Bugyotsuji

This is a Nihonto forum, but it is very rare that I post about Nihonto because I have a) not much knowledge yet and b) no real collection like some of you. I also do not buy and sell Nihonto, unlike some of the members, so I have to confine myself to trying to work out the bigger picture with what I have, relying hopefully on the members for precious drops of wisdom. I know a lot more about this Tanto and my Katana now than I did when I bought them. Perhaps they have been training blades for me. I am glad you like this one, Carlo.

I don't know who said it first, but Churchill used the expression. "After your victory, buckle (tie) your helmet on firmer." I DO know however, who said it last.... ... ... ME! "After your victory, buckle (tie) your helmet on firmer."

Why, thank you sir! :lol: As requested, some (very) amateur shots at last of: The original Koshirae with new Tsunagi blade. The new shirasaya and blade with refurbished Habaki. The white silk bag.

The Tanto came back today. My sensei says that from the style of the blade and Nakago, and judging what smith would be allowed to be in contact with a Daimyo, he reckons that as a 藩工 it must be 固山 宗次 Katayama Munetsugu, who went from Bizen to Uwajima in Iyo. He is listed with Juyo Wakizashi and Katana. The Tanto was displayed at the Autumn NBTHK Ken Shibu Bunkai Meitou-Ten at the end of September, a first for me. Surrounded by wonderful Koto, Shinto, Shinshinto, Gendaito and some Koshiki-ju. It has always been in Koshirae, which made it difficult for him to display the Koshirae once the blade was extracted. He said he could arrange for a Shirasaya and a Tsunagi, so I ordered both. They are beautifully done. As a bonus he made the gold habaki as new again, completely erasing the unsightly dent/ripple in the middle where it must have at some time caught on the edge of the koi-kuchi. And the shirasaya comes in a splendid new bag. All for the price of a meal in London for two! The quality of the work made me catch my breath.

Well, we opened the Momo Taro Autumn Festival today http://www.sanyo.oni.co.jp/sanyonews/20 ... 14029.html It was the first time in the 'new' black lacquer Iyo-zane armor/armour and quite a few people came to say nice things about it. (Pity about the person inside, though...) I had managed to extend strings, etc, so that everything fitted and looked fairly OK. The spikes on the Kote were pretty popular as no-one had seen anything like it. At first I was quite tense with the Sode constantly sliding forward, and worried that something would break or split, but after an hour or so, it all started to feel quite comfortable around me. Confidence is born! The Tanto came back from the September exhibition with a new tsunagi for the koshirae, a new shirasaya for the blade and a smart white cover bag. Our NBTHK sensei also happens to be a shirogane-shi habaki maker; he had fixed the damage to the gold surface which had rippled where some previous idiot owner must have shut the Tanto carelessly. He also did some independent research about which Katana-kaji would have helped with the blade and made an interesting discovery which I will explain on the other thread.

Amazing stuff! And the women had blue lipstick!!!

Guido, just occasionally you say exactly the right thing!!!

Now I am not sure of anything any more.... :? Note to self: Keep my mouth Akitombo, go with Nobody's reading above, please.

At a glance it looks like but I am not sure about the second Kanji.

Ian, it could be that a dialect form was being quoted. Okkashi sounds like a local dialect. Have a look at the left of this page: http://www.kabutographics.com/play/guso ... ku2.html#O

Just a quick note on Romanization of Japanese, Ian. In your eye-opening description of an area that has always been murky for me, you use the work 'okkashi'. Kasu is to lend, so informal would be Kashi-gusoku, and honorific should probably best be rendered with a single 'k', ie Okashi (gusoku). I have a friend who collects Satsuma equipment, so one of these days I would like to ask his opinion on your theory. If you do post pictures, it would be very helpful.

Ah, now I see the cartouche. I was thinking that was a mask... nuts. Thanks for the background info. Good stuff!

Can't see the signature, but what an interesting mirror, quite unlike anything I have seen in antique markets. The central turtle is where the string was threaded on those very old mirrors found in tombs back when Wa was bringing over valuable stuff from China. (Before they had handles.) It would be interesting to hear an expert's explanation of mirror history.

Gosh, Ian, been there done that, it would seem. I am full of admiration. Things like this fill me with trepidation and set my little heart a-hammering. Reassuring that you have been ahead and come back, alive, with the experience to impart. Thanks a lot for that!

Fascinating stuff, Ian. How do you come across such things? Does working in a museum sharpen your eyes so that you can recognize the really unusual? PS Spent the evening brushing areas of red rust from the chain mail on the Kote and applying olive oil with Q tips to help blacken the little links. Got the wife repairing and sewing the backing material for a few hours to the point where these Ko-te are now just about serviceable. The buffalo horn toggles are badly perished, however, so some inventiveness will be needed either to help them function again or to replace such function in some unnoticeable way. The wife is onboard in a big way now and admits that they look something special! (Despite injuring herself on one of the poisoned spikes... hehehe)

Never seen one like that before. I have heard on and off over the years that samurai sometimes/often? carried money, or blobs of silver/gold (mame-ita-gin) within the saya of their swords. I have heard rumors/rumours of special compartments, (such as in the oil collection reservoir at the bottom?) but what you show here is quite large. Perhaps the threat and appearance of a blade was enough to keep potential robbers at bay. A good place to carry vital documents? Brushes? Hmmm... will need to ask around for opinions, Ian.

Haha! Nice find, Milt. This means WAR!!!

Naaay, just the other one is more "traditional". At "close quarters" looks much better then from distance. A nice one. :D I agree....

That's a good link, Brian. Here is a shot of the little one with the added tang behind for slipping into the Maedate receptacle. No female receptacle on this helmet, just a prong, so I whipped up a copper one for the photo. No idea on how 'genuine' this mirror is. Something for a rainy day. I wonder if anyone does paperwork for mirrors???

Well, here it is in all its glory. Tora no Shippo. Lacquer on wood. Is it just me that likes it? LOL

Enjoyed doing it, Brian! I have been re-reading it and making little adjustments here and there every day or two... whenever I see something that is not worded very well. (Plenty of those!)

Stephen, Carlo, John, thanks for the feedback, even if it's not what I wanted to hear... Close-up of the tiger tail to follow in the next day or two, Stephen.

Hi Malcolm, You are entirely welcome! The large one is a Bizen pot, possibly a Hibachi, which was lying in the garden. Not had it valued or anything. The smaller one is an iron tea vessel.

A very good question there, John, and I wish I knew enough to answer you. I bought one in London a couple of weeks ago and someone had polished the mirror surface to some degree. It looked far better than most of the untidy streaky surfaces one usually sees at antique markets in Japan. UK ignorance is bliss? Later at Sandown Park I saw another two which had been polished in the same way, down to the pink surface. I heard that they used to be rubbed with mercury to get a proper reflective surface, but have no idea how much truth there is in that. Mirrors were objects of reverence and superstition, and very few people would ever leave a mirror facing upwards, even today. Do you know when they stopped making round ones and started making rectangular ones? Beginning of Meiji? I also have a small round bronze mirror with a Mei from around 1275 which was subsequently made into a Maedate. The swastika on it suggests it was used for Hachisuka armour/armor.

Hot damn, and I can't get anyone of my friends to like the tiger tail..... grrrrrrrrrrrr.... Last year at the Akashi Time Week festival it caught the eye of a professional photographer and they used my image up large for advertising this year's festival. I was sure it was the tiger tail that did the trick, but our Taicho says I should always use the Yattoko. (Which he gave me.) Balance... hmmm.... you must be right, Stephen!