Bugyotsuji

The whole thing is in fairly poor condition and needs a bit of TLC. All the metal fittings are beautifully made in solid silver, plain on one bow, and chased on the other, but some are loose or bent, and one is missing. Two of the bamboo sections are snapped and not very well repaired. The amount of damage guaranteed that I was able to strike a bargain with the antique dealer. The bamboo sections closest to the handles/grips seem to have a Mei on them. I haven't tried stringing the bows, but it must have been fun assembling and firing this yashiki bow'n arrow kyugu in a tatami mat room. Holes in the shoji? What would the 'proper' targets have looked like?

Bull's Eye, John.

No! Good idea, though. Shall I leave it like this for a bit, or do you want the next picture? All lids opened, but still packed. The last photo shows it all exploded and set up.

John, you are getting closer. As a reward, here is the next piccie...

:lol: No, not close, John, and I have to say I didn't realize at first what it was when I saw it at the antiques market this morning. My friend did recognize it right away, however, so there are those who know, and those like me, who didn't. It would have been owned by a Daimyo, possibly. Another hint? A different piccie? Shall I wait some more? Anyone need to be put out of their agony? Do I feel a 'spoiler' approaching?

OK, I agree that it's a bit unfair! The box does look like an Ohaguro set, but it is a little smaller. :| What? A more decent hint? A peek inside? Hmmm... OK, a look at the top shelf.

The registration card also tells you the basic measurements of the wakizashi, and that it was registered in Showa 51 in Kyoto, so there is a strong possibility that the contemporary owner lived in Kyoto at the time.

Another week and we are into July and the rainy season is threatening to disperse. "In July the sun is hot. Is it shining? No, it's not." Maybe that applies to Britain, but here it is hot, and the sun is shining, and it's pretty unbearable without airconditioning, as I am sure our Tokyo members will attest. Found quite a few interesting bits and pieces over the last week or ten days, but you do have to put the footwork in and and you do have to do a lot of sifting. In the first photo you can see a box. Can you guess what it contains? Tell me if you want to go to the next hint...

Not a lot to go on there, ... Jason? Have you got any different angles on it?

Rainy season here now. Spent the weekend repairing the saya for the wakizashi tachi koshirae that I wear with the armour/armor at gun displays. Getting changed in a cramped room, I had stepped back and crunch, the saya had contracted and split off bits of the awabi-spotted black urushi. A friend lent me a pot of black Cashew lacquer, a brush and a bottle of thinners. (He also sold me a kozuka to fit in the hitsu side receptacle.) This stuff Cashew カシュー　is a man-made lacquer replacement resin and the house stinks of it. I went to sleep last night with eye-irritation and a headache. Not conducive weather for drying. The saya will never be perfect, but it's a lot better after two or three coats of this stuff on the bare wood sections, certainly when viewed from a distance. Yesterday and today, visited two antique/junk/bric-a-brac fairs, one recycle/antique store and one antique shop. Bought a very small Bizen-yaki pot (which looks a bit like a sea urchin without the spines), a late Edo decent-sized blue-on-white mountain & water view plate/dish, and a signed Netsuke which shows all the hallmarks of being a great find, probably 18thC. Hoping everyone managed to find some hobby time this last week.

That's pretty good!

LOL @ Brain. Actually I have learnt a lesson. I really enjoyed the spoiler option on this site, but stand guilty of overuse as charged.

Agreed.

No.3 on this page is Shinto... http://www.e-sword.jp/baiyaku/baiyaku_sw4.htm And this Jumonji is a Shimosaka... but different Mei. (Kuni is Yamashiro) http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/0610_4016syousai.htm

Thanks for the information. I wouldn't know how to disable Java script, although I do remember having problems with Java many years ago when I used mainly Macs... do you have a Mac?

Christies NY

I don't see how anyone can be 100% sure that the tag is correct. If you ask, "can you see Maeda there?" then sure, but we could also see other things too. Whoever wrote the tag had the benefit of handling it and viewing it in different lights, an advantage that we don't have here, unfortunately. The area around the Mei looks very messy. Has someone tried to clean it up? Were there, at some time, other characters underneath? Can you take further shots from different angles under different lighting?

Not an expert, and the second and third Kanji seem to be rubbed away? The yellow numbers are 713, and the first Kanji is the

In the swordsmith database above there are two possible Hiromichi candidates for Showa Gunto, but the 'Maeda' is not clear. PS Reinhard, not that it has anything to do with the price of fish, but the left name on the tag looks closer to 'Antoni' than 'Anton'.

Negative over. Alan Thanks for that! Take everything with a pinch of salt, then. Over.

My personal opinion, but I think you did really well to get that far. Congratulations. And Moriyama san ... what can I say?

If you run searches on Google under such headings as 日本刀　平å‡é‡é‡ you get pages like: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls= ... tnG=Search One site says that a sword blade of 2 shaku 4 sun should not weigh much over 700 gm. The reason the writer gives is that heavier blades were often thought to be blunt, stemming from the fact that in many cases they were untempered. The tempering process reduces the weight? NB The above is not my opinion, but just something I read during a search to answer your question.

Ah, thank you Moriyama san. I missed your clickable "here" ...

Another week and a sudden desire to post something. This Kutani bowl is about 18 cm across; I came across it at an antique stall about 2 weeks ago. It has some spidery cracks in the base, and the advice was to pour a line of clear cement along the cracks to stop any possible spread. The picture shows the 1703 attack by the 47 Ronin on the Kira residence in Edo, I assume. The man wielding the giant Tsuchi must be O-Taka Gengo, according to the name on his lapel, although it is difficult to read. The 4 Kanji should be 大高æºå¾, but they seem to read 大高言語, 言å¾? here.

Sorry again, but the sword got a Tokubetsu Hozon paper. Which sword are we talking about? The one on the previous page?