelaine?) None of these, however, would be suitable for this thread, so I have remained silent. Tomorrow morning I am planning one last flying visit to Bermondsey antiques market where I continue to hope to find some little overlooked Japanese Edo Period gem.

Doesn't that say Yoshimichi PS Nobody beat me to it! PPS Your unusual Tsuba has a fairly strong resemblance to mine @

Just "Ouch"......... Thanks for the warning (reaches for the water bottle) Hang in there and get the system clean!

Ah, Kyoto, yes. That would explain the owner's choice of shop name. The Kanji Kyo, the capital, which is shared by both Kyoto and Beijing, and Sanjo, a famous street in Kyoto.

There are some sites, like Frank's useful one above, but none of them are exhaustive and each one gives only part of the picture. There are hundreds of exceptions which don't seem to appear anywhere on the internet, but if you want detail you really need to source a good Mon book, in my experience. Also remember that family Mon changed over time, so you would need to be clear as to what time in history that you are interested in, as each family's Mon grew in number through intermarriage, granting of Mon usage etc.

Yup! Stupid of me. Now I am embarrassed at stepping into the gap, my greed for a nice morsel of translation, and my own lack of care with it, but many thanks for the correction Markus. Strive to do better! :lol:

Kyo Kingu shi means a Metal fittings worker from Kyoto. (NB Later corrected to Kanagu-shi by Markus below in following post, for which thanks.) Quick translation, level of certainty 93%; L1 Menuki Mumei Kyo Kingu shi (Kanagu-shi.... See NB above) L2 Scene of autumn insects. Shakudo ground. ??? carved moulding (?) Yokei, Iro-e L3 Two types of insects, Kamakiri & grasshopper, carved L4 Each pretty well and realistically L5 rendered with the bellies covered in gold Iro-e L6 On balance more of a folkcraft creation L7 Simply(?) humorous, worth having, L8 A pity that one of the grasshoppers' antennae is partly broken L9 Mid Edo L10 Comes with Hozon Tosogu paperwork 38,000 yen

In my experience yes, in general. There are however, a few who get on their high horse and give you a lecture about manners. They would give the same lecture to Japanese people, not just because you are a foreigner, IMHO. You get to learn who will bargain and who will not. Certainly some are more willing than others. It's partly trial and error, partly a question of choice of words, (E,g. "What is your friendly price?" nudge, nudge, wink, wink...) and partly a question of building up a relationship with one particular dealer. Some will not bargain first time around. Good luck!

Steve, I have been thinking all day off and on about what you suggest. I had a look at Yari-kanna sites all over the J web. What you say makes a lot of sense. There is a slight curve, whether intentional or accidental in the blade. The original bend in the iron haft/Nakago suggested that quite a bit of horizontal weight had been exerted onto the top of the neck and body at some time. These Yari-kanna tend to have a Nakago set into a wooden handle, I see. The haft of mine has some indentations in it, suggesting possible elevation of grip for gluing/binding/fixing within a wooden handle. One question pops into my mind. Yari in general had square or rectangular cross-sectioned Nakago, so what about Yari-Kanna Nakago? Mine is oval in cross-section, which would stop it spinning within a Shikomi Kanzashi, yes, but... would an oval be strong enough to stop circular rotation within a Yari-kanna haft in the hands of a Daiku or Miya-Daiku? Surely for a Kanna it should at least be square in cross section for maximum grip within the woodwork?

Quick follow-up. Showed this sword to a long-term expert and asked for anything that bubbled up in his mind, all the while apologizing profusely for the lack of manners in daring to ask him to trouble his mind by looking at something inferior. He calmly took it apart and gazed at it for a minute. What he could read from it was enlightening, for me at least. He noticed a little play in the Habaki, and from there that the Machi had been Suriage by about a centimeter and a half. This would explain why no-one had seen the longer start of the Yaki, hidden under the Habaki. This must have led them to declare it as Kanbun, whereas in his mind it was not a Kanbun sword, but regardless of the amount of Sori, a later work to him, about Genroku, perhaps 1700 -ish. The blade has no evidence of actual use in warfare and very little Togi-beri, emphasizing a slightly younger version than the Kanbun Hozon paperwork. I asked him why and when anyone would bother to Suriage this sword and he said probably around Bakumatsu when there was a fashion for longer Tsuka. We discussed the possibility that this smith may have been the end of the line in this branch of swordsmiths, Tsuda Sukehiro - Muneshige - Miyoshi, especially in the light of a general decline for the need for Katana in this period. His name does seem to get chopped off at the bottom of the family tree! (It reminded me of discussions on how and why the Roman Empire might have ended.) Anyway, for me this was a very beneficial exercise, regardless of the quality or merits, or lack thereof of the sword itself. It gave me a feel for this period Of Edo and I gained a much clearer reading of this sword's cultural and historical background.

Thanks Carlo for the link, and thanks to everyone else for offering suggestions. This afternoon I showed it to a rather grand old chap, a customer at the local Sword shop who is fairly knowledgable in these things, and his immediate suggestion was Kanzashi-kakushi, (Shikomi-kanzashi?) I think he said. Definitely an 'Eiri' 鋭利 (sharp) weapon and probably for a woman, made to be concealed in her hair ornament. PS Just had a search around some J sites and under the first set of pics here it says that her hair pins are actually concealed weapons! :lol: Warning, do not look if you are easily shocked! http://www.hobbynet.co.jp/orikomitirasi ... 1/cat_227/ And, "Hissatsu Shogoto-nin... Hide's Kanzashi" http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f75142059

Philip, just read this thread for the first time. Looking forward very much to seeing the results. You must be excited. You haven't had any advanced piccies from the polisher, then, even though he has reached foundation polish stage and the chips are gone???

When you do take the new piccies, place an indicator pointing to the particular feature you are concerned about!

Couple more pics.

Hmmm... yes this did cross my mind and it does make sense.

Paul, lacking the correct vocab I am going to have trouble, but just before I hit the sack, the forearms and shins were in wafer thin iron sections with little hinges, and the iron had Yasurime file marks. The Sune-ate looked really heavy, but were as light as a feather. They had flying iron knees, and a gorgeous square of red leather in the inner ankle areas. The designs of the elbow bosses were carved from iron, like a Katchu-shi tsuba, as were the backs of the hand covers. Not those lacquered pushed out rosettes that you usually find. The backing material was unused and gorgeous. The attached Sode were in large generous black lacquer plates, hanging quite far down the Kote, and with a curved draping shape to them. I was told that these Kote, sode and sune-ate were identical to those on a famous set of armour which was rumoured to have cost 1 Oku Yen some time ago. Will try and get some shots for you in a day or two, but I suspect these pieces will now be going to a bigwig in this area, who is directly descended from a Daimyo family. :|

Henk-Jan, thank you for the suggestion and the link. So, you think that there may have been a ring on it which has broken off? There is some unevenness on the end there to support your idea. The shape of some of the Kunai blades are similar, but they seem to be much larger in general. This thing is tiny, 10cm long, of which the blade is 4cm. Kunai are also said to be ordinary iron tools, but this seems quite specialized and hardened, and it is very sharp. Also it is very similar in feel and looks to my Higo Bashin, if half the size. The colour of the steel and the rust, and the workmanship all point to a common origin, perhaps. One influential collector friend took one look at it and said, "It's for quick despatch of someone very close up. You would maybe pull it out from under your pillow, find the exact spot and push it rapidly into the head or neck of your opponent, as if to administer the death stroke to a fish. Not enough weight for throwing", he added, when I suggested a Te-ura ken, or Shuriken.

As to this week's Edo Corner, I found an interesting bladed implement at Ako this morning. Neither the stall holder, nor the ever-present 'experts' who flock around to see what you are buying could say exactly what it is. There were two or three theories. "It is a kind of Kanna (plane)." "It is a kind of Bashin (fleam)". Does anyone on this site have any clue? What is clear to most people so far is that it is a) 'kitaete-iru'. It is b) a weapon. It is c) something quite rare. (It was bent out of shape, and somehow I have managed to bend it back close to true, using a cushioned vice and pliers, but it took huge muscle power, and equal and opposite delicate strength to stop it cracking or snapping!) Below are some photos. I was going to make this a quiz to see if people could guess the size, but maybe I'll just stick with the above question of function. Brain storming welcome! The photos make it almost double life size. PS The Tsuka is elliptical/oval in cross-section, having no perceptible flat side or obvious front of back, being mirror image.

Well, you may have noticed that last week I was offered something exquisite. The Kote and Sune-ate. Unfortunately, a week after the bloke sold them to me, he asked if I could let him have them back. Well, I owe him a lot of favours/favors, so it was a no-brainer, even though I have some seriously mixed feelings internally. I never took any photos of them, so perhaps they were never meant to be mine??? So tonight I am a lot richer, but also a lot poorer.

Recently I have seen a spear in shirasaya which looked decidedly odd, as you say, and I was very suspicious. It was also very cheap. Spears tend to be cheap recently anyway, but is it possible that someone has found a way to make cheap spears (and import them?) and pass them off within Japan as traditional Japanese spears? If the blades are short enough they will not need paperwork either. :|

If those aren't scratches in your photos, maybe you have too much oil on the blade?

Wow, amazing hamon. A lovely thing to have in anyone's collection! Welcome home!