Bugyotsuji

Strangely enough, we do the Chiburui motion after firing our matchlock pistols.

"It's like the Honda NSX ( I think that's the model's name ), even if it outperform a Ferrari, it's still a Honda.........." There has to be a lot of truth in this. Nissan have come up with the R35 GTR which is in the process of rewriting the track records on circuits around Japan, beating all the Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches in the process. On the Porsche car sites they are saying, "Yes, but it's still only a Nissan." My first really good quality Tanegashima Samurai gun, 1.6 Monme, was from Hino. It was solid, subtly decorated and beautiful to behold. Hino is right next door to Kunitomo, but suffered terribly snobby prejudice throughout history; it is still alive in peoples' minds today. I think they may have often made better guns in order to prove Kunitomo wrong. Kunitomo smiths used to dismiss Hino guns as 'Udon-bari' (the barrels rolled up like udon pastry). The Tokugawas used to place their orders with Kunitomo. Scholars all say there is no truth in the slander, but they continue to quote the old prejudice, so the old perception still sticks and even effects prices somewhat today. If you offer someone a choice of Kunitomo or Hino, in most cases he or she will probably take Kunitomo for name value without even having seen the gun.

So, Nobody, you are leaving open the suggestion that the number 3,800 might be a price, rather than a house number (3-800)? Are you also allowing that the person(addressee?) could be either a man or a woman, thus no 'Mr'?

You might very well be right, John. My first thought was that it was the character for Om, or Aum, the original sound.

The characters are “財團法人 (zaidan-hojin) – incorporated foundationâ€. But you do not have to manage to read them. Most parts of the paper were fixed format and you can find the explanations for them on the net such as the page below (though there are some misunderstandings). http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html Silly me. A nice page link you have provided there. Thanks!

Thank you that Moriyama san. As always, I learn something. I was afraid you might be away on holiday, so I stepped in to provide a temporary bridge. 下の名前 are surprisingly hard for me. By the way, can you make out the three? characters above 'Nihon Bijutsu To-ken Hozon Kyokai'?

(On envelope in red: 特別貴重　tokubetsu kichou = Of special value) 1st line, right, & on envelope in black: 認定書　Ninteisho = Certificate of Authenticity 1. ？？, 梵字鍔　bonji tsuba = Tsuba with Sanskrit lettering Faintly, bottom right... 鉄地木瓜形 Tetsuji mokko-gata = iron ground, mokko shape Faint, bottom... 四方猪目造　shiho inome zukuri = made with boar's eye designs in the four directions Faint bottom left... ?? Dark line 3&4: 右は当協会に於いて審査の結果特別貴重 migi ha to-kyoukai ni oite tokubetsu kicho 小道具として認定する　kodougu toshite ninteisuru = As a result of this organization' investigation, we certify that what is described on the right is an especially valuable ko-dou-gu. 5th line: 昭和三十八年十一月十三日　13th Dec Showa 38 (1963) 6th line: ?? 日本美術刀剣保存協会　Nihon Bijutsu To-ken Hozon Kyokai 7th: 会長　細川　？　？ Kaicho Chairman Mr ...?... Hosokawa Final line: 谷崎？？殿　(Addressed to) Mr ...?... Tanizaki That's about all I can get off the top of my head! :D

Hi Tim. You talk as if there are several things to be viewed, but all I am getting is the one inverted Namban Tsuba. Am I doing something wrong?

Stunning pictures, fascinating thread. I have an iai-to with the iroha characters carved all the way down the blade.

So this was more common and acceptable than I had imagined. Thank you Stan and Reinhard for the valuable insights. In light of this I can begin to see why the shinsa people batted no eyelids. PS I did a bit more searching around about Munetada and discovered that he wrote pretty good books and poetry, he too having a separate name, Munetada Shunzan 宗紀春山　

The Mei is "Munetada", Date Munenari's father, (see "Date Munetada" in paragraph 2 line 3). Munenari was adopted. Munetada was the 7th Daimyo of Uwajima in Shikoku and was descended directly by blood from the eldest son of Date Masamune of Sendai (by a mistress). The tanto has the Mei 'Munetada' on it, and the koshirae carries the Date Mon(s). He is contemporary with the Tokugawa you have posted, Nobody, and the tanto would probably have been made in the same time frame, ie 1800 to 1850. Perhaps Tokugawa Nariaki was famous for trying his hand at sword making, (the talk of Edo?) so Date Munetada (or vice versa) thought why not? and tried his hand at it too!??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Munenari and in Japanese for Munetada http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A% ... 7%E7%B4%80 PS Tokugawa Nariaki died at the age of 40, but Munetada lived until he was almost 100! He always said the secret of longevity for him was giving up women when he was 75...

It's a little question that has been niggling away in the back of my mind. If you can imagine a late Edo aikuchi Tanto set in a beautiful black lacquer koshirae with pristine Omote Mon and Ura Mon of the Daimyo. The Habaki is in gold. The Mei is two Kanji on the nakago, being the name of the 7th Daimyo of that Han fiefdom. The Mon match the name, and the Tanto has recent NBHTK Hozon paperwork, signifying that... the blade/mei/koshirae is all as it seems. The question. Would the Lord of the castle have been skilled enough to make a blade himself? He created the castle gardens himself, allegedly, and was a pretty active and skillful fellow. Or would the blade have been made by a well-known katana-kaji of his choosing, or by someone recommended to him by a karo or retainer for example? If so, would he really have put his name on it, and at what point, and why? Would one blow of the hammer be enough for him to sign his name? What would the subsequent Hozon shinsa people have looked at? The blade alone, representing a period in Edo, and made by a good representative hand? There is no indication on the paperwork as to where the Tanto might have been made... and yet they accepted it. Are there examples out there of two-character Mei, indicating simply ownership of the aikuchi tanto, rather than signature of maker? Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks for that, Peter. A very valuable comparison. Despite the differences, there are certainly quite a few interesting similarities there.

"This is a consignment from a Japanese dealer, and he does not accept returns. Therefore the sale is final." Stranger still...

Ueda says under 'Osai' that he is the same person as 'Okina-tei'!!! Maybe we're onto something here... excellent! :lol: (A couple of hours later at home.) *According to Ito Ryuichi they were the same person, real name 石岡 Ishioka, who worked in ivory in late Edo. If no-one adds to this, then perhaps I should attract fatphilip's attention to this discussion. May I say thank you all in the meantime for your fantastic narrowing-down powers of detective work! It feels as though something has been unblocked. :D

You have those Guido? They're quite expensive. I am sure they are great, but I have never quite plucked up enough courage to buy them!!! How about 翁亭 ? Okina-tei was a Netsuke carver, in ivory, in the mid-Edo period.

http://forums.netsuke.org/tool/post/net ... id=2347051 This is the original thread. It's a Hannya mask, I think. I too am not too happy with the material itself, as Guido points out. It looks a bit like resin? I don't even feel comfortable with the expression on the face... almost too close to something in a Spiderman comic. Someone on another forum suggested 'Rantei' for the Mei as you will see at the bottom of the thread. When I get home tonight I will hit the books again and see if the Mei of Nobody or the idea of Morita san is/was on any list of known Netsuke carvers. We could very well be on a wild goose chase, though. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions.

Thanks Markus. Much appreciated. I'll go back and check this evening to see if it fits, and tell you what I find out, if anything. There are two Masahiros mentioned in Ueda Reikichi, both starting with 正, and one ending with 弘　and the other with 廣. Could be a later artist, though. PS I like your avatar. I had a particularly fine kabuto-wari with the kikusui mon in gold and silver done beautifully on the 'blade'. (Sold it to a collector friend)

Thank you for answering. I had no right to ask you and I would have understood if you had kept silent.

Hi Piers, "大磨上無銘" reads O-suriage Mumei. For more information, please refer to the last part of the following thread. http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... ght=#16597 Oh! Yes, I remember you posted that the other day, and I remember thinking how interesting, I should remember that! Please forgive my ignorance; I expect it will happen again, until I finally learn. How do you feel about this sword, or do you feel that it is safer not to comment?

They say they will only accept a return if the item is substantially different from the way it is described. So their description must contain most of the truth somewhere. Can Nobody clarify what 但し大磨上無名in small letters on the shirasaya means? (Tadashi, Daimigakeage Mumei) Does it mean, "Except, this sword has become Mumei after a large polishing?" (There is a section on the nakago that looks as though something has been polished off, as Paul said above.)

Hi Mike. Yes, yours does look surprisingly similar, apart from the Hitsu ana. Same number of petals in the kiku too! Hmmm..... What are the dimensions of yours? Tachi? When people say Heianjo, they generally think of Kyoto, right?

Hahahaha... that's where I got it from, Jim! Look at the link. :lol: No-one over there can answer the question, so I brought it over here...

Can anyone read this signature on the back of a Hannya mask? Thanks in advance. http://forums.netsuke.org/tool/view/mb/ ... &id=480625

Ok, I bought this a couple of years ago from a dealer from Tokushima in Shikoku, at a small antiques fair in Onomichi. It's a bit battered, but I like the size and feeling. The cloud design? zougan goes right round into the mimi; there is really only one section that looks like the original surface intact. The tsuba is 9.0 cm wide by 9.4 cm vertically. The mimi is about 0.3 cm thick. There are 24 petals in the kiku design. Can anyone tell me any more about it? Mumei. I may have got the ura above the omote?