Bugyotsuji

Well, five experts n the UK have all said that this is definitely "Rantei", according to a little bird.

藤原国次造　Fujiwara Kunitsugu tsukuru/zou (made by) 　

"Life is illusion.... ? BTW There is an old kanji for Akatsuki 暁　曉

Using your two possible Kanji, MOriyama san, could the two lines be: "One lifetime, one enlightenment. One enlightenment, one lifetime." or "One lifetime, one harmony. One harmony, one lifetime." Signed by Hisanaka, or a Chinese poet...???

Thank you Moriyama san. Your reply makes me smile.

Now we are talking!!!

My question wasn't phrased very well. Please forgive me. It would be going off-thread, so you do not need to answer it. What I meant was you must feel some personal pride in the long and deep evolution of Japanese culture. For me the study is objective in a way, an outsider looking in without too much emotional help, except the excitement and interest in discovering new things about the past. A 'different' past, too. Perhaps you have this too? Or not? (When I look at Shakespeare's writings, or Chaucer, I do not feel any personal connection, really, just a frustration that I cannot understand it clearly.)

How do you feel towards your ancestors who used such language?

What is the 4th character??? Is the hen Tsuki?

Wow, it's complicated. Thank you for that, Moriyama san. Can you make any sense of the other inscription?

:lol: :lol: :lol: Er... pics 5 and 6 yes, 7 NO

Well, if the other photos won't attach the regular way, let's try a different way. (Oh, ignore the Hotei above, by the way please!) and

Have been sent this inro writing and asked to read, but it's way out of my league. The character under Joka seems to suggest this is a copy of Joka, rather than the 'kakihan' as I was advised. Can anyone help with the inscriptions/poetry? The motif is a monk(?) slumped on a cloud. Picc supplied if necessary. Credit will be given as due. The other piccies I was sent are too large... humph.

Yesterday (Sunday 9th November) was the Yakage Shukuba Matsuri (Daimyo Gyoretsu). We were invited this year for the second year in a row, and this was our last event of this year. There was a very big crowd, and some confusion between the police and the organizers, but generally the live firing part went well. My pistol woudn't fire and it took 4 tries until it started fizzing... ... ... and then BANG, and loud claps from the relieved public. If you have time to visit Yakage, the large and spacy Honjin there is definitely worth a visit.　The walls have lists of the Daimyos and processions who passed through and stayed there. Everything, kitchens etc., is as it was in Edo times. http://www.town.yakage.okayama.jp/honjin/gaiyou.html This site has some bigger pics of yeaterday's event. You can see Bugyotsuji in pic 4 from the top. http://blog.goo.ne.jp/rouko2005/e/6c9ed ... e6e5953324

Just to add my two cents' worth here. Most of what Shan says makes sense and I have enjoyed reading the thread, but the original title got straight up my nose as soon as I opened up and saw the contents of the request. An irritating letdown. I have just kept quiet since then as it didn't seem to have bothered anyone else too much. Lots of people want help on here, but your title made it seem like you were in some kind of emergency, overriding everyone else's needs. Until now people have been fairly quiet and well-mannered in their titles. Now do we all have to exaggerate in the title in order to get people's attention? No offense intended, but just to point out that sometimes we can get off on the wrong foot without even realizing it.

Tessen-jutsu. Tamahagane, to stop a sword blow! Makes sense, I agree.

Hi folks.　Can anyone read the Mei on this Tessen? I believe the Tessen itself is quite an old example, possibly Muromachi, but its condition is quite delicate... I was gently cleaning the red rust off it today and discovered some writing cut into the insides of the iron. There are characters inscribed in both sides, but the 4 Kanji Mei below is easier (?) to see. I looked for Hirayasu ??? or Heian ??? on the internet but came up with nothing intelligible. Were Tessen originally made by fan makers or by armorers/armourers, or by whom, I wonder?

Well, I had mine done by a saya-shi and the lacquer has not been broken. He must have introduced some kind of long saw or file. Unfortunately he had to change the Koikuchi, though, for some reason.

Also, it is possible to have the koshirae sori altered to fit your blade, if it is not too far off.

Well, Chris, let's work around the old adage. How's about getting a starter Tsuba book in Japanese and use it for a) the piccies, b) starting to fit the English pronunciations with the Japanese characters, (for design features, schools and lists of Tsuba-shi) and c) helping to supplement your study of Japanese from a different angle?

It is said that Fukuro Yari were useful in battle as they were easy to fix onto something like the end of a section of bamboo, for example, with no serious hassle. I've got two or three. You need to make sure they have yaki-ire. The blades tend to be shorter than 15 cm and not to need paperwork. Glad you hesitated with this one! Definitely modern, made nowadays both in China and in Japan, and can be seen recently on sale in street markets. Never clearly marked as 'young' though. Fine if you need something for displays, I expect.

Nope. That's the Mei side.

Yup, couldn't have put it better myself. Even though I have a bunch of tsuba in my 'collection' and several illustrated books in Japanese I feel really frustrated by my own ignorance. When I buy a new one and post it on this site I often get few or even no comments, regardless of whether it was an expensive one or a cheap one to buy, so tsuba must surely be a slow learning progress for me. (Don't even mention Nihonto ) Luckily there is no hurry...

Thanks for the links, Milt. Those were good. Thanks for the detailed and informative explanation, Malcolm. (Clear as mud! :lol: ) To print them out and put them on my wall for decoration would be one route. Another would be to track down a genuine print from the time, (and not one run off later illegally from some museum somewhere) buy it as a birthday present to my sad and sorry self and frame it suitably!

Sorry to hear about the news. Don't take it too hard. I stand by what I said, DN. The title on the web page said 'Bizen'. Bi is made up of Bizen, (Literal meaning: before Bi) Bichu (middle Bi) and Bigo, or Bingo (After Bi) going from Edo. Altogether they are collectively known as the Provinces of Bishu. The blade is inscribed with Onomichi, which puts it in Bingo, of the larger area of Bishu. I did not mean to make any judgement on the relative merit or worth of Onomichi in Bingo, compared with Osafune in Bizen. All I did, if you look at the original post, was to clarify the nature of the article. If my post was misleading, then I must apologize for being part of the problem. I meant no disrespect towards the seller, but simply to point out that his use of the word 'Bizen' at the very top of the auction page was not quite accurate.