Bugyotsuji

Pile of rubbish. I’ll take it off your hands Colin, and give it a good home.

I had some success removing a stain by the use of repeated oiling, recommended to me by a swordsmith. He didn't mention uchiko, though.

Send him/her the bill for a polish, and collect payment first, before killing them.

Dale, it’s both. Kotobuki 寿 is one of those words with a comforting range of good meanings. Your interesting tsuba is one of the older Kanji versions for Kotobuki which is 壽. Notice the mouth bottom left.

There’s an app called KanjiLookup which I recommend. Great, in fact dead easy, once you get the hang of it!

Bazza, sometimes it’s the radical that tricks us. In this case the 9-stroke 頁 on the right is actually the radical.

I like that bowl too. A very satisfying shape.

Apparently the two boxes were simply a cheap option for armour display purposes…

Yours is full of luck, Alex.

Word of warning. Recently someone tried to import a set of empty, ordinary yoroi-bitsu into Germany. Since the paperwork said the usual 'over 100 years old' etc., German customs sent it off to 'cultural heritage protection department' for evaluation, and they are now demanding a certificate from Japan to prove it is not a national treasure.

髙橋 Takahashi perhaps. Note the first kanji.

Agreeing with Steve. Fuzzy, and too little information. Why? (This reminds me of an NTHK certificate format in places.) Nothing on the other side of the paperwork?

An udon roller with onigiri mat?

What an amazing assembly. European flintlock mechanism altered to percussion cap? The stock and the barrel were married in later life. I have seen weapons cobbled together like this which come from the late Edo Satsuma Rebellion in Kyushu. The term ‘hiyazutsu’ was applied to smallish cannon which fired 火矢, ‘hiya’ or flaming bolts, but the small bore on your pistol does not really fit such a definition.

The woven sections are not really basket-shaped, but more like folded flat mats.

What would be the connection to martial arts? If carrying earth, general castle construction, or perhaps Hideyoshi building dykes for water sieges?

The golden part surely resembles bamboo. Is it a flute? But there are no holes. There is a slit down one side. Why are there handles on the woven rope section? Is it a rope/string seat, and could the bamboo parts be legs for a shōgi folding stool? A campaign stool?

Somehow I doubt it. My wife has a traditional loom, nothing like that. Unless it is some portable, specialized loom for weaving rope or something...?

It would be great if you could take a shot showing the pan from above with the lid open? And if you try removing the barrel you might find a signature underneath. (There is a character 源 and some mark there on the side behind the pan.)

米… Stylized, but yes, that’s the mark of 米沢 Yonezawa.

As far as I know, it should not be a problem, unless it is a designated National Treasure, etc. Are you talking about carrying smaller parts with you, and maybe shipping larger stuff separately? (If using the Post Office, be careful not to mention words like 'weapon' or 'lacquer', either verbally or in the paperwork.)

Pointed kabuto like this can be sub-divided into various shapes (Shiinari etc.,) but generally they are all called ‘toppai’ (pointed) for ease of reference. I have quite a similar one, said to be from early Edo. If you like it, why not? My feeling is it could be too good for okashi gusoku (armor kept in the armoury for ‘lending’ out to ashigaru footsoldiers). The verb kasu/kashi means ‘to lend’. The character looks like サ (Sa), but it could be… 廾 (20) maybe? Will you keep it in this condition or will you have it touched up a little?

An Ojimé is smaller and acts by sliding on two or more strings to pull them together, Jean. Usually with a vertical central passage. The size here has not been given, but it looks like a kagamibuta Netsuké, around 4~5 cm across, made of stag antler with a shinchū brass plate and ring fitment. As I say I think it is younger than the Edo Period but I rather like it.

Although 'Origami' is the generic name for the particular art of folding paper, it comes originally from its first meaning of simply 'folded paper'. Thus folded paper certificates are often referred to as Origami (or just 'kami') within this context.

獅噛 - 検索 画像 (bing.com) It looks like a more modern blend of lion and shishi features, with a touch of komainu, yes, but the sideways-pointing fangs also indicate a 獅噛 Shikami. Possibly late 1800s Asakusa Netsuke?