Bugyotsuji

John L. "your collection is selective and interesting, and puts a number of our less discriminating members to shame." As one of the above-mentioned members, may I just say that I enjoyed seeing your Tsuba collection. Thanks for sharing!

Take- (?) mitsu

If my input to this corner goes quiet for a while, it will be because I have other commitments taking me to other grazing lands. Recently I found some interesting little bits at various fairs, but taking Stephen's advice I have restricted myself to paying as little as possible out of my pocket money for things with maximum interest. Half of the motivation for my antiques purchases is for posting here on this forum! Nuts.

Just had a phone call saying not to bring the big gun. The police are super strict there and they make a show of appearing in the changing rooms and asking to see all the guns and paperwork and checking each one individually. When we made the original application to do the display some months ago, the 20 Monme guns were not listed, apparently. 30 Monme, 50 Monme and 80 Monme, no trouble. Every gun and every charge of gunpowder has to be pre-declared and accounted for. For example: 100 shots? No more, no less. A misfire? Try again. Hyogo Prefecture has had some problems in recent years, involving gunpowder (actually a fireworks display) and crowd control that went wrong, and the litigation is still ongoing. Right. Going home to pack. Wish me luck, gentlemen.

Since we haven't done a display for six weeks, and there is a big one this Saturday, the nerves have been twangling a little. We have been graciously invited to Himeji for their 'Oshiro (Castle) Matsuri'. There will be a blackpowder display mid-afternoon and then we take part in the parade in the evening. Last year was one long agony as we stood for several hours in 30 degree heat in full armour/armor while the authorities tried to get everyone in line. This year the weather has been rainy and humid for weeks, and my equipment has green mould growing on it. The last few days I have moved everything to the one air-conditioned room in the house to try and get it dried out and ready. This is my checklist. 1. Kabuto and Mae-date. 2. Do, front and back, and pin. 3. Kote 4. Haidate 5. Sune-ate 6. Jika-tabi. 7. Netsuke and Kinchaku 8. Mawashi 9. Belt with Do-ran, empties box, and Handachi with fittings, Tsurumaki, etc. 10. Underwear 11. Hita-tare 12. split-toed socks 13. Se-oi-bata with pole and pin and Ukezutsu 14. Hayago necklace with Ko-yaku-ire powder flask 15. Giant prayer beads 15. Kai for blowing Swiss-Alpen blasts 16. Large ozutsu lacquered gun in box with equipment and special ramrods. 17. Tanzutsu w/ shoulder holster 18. Long gun in carrying case. 19. Toroku paperwork for guns 20. Lengths of matchcord, 21. spares and tools, eg Mekugi-nuki, lighter, scissors, knife, Seseri, gun-rest, patches... oh, and 22. Gyo-yo & Nodo-wa... Why I usually get nervous. Have I forgotten one crucial piece of kit? Have I forgotten to mend something broken or snapped from last time, slowing down our changing times? Will I remember the drill and not be the one to throw the whole public display into chaos? Egg not just on my personal face, but for all of us, as we have been invited from out of state to the famous Himeji Castle World Heritage site.

Sadly my Japanese reading ability does not quite stretch to that. I really wish it did. Not only was it the death of a person who wore armor/armour, but with that date it could really also symbolize the death and dismantling of a period of time, a whole culture.

You read that Manen???

Waiting to be enlightened. That can't be Engen of the Southern Dynasty 1336-1340, can it? Not something to do with Godaigo Tenno, or Ashikaga Takauji and the Muromachi Bakufu?

Well, they look like the upright parts from a pair of particularly long Sune-ate shinguards, which is very rare and just what I have been trying to find for my armour!

Looks like it was registered in Gifu. It has a Mei, but no-one has been able to read it. 不明 Fumei means unclear.

Ah, that's a nice size. (PS You mentioned the tray so I went back to the previous page of this thread and added an 'after' shot, following some touch-up work. Looks good from a distance...) Do you find that you collect 'perfect' examples, Ian, or are you not too bothered about the state of repair? Your bowl above looks pristine.

Gotcha. Mori, but pronounced like Moorey. Yes, I can see what you mean. It's quite elaborate, isn't it. When you say 'a little object' do you mean just that? Is it the size of a Miso soup bowl for one person, plus lid, I wonder?

You are very (too?) kind, Koichi sama.

Wonderful links to the Naval Review there Koichi san. The first two I had already seen, but that video news clip is a stunning eye-opener. Do you know what the name of the main battleship on the medal, and on the postcard is, by the way? Oh, and the song...

It doesn't matter now really, Koichi san, as I have added the close-ups. But thank you anyway. Actually I had a hard time getting the meaning of the vertical writing on the 'book'. It is either a famous quote from Admiral Togo Heihachiro, or it may be the title of a treatise that he wrote. An old professor finally helped me to understand the reading, and the meaning, well to some extent the meaning. I believe the Admiral only lived for another four years after this. The medal does not have its original box, unfortunately, and it looks as though it has been in a house fire. Many of my Japanese friends have told me that this kind of medal has little value in Japan today, but I really like it as a fascinating piece of undeniable history.

Here is a medal commemorating... what do you think? I had been looking at this medal for about six months, but the dealer was asking what I thought was far above my budget. It did seem like a nice object for this corner, even if a 'little' outside Edo, so I eventually made him an offer he couldn't refuse. About the size of an average Tsuba at 7 cm across, copper.

The comments are generally correct, ie that Chinese circular cash with a square hole were the dominant coinage throughout the Far East for a couple of thousand years. Japan produced some locally from about Asuka and Nara onwards, 708-958 AD but Chinese coins continued to move freely back and forth. John's second photo, top left. The Wado-Kaiho (or Wado Kaichin) 708 AD coin pictured there is the one posted by Brian in his bottom photo, and was long thought to be Japan's first real domestically-produced coin. There were also some special coins produced in Japan in Muromachi called Bo-eki coins, such as Nagasaki Boeki-sen. Then as Brian says, from 1668 one type, the 'New' Kan-Ei Tsu-ho One-Mon (Photo One) and Four-Mon pattern (waves on reverse) dominated the scene till the end of Edo. Neither this coin nor the oblong Tenpo-tsuho is apparent on your Tsuba. The cross on the back of one represents the back of a Kanei-tsuho of 1736, however. Is one example enough? I can probably check the others but it will take time that I will have to find. As Rich says, the rest look like Chinese trade coins, to me too. Some of the representations seem to have been deliberately altered in some small detail as though it might have been a problem being too accurate. One at least looks like a representation of good luck, the one that says 'Long life'... :lol:

Where did the description 'Iris flower heads' come from?

Thank you Koichi san. Hmm... not so good for me! Oh, BTW there is a 日on the end of the date according to the paperwork! :lol:

Well, if no-one is going to help I will fill in off my head until the specialists appear. The first one seems to read And down below, the date is printed on the right of the sheet, and the Mei says something like:

Mmmm.... very nice!

Thanks for the update. The Japanese site seems to be nearly ready too, but it's strange the way they've done it. When you click on the titles, nothing seems to happen, but you then need to scroll down each time to see the pages.

Hmmm... the plot thickens. Illustrations welcome!

I wonder if the soft metal, the peculiar openings and the groove around the cicumference are all designed to catch and absorb the momentum of the point of an enemy spear or Naginata/Nagamaki?

Some examples on pp 82 & 147 of Ian's "Arms & Armour of the Samurai".