Bugyotsuji

Two funny things happened today. Needing some material for a class this afternoon, I pulled out a series of prints called Kanadehon Chushingura by, I thought, Utagawa Kunisada III. I mentioned in this thread somewhere that I bought these some years ago and had cleaned them up a bit. Well, as I was preparing the class, I stumbled across an Italian auction house on the internet which had sold Scene 8 in the series of these Ukiyo-e hanga, and the identical picture was listed as printed by Utagawa Kunisada I. Either the auction house is fibbing, or my set of prints is a lot older than I had thought. Not only that, but some time ago I had also by coincidence bought a single print from another series of the Chushingura, of scene 6. The signature says Ichiyosai Toyokuni. Now I could be wrong, but the more I read, the more convinced I am that this is actually the same person, Utagawa Kunisada I, using the later Toyokuni name. (Toyokuni III?) Are my prints possibly all done by the same artist? A third funny thing is some old wrapping paper that a dealer had used to wrap up an antique I had bought. It turned out to be two cover scenes for two different sets of woodblock prints by Hiroshige, stuck together. Originals, but in poor condition and black with dirt. Using a method that I saw on TV I cleaned them up until hidden scenes appeared out of the grime. Hiroshige, who the Japanese like to call Ando Hiroshige, and who was also called Utagawa Hiroshige, cooperated on some series with Toyokuni, with Hiroshige doing the backgrounds, and Toyokuni/Kunisada doing the figures. These two cover scenes for two of the woodblock series are signed by both artists. I could pull the backing sheets off and maybe separate them like Siamese twins, but I don't dare.

As I put in my first post above, "aya?/michi/yuki/yori?, " the zui can be read in various ways in names, if you have a name dictionary.

Looks like Kanekiyo to me. 兼清

Hamano ("Shozui") Masa-... aya?/michi/yuki/yori?, = zui

Thank you for offering your input, Moriyama san. Much appreciated.

This one has also got me puzzled. Can anyone read it, if it will just upload for me? PS My Chinese exchange students tell me they see 逸　or 迭　(Itsu, or Tetsu) for the first Kanji, and 派 (-ha) for the second. My feeling is that the second might rather be 成　(-sei), giving 逸成　'Issei'??? There was an artist called 逸民 Itsumin but the known and listed signatures do not coincide.

When did that second photograph appear?

All I can see there are the first two characters saying 'Two' and 'Thousand', then something (six?) 'Hundred'?

You bastard, Brian. I know you found it, but I was hoping you would lose interest and I would then sneak around later and procure it ... grrrr ....... PS Congratulations. I have to agree. The stepped off-sets (?) are quite unusual.

You're absolutely right, Moriyama san, I am going blind in my old age... The rest of the information stands, though!!! I actually looked up Masaharu, but for some reason wrote Masakiyo... erk.... too eager to please and I trip over myself in my hurry.

Hi Brian, good to see you've pulled out of the double whammy of bronchitis and jet lag! Your tsuba says Masakiyo 政清 with Kao, and I have five Masakiyo on my list, two from Tokyo, one Bushu, one Nagaoka, and one Satsuma. (NIce tsuba!) Warning: Above reading is incorrect. Please see following post. Apologies!

To tell you the truth, Thierry, I was offered it, and so I bought it, and I've been flicking through it the last say or two. I wasn't really sure what I had bought though, as it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase.

Ah, so it is not unknown. Thanks for the feedback, Rich.

The other day I was offered a book called Japanese Sword Guards, (some tsuba in the collection of Sir Arthur H Church). The book was published in Britain in 1914 and focussed on 272 Tsuba out of about 1300 in his collection, categorizing them by schools. This is not the original book, but a rather fancy bound-and-boxed first edition Japanese translation with the Japanese written below the original English titles and explanations, published in Showa 45, ie 1970.　Someone must have thought that this was worth doing? The pictures are all b&w, and the preface proudly states that they are of the finest quality... "the photographs by the Photophane Company of Brockley will arrest attention in all cases except where colour constitutes the important element of the decorative effect." The author says he started collecting in 1873 "when good specimens were many and eager collectors few". Is this book well-known?

Carlo, here is the little dish I mentioned above. Not very good quality work, but interesting for me historically. (If you are off-Edo, Carlo, then so am I... ) This age was, however, when the Samurai spirit was indeed blended with Western inventions, but expressed in a new and glorious way. Probably learned from Nelson and the British navy traditions. To die for your country had replaced dying for one's lord.

Those are really lovely! Congratulations indeed. The Mikasa has no guns. Maiden voyage? Looking splendid. Funnily enough I just bought a small plate/dish painted with the Japanese destroyer attack and blockade on Port Arthur, the one where Lieutenant Commander Hirose Takeo died so heroically. (1904, the year before Admiral Togo's defeat of the Russian fleet in the Tsushima Straits) http://www.jacar.go.jp/english/nichiro/ ... etakeo.htm It was on sale at an antiques fair last Saturday, and a friend finally decided she didn't want it......... so, woo hoooooooooooo, N Photo on its way...

Wow, it's still alive. I love it when something like this pops up. for the feedback.

"and is they an abc internet learning site for kanji please" Your question contains two or three within it, Steve. Jacques has addressed one of them by connecting you with pages for learning Kanji specifically for reading Nihonto tang Mei. There are good books on how to learn Kanji stroke by stroke. I expect there should be some good internet sites too, but I haven't run a search on them, so I cannot help you there. They will be out there... I feel positive. One of your best moves would be to get a good Kanji dictionary and learn how to use it. The experts never have all the Kanji in their heads, and the better you are, the more you will rely on having a Kanji Dictionary by your side. Andrew Nelson's Japanese-English Character Dictionary is one I have owned for 30 years.

(Jean, English tea, or Japanese tea? ) KUNIYOSHI (Utagawa Kuniyoshi collection) http://www.japantoday.com/category/nati ... us-scholar

Never heard that one before. Not bad poetry. Not bad at all... :| (PS I love it)

HI Kevin and welcome to the site. No, I can't help you, but someone will be along in a while with words of wisdom, I am sure. Whether such words will help you in your unusual situation is another matter. You are permanently in China and you want an introduction to an authentic dealer, who might also be able to advise you on shipping to China?

Is that a New Year's scene on the side of your kettle, Jean? So, what's the tea, then, and where is it? :lol: Milt, the Do can't really be moved up or down. The Nodo-wa neck guard is a damn nuisance. I hate mine. If it's too tight it feels like it's choking you, and besides it is very difficult to tie by yourself unseen up at the throat and wearing chain mail Kote on the arms which doesn't want to bend that far. We tie them at the front and then swivel them to the back. Gradually the string relaxes so they hang down a little, and then they get caught under the shoulder pieces... grrrr... In an ideal world we would all be wearing Menpo with Nodo-wa attached. Brian, I must send you a length of match cord. The sear question is in the forefront of my mind.

This might turn out as a good thing for your future puchases... :D If people were interested in it, something good is hidden somewhere... Carlo your English is forgiven at last!

Couple of closer shots of the lock surrounds

Yesterday I purchased a Tanegashima long gun. This was not in my plans, but I knew that it could be used as a loan gun even if I didn't want it at home. (Envision one enraged woman) The two guys who had been wanting to buy it, and who had missed their opportunity when we stepped in, were full of sour grapes when I met them later... but I found out they were part of S..... Sensei's inner study circle, so there is something about this gun that they liked. I spend Sunday cleaning the red rust and black soot off the barrel, lock, brasswork and woodwork, oiling it gently and polishing it off, and discovering more about it. The signature reads 嶋屋市兵衛作　Shimaya Ichihei Saku. Shimaya were a gunsmith in Settsu, (Sakai, Osaka); other examples of Ichihei's work are signed with Settsu-ju, according to the records. Despite the dealer telling me the gun is in the style of "Shikoku somewhere" I could find little to support his assumption except maybe the general slim shape of the stock and butt. In fact the more I read up, the more I came to the conclusion that the dealer knows little about guns altogether. It shows a confusing mixture of styles, but not much about Shimaya's native Settsu either. Something (perhaps the slender but perfect shape) keeps tugging at my mind and saying Kunitomo. Our Teppo-tai leader sounded a bit odd on the other end of the phone. "Piers? Ah, I hear you have bought a strange gun! Everyone was here last night and they told me ALL about it." Well, I didn't know what to say. What had they all been discussing? "Er, I thought maybe you might want an extra spare gun for the lend-lease armoury/armory!" says I. "You know I bought four spares last week, so no, we don't need any more." he says distinctly dismissively. Now what? How have I offended him? As it happens I have been growing more and more fond of this gun! :lol: The wood is a lovely glow under the grime. The barrel is in surprisingly good nick on the outside and a quick rust blast with the ramrod showed me she is clean as a whistle inside. In fact, I now feel no need for him to take it off me at all. I don't even want to show it to him in case he suddenly decides he likes it!!! Much of the dirt and grime is still there as I didn't want to remove too much of the age. The gun looks to have been hanging in someone's smoky kitchen for a good 150 years.