Bugyotsuji

Henk-Jan, I have banged it a few times, and it makes that sort of sound, but the wife grimaced. Stephen, it's a bit late now, hahaha :lol: The paint is a non-gloss water-based paint and looks fine, so apart from the general light clean-up I have left the work almost reversible if necessary. Ian, many thanks for the pics. Your taiko is magnificent. The wash-tub lid (?) is fascinating. Are you sure that's what it was? Not a lacquer tray? As to the bill-fold/hold, it's Kinkarakawa, isn't it. Quite valuable even today. The double Mon could be what you say, or it could be the two Ura and Omote Mon of a family made up like that as a special order. As you can see in the below photos, there are two Netsuke with Mitsu-domoe Mon, the bone one in the shape of a drum like yours, and the other in ivory with a silver centre/center. The two pouches are kinkarakawa, with the one on the left having a brass tang for slipping behind the belt and possibly being part of a soldier's equipment. The one on the right is a fold like yours with no holes or anything. In the back outside section was a wad of folded Washi paper (see photo) as though for writing or drawing or poetry.

Thank you, Koichi san. The Taiko with Mitsu-domoe Mon. The skins are flabby, and one side has a small hole in it. There is something rattling around inside (like Ian's!). It would really need to be completely recovered in new skins, but it still looks pretty good to me as as a decoration, so I plan to keep it this way. (The wife is not convinced. She doesn't want it in the house.) The wood rim is fine, and the iron byo and three iron rings are in good condition.

Yes, their mouths do seem to be open and shut (like the Shishi?) http://ise-miyachu.net/SHOP/266647/list.html

John, thanks for the feedback. I have put that in the pot! When you say Kamiya, are you referring to some kind of Kamidana?

Many thanks Ian. Did you buy those in the UK? It's pouring with rain here so the proposed touch-up with black 'Cashew' is not looking too feasible. Will take some pics anyway.

(sshhh... :lol: It's on Fuji Terebi (Fuji TV) but their local station to you will be set on a different channel number I expect. 1:35 am for quali, and 11:50 pm Sun the race. NRN)

Ian, I would love to see a picture of what you are describing. Not 1 GBP today, surely... I saw a Hibachi in iron not too long ago with the Tokugawa Mon that was described as having been 'fashioned out of the iron plates from the main gates of (now non-existant) Edo Castle'. Sencho, yes, please ask her. Representations of Raiden the god of thunder show his taiko drums with these Mon on them, as I now recall. I also have an ivory Netsuke taiko with Mitsu-domoe on either end. Hmmm... maybe not so exclusive after all!!! :lol: PS Good luck in Bahrain

This week's item is a large drum with a Mitsu-domoe Mon on the two diaphragms. This Saturday I am planning to sit down and do a bit of restoration work on it. At first I was thinking it might be either the Mon of Mizu-no-Ya of Takahashi, or of Shimizu Muneharu who was forced to do Seppuku in a boat on the Mizu-zeme lake in front of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. But it was on sale in Ako, so the tempting thought is that it belonged to the Lords of Ako Castle before the 47 Samurai's revenge attack in Edo... :|

An enthusiast, yes, but a collector, no. To rephrase, I have a small collection of almost anything Japanese, just not specifically Nihonto. Two tanto and one Katana do not really a collection make, I suspect. Plus five J spears of varying lengths. And seven or eight J arrowheads. When my ship comes home, however, I may venture into deeper waters... Once a month I take part in a Nihonto study group here in Japan. One or two of the members are in their 20's, a couple in their 30's, one or two in their 40's and so on up. Evenly spread, I would say. Oh, and most of them probably do not own their own blade. PS Does that chart above suggest that people start selling off their collection in their 60's???

Is 'we' a shop, or a number of people?

Mark, The replicas here are not generally able to shoot anything and people avoid them if they can, unless they want a wall decoration. It is much simpler to find a real one if you want to fire one. They were so solidly made that they go on and on, with perhaps an occasional bit of repair. If you want to fire one abroad, you may be able to find replicas made in the States, for example, but again I would look at several genuine old ones and choose one that is in good condition. Gunpowder is strictly controlled in Japan, so you would have to join a club and get special permission from the police, or join one of the reinactment groups, none of which are easy things to do here. If you managed to buy gunpowder somehow and set it off in the hills, someone would surely report you, and it is a very serious offence if you are caught. No fun, agreed. Thus there is no market within Japan for good solid reliable replicas, and even if you made one you could not register it legally anyway. PS I like your hand cannon experience! (I have a Chinese three-barrelled pole arm, possibly from the 1500s)

At Ako Castle Fair last week I found these two little fellows, A and Um. Brass. The seller knew nothing about them, but suggested they might have been part of a set of candle holders. You will notice that they have squared hollows and Ichi-moji and a Ni Moji on their bellies, supporting the idea that they were probably created as a pair. Nothing missing or broken, despite tempting ears and fancy tails.

Some of our members carry a Hora-gai (Triton's Conch), which was blown in battle to signal charges and retreats. (Yama-bushi famously carry/ied them too.) Before a matchlock demonstration our 'Kai-tai' step usually forward for a special blast, but I have been resisting carrying one for two reasons. We carry so much clobber already that it would drive me insane to have to look after a large spiral shell on top without breaking it; more importantly, I have never until recently been able to get a good note out of one. On Sunday I secretly brought one along just to see if there would be an opportunity, having practiced a bit at home, and without telling anyone in advance I decided to give it a go. Our lot are Pics 11-18 below, from someone's 'Ryoma' blog. You can see me in pics 11 and 15 blowing the Triton, recognizable by the Tora-no-o Maedate. Not too sure as to the comment about why there is a foreigner blowing a Horagai... grrrrr.... :lol: http://ryoma00.at.webry.info/200904/article_21.html

Carlo, keep us posted on this!

Well, I enjoyed that, Rich. Thanks!

Embedded with the regular privateers (not Ashigaru)

Just WOW! Best place to test the Ko-te, though, I guess. Thanks for the feedback.

Carlo, have you ever drunk tea with that splendid purple Mt Fuji set? (Looking through the woods from...)

Henk-Jan, the feeling is mutual re your fascinating Roman stuff. It's wonderful, but we risk going even more off thread!!! :lol:

Tuesday night in the gardens.

Yes, sir! And here are the little Kutani milk jug pics:

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.